Eparchy of Bačka Бачка епархија Bačka eparhija | |
|---|---|
| orthodox | |
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 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country | Serbia,Hungary |
| Territory | Bačka |
| Headquarters | Novi Sad,Serbia |
| Coordinates | 45°15′25″N19°50′53″E / 45.25703160°N 19.84792010°E /45.25703160; 19.84792010 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodox |
| Sui iuris church | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Established | 16th century |
| Cathedral | Saint George's Cathedral, Novi Sad |
| Language | Church Slavonic Serbian |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Irinej Bulović |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| eparhijabacka | |
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TheEparchy of Bačka (Serbian:Бачка епархија,romanized: Bačka eparhija) is aneparchy (diocese) of theSerbian Orthodox Church in theBačka region,Serbia. It is situated in north-western parts of the autonomous province ofVojvodina, and the seat of the eparchy is atSaint George's Cathedral inNovi Sad.
During theMiddle Ages, old counties ofBács and Bodrog belonged to theKingdom of Hungary, that had ambivalent attitudes towards the presence ofEastern Orthodox Christianity in its southern and eastern regions,[1] depending on political relations with theByzantine Empire, andmedieval Serbia. By the end of the 15th century,Serbian presence in those regions was gradually enlarged by continuous migrations that were caused byOttoman invasion of Serbian lands.[2]
The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Bačka was established in the 16th century, under the jurisdiction of theSerbian Patriarchate of Peć.[3] In the beginning, the seat of the bishop was inSegedin, the capital city of the OttomanSanjak of Segedin. Diocesan seat was later moved to various monasteries in Bačka proper, and was finally stabilized inNovi Sad in the beginning of the 18th century. By that time, the region of Bačka was liberated from Ottoman rule and incorporated into theHabsburg monarchy. Since 1708, the eparchy belonged to theSerbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Krušedol (Karlovci), independent (autocephalous) after 1766 (it became thePatriarchate of Karlovci in 1848). In 1918, its territory was incorporated into the newly establishedKingdom of Yugoslavia, and in 1920 the eparchy entered into the reunited Serbian Orthodox Church.[4]
The eparchy includes entireSerbian part ofBačka, but also has supreme authority over some territories in present-dayHungary, including countiesBács-Kiskun (Baja),Csongrád (Szeged) andHeves (Eger).
