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Eparchy of Banat Банатска епархија Banatska eparhija | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Territory | SerbianBanat |
| Headquarters | Vršac,Serbia |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodox |
| Sui iuris church | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Established | 1932 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, Vršac |
| Language | Church Slavonic Serbian |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Nikanor Bogunović |
| Map | |
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TheEparchy of Banat (Serbian:Банатска епархија,romanized: Banatska eparhija) is aneparchy (diocese) of theSerbian Orthodox Church in theBanat region,Serbia. It is mostly situated in eastern parts of the autonomous province ofVojvodina, while the eparchy also includes a small south-western part of Banat that belongs to theCity of Belgrade as well as village ofOstrovo that belongs to the city ofPožarevac. The seat of the eparchy is inVršac.
During theMiddle Ages, entire territory of modernSerbian Banat belonged to theKingdom of Hungary, that had ambivalent attitudes towards the presence ofEastern Orthodox Christianity in its southern and eastern regions,[1] depending on relations with theByzantine Empire, andmedieval Serbia. By the end of the 15th century,Serbian presence in those regions was significantly enlarged by continuous migrations that were caused byOttoman invasion of Serbian lands.[2]
The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy ofVršac was one of several eparchies created on the territory ofBanat during the 16th century under the jurisdiction of theSerbian Patriarchate of Peć.[3] By the time of the accession of Serbian patriarchMakarije I (1557), much of theBanat region was already conquered by theTurks, who took overTemeswar in 1552.The region was organized as a Turkisheyalet (province) named theEyalet of Temeşvar.[4]
During the Ottoman rule in the 16th and 17th centuries,Banat was mainly populated bySerbs (also calledRascians) in the west andVlachs (Romanians) in the east. In some historical sources the entire region was thus referred to asRascia, and in others asWallachia. Both Serbs and Romanians in Banat were Orthodox Christians.[5]
At the beginning of theAustro-Turkish War (1593–1606), in the spring of 1594,Serbs in Banat started anuprising against Turkish rule. The local Romanians also participated in this uprising. Rebels tookVršac and various other towns in Banat and started negotiations with Prince of Transylvania. One of the leaders of the uprising was Serbian Orthodox BishopTheodore.[6]
During theAustro-Turkish War (1683–1699), Serbian patriarchArsenije III sided with Austrians and appointed Spiridon Štibica as the new Bishop ofVršac in 1694. Austrian troops took over parts of Banat, and the Eparchy of Vršac was officially recognized as a diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church by charter of emperorLeopold I in 1695. Under theTreaty of Karlowitz (1699) theBanat remained under Turkish administration.[7]
At the beginning of theAustro-Turkish War (1716–1718), whenPrince Eugene of Savoy took theBanat region from theTurks, Serbian Bishop ofVršac was Mojsije Stanojević. He sided with the Austrians and secured official confirmation. After theTreaty of Passarowitz (1718), the region became a Habsburg province and was renamed as theBanat of Temeswar.[8]
The Eparchy ofVršac at first went under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Belgrade.[9] During theAustro-Turkish War (1737–1739), Serbian PatriarchArsenije IV sided with the Austrians and made his residence inSremski Karlovci. The Eparchy ofVršac remained under the jurisdiction of theSerbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci (after 1848Patriarchate of Karlovci) until 1920, when a united Serbian Patriarchate was re-created.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the prominent Serbian bishops ofVršac were Jovan Đorđević, who became Metropolitan of Karlovci in 1769, andJosif Rajačić, who became Metropolitan of Karlovci in 1842 and Serbian Patriarch in 1848.
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During theFirst World War (1914–1918), many Serbian priests and parish councilors of the Eparchy ofVršac were persecuted, imprisoned or sent to concentration camps by the authorities ofAustria-Hungary. The region ofBanat was liberated and united withSerbia in 1918, becoming part of newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). The new border withRomania was established in 1919. The Eparchy ofVršac was reorganized and renamed as the Eparchy ofBanat in 1931.
During theSecond World War, the territory of the eparchy was occupied by forces ofNazi Germany from 1941 to 1944. German forces committed numerous atrocities against orthodoxSerbs inBanat and also against localJews andGypsies. After the Liberation in 1944 and the establishment of new communist regime inYugoslavia, the Eparchy ofBanat was kept under constant political pressure, until the collapse of the communist one-party system (1988–1990).
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From the middle of 16th century up to the beginning of the 18th century, under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate ofPeć, Bishops ofVršac were styled as titular metropolitans, as was customary for all diocesan bishops. Later, under the jurisdiction of theSerbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci, diocesans ofVršac were simply styled as bishops. Title was changed from "Vršac" to "Banat" after territorial reorganization in 1931.