Diocese of Gospić-Senj

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Diocese of Gospić-Senj
Map of the Diocese of Gospić-Senj
Basic data
Country Croatia
Ecclesiastical province Rijeka
Metropolitan bishopric Archdiocese of Rijeka
Diocesan bishop Zdenko Križić OCD
Emeritus diocesan bishop Mile Bogović
founding 2000
surface 8,200 km²
Parishes 85 (2016 / AP 2017 )
Residents 67,628 (2016 / AP 2017 )
Catholics 58,511 (2016 / AP 2017 )
proportion of 86.5%
Diocesan priest 38 (2016 / AP 2017 )
Religious priest 10 (2016 / AP 2017 )
Catholics per priest 1,219
Friars 10 (2016 / AP 2017 )
Religious sisters 8 (2016 / AP 2017 )
rite Roman rite
Liturgical language Croatian
cathedral Katedrala Navještenja Blažene Djevice Marije
Co-cathedral Katedrala Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije
address Ul. Ante Starčevića 19
53000 Gospić
Website gospicko-senjska-biskupija.hr

The diocese of Gospić-Senj ( Croatian : Gospićko-senjska biskupija , Latin : Dioecesis Gospiciensis-Seniensis ) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Croatia . As a suffragan, it is subordinate to the Archdiocese of Rijeka . The current bishop is Mile Bogović .

prehistory

Katedrala Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije

The first reliable information about the diocese of Senj can be found in a letter from Pope Alexander III. of January 3, 1169, in which Alexander III. Bishop Miraeus of Senj asked to submit to the Archbishop of Split , as his predecessors had done. There is evidence that the bishopric existed as early as the 5th century. This is secured by a letter from Pope Innocent I (402-417) to Bishop Laurentius von Senj (Laurentio episcopo seniensi) , in which he attacked the anti-Trinitarian heresy of Photius . Also in the code of law ( Dionysio-Hadriana ) , which Pope Hadrian I handed over to Charlemagne in 774 , it emerges that Bishop Maximinus of Senj (Maximinus seniensis) was one of the bishops of the province of Illyria , who in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon participated.

If this report is also authentic, which cannot be completely ruled out, there was certainly no uninterrupted succession of bishops throughout the Middle Ages and afterwards, whether or not Bishop Miräus had immediate predecessors in the bishopric of Senj . The delimitation of the Senj diocese was often controversial and was the subject of a debate at the Split Synod in 1185. At that time it was determined that the seat of the bishop was in Senj and that his jurisdiction was the parishes in Senj throughout the region the Gacka and half of the territory of the Lika extended. This area became a lot smaller when Prince Sigismund Frankopan founded a separate diocese based in Otočac in part of this diocese . When this diocese was dissolved again in 1534, the area came back to the Senj diocese.

Recent history

On July 27, 1969, Pope Paul VI. a new ecclesiastical province was founded in Croatia, the Archdiocese of Rijeka-Senj . For this purpose, the diocese of Rijeka (founded under Italian rule on April 25, 1925) was merged with the diocese of Modruš and the diocese of Senj . The Diocese of Modruš was thus dissolved, while the Diocese of Senj continued to exist on an equal footing with the Diocese of Rijeka. This new province was elevated to the rank of metropolitan archbishopric church. The three dioceses of Krk , Poreč and Pula were subordinated to it . Their bishops are now suffragans of the Metropolitan of Rijeka.

The diocese of Krbava / Modruš

The Lika-Krbava diocese was founded in 1185. Previously, the Bishop of Rab and the Archbishop of Split shared jurisdiction over this area. Because of the great distance from the seat of the diocese and the associated difficult administration, the Diocese of Krbava was founded at the aforementioned Synod of Split in 1185 and placed under the Archbishop of Split. The synod determined that the seat of the new diocese would be in the parish of Krbava. The newly appointed Bishop Matthew had his cathedral built there. His diocese included the parishes: Krbava, Novigrad , Drežnik, Plaški (Plas) , Buzane , Modruš and Vinodol .

The bishop had a second residence, which was in Modruš. In 1460, Pope Pius II allowed the bishop's seat to be moved to Modruš, which complied with the wishes of Prince Sigismund Frankopan there, but also seemed advisable in view of the impending Turkish threat. The tragic outcome of the battle on the Krbava field in 1493 left the then Bishop Christophorus no choice but to seek a safe place. He and his cathedral chapter moved to Vinodol, where he set up his residence. In the second half of the 16th century, the bishop's lack of money and the fact that it was too close to the diocese of Senj prompted the Holy See to entrust the bishop of Senj with the administration of this diocese. When there was no hope that the Diocese of Modruš would ever throw off the Turkish yoke, Pope Urban VIII merged the diocese with the Diocese of Senj ( per aequalitatem iurium ) in 1630 , in personal union with the Bishop of Senj. It lasted until 1969.

orthodoxy

The liberation of the Lika and Krbava from Ottoman occupation was accompanied by far-reaching demographic changes. The lords appointed by the Turks lost all rights, and the area was returned to those from whom the Ottomans had taken it in 1527. The Orthodox population was in a special position. Although she had once come there with the Turkish army, she did not have to leave with them. During the Turkish occupation they had found ways to live as allies and vassals on both sides ( Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire ). That is why the winners did not force them to leave the Lika. On the contrary, efforts were made to keep the population there and even new immigrants were encouraged to settle there.

They found protection and support from the greatest authority among the people and from the authorities: the Roman Catholic clergyman Marko Mesić . Similar to elsewhere in the liberated parts of the country, the bishops of Senj-Modruš tried to win the Orthodox believers in their diocese for a union with the Roman Catholic Church . These attempts would probably have been crowned with success if another important historical incident had not occurred before the end of a year after the liberation of the Lika, which set the development of a union back: the great influx of Serbs under the leadership of their Patriarch Arsenije Crnojević from Pécs (Fünfkirchen).

The Serbs succeeded in wresting various rights and special rights from the court in Vienna , including the right to organize their own church. As a result, the already resident Orthodox population was integrated not only into the Serbian Orthodox Church , but also into the Serbian nation . From time to time some Serbian bishops passed through the Lika, in most cases without the permission of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary. In 1742 Pavle Nenadović was appointed Bishop of Gornji Karlovac (Upper Karlovac) by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor . With this the last theoretical doubts disappeared: the Orthodox population in the Lika and Krbava now had a head approved by a foreign authority. A union of the Orthodox Christians with the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia succeeded in spite of this not unimportant historical incident for the later history of Croatia in the diocese of Križevci .

literature

  • Croatian Bishops' Conference u. a. (Ed.): The wounded church in Croatia. The destruction of the sacred building heritage in Croatia 1991–1995. Zagreb 1996, ISBN 953-6525-02-X .

See also

Web links

Coordinates: 44 ° 32 '46.3 "  N , 15 ° 22' 32.9"  E