БАЧКА ЕПАРХИЈА У ДРУГОЈ ПОЛОВИНИ XVIII ВЕКА: Реформисање мреже парохија
THE EPARCHY OF BAČKA IN THE SOCOND HALF OF 18th CENTURY: THE REFORM OF PARISHES

Summary/Abstract: In the early 70’s of the 18th century, Habsburg authorities started a process of size equalization of orthodox parishes in the Metropolitanate of Sremski Karlovci. According to the applied principle, one parish should cover at least 100 houses, and there should be only one priest. This meant reducing the total number of orthodox priests. The process of reshaping orthodox parishes and reducing the number of priests lasted a long time. It was not an easy task and it was accompanied with many problems. Bishop Mojsije Putnik, for example, made not one, but two descriptions of new parish organization in the Eparchy of Bačka. In cover letter to Metropolitan Jovan Georgijević, Bishop explained all the problems he faced with. He pointed to the decision by which priests would keep the parochial services according to their conscience, respecting the opinion of protopriests and archimandrite Jovan Rajić. The criterion for the decision were the ability to perform the duties, moral qualities and knowledge of priests. However, Bishop hesitated about the position of then priests, and because of that two descriptions of the Eparchy of Bačka were made in 1773. Several descriptions of parishes and clergy, made from 1769 to 1797, are preserved and allow us today to compare the data for the territory of the Eparchy of Bačka. This paper compares the information about clergy and parishes, before and after the reduction forced by the authorities. While the number of the orthodox settlements and the houses increased over time, the number of priest, especially those in active service, declined. This paper also presents the document Descriptio Dioecesis Bacsiensis, written by Bishop Mojsije Putnik in 1773, and two lists with the names of priests who have died or left the service from 1770 to 1774.

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