Saint Spyridon Church, Trieste
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Saint Spyridon Church (; ) is a
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...
church in
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.


History

The Orthodox community in Trieste was established in 1748 but it was not until 1751 when Empress
Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...
allowed free practice of religion for Orthodox Christians, prompting immigration of Serbian traders from
Herceg Novi Herceg Novi (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Херцег Нови, ) is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of ...
,
Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...
and
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
to Trieste. The first Eastern Orthodox Church was built in mid XVIII century and it served as a place of worship for local
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
and
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
both. The first service in the church was carried out in 1755, with two bell towers built in 1782. Disagreements between two ethnic groups on the issues of church affairs led to the dissolution of the joint community in 1781. The separate Serb community continued its work independently and as early as 1782 it was officially established. The Greeks left Saint Spyridon and later built a new church dedicated to St. Nicholas. The Serbs eventually paid them 20,000 florins for their share of Saint Spyridon. Due to the instability of the grounds on which the first church was erected, a join decision was made to demolish the existing one and to erect a second church. Construction began on March 2, 1861, and it was designed by architect Carlo Maciachini. The exterior decor was entrusted to Pompey Bertini and Antony Karelia, the interior painted decorations and the design of exterior decorations were done by Giuseppe Bertini, while Emilio Bisi produced sculptures for the facade. The marble used to build the church comes from
Carrara Carrara ( ; ; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey Carrara marble, marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, ...
,
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
,
Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region (, ), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the val ...
and
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
. Construction of the church was finished on September 2, 1868, and a small
consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
took place on September 20, 1869. The first permanent Serbian priest in Trieste was Haralampije Mamula from
Ogulin Ogulin () is a town in central Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the nearby ...
in the western
Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...
. He served from 1771 until his death in 1790. From 1994 up to administrative changes within the dioceses of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...
, the parish in Trieste fell within the
Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana The Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana () is an Eastern Orthodox eparchy (diocese) and one of the five honorary metropolitanates of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The headquarters of the metropolia is located in Zagreb, Croatia, and its jur ...
. Since 2011, it is under the jurisdiction of the
Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Austria and Switzerland The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Austria and Switzerland or Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Austria and Switzerland () is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church, created in 2011, with jurisdiction over Serbian Orthodox churches in Austria, ...
. Saint Spyridon Church treasury holds numerous objects, historical documents, icons and various works of art, dating back to 1751. Next to the church is a Serbian curriculum school. The school is named for Jovan Miletić, a wealthy merchant from Sarajevo who in his will left 24,000 florins for the education of the Serbian children of Trieste.


Gallery

File:Carlo Maciachini's project for Saint Spyridon Church in Trieste, 1860.png, Maciachini's project, 1860 File:Trieste cerkiew serbska 8.jpg, Altar of the Saint Spyridon church File:Dome of the Saint Spyridon Church.JPG, Dome of the church File:Transept of Saint Spyridon Serbian Orthodox church (Trieste).jpg, Ceiling of southern
Transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
File:Chiesa serbo-ortodossa della Trinità e di San Spiridione-10 (6073250047).jpg, Column details File:Tempio di San Spiridione (8540692144).jpg, Saint Spyridon File:Kirche der Dreifaltigkeit und des Hl. Spyridon (Triest) von oben.JPG, The church with its distinctive domes


See also

* Serbs in Italy * Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni


References


External links

Byzantine Revival church buildings Serbian Orthodox church buildings in Italy Buildings and structures in Trieste Churches in the province of Trieste Churches completed in 1868 {{Italy-EO-church-stub