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125-606: Leskovac ( Serbian Cyrillic : Лесковац , pronounced [lěskoʋats] ) is a city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in southern Serbia . According to the 2022 census, the city of Leskovac has 123,950 inhabitants. Leskovac was historically called Glubočica , later evolving into Dubočica . These interchangeable variants derived from the Serbian word's, " glib ", meaning mud and " duboko ", meaning deep. Untamed rivers would often flood

250-668: A hospice for Syrian pilgrims in Jerusalem and arranged for Serbian monks to be welcomed in the established monasteries there. He died of pneumonia in the night between Saturday and Sunday, 14 January 1235, and was buried at the Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Veliko Tarnovo where his body remained until 6 May 1237, when his sacred bones were moved to the monastery Mileševa in southern Serbia. In 1253

375-545: A regional airport , which is commonly used for sporting and agricultural flights. Also in summer the airport is used for air taxi. The nearest international airport is Niš Constantine the Great Airport located 45 km (28 mi) north of the city. Leskovac was the first city in Serbia to have a sanitary landfill . Željkovac depot spreads over 80 hectares and is made by all European standards. The landfill contains

500-808: A 2014 survey, 47% of the Serbian population write in the Latin alphabet whereas 36% write in Cyrillic. The following table provides the upper and lower case forms of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, along with the equivalent forms in the Serbian Latin alphabet and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) value for each letter. The letters do not have names, and consonants are normally pronounced as such when spelling

625-526: A bishop in a specific land was not uncommon, and being placed under the Pannonian Bishop implies that there was no local Serbian bishop at the time. Tibor Živković concluded, based on primary sources of the Church of Constantinople, that there was no information regarding the establishment of any new ecclesiastical center and organization in Serbia, that the Serbian ecclesiastical center and capital

750-477: A center for atmospheric water purification, center for the selection and disposal systems for the detection of all types of pollution. The company Porr Werner & Weber for Serbia, began construction of the center for collecting and recycling waste, and is the first city in the Balkans, where starting this job. Leskovac is twinned with: Serbian Cyrillic alphabet Reformed Serbian based its alphabet on

875-539: A challenge in Unicode modeling, as the glyphs differ only in italic versions, and historically non-italic letters have been used in the same code positions. Serbian professional typography uses fonts specially crafted for the language to overcome the problem, but texts printed from common computers contain East Slavic rather than Serbian italic glyphs. Cyrillic fonts from Adobe, Microsoft (Windows Vista and later) and

1000-457: A few other font houses include the Serbian variations (both regular and italic). If the underlying font and Web technology provides support, the proper glyphs can be obtained by marking the text with appropriate language codes. Thus, in non-italic mode: whereas: Since Unicode unifies different glyphs in same characters, font support must be present to display the correct variant. The standard Serbian keyboard layout for personal computers

1125-569: A great many more massacred in the surrounding region. During the occupation Leskovac was also adversely affected by a typhus epidemic and widespread malnutrition. Bulgaria capitulation to the Entente on 30 September 1918, and Leskovac was liberated on 7 October 1918 in an offensive led by Field Marshal Petar Bojović's 1st Serbian Corps, which repelled the Austro-Hungarian 9th and German 11th Divisions. Cheering crowds gathered to welcome

1250-718: A leading role, the Ottomans abolished the Patriarchate once again in 1766. The church returned once more under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. This period of rule by the so-called " Phanariots " was a period of great spiritual decline because the Greek bishops had very little understanding of their Serbian flock. During this period, Christians across the Balkans were under pressure to convert to Islam to avoid severe taxes imposed by

1375-487: A predominantly state capitalist economy towards greater deregulation and privatisation during the 2000s. Despite a modest increase in mostly foreign capital enterprise with some government support, issues of corruption, high unemployment, ageing workforce and community, unreported employment , and population decline still persist. Leskovac is situated in the heart of the vast and fertile valley of Leskovac (50 km (31 mi) long and 45 km (28 mi) wide),

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1500-483: A proud sporting history and is home to several teams, including football clubs GFK Dubočica and FK Sloga Leskovac , basketball team KK Zdravlje , and handball team RK Dubočica 54. Economy of Leskovac is diverse, but it is still somewhat stagnating as a city in whole. Overall, industry has a minor growth, but its growth is safe and in the future, industry will certainly face another growth that will increase its status among Serbia's largest cities. Its main industry

1625-441: A specific diocese is uncertain, probably was not an Adriatic centre. Early medieval Serbs are accounted as Christian by 870s, but it was a process that ended in the late 9th century during the time of Basil I , and medieval necropolises until the 13th century in the territory of modern Serbia show an "incomplete process of Christianization" as local Christianity depended on the social structure (urban and rural). The expansion of

1750-406: Is as follows: Serbian Orthodox Church Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Serbian Orthodox Church ( Serbian : Српска православна црква , Srpska pravoslavna crkva )

1875-763: Is closed for traffic for five days, and food stands are put up along the streets. The event brings visitors from all over Serbia as well as tourists. According to the TOL (Tourism Organization of Leskovac) in 2013, over 700,000 people visited the event. The organisers hold competitions, such as making the biggest burger, the Pljeskavica . The festival is the highlight of the season in Leskovac. In 2009 Leskovac officially became an International Carnival city, admitted by The Association of European Carnival cities, which has over 50 members from Europe and America. The Leskovac Carnival

2000-542: Is held during the Roštiljijada festival. Around 1200 people take part in the carnival, of which one-third came from abroad. The City Government considered separating this event in 2010 as a special tourist event which will be introduced as a special offer of the city. Theater Marathon takes place every year in November and lasts 9 days. It runs performances of National Theaters from all over Serbia. This event takes place in

2125-447: Is light industry such as textile, household commodities and medical industries. Leskovac has mine of lead and zinc called "Leskovac Lece". The first boom occurred after WW1 and lasted until 1941. It was "succeeded" in the late 1940s. During so called "Yugoslav economic miracle" (1950s – c.1980) Leskovac has developed into not just regional, but textile center in entire Southeast Europe. It became known as "Serbian Manchester". Leskovac Lece

2250-636: Is necessary (or followed by a short schwa , e.g. /fə/).: Summary tables According to tradition, Glagolitic was invented by the Byzantine Christian missionaries and brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 860s, amid the Christianization of the Slavs . Glagolitic alphabet appears to be older, predating the introduction of Christianity, only formalized by Cyril and expanded to cover non-Greek sounds. The Glagolitic alphabet

2375-570: Is one of the autocephalous ( ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches . The majority of the population in Serbia , Montenegro and Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina are baptised members of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is organized into metropolitanates and eparchies , located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia . Other congregations are located in

2500-609: Is recorded in the work De Administrando Imperio ( DAI ), compiled by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus ( r.   913–959). The DAI drew information on the Serbs from, among others, a Serbian source. The Serbs were said to have received the protection of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), and Porphyrogenitus stressed that the Serbs had always been under Imperial rule. According to De Administrando Imperio,

2625-477: Is the only one in official use. The ligatures : were developed specially for the Serbian alphabet. Serbian Cyrillic does not use several letters encountered in other Slavic Cyrillic alphabets. It does not use hard sign ( ъ ) and soft sign ( ь ), particularly due to a lack of distinction between iotated consonants and non-iotated consonants, but the aforementioned soft-sign ligatures instead. It does not have Russian/Belarusian Э , Ukrainian/Belarusian І ,

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2750-651: The Bronze Age until the 19th century. Hisar served as a fortification for many centuries and its surrounding plateau are abundant in Iron Age pottery largely associated with the Brnjica culture . Other archeological findings associated with the Illyrians , Thracians , Dacians , Greeks , Romans and Celts lay within Leskovac's surrounds. The Roman Empire conquered the area in the 1st century BC and would remain

2875-486: The Croatian War (1991–95). The bishops and priests and most faithful of the eparchies of Zagreb , of Karlovac , of Slavonia and of Dalmatia became refugees. The latter three were almost completely abandoned after the exodus of the Serbs from Croatia in 1995 ( Operation Storm ). The eparchy of Dalmatia also had its see temporarily moved to Knin after the self-proclaimed proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina

3000-537: The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople over the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum is considered to have begun in 731 by Emperor Leo III when he annexed Sicily and Calabria , but whether the Patriarchate also expanded into the eastern parts of Illyricum and Dalmatia is uncertain and a matter of scholarly debate. The expansion most definitely happened since the mid-9th century, when

3125-887: The Eparchy of Buda in Hungary. In 1921, the Serbian Orthodox Church created a new eparchy for the Czech lands , headed by bishop Gorazd Pavlik . At the same time, the Serbian Church among the diaspora was reorganized, and the eparchy (diocese) for the United States and Canada was created. In 1931 another diocese was created, called the Eparchy of Mukačevo and Prešov , for the Eastern Orthodox Christians in Slovakia and Carpathian Rusynia . During

3250-539: The Glagolithic script, is one of the oldest known Slavic manuscripts. It was partly written in the Serbian redaction of Old Church Slavonic . Other early manuscripts include the 11th-century Grškovićev odlomak Apostola and Mihanovićev odlomak . Serbian prince Rastko Nemanjić , the son of Stefan Nemanja , took monastic vows at Mount Athos as Sava (Sabbas) in 1192. Three years later, his father joined him, taking monastic vows as Simeon . Father and son asked

3375-772: The Habsburg monarchy , the Metropolitanate of Belgrade in the Kingdom of Serbia , and the Metropolitanate of Montenegro in the Principality of Montenegro . During World War I (1914–1918), the Serbian Orthodox Church suffered massive casualties. After the liberation and political unification, that was achieved by creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918), all Eastern Orthodox Serbs were united under one ecclesiastical authority, and all Serbian ecclesiastical provinces and eparchies were united into

3500-659: The League of Communists of Yugoslavia 's ideological differences with the Church, this negative attitude was also influenced by the fact that some priests during the war supported the Chetnik movement which are mentioned in Documents of the Commission for Religious Affairs where is stated that among other things, that the majority of priests during the war supported and cooperated with the movement of Draža Mihailović , and that

3625-520: The May Coup precipitated protectionism throughout the 1900s which served to nourish the local economy. Following the Serbian campaign of 1915 Leskovac fell within the Bulgarian occupational zone . This period was marked by harsh repression with attempts at Bulgarisation of the local inhabitants. Numerous crimes were committed on the Leskovac citizenry with 2,000-4,000 victims being executed and

3750-657: The Metropolitanate of Skopje . The Patriarchate took over sovereignty on Mt. Athos and the Greek archbishoprics under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (the Archbishopric of Ohrid remained autocephalous), which resulted in Dušan's excommunication by Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople in 1350. In 1375, an agreement between the Serbian Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople

3875-566: The Nazi puppet Independent State of Croatia banned the use of Cyrillic, having regulated it on 25 April 1941, and in June 1941 began eliminating " Eastern " (Serbian) words from Croatian, and shut down Serbian schools. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was used as a basis for the Macedonian alphabet with the work of Krste Misirkov and Venko Markovski . The Serbian Cyrillic script was one of

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4000-549: The Second World War the Serbian Orthodox Church suffered severely from persecutions by the occupying powers and the rabidly anti-Serbian Ustaše regime of Independent State of Croatia (NDH), which sought to create a " Croatian Orthodox Church " which Orthodox Serbs were forced to join. Many Serbs were killed, expelled or forced to convert to Catholicism during the Serbian Genocide ; bishops and priests of

4125-569: The Serb diaspora . The Serbian Patriarch serves as first among equals in his church. The current patriarch is Porfirije , enthroned on 19 February 2021. The Church achieved autocephalous status in 1219, under the leadership of Saint Sava , becoming the independent Archbishopric of Žiča . Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in 1346, and was subsequently known as the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć . This patriarchate

4250-519: The Studenica monastery , after reconciling his two quarrelling brothers Stefan Nemanjić and Vukan . Stefan asked him to remain in Serbia with his clerics, which he did, providing widespread pastoral care and education to the people. Saint Sava founded several churches and monasteries, among them the Žiča monastery . In 1217, Stefan was proclaimed King of Serbia , and various questions of the church reorganization were opened. Saint Sava returned to

4375-548: The Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Before the war Leskovac was part of a network of textile industry hubs from the Black Sea to the central Balkans and collaborated closely with Bulgarian textile industry. Products from Leskovac were exported duty-free to Bulgaria which exported machinery to Serbia. Independence initially had a negative impact though trade barriers, tariffs and open hostilities between Serbia and Bulgaria necessitated

4500-495: The djerv (Ꙉꙉ) for the Serbian reflexes of Pre-Slavic *tj and *dj (* t͡ɕ , * d͡ʑ , * d͡ʒ , and * tɕ ), later the letter evolved to dje (Ђђ) and tshe (Ћћ) letters . Vuk Stefanović Karadžić fled Serbia during the Serbian Revolution in 1813, to Vienna. There he met Jernej Kopitar , a linguist with interest in slavistics. Kopitar and Sava Mrkalj helped Vuk to reform Serbian and its orthography. He finalized

4625-503: The 3 and 13 October 1914 banned the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia , limiting it for use in religious instruction. A decree was passed on January 3, 1915, that banned Serbian Cyrillic completely from public use. An imperial order on October 25, 1915, banned the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina , except "within the scope of Serbian Orthodox Church authorities". In 1941,

4750-696: The 47th Serbian Division of the National Liberation Army (Partisans) on October 11, 1944, following a German withdrawal during the Niš Operation. The new Communist authorities proceeded to purge the town of political and ideological opponents, summarily executing 707 people. The city continued to be a major textile center until the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, but due to the economic isolation of Serbia resulting from ethnic wars, its remote location, and failure to privatize

4875-636: The Bulgarian state in 1018, Basil II , to underscore the Byzantine victory, established the Archbishopric of Ohrid by downgrading the Bulgarian patriarchate to the rank of the archbishopric. The now archbishopric remained an autocephalous church, separate from the Patriarchate of Constantinople . However, while the archbishopric was completely independent in any other aspect, its primate

5000-718: The Byzantines emperors and patriarch demanded that the Church administrative borders follow political borders. In the same century, the region was also politically contested between the Carolingian Empire and Byzantine Empire. The most influential and successful was emperor Basil I , who actively worked on gaining control over all the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (from Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian to Croatian Slavic peoples). Basil I likely sent at least one embassy to Mutimir of Serbia , who decided to maintain

5125-524: The Convention of 1880, signed by representatives of Austro-Hungarian authorities and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the southern eparchies, that remained under the Ottoman rule, Serbian metropolitans were appointed by the end of the 19th century. Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century, several distinctive Serbian ecclesiastical provinces existed, including the Patriarchate of Karlovci in

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5250-715: The Ecumenical Patriarchate, resulting in canonical recognition of full ecclesiastical independence ( autocephaly ) for the Metropolitanate of Belgrade in 1879. At the same time, Serbian Orthodox eparchies in Bosnia and Herzegovina remained under the supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but after the Austro-Hungarian occupation (1878) of those provinces, local eparchies gained internal autonomy, regulated by

5375-618: The Empire was divided, and its eastern half later became known as the Byzantine Empire . In 535, emperor Justinian I created the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima , centered in the emperor's birth-city of Justiniana Prima , near modern Lebane in Serbia. The archbishopric had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all provinces of the Diocese of Dacia . By the beginning of the 7th century, Byzantine provincial and ecclesiastical order in

5500-575: The Great Lavra fraternity, led by hegoumenos Nicolas, if he could purchase two monasteries in the Holy Land . His request was accepted and he was offered the monasteries of Saint John the Theologian on Mount Sion and St. George's Monastery at Akona , both to be inhabited by Serbian monks. The icon Trojerucica ( Three-handed Theotokos ), a gift to the Great Lavra from St. John Damascene ,

5625-418: The Holy Community to found a Serbian religious centre at the abandoned site of Hilandar , which they renovated. This marked the beginning of a renaissance (in arts , literature and religion ). Sava's father died at Hilandar in 1199 and was canonized as St. Simeon. Saint Sava stayed for some years, rising in rank, then returned to Serbia in 1207, taking with him the remains of his father, which he interred at

5750-503: The Holy Mountain in 1217/18, preparing for the formation of an autocephalous Serbian Church. He was consecrated in 1219 as the first Archbishop of the Serbian Church, and was given autocephaly by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople , then in exile at Nicaea . In the same year, Saint Sava published Zakonopravilo (St. Sava's Nomocanon). Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious. After this, in Serbia, Sava stayed in Studenica and continued to educate

5875-562: The Kukavica mountain, flows through Vučje and is a tributary of the Veternica river. Also known in the Leskovac region are Kozaračka, Predejanska, Kopašnička and Sušica rivers. According to the 2022 census, the city proper has a population of 54,091, while the administrative area has a population of 123,950. In 2011 the city's population was 95,784, with the majority being Serbs. Other significant ethnic groups include Roma, Macedonians and Yugoslavs. In January 2007, there were an estimated 500 persons of Chinese origin living in Leskovac. Apart from

6000-401: The Latin alphabet, in use in western South Slavic areas, using the same principles. As a result of this joint effort, Serbian Cyrillic and Gaj's Latin alphabets have a complete one-to-one congruence, with the Latin digraphs Lj, Nj, and Dž counting as single letters. The updated Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was officially adopted in the Principality of Serbia in 1868, and was in exclusive use in

6125-466: The Latin script is almost always used in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina , whereas Cyrillic is in everyday use in Republika Srpska . The Serbian language in Croatia is officially recognized as a minority language; however, the use of Cyrillic in bilingual signs has sparked protests and vandalism . Serbian Cyrillic is an important symbol of Serbian identity. In Serbia, official documents are printed in Cyrillic only even though, according to

6250-410: The Mighty to the Hilendar Monastery . The vicinity of modern-day Leskovac was contested territory during a series of conflicts fought between the Bulgarian Empire and medieval Serbian states between the 9th and 14th centuries. The Battle of Dubočica took place on September 24, 1454, between the Serbian Despotate and the invading Ottoman Empire , and ended in a Serbian victory. Brankovic's Serbia

6375-411: The National Theater in Leskovac. The first Leskovac International film festival was held in 2008. The idea of the film in the city is not that new. In 1996, a group of enthusiasts, with chairman Rade Jovic, organized the Festival which were shown films of domestic production. Today, many years later, Leskovac host an International Film Festival. The Festival presents awards in 3 categories: Leskovac has

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6500-428: The Ottoman Empire under the millet system. After several failed attempts, made from c. 1530 up to 1541 by metropolitan Pavle of Smederevo to regain the autocephaly by seizing the throne of Peć and proclaiming himself not only Archbishop of Peć, but also Serbian Patriarch, the Serbian Patriarchate was finally restored in 1557 under the Sultan Suleiman I , thanks to the mediation of pasha Mehmed Sokolović who

6625-413: The Ottoman Turks took the remains of Saint Sava from monastery Mileševa to the Vračar hill in Belgrade where they were burned by Sinan Pasha on a stake to intimidate the Serb people in case of revolts (see Banat Uprising ) (1594). The Temple of Saint Sava was built on the place where his remains were burned. After consequent Serbian uprisings against the Turkish occupiers in which the church had

6750-438: The Ottomans recaptured Leskovac, razing the Serbian quarters as reprisals for collaboration. In 1790 Sultan Selim III administrative reforms granted Leskovac the seat of its own Eyalet governed by Şehsuvar Abdi Pasha, who was succeeded by his son Ismail Pasha in 1830, until the Leskovac Eyalet was annexed to the Niš Eyalet in 1839. The Serbian population of Leskovac (along with other south Serbian towns and villages) took part in

6875-582: The Serbian Archbishopric was correspondingly raised to the rank of Patriarchate in 1346. In the century that followed, the Serbian Church achieved its greatest power and prestige. In the 14th century Serbian Orthodox clergy had the title of Protos at Mount Athos. On 16 April 1346 ( Easter ), Stefan Dušan convoked a grand assembly at Skopje , attended by the Serbian Archbishop Joanikije II , Archbishop Nicholas I of Ohrid , Patriarch Simeon of Bulgaria and various religious leaders of Mount Athos . The assembly and clergy agreed on, and then ceremonially performed

7000-412: The Serbian Army's Dinarska and Dunavska divisions as they entered the city accompanied by French cavalry units. Following the war Leskovac continued its fast economic and social transformation. The townsfolk practised a cultural medley of both Oriental and European habits, whilst the social fabric was dominated by affluent, often competing industrialists families and greater social disparity within

7125-498: The Serbian Orthodox Church during the medieval period were hagiographies , known in Serbian as žitije (vita), that were written as biographies of rulers, archbishops and saints from the 12th up to the 15th century. The Ottoman Empire conquered the Serbian Despotate in 1459, the Bosnian Kingdom in 1463, Herzegovina in 1482 and Montenegro in 1499. All of the conquered lands were divided into sanjaks . Although some Serbs converted to Islam , most continued their adherence to

7250-456: The Serbian Orthodox Church were singled out for persecution, and many Orthodox churches were damaged or destroyed. Out of the 577 Serbian Orthodox priests, monks and other religious dignitaries in the NDH, between 214 and 217 were killed and 334 were exiled to German-occupied Serbia . Some of them were brutally tortured and mutilated by the Ustaše prior to being killed. In the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 71 Orthodox priests were killed by

7375-445: The Serbian Orthodox Church. The church itself continued to exist throughout the Ottoman period, though not without some disruption. After the death of Serbian Patriarch Arsenije II in 1463, a successor was not elected. The Patriarchate was thus de facto abolished, and the Serbian Church passed under the jurisdiction of Archbishopric of Ohrid and ultimately the Ecumenical Patriarchate which exercised jurisdiction over all Orthodox of

7500-464: The Serbian people in their faith. Later he called for a council outlawing the Bogomils , whom he considered heretics. Sava appointed several bishops, sending them around Serbia to organize their dioceses. To maintain his standing as the religious and social leader, he continued to travel among the monasteries and lands to educate the people. In 1221 a synod was held in the Žiča monastery, condemning Bogomilism . The following seats were newly created in

7625-411: The Serbian territory, it seems that the Church in Serbia or part of the territory of Serbia became linked and influenced by the Bulgarian Church between 870 and 924. With Christianization in the 9th century, Christian names appear among the members of Serbian dynasties (Petar, Stefan, Pavle, Zaharije). Prince Petar Gojniković (r. 892–917) was evidently a Christian ruler, and Christianity presumably

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7750-424: The Turks in retaliation for uprisings and continued resistance. The success of Islamization was limited to certain areas, with the majority of the Serbian population keeping its Christian faith despite the negative consequences. To avoid them, numerous Serbs migrated with their hierarchs to the Habsburg monarchy where their autonomy had been granted. In 1708, an autonomous Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci

7875-404: The Ustaše, 10 by the Partisans , 5 by the Germans, and 45 died in the first decade after the end of WWII. After the war, the church was suppressed by the communist government of Josip Broz Tito , which viewed it with suspicion due to the church's links with the leadership from the period of Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the nationalist Chetnik movement. According to Denis Bećirović , aside from

8000-420: The Yugoslav drive to build up a Macedonian national identity . This was strongly resisted by the Serbian Church, which did not recognize the independence of its Macedonian counterpart. Similar plans for the creation of an independent church in the Yugoslav federal unit of Montenegro were also considered, but those plans were not put into action before 1993, when the creation of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church

8125-410: The acquisition and development of technology for rope and industrial hemp processing. By the mid-1880s business development, particularly the textile sector enabled Leskovac to become the third largest urban area after Belgrade and Niš at the time. The establishment of a railway line linking Leskovac with Belgrade, Skopje and Thessaloniki in 1886 also significantly contributed to the development of

8250-432: The alphabet in 1818 with the Serbian Dictionary . Karadžić reformed standard Serbian and standardised the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet by following strict phonemic principles on the Johann Christoph Adelung ' model and Jan Hus ' Czech alphabet . Karadžić's reforms of standard Serbian modernised it and distanced it from Serbian and Russian Church Slavonic , instead bringing it closer to common folk speech, specifically, to

8375-458: The area leaving swamps that once dried would spout hazelnut trees , or " leska " in Serbian, whilst " -ovac " is a common Slavic suffix, hence Leskovac . During Ottoman rule the town was referred to in Turkish as Leskovçe or Hisar (Turkish translation; fortress ). Archeological findings on Hisar Hill , located at the rim of Leskovac valley between the Jablanica and Veternica rivers, have established continual habitation between

8500-450: The center from which the Serbs received their baptism was marked as Rome . His account on the first Christianization of the Serbs can be dated to 632–638; this might have been Porphyrogenitus' construction, or may have encompassed a limited group of chiefs, with lesser reception by the wider layers of the tribe. From the 7th until mid-9th century, the Serbs were under influence of the Roman Church. The initial ecclesiastical affiliation with

8625-449: The church spread "hostile propaganda" against the Yugoslav Partisans and appointed persons in the administration of church institutions who were convicted of collaborating with the occupier. Along with other ecclesiastical institutions of all denominations, the church was subject to strict controls by the Yugoslav state, which prohibited the teaching of religion in schools, confiscated church property and discouraged religious activity among

8750-457: The city proper, there are 143 populated places in the city, of which the largest are Vučje and Grdelica , classified as "urban" (town) in census, with about 3000 residents each. Ethnic composition of Leskovac as declared in the census (2011) The ethnic composition of the city administrative area: The vast majority of the people are Orthodox Christians (96%). There are also 3% Muslims . The rest are atheists or follow other religions. Once

8875-428: The communion of Church in Serbia with the Patriarchate of Constantinople when Pope John VIII invited him to get back to the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Sirmium (see also Archbishopric of Moravia ) in a letter dated to May 873. Alexis P. Vlasto argued that the Eparchy of Ras was founded during Mutimir's rule, as a bishopric of Serbia, at Ras with the church of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul , as part of

9000-464: The community. Industrial development facilitated trade union agitation amongst an emerging urban working-class . In August 1920 Leskovac became one of the first municipalities to elect the Communist Party . Despite its victory the party was quickly suppressed by the authorities. Despite the rise of Leskovac as a regional manufacturing centre the town still lacked basic infrastructure during

9125-555: The country up to the interwar period . Both alphabets were official in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and later in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . Due to the shared cultural area, Gaj's Latin alphabet saw a gradual adoption in the Socialist Republic of Serbia since, and both scripts are used to write modern standard Serbian. In Serbia , Cyrillic is seen as being more traditional, and has

9250-563: The dialect of Eastern Herzegovina which he spoke. Karadžić was, together with Đuro Daničić , the main Serbian signatory to the Vienna Literary Agreement of 1850 which, encouraged by Austrian authorities, laid the foundation for Serbian, various forms of which are used by Serbs in Serbia , Montenegro , Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia today. Karadžić also translated the New Testament into Serbian, which

9375-560: The dominant power until Slavic invasion and settlement in the late 6th and early 7th centuries, with the Serbs solidifying their presence. The area Glubočica , later Dubočica and a synonym for Leskovac was first mentioned in the 12th century as lands bestowed upon the Nemanjić dynasty by Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos . The settlement of Leskovac per se was first mentioned by name in 1348 as an endowment by Serbian Emperor Dušan

9500-469: The failed rebellion of 1841 . Before the Serbian–Turkish Wars (1876–1878) , the county of Leskovac had a significant Muslim population, mostly Turkish and Albanian, which comprised one-third of its overall population. In 1873, the town had 2,500 Serbian houses and 1,000 Muslim houses. The Muslims in the town were Albanian- and Turkish-speaking. Albanians formed almost the entire Muslim population in

9625-528: The general plan of establishing bishoprics in the Slav lands of the Empire, confirmed by the Council of Constantinople in 879–880, most significantly related to the creation of the autonomous Archbishopric for Bulgaria of which Roman Church lost jurisdiction. However, according to Predrag Komatina, there is no mention of any bishopric in Serbia. In early medieval Europe, the existence of a Christian church without

9750-470: The interwar period such as a running water supply, sewerage system, paved streets (with only three asphalted in 1938) and a permanent marketplace. Leskovac experienced a significant influx of largely peasant workers leading to poor housing conditions with many affected by squalor, alcoholism, a high mortality rate and labour exploitation. From 1929 to 1941, Leskovac was part of the Vardar Banovina of

9875-522: The mills, the industry collapsed resulting in depression of the economy in the area. On 12 April 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia a bridge near Leskovac (Grdelička klisura) was destroyed by a NATO aircraft as a passenger train was crossing. The act was highly condemned with the bridge being struck twice (the train itself having been bombed from the first attack). Contemporary Leskovac has become synonymous with Serbian culinary culture , particularly

10000-521: The national dishes of pljeskavica and ćevapi . The annual Roštiljijada grilled meat barbecue festival held since 1989 is the cities biggest tourist attraction drawing in thousands of visitors from both Serbia and abroad. The once thriving textile industry of Leskovac has all but collapsed with only a small number of businesses still in operation. The effects of globalisation coupled with political sanctions have led to significant economic decline. Local businesses were sluggish in transitioning from

10125-518: The new Serbian monarchy that emerged from 1815 onwards. The Serbian Orthodox Church in the Principality of Serbia gained its autonomy in 1831 and was organized as the Metropolitanate of Belgrade , remaining under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople . The Principality of Serbia gained full political independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, and soon after those negotiations were initiated with

10250-482: The newest and most modern railway stations in Serbia. Bus traffic is also very well developed, bearing in mind that Leskovac has been criss-crossed with roads. The most important is the E75 road which connects the borders of Hungary and Macedonia. Regional roads lead from Leskovac to Priština, Pirot and Bosilegrad. The distance from Leskovac to Niš is 45, to Belgrade 280, and to Sofia 155 kilometres (96 miles). Leskovac has

10375-457: The official status (designated in the constitution as the " official script ", compared to Latin's status of "script in official use" designated by a lower-level act, for national minorities). It is also an official script in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro , along with Gaj's Latin alphabet . Serbian Cyrillic is in official use in Serbia , Montenegro , and Bosnia and Herzegovina . Although Bosnia "officially accept[s] both alphabets",

10500-483: The opposition to Slobodan Milošević in the 1990s. Since the establishment of the Yugoslav federal unit of " Macedonia " (1944), communist authorities restricted the activities of SOC in that region, favoring the creation of a separate church. The Macedonian Orthodox Church was created in 1967, effectively as an offshoot of the Serbian Orthodox Church in what was then the Socialist Republic of Macedonia , as part of

10625-412: The population. In 1963, the Serbian Church among the diaspora was reorganized, and the eparchy for the United States and Canada was divided into three separate eparchies. At the same time, some internal divisions sparked in the Serbian diaspora, leading to the creation of the separate "Free Serbian Orthodox Church" under Bishop Dionisije . Division was healed in 1991, and Metropolitanate of New Gračanica

10750-408: The previous 18th century Slavonic-Serbian script, following the principle of "write as you speak and read as it is written", removing obsolete letters and letters representing iotated vowels , introducing ⟨J⟩ from the Latin alphabet instead, and adding several consonant letters for sounds specific to Serbian phonology . During the same period, linguists led by Ljudevit Gaj adapted

10875-479: The procedure regarding the elections of Serbian Orthodox bishops in the Habsburg Monarchy, to the management of dioceses, parishes and monasteries. The act was upheld in force until it was replaced by the "Royal Rescript" issued on 10 August 1868. The church's close association with Serbian resistance to Ottoman rule led to Eastern Orthodoxy becoming inextricably linked with Serbian national identity and

11000-496: The raising of the autocephalous Serbian Archbishopric to the status of Patriarchate. The Archbishop was from now on titled Serbian Patriarch , although some documents called him Patriarch of Serbs and Greeks , with the seat at Patriarchal Monastery of Peć . The new Patriarch Joanikije II now solemnly crowned Stefan Dušan as " Emperor and autocrat of Serbs and Romans " (see Emperor of Serbs ). The Patriarchal status resulted in raising bishoprics to metropolitanates, as for example

11125-865: The region of Leskovac is the South Morava River, which flows south to north. Tributaries of the South Morava are: the Vlasina river, which collects water from Lake Vlasina and flows through Crna Trava and Vlasotince; the Veternica river, which flows through Leskovac; the Jablanica river, which springs from the foot of Goljak and flows through Medveđa and Lebane; the Pusta (Deserted) river, which starts on Radan mountain, fills Lake Brestovačko and flows through Bojnik. The river Vučjanka, which springs from

11250-474: The region was destroyed by invading Avars and Slavs . The church life was renewed in the same century in the province of Illyricum and Dalmatia after a more pronounced Christianization of the Serbs and other Slavs by the Roman Church . In the 7th and mid-8th century the area was not under jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The history of the early medieval Serbian Principality

11375-656: The renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia . During the capitulation of Yugoslavia in the April War Leskovac was occupied by the Germans on April 12, 1941. Despite several attempts at assassination and sabotage the town remained relatively docile throughout the Nedić administration , with the exception of the Arapova Dolina massacre of 310 mostly Romani civilians. Pockets of Partisan insurgency remain limited to

11500-466: The rule of the same king, the Monastery of Gračanica was also renewed, and during the reign of King Stefan Uroš III (1321–1331), the Monastery of Dečani was built, under the supervision of Archbishop Danilo II . The status of the Serbian Orthodox Church grew along with the expansion and heightened prestige of the Serbian kingdom . After King Stefan Dušan assumed the imperial title of tsar ,

11625-492: The ruling Ottoman aristocracy which financed the construction of mosques , tekije , madrasa , meter and Turkish baths marked the area. During this period, Leskovac was regarded for its quality horse tack , tanning , smithing and weaving . The townsfolk worked as craftsman, merchants and peri-urban farmers, residing in separate Serbian Orthodox and Muslim mahallah's whilst affluent Muslim families held prominent real estate and owned farmland. This cosmopolitan milieu

11750-402: The second largest city in Serbia, today Leskovac is blighted by economic problems with many working age people migrating out of the area. There are 144 villages located within the municipality: Roštiljijada ( Barbecue week ) is a grilled meat festival that has been organized in Leskovac for many years and takes place annually at the beginning of September. During the event, the main boulevard

11875-508: The see was transferred to the Monastery of Peć by archbishop Arsenije. The Serbian primates had since moved between the two. Sometime between 1276 and 1292 the Cumans burned the Žiča monastery, and King Stefan Milutin (1282–1321) renovated it in 1292–1309, during the office of Jevstatije II . In 1289–1290, the chief treasures of the ruined monastery, including the remains of Saint Jevstatije I , were transferred to Monastery of Peć. During

12000-768: The semi-vowels Й or Ў , nor the iotated letters Я (Russian/Bulgarian ya ), Є (Ukrainian ye ), Ї ( yi ), Ё (Russian yo ) or Ю ( yu ), which are instead written as two separate letters: Ја, Је, Ји, Јо, Ју . Ј can also be used as a semi-vowel, in place of й . The letter Щ is not used. When necessary, it is transliterated as either ШЧ , ШЋ or ШТ . Serbian italic and cursive forms of lowercase letters б , г , д , п , and т (Russian Cyrillic alphabet) differ from those used in other Cyrillic alphabets: б , г , д , п , and т (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet). The regular (upright) shapes are generally standardized among languages and there are no officially recognized variations. That presents

12125-478: The single Serbian Orthodox Church, in 1920. The first primate of the united SOC was Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije (1920–1930). The SOC gained great political and social influence in the inter-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia , during which time it successfully campaigned against the Yugoslav government's intentions of signing a concordat with the Holy See . The united Serbian Orthodox Church kept under its jurisdiction

12250-531: The small Veternica river, at the foot of Hisar , in the central part of the Leskovac valley. Leskovac lies at an altitude of 228 meters, in a basin that covers 2,250 km (869 sq mi). Around the valley are mountains Radan and Pasjača the west, Kukavica and Čemernik in the south and Babička Gora , Seličevica and Suva Planina to the east. Leskovac has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) with continental influences, with long, hot summers and short but cold, cloudy winters. The largest river in

12375-634: The surrounding countryside which began experiencing noteworthy military engagements during the Battle of Serbia with the July–August 1944 Toplica-Jablanica Operation. On September 6, 1944, Leskovac was targeted in a catastrophic Allied bombing campaign which left much of the town heavily damaged with approximately 2,500-4,000 casualties and a total of 1,840 demolished or damaged residential buildings and factories. The bombing also caused significant damage to infrastructure and historical landmarks. Leskovac fell to

12500-469: The time of Peter I (927–969) and Samuel of Bulgaria (977–1014). It was of a small size. It is considered that it was possibly founded by the Bulgarian emperor, but most probably it represented the latest date in which it could have been integrated into the Bulgarian Church. The episcopy was probably part of the Bulgarian metropolis of Morava, but certainly not of Durrës . If it was on

12625-619: The time of Saint Sava: Older eparchies under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Archbishop were: In 1229/1233, Saint Sava went on a pilgrimage to Palestine and in Jerusalem he met with Patriarch Athanasios II. Saint Sava saw Bethlehem where Jesus was born, the Jordan River where Christ was baptized, and the Great Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified ( Mar Saba monastery ). Sava asked Athanasios II, his host, and

12750-493: The town on December 24, 1877. There were 2,122 Albanian abandoned household. Of the about 5,000 Muslims who had previously lived in the town, 120 were still living there in 1879 in the first post-war population count. The rest had left as refugees and most settled in cities like Mitrovica , Prizren and Kumanovo in Kosovo Vilayet . Leskovac became part of Serbia which received full international recognition following

12875-560: The town. A vocational textile school opened 1890 and in 1903 the second hydroelectric power plant in Serbia was built on the nearby Vučjanka River. Due to the towns burgeoning industriousness in the late 19th c. Leskovac became popularity nicknamed Serbia's Little Manchester (Serbian Cyrillic: Мали Манчестер ) in honor of Manchester , England , a powerhouse of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution . The growing customs dispute with Austria-Hungary following

13000-600: The two official scripts used to write Serbo-Croatian in Yugoslavia since its establishment in 1918, the other being Gaj's Latin alphabet ( latinica ). Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Serbian Cyrillic is no longer used in Croatia on national level, while in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro it remained an official script. Under the Constitution of Serbia of 2006, Cyrillic script

13125-481: The unification of the Metropolitanate of Belgrade , the Patriarchate of Karlovci , and the Metropolitanate of Montenegro . Christianity started to spread throughout the southeastern Europe during the 1st century. Early martyrs Florus and Laurus from the 2nd century, who were murdered along with other 300 Christians in Ulpiana , near modern Lipljan , are venerated as Christian saints. Bishop Irenaeus of Sirmium

13250-443: The villages. Historian Miloš Jagodić has estimated that of ~17,033 Muslims who lived in the Leskovac county before the war, about 16,976 were Albanians who were expelled after the war.These estimates are corroborated in contemporary sources like the records of Austrian diplomat Johann Georg von Hahn . In the war almost the entire Muslim civilian population of Leskovac was expelled and the advancing Serbian Army and chetas entered

13375-526: Was Serbian by birth. His cousin, one of the Serbian Orthodox bishops Makarije Sokolović was elected Patriarch in Peć. The restoration of the Patriarchate was of great importance for the Serbs because it helped the spiritual unification of all Serbs in the Ottoman Empire. The Patriarchate of Peć also included some dioceses in western Bulgaria. In the time of Serbian Patriarch Jovan Kantul (1592–1614),

13500-750: Was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire during the first half of the 15th century and was repeatedly invaded, eventually becoming part of the Ottoman state. Leskovac was annexed by the Ottomans in 1454 and allotted to the Rumelia Eyalet . The Nahija of Dubocica (later Leskovac) became part of Kruševac Sanjak with Leskovac possessing one of six kadiluks . During Ottoman rule, Leskovac was known in Turkish as Leskovçe , or more commonly Hisar (Turkish translation; fortress). The conquest in time brought Ottoman culture to Leskovac, influencing architecture, cuisine, customs, dress and language. Endowments by

13625-469: Was abolished by the Ottoman Empire in 1766, though several regional sections of the church continued to exist, most prominent among them being the Metropolitanate of Karlovci , in the Habsburg monarchy . After the re-creation of Serbia , ecclesiastical autonomy was regained in 1831, and the autocephaly was renewed in 1879. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was re-established in 1920, after

13750-701: Was also martyred, in 304. Emperor Constantine the Great (306–337), born in Naissus (modern Niš in Serbia), was the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire . Several local bishops, seated in present-day Serbia, became prominent during the 4th century, such as Germinius of Sirmium , Ursacius of Singidunum and Secundianus of Singidunum (modern Belgrade ), while several Councils were held in Sirmium . In 395,

13875-473: Was at Destinikon , while Ras in the mid-9th century was only a border fort which became the ecclesiastical center of the bishopric by 1019-1020. The imperial charter of Basil II from 1020 to the Archbishopric of Ohrid , in which the rights and jurisdictions were established, has the earliest mention of the Bishopric/Episcopy of Ras, stating it belonged to the Bulgarian autocephal church during

14000-630: Was based on the Slavic dialect of Thessaloniki . Part of the Serbian literary heritage of the Middle Ages are works such as Miroslav Gospel , Vukan Gospels , St. Sava's Nomocanon , Dušan's Code , Munich Serbian Psalter , and others. The first printed book in Serbian was the Cetinje Octoechos (1494). It's notable extensive use of diacritical signs by the Resava dialect and use of

14125-580: Was constructed during that era. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Leskovac was severely damaged like no other city in Europe at the time. The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022): Leskovac is a traffic junction. International trains traveling from Europe to Skopje, Thessalonica and Athens pass through this city. Nineteen trains stop in Leskovac every day. The railway came to Leskovac in 1886. Leskovac today has one of

14250-529: Was created, which would later become a patriarchate (1848–1920). During the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-1780), several assemblies of Orthodox Serbs were held, sending their petitions to the Habsburg court. In response to that, several royal acts were issued, such as Regulamentum privilegiorum (1770) and Regulamentum Illyricae Nationis (1777), both of them replaced by the royal Declaratory Rescript of 1779, that regulated various important questions, from

14375-556: Was created, within the united Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1983, a fourth eparchy in North America was created specifically for Canadian churches: the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada . The gradual demise of Yugoslav communism and the rise of rival nationalist movements during the 1980s also led to a marked religious revival throughout Yugoslavia, not least in Serbia. The Serbian Patriarch Pavle supported

14500-556: Was established. The eparchy of Slavonia had its see moved from Pakrac to Daruvar . After Operation Storm , two monasteries were particularly damaged, the Krupa monastery built in 1317, and the Krka monastery built in 1345. The eparchies of Bihać and Petrovac, Dabar-Bosnia and Zvornik and Tuzla were also dislocated due to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina . The eparchy see of Dabar-Bosnia

14625-726: Was given to Saint Sava and he, in turn, bequeathed it to Hilandar . Saint Sava died in Veliko Tarnovo , capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire , during the reign of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria . According to his Biography , he fell ill following the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Epiphany , 12 January 1235. Saint Sava was visiting Veliko Tarnovo on his way back from the Holy Land , where he had founded

14750-579: Was gradually superseded in later centuries by the Cyrillic script, developed around by Cyril's disciples, perhaps at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th century. The earliest form of Cyrillic was the ustav , based on Greek uncial script, augmented by ligatures and letters from the Glagolitic alphabet for consonants not found in Greek. There was no distinction between capital and lowercase letters. The standard language

14875-635: Was proclaimed. The organization was not legally registered before 2000, receiving no support from the Eastern Orthodox communion, and succeeding to attract only a minority of Eastern Orthodox adherents in Montenegro. The Yugoslav wars gravely impacted several branches of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Many Serbian Orthodox Church clergy supported the war, while others were against it. Many churches in Croatia were damaged or destroyed during

15000-582: Was published in 1868. He wrote several books; Mala prostonarodna slaveno-serbska pesnarica and Pismenica serbskoga jezika in 1814, and two more in 1815 and 1818, all with the alphabet still in progress. In his letters from 1815 to 1818 he used: Ю, Я, Ы and Ѳ. In his 1815 song book he dropped the Ѣ. The alphabet was officially adopted in 1868, four years after his death. From the Old Slavic script Vuk retained these 24 letters: He added one Latin letter: And 5 new ones: He removed: Orders issued on

15125-523: Was reached. The Battle of Kosovo (1389) and its aftermath had a lasting influence on medieval legacy and later traditions of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1455, when Ottoman Turks conquered the Patriarchal seat in Peć, Patriarch Arsenije II found temporary refuge in Smederevo , the capital city of Serbian Despotate . Among cultural, artistic and literary legacies created under the auspices of

15250-719: Was selected by the emperor from a list of three candidates submitted by the local church synod . In three sigillia issued in 1020 Basil II gave extensive privileges to the new see. In the first and third charter of Basil II was mentioned Bishopric of Serbia, while in the second charter of Basil II, dated 1020, the bishopric of Ras is mentioned, with the seat at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Ras . The 10th- or 11th-century Gospel Book Codex Marianus , written in Old Church Slavonic in

15375-464: Was spreading in his time. Since Serbia bordered Bulgaria, Christian influences and perhaps missionaries came from there, increasing during the twenty-year peace. The Bulgarian annexation of Serbia in 924 was important for the future direction of the Serbian church. By then, at the latest, Serbia must have received the Cyrillic alphabet and Slavic religious text, already familiar but perhaps not yet preferred to Greek. Following his final subjugation of

15500-521: Was supplemented by officials, clergy, sipahi, and soldiers interlaced with Jewish , Greek , Vlach , Albanian and Ragusan traders. Leskovac was known in the wider region for its annual 15-day long fair. Leskovac was severely damaged by fire in 1595 and again in 1690. In the Ottoman-Austrian War the towns Serbs overwhelmingly sided with Habsburg forces on arrival in 1689. Following the failed uprising many Serbs migrated north after

15625-528: Was temporarily moved to Sokolac , and the see of Zvornik-Tuzla to Bijeljina . Over a hundred Church-owned objects in the Zvornik-Tuzla eparchy were destroyed or damaged during the war. Many monasteries and churches in the Zahumlje eparchy were also destroyed. Numerous faithful from these eparchies also became refugees. By 1998, the situation had stabilized in both countries. The clergy and many of

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