Servia

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(S)

AEuropean kingdom in the northwestern part of the Balkan peninsula.

History

The greater part of the territory of the present Kingdom of Servia belonged, at the beginning of theChristian era, to the Roman Province of Moesia, the western part to the Province ofDalmatia. Under Roman supremacy a number of cities arose along the Danube and the Morava, and the country attained to a considerable height ofeconomic prosperity andintellectual development.Christianity found entrance into the Roman districts of the Balkan Peninsula at an earlydate and suffered but little in this region from the persecutions of the emperors. Martyrs are not mentioned until the reign ofDiocletian, when several suffered death for Christ at Singidunum (Belgrade). During the migrations the country was traversed in succession byOstrogoths, Huns, and Lombards. In 550 it was conquered by the Emperor Justinian, head of theEastern Empire. Soon after this, the Avars fell upon the land, devastating and burning wherever they went, and turned the region into a wilderness. In the seventh century the forefathers of the present Serbs, a tribe of the southernSlavs, migrated into the country, which received from them the name of Servia. During theMiddle Ages and well into modern times the term included not only the present Servia, but also Bosnia,Herzegovina,Montenegro, and the northern parts ofMacedonia and Albania. In the early centuries of their history the political cohesion of the Serbs was slight; the political organization was based upon thefamily clan, thesadruga (zadruga). Thesadruga was composed of about fifty or sixtypersons, who bore a common name and obeyed an elder who was the representative of the clan in dealings with outsiders or with the gods. All members of the clan had the samerights and were entitled to a share of the common possessions. Several such family-clans formed a tribe whose affairs were managed by a council of thefamily elders. At the head of the tribe was a Zupan, elected by the elders of thefamilies. The religion of the Serbs was a natural religion. They worshipped their gods in the open air and accompanied theirsacrifices with singing. They had neither images,temples, norpriests. In common with allSlavs they believed in a life after death.

At various times during the first centuries of their history they wereobliged to acknowledge the supremacy either of theEastern Empire or of theBulgarians. For short periods also they were able to maintain their independence. They acceptedLatin Christianity in the eighth century, during the period ofBulgarian suzerainty. Until the union of Servia with the GreekOrthodox Church, the Servian Church was under the control of the LatinArchbishop ofSpalato and, later, the LatinArchbishop ofAntivari. After the death of the most powerful of theBulgarian princes, Symeon (927), the Servian Zupan Cestaw was able, for the first time, to unite several Servian tribes against Peter, the weak ruler of theBulgarians. However, the destruction of theBulgarian kingdom by Basil II, Bulgaroktonos, the Byzantine emperor (976-1025), re-established Byzantine supremacy over the whole Balkan Peninsula. Although the oppressive sway of theEastern Empire led to repeated revolts of the Serbs, the supremacy of Constantinople continued until the twelfth century. For a time indeed the Grand Zupan Michael (1050-80) was able to maintain his independence; he even received the title of king fromPope Gregory VII. In the twelfth century thefamily of the Nemanyich, to whom the union of the Serbs is due, became prominent in Servian history. Urosch, who was Zupan of Rassa from about 1120, entered into friendly relations with the Hungarian king, Bela II. His son, Stephen I, Nemanya (1159-95), conquered the chiefs of the other Servian tribes, with the exception of those in Bosnia, and thus founded a united hereditary and independent state. He accomplished this with the aid of the Eastern Emperor, Manuel I, to whom heswore fealty in return for recognition as Grand Zupan. Free from hisoath after the death of Manuel I (1180), he seized for himself those portions of Servian Territory which belonged directly to theEastern Empire.

Stephen I, Nemanja, who was aCatholic, maintained amicable relations with thepopes in ecelesiastico-political affairs, especially withPope Innocent III. He received the latter'slegates and letters in a friendly manner and repeatedly assured thepope of his attachment. His brother Vlkan, as lord ofAntivari and Cattaro, was also closely connected with theCatholicChurch. Nevertheless, the Greek Orthodoxy Church grew constantly stronger in the eastern part of the country, although in this era the sharp distinction between the Churches of the Eastern and Western Empires had not yet appeared. In 1196 Stephen abdicated in favour of his eldest son and retired to themonastery of Chilandar, which he had founded onMount Athos. Here he died in 1199 or 1200. The work of the father was continued during the administration of the son, Stephen II (1196-1228), who had received an excellent Byzantineeducation and was a skilful diplomatist. In church affairs he, like hisfather, maintained good relations with thepopes. The sixth canon of the Servian Council ofDioclea (1199) formally declared that the Servian Church regarded theRoman Church as the mother and ruler of all the Churches. During theFourth Crusade, which ended in the establishment of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, Stephen II had the skill to maintain himself against all his neighbors and to use the favourable opportunity for increasing his power. Like theBulgarian Kalojan, he askedInnocent III to grant him the title of king and to send alegate to Servia. However, the opposition of the Hungarian king, Emmerich, prevented the carrying out of this plan, to whichPope Innocent had given his consent. Stephen finally obtained the royal crown in 1217 fromHonorius III, probably through the aid ofVenice, which, since theFourth Crusade had become a neighbor of Servia. In order to make his kingdom autonomous in religious matters he appointed his brother Sabas, who had been amonk atMount Athos,Metropolitan of Servia, and organized thedioceses of the Servian Church in co-operation with this newmetropolitan.

Stephen II had four sons and was succeeded by one of them, Stephen Radoslav (1228-34). This king was the son-in-law of the Emperor Theodore the Epirote, and as such regarded himself as a Greek. He was so incompetent that he was overthrown and banished by the nobility. His brother Stephen Vladislav (1234-1243) could not maintain his power in the confusion caused by the incursion of the Mongols into the Balkan Peninsula, and wasobliged to resign the throne to a more vigorous brother and content himself with the empty title of king. Stephen Urosch I the Great (1243-76) was victorious in awar with the city ofRagusa, thebishop of which wasobliged, in 1254, to renounce allecclesiastical jurisdiction over Servian territory. He was also successful, in league with the Latin Empire of Constantinople, in a campaign against the Greek Empire of Nica, but failed in an attack uponHungary. After the fall of the Latin Empire the relations between thepapacy and Servia grew gradually less intimate; although married to aCatholic Frenchwoman,Helena, Stephen Urosch permitted both his sons to be brought up in the Greek Orthodox religion. Of these sons Stephen Dragutin, who drove hisfather from the throne, soon gave up the government to his younger brother Stephen Milutin (1282-1321), while retaining for himself the title of king. The separation fromRome was completed during the reigns of these two princes and has continued from that period until the present day, although severalpopes have exerted themselves to reestablish the union, e.g.Nicholas IV (1288),Benedict XI (1303), andClement V (1308).

Stephen Milutin conquered several provinces of theByzantine Empire, and advanced victoriously as far asMount Athos, besides receiving Bosnia, without striking a blow, as the dowry of his wife, a daughter of the Hungarian king Stephen V. During his reign and that of his son Stephen IV, Urosch (1320-31), Servia gained aEuropean reputation and was the leading power of EasternEurope. The son carried on a successfulwar against the revivedBulgarian kingdom and broke its power forever. Stephen IV Urosch, was willing, in 1323, to unite withRome and abandon theschism in order to secure the aid of WesternEurope against the claims to the throne of his half-brother Vladislav; but this union withRome was only of short duration. As in the latter years of his reign he showed a preference for the son of a second marriage, his eldest son Stephen Duschan rose against him and threw him intoprison where he was soon killed. Stephen Duschan being probably an accomplice in his death. The constant aim of this, the greatest of all the rulers of Servia (1331-55) was to establish a Greater Servia, which should unite all the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, to conquer Constantinople, and to win for himself the crown of a new Oriental empire with its centre at Constantinople. Taking advantage of the civilwar in theEastern Empire he was able, in 1336-40 and in 1345, to conquer Albania,Macedonia, Epirus, and Thessaly, and undertook thirteen campaigns against Constantinople in which he advanced as far as the imperial capital itself. In 1346 he wascrowned at Skopje as 'Tsar of the Serbs and Greeks"; this is translated in Latin documents as " Imperator Rasciae et Romaniae ". At the same time, in a Servian synod, he had the ServianArchbishop of Ipek created an independent "Metropolitan of the Serbs and Greeks", notwithstanding theanathema of theChurch of Constantinople. The new head of the Servian Church had twentymetropolitans andbishops under him.

Stephen Duschan's reign has been called the Golden Age of Servia, because he gave the country a better administration and judicial system, sought to improveeducation. mining, commerce, etc., and, in issued a code oflaws an important monument of the Kingdom of Servia. He was very hostile to theCatholicChurch. Article 6 of his codepunished with death any Servian who adhered to the "Latinheresy", or any Latin ecclesiastic who sought to makeproselytes. Yet he repeatedly entered into relations with thepope in order to gain aid from WesternEurope against increasing danger ofTurkish invasion, and held out the prospect of union with theLatin Church. The great kingdom he had created soon fell to pieces during the reign of his weak son, Urosch V (1355-71). Vlkasin, a Servian noble, rose against Urosch as a rival and gained almost the entire country for his cause; the strength of the kingdom was frittered away by internal disorders and civilwars, and thus the way was prepared for theTurks. Vlkasin lost both the throne and his life at the battle on the Maritza River (26 September, 1371), in which he took part as an ally of theEastern Empire. Two months later, Urosch V also died, and with his death the Nemanyich dynasty became extinct. The nobles disputed over a successor; Lazar Gobljanovitch, one of the most prominent, formed an alliance with theBulgarians,Albanians, and Bosnians, and defeated a viceroy of theTurkish Sultan, Amurath I. However, the Serbs suffered a severe defeat on 15 June 1389, in the terrible battle on the Plain of Kossovo (the Plain of the Blackbirds). Lazar and a large number of the most distinguished Serbs were takenprisoners and were beheaded during the night after the battle. The land was defenseless against theTurks, and Servian independence was in abeyance for four hundred Years. Amurath's successor, Bajazet, divided the country between a son and a son-in-law of Lazar, both of whom wereobliged to Pay tribute to theTurks and to take part in theTurkish military expeditions. In 1459 Mohammed II put an end to the sovereignty of these two rulers. Servia was formally incorporated into theTurkish Empire and was divided into pashalics. Many Servianfamilies were destroyed, many others fled toHungary, some 200,000persons were dragged away as slaves. The Servian Patriarchate of Ipek was also suppressed, and the Servian Church was placed under the control of the Groeco-Bulgarian Patriarchate of Schrida. In 1557 the Patriarchate of Ipek was reestablished, and remained independent until its second suppression in 1766.

For more than two hundred years the name of Servia almost entirely disappeared from history. However, theTurks maintained only a military occupation of the country; they rung large sums of money from the people, and took large numbers of young men to be trained as Janizaries. But they did not claim any land for themselves, and thus the Serbs under theTurkish yoke were able to preserve their language, customs, religion, and the memory of the heroic age of their country until the hour of their deliverance. The folk-songs, which celebrated the exploits of their most famous heroes, did much to preserve the national consciousness during the worst periods of oppression, by keeping before the people the recollection of Servia's history and past greatness. The first hope of deliverance from theTurkish yoke came fromAustria which, under Charles of Lorraine, repeatedly defeated theTurks in the years 1684-86 and took possession of several provinces. When, in 1690, the Emperor Leopold I issued a proclamation declaring that he would protect the religion and the politicalrights of all Slavonic peoples on the Balkan peninsula, and called upon them to rise against theTurks, about 36,000 Servian and Albanianfamilies, led by their patriarch,emigrated from Servia. After Leopold had given them the desired guarantees they crossed the Save and settled in Slavonia, in Syrmia, and in some of the Hungarian cities, where their descendants now form a considerable portion of the population. Theirrights have always been protected by the emperor, and thesee of a Servian patriarch was established at Carlowitz. The victories of Prince Eugene ofSavoy forced Turkey to surrender all of Servia toAustria by the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718). But theAustrian Government was not able to win the sympathy of its new subjects, and, after the unsuccessfulwar of Charles VI against Turkey (1738-39), Servia was retroceded to that power.

Although the Serbs themselves had contributed largely to the restoration of theTurkish supremacy, their loyalty was ill repaid by the cruelties of the Janizary revolt. At the request of the GreekOrthodox Church, the Patriarchate of Ipak was again suppressed, in 1766, and the Servian Church was placed directly under the patriarch of Constantinople, who sent asbishops to Servia almost exclusively men of Greek nationality, who were hostile to Servian efforts for liberty. During thewar against Turkey carried on byJoseph II and Catherine II in the years 1788-1790, rose in favour ofAustria. In 1804 a general revolt was provoked by the atrocities of the Janizaries. The head of the rebellion was George Petrowitch, who was also called Karageorge (Black George). A series of victories delivered the country from theTurkish soldiers, and in 1807 even Belgrade was taken. The people, however, were not sufficiently supported byRussia, and could not obtain complete freedom. By the Treaty of Bucharest, in 1812, the Serbs were guaranteed complete amnesty and granted a measure of internal self administration, but wereobliged to remain underTurkish suzerainty. As theTurks did not keep their promises a new revolt broke out in 1815, the leader of which was Milosch Obrenovich, Karageorge having been assas-sinated. On 6 November 1817, Milosch was proclaimed Prince of Servia atBelgrade by an assembly of Servian nobles by the Porte in 1820. By the Peace ofAdrianople (1829), Servia received theright to elect its own princes, the right of self administration, in short, internal autonomy, but wasobliged to pledge itself to pay a fixed yearly tribute to the Porte. Treaty of Akerman (1826) and the Peace ofAdrianople (1829) also granted the people of Servia, freedom of worship and theright to elect theirbishops. In 1832 a concordat was made with the GreekPatriarch of Constantinople which regulated the relation of the Servian to the GreekOrthodox Church; theArchbishop ofBelgrade received the title ofMetropolitan of Servia, and was henceforth to be elected without the participation of thePatriarch of Constantinople; the election, however, must be announced to, and confirmed by, the patriarch, who had the privilege of confirming it and consecrating the newmetropolitan. In 1830 Milosch was recognized by the Porte as hereditary prince; in 1834 theTurkish military occupation of Servia was limited to Belgrade.

Influenced byRussia, Milosch ruled as an absolute prince without calling any national assembly; he seized commercial monopolies for his own benefit, and in this way so irritated the people that in 1835 a revolt broke out. He was finallyobliged to grant a constitution which, however, theTurkish Government replaced in 1838, by the organic Statute (Ustav). This statute replacing the National Assembly with a senate provided with extensive powers, satisfied neither the people nor the prince. Miloschswore to observe the Organic Statute, but did not keep hisoath and, after a fresh uprising, in 1839, abdicated in favour of his eldest sonMilan I.Milan died in three months and was followed by his incapable and tyrannical brother Michael, who, in 1842, was forced by his opponents to abdicate, and then fled toAustria. A national assembly convoked 11 September, 1842, elected the son of Karageorge, Alexander Karageorgevitch, Prince of Servia. He was confirmed by the sultan, but only with the title ofBeschbeg (overlord). In his home policy he followedAustria and, influenced as rigidly conservative, which made him unpopular among the Serbs and inRussia. When in 1858, the Senate wished to force him to retire, he sought protection with theTurkish garrison atBelgrade. Thereupon the National Assembly (Skupshtina) deposed him as a fugitive, and called to the throne Milosch Obrenovitch, now eighty years old, who had abdicated in 1839. Milosch was followed, in 1860, by his son Michael, who had been forced to abdicate in 1842. Under him the organization of the army was carried out, notwithstanding complaints from the Porte, and the efforts of the Serbs to become entirely independent ofTurkey became constantly more evident. Urged byAustria, theTurks, in 1867, withdrew the last garrison, that ofBelgrade, from the country, in order-to allay the national excitement. Notwithstanding the success that had been attained, a conspiracy was formed against the ruling prince, who was killed on 29 June, 1868, in the park of Topschider. The Skupshtina then chose as prince the sole surviving member of the Obrenovitchfamily,Milan II, then a student inParis.

DuringMilan's minority a new constitution was granted to the country by the regent Ristitch. When, in September, 1874, theChristians of Bosnia and Herzegovina against theTurkish yoke, and the revolt constantly spread,Milan believed the occasion favourable to gain the independence of the country, while augmenting it with Bosnia,Herzegovina, and Old Servia, thus founding a Great Servia. In July, 1876 he beganwar against theTurks, without being able to gain any success in battle. Nevertheless, whenwar broke out between Turkey andRussia in 1878, he joinedRussia, and the Servian army inBulgaria captured several places which theTurks were on the verge of abandoning. In the Peace of San Stefano, Servia gained not only the recognition of its complete independence, but also considerable additions to its territory, which was still further increased by the Congress ofBerlin. In return it wasobliged to grant unconditional equality to alldenominations and to assume a part of theTurkish nationaldebt. On 21 August, 1878 the independence of the country was formally proclaimed. One ofMilan's first acts was to obtain for the Servian Church complete independence from theGreek Church and release from itsobligations it had assumed in 1832. In 1879 he compelled the GreekPatriarch of Constantinople to recognize the Servian Church as self-governing, and to renounce allrights over it. Since then the relations between the two Churches have been friendly. On 6 March, 1882,Milan assumed the title of king. In 1884, to increase his territories, thinking to exploit the embarrassment ofBulgaria, which after the annexation of Eastern Rumelia was threatened by theTurks and deserted byRussia, he declaredwar on that principality, although ill prepared for it. Led by theircourageous ruler, Alexander of Battenberg, theBulgarians gained a brilliant victory over the Serbs at Slivnitza, and only the interference ofAustria, which hastily sent Count Khevenhüller to theBulgarian head-quarters and checked Prince Alexander, saved Servia.

In his home policy, too,Milan sheltered himself under the protection ofAustria and opposed his own people. The Serbs, greatly embittered by the Austrian occupation ofBosnia and Herzegovina, became more and more favourable to the Radical and Russophile party, while the king's position was rendered increasingly difficult by the agitation of political party leaders who were under Russian influence, and the bad financial management of his cabinet. At lastMilan's quarrels with his wife Natalie, the daughter of a Russian colonel, led to the dissolution of the marriage by themetropolitan. When the Liberal party, which had been the support ofMilan and Ristitch, was defeated in the elections of 1888, and the Radicals forced a new and more democratic constitution,Milan abdicated, 6 March, 1889, in favour of his only son Alexander, a minor, and then left the country. In 1892 he gave up his Servian citizenship. The sorely distracted country had still less internal peace during Alexander's reign. The regency during his minority was carried on mainly by Ristitch. In 1893 the impulsive king although only sixteen years old, declared himself of age, and forced the regency to retire. Alexander recalled hisfather fromParis to help him against the Radicals and the menace ofanarchy.Milan returned to Belgrade, 21 January, 1894, at once assumed control of the administration, did away with the democratic Constitution of 1889 by a coup data, restored that of 1869, and limited the constitutional liberties and the suffrage. In 1897 he also assumed supreme control of the army.

However, the friendly relations between father and son were ruptured in 1900 by the marriage of Alexander, who was mentally somewhat abnormal, with awidow of ill repute named Draga Maschin.Milan broke off all connection with his son and left the country for good (d. atVienna 11 February, 1901). After that, Alexander ruled despotically, contrary to the Constitution. By two political stratagems a new constitution was forced on the country in 1901, but was set aside after two years. The king lost whatever sympathy was still felt for him on account of the undignified manner in which the queen, 1901, deceived the country into expecting an heir to the throne. When at last the queen formed a plan to have one of her brothers, Lieutenant Nikodem Lunjevitza, who washated in the army, made heir to the throne, a revolt broke out. In the night of 10-11 June, 1903, a number, of officers, who had formed a conspiracy under the leadership of Colonel Mischitch, entered the palace andmurdered the king and queen, the queen's two brothers, and threeministers. The following day the army proclaimed Peter Karageorgevitch, son of the former Prince Alexander Karageorgevitch, king, and the National Assembly confirmed the choice on 15 June, after restoring the Constitution of 1889.

Even under the new dynasty the country has not yet (1911) found peace andeconomic development. Peter's position was from the beginning made more difficult by the fact that he was rightly regarded as an accessory to themurder of his predecessor, and was, moreover, completely controlled by the assassins during the early ears-of his reign. These murderers claimed the chief positions in the army and the civil service; on account of his connection with them Peter's administration was only recognized by the Powers after the lapse of some time, the last power to recognize him being Great Britain (1906). The country was kept in disorder by the constant struggles between political parties, while cabinet changes and dissolutions of the Chamber followed in rapid succession. In foreign affairs, Servia was soon involved in aneconomic and political dispute withAustria-Hungary, with which it carried on its main export trade. When Servia formed a customs union withBulgaria, in 1906, a customswar withAustria-Hungary began, which inflicted severe damage on theeconomic life of the country. Relations withAustria-Hungary were still further strained by thezealous agitation for a Great Servia carried on among the related peoples of Mentenegro,Macedonia,Bosnia, and even Croatia. In October, 1908,Austria completed the annexation ofBosnia and Herzegovina; this brought the anti-Austrian feeling in Servia to fever-heat, as the Serbs believed they had a moral claim on these countries inhabited by related peoples. The Servian Government, in a note addressed to the signatory Powers, protested against what it alleged to be an infringement of the Treaty of Berlin of 1878. It also formed an alliance with Montenegro, called out the reserves, and set about raising awar loan. Servia was openly supported byRussia, and secretly encouraged by Great Britain. It demanded fromAustria-Hungary the cession of a strip of territory to connect Servia, by way of the Sandjak of Novi Bazar and Bosnia, with Montenegro and the Adriatic; it also demanded the autonomy ofBosnia and Herzegovina under the supervision of theEuropean Powers.

In the spring of 1909war seemed inevitable. However, the stand taken byGermany, which declared itself ready to supportAustria-Hungary with arms if the latter were attacked byRussia in awar with Servia ledRussia to change its position and forced Servia to yield. Servia wasobliged to acknowledge formally the annexation ofBosnia and Herzegovina, to renounceeconomic and territorial compensation, and to express the desire to renew friendly relations with the dual monarchy. At the same time the Crown Prince George wasobliged to renounce his right to the succession in favour of his brother Alexander. George had a large share in urging awar and was greatly disliked by the Serbs on account of his wild behavior, his extravagance, and brutal conduct. Since then the relations between Servia andAustria,Hungary have become more friendly, and the customswar was settled in the early part of 1911 by a commercial treaty.

Actual conditions

Servia has an area of 18,650 square miles; on 31 December, 1900, the population was 2,492,882. Of this number 2,331,107 were by language Serbs, 89,873 Rumanians, 7494 Germans, 2151 Albanians, 1956 Magyars. Divided byreligions, 4,460,515 belonged to the Serbo-Orthodox Church, 10,423 wereRoman Catholics, 1399Protestants, 3056TurkishMohammedans, 11, 689Mohammedan Gypsies, while 71 belonged to various otherreligions. At the beginning of 1910 the population was estimated at 2,855,660. According to the constitution of 2 January, 1909, Servia is a constitutional monarchy, hereditary by primogeniture in the male line in the Karageorgevitchfamily. The King shares the legislative power with the national assembly, the Skupshtina; this consists of 160 deputies elected for four years. The right of suffrage is exercised by every Servian citizen who is twenty-one years of age and pays a national tax of at least 15 pence, as well as all members ofsadrugas who have reached their majority, irrespective of taxation. Those voters are eligible as deputies who are thirty years old and pay an annual state tax of 30 pence. A "Great Skupshtina", consisting of twice the ordinary numbers of deputies, is elected for certain special occasions, as for making changes in the Constitution, electing a king when there is no heir to the throne, etc.

The national religion of Servia is that of the OrthodoxGreek Church. Alldenominations permitted by the Government enjoy complete freedom and protection, so far as their exercise does not contravenemorals and public order. However, all attempts to influence the members of the State Church to adopt other creeds are forbidden. All church organizations are under the supervision of the Ministry of Worship and Education, which also watches the correspondence of all Servian with foreignecclesiastical authorities. The control of theOrthodox Church is in the hands of a synod consisting of the fivebishops of the country under the presidency of themetropolitan, theArchbishop ofBelgrade. This synod elects all thebishops, issues all the edicts for the guidance of theChurch, and has a share in drawing up alllaws referring to theChurch andclergy. Themetropolitan is elected by a special synod consisting of the activebishops, allarchimandrites and arch-priests of the subdivisions of Servia, the head of theecclesiastical seminary of St. Saba, and several lay adherents of theOrthodox Church. The choice of this synod requires the confirmation of the king. In' 1907 there were 750churches andchapels, 54monasteries, 1042priests, and 98monks. The,Orthodox Church is supported partly by the revenues of the church lands, partly by additional sums granted by the State. The value of the church lands is nearly 345 million marks; that of themonastery lands makes an additional 250 million marks.

Since 1848 theCatholic Serbs, who are in large part subjects of theAustro-Hungarian Monarchy, have bee under thespiritual jurisdiction of theBishop of Diakovo, in Slavonia. Although freedom of religion was constitutionally guaranteed by the Congress ofBerlin, the position of theCatholicChurch is a disadvantageous one, as the Orthodoxclergy put various difficulties in the way ofparochial work. In the course of the nineteenth century negotiations were several times begun for the erection of a Latinbishopric in Servia. Bishop Strossmayer of Diakovo, especially, tried repeatedly to attain this end, but all efforts were in vain. In 1890 theHoly See gave its consent to the erection of abishopric for Servia, but the movement has failed on account of the opposition of the Servian Government and other difficulties. There are only threeparochial stations for theCatholics of Servia, and the expenses of these are largely borne by theAustro-Hungarian Government. The title ofCatholicPrimate of Servia is borne by theArchbishop ofAntivari, who, since March, 1911, has been Father Matthew Cardun of the Dalmatian province of theFranciscans.

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