TheEparchy of Osječko Polje and Baranja (Serbian Cyrillic:Епархија осјечкопољска и барањска / Епархија осечкопољска и барањска;Croatian:Osječkopoljska i baranjska eparhija) is aeparchy (diocese) of theSerbian Orthodox Church that encompasses the easternmost regions ofCroatia inPodunavlje region, with its seat located in the village ofDalj. The eparchy was re-established in 1991, covering the western parts of what was previously theEparchy of Srem. The cathedral of the Eparchy is theChurch of St. Demetrius in Dalj. The Eparchy is divided into three vicarages, located inOsijek,Vukovar and the region ofBaranja, and is served by a total of 39 priests and two deacons.[1]
During the period ofOttoman rule (16th and 17th centuries), Eastern Orthodox Christians in the region were under ecclesiastical jurisdiction of theSerbian Patriarchate of Peć,[2] with local eparchies on both sides of the riverDrava,[3] includingBaranya to the north andOsijek field to the south. During theGreat Migration of the Serbs (1690), those regions were also inhabited by new Serbian migrants, who were also included in collective privileges granted byHabsburg rulers to their Eastern Orthodox subjects.[4]
The termOsječko polje (lit. Osijek field) is an archaic name, created in the first years of the 18th century, designating the area that included the entire vicinity of the city ofOsijek and the region between the lower course of theDrava andDanube rivers, up to the riverVuka.[1]
Since Osijek field lies on the border ofSyrmia,Baranja andSlavonia, it was added, sometimes to one and sometimes to the other of three neighboring eparchies, while sometimes it had its own bishop.[1]In 1710, at the Church Council in MonasteryKrušedol, Nicanor Melentijević was elected bishop for the eparchy that was encompassing the entire Baranja, and also the Osijek field.[1]
In 1733, the eparchy was divided, with northern part (Baranja) being attached to theEparchy of Buda, while Osijek field was incorporated into theSyrmian archdiocese. Patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta handed Eparchy of Osječko polje in 1746 to his Bishop Jovan Georgijević. The residence of Bishop Jovan was in Osijek, where Eparchy then had two houses.[1] Archbishops Synod after the election of a new Metropolitan in 1748 joined this Eparchy again to theEparchy of Slavonia-Pakrac.[1]
From 1758 the Eparchy definitely came into the composition ofSyrmian diocese till the year 1991. Holy Assembly of theSerbian Orthodox Church in 1991 renewed Osječko polje eparchy and joined the whole Baranja to it, so the eparchy got its present name: Osječko Polje and Baranja Eparchy.[1]
-en.svg)
