ПИСМО ПАТРИЈАРХА РАЈАЧИЋА МИНИСТРУ ПРЕДСЕДНИКУ АУСТРИЈЕ ГРОФУ РЕХБЕРГУ
LETTER OF PATRIARCH RAJAČIĆ TO MINISTER PRESIDENT OF AUSTRIA COUNT REHBER

Summary/Abstract: In the manuscript legacy of Viktor Novak, which is kept in the SASA Archive in Belgrade, the author found a German copy of the letter of Patriarch Josif Rajačić dated October 31, 1860. Rajačić sent the original letter to the Austrian Minister President Count Rehberg. Rajačić’s letter, which until now was unknown to science, presents an analysis of the position of the Serbs in the Voivodeship of Serbia and the Tamiš Banat in which they found themselves after the proclamation of the October Diploma, when Vienna was preparing to abolish the Voivodeship and hand over its territory to the Hungarians. Unsatisfied with such a political outcome, Rajačić presented the facts with which he condemned Austria’s official policy, using chosen words, but harsh explanations. He emphasized that by abolishing the Voivodeship, the Serbs would be punished for their loyalty to the Court, the Habsburg dynasty and Austria, and the Hungarians would be rewarded for their infidelity and treachery. He demanded that the ruler convene a Serbian parliament where the Serbs would present their wishes and their views on the political situation in the Monarchy. The letter addressed to Count Rehberg from the patriarchal office was delivered to the Bishop of Đakovica, J. J. to Strosmayer with the obvious intention that at that political moment the Serbs and the Croats would act jointly and in agreement. By analyzing the events and the available data, the author demonstrated that the cooperation between the patriarch and the bishop was brief. Among them, as well as among Serbs and Croats as a whole, there was a misunderstanding for many reasons, due to the affiliation of Srem, the question of the status of the Military Border and its abolition, non-acceptance of the decisions of the Serbian Annunciation Assembly, non-recognition of the political distinctiveness of Serbs in Croatia, the name of the official language, the use of Cyrillic alphabet and a number of other issues. The author also explained how Rajačić’s letter, which was delivered to Strosmayer and was in the diocesan archive in Đakovo, was found in the writings of academician Viktor Novak and his archives, which are kept in the SASA Archive in Belgrade.

• Details
• Contents