153-510: The Visoki Dečani Monastery is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located near Deçan , Kosovo . It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by Stefan Dečanski , King of Serbia. Dečani is by far the largest medieval church in the Balkans and one of the most complex architectural achievements of the 14th century. Its architectural style, which emerged in Serbia at
306-668: 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
459-634: 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
612-581: A catastrophe since the immigrants readily united with the existing population of Albanian Muslims and participated in the series of 1911 Albanian uprisings and the Albanian revolt of 1912 . Some Albanian government troops switched sides. In May 1912, Albanian rebels seeking national autonomy and the re-installment of Sultan Abdul Hamid II to power drove the Young Turkish forces out of Skopje and pressed south towards Manastir (now Bitola ), forcing
765-837: A coordinated attack by the Balkan states. The Ottoman leadership decided to secure all of their territory. As a result, the available forces, which could not be effortlessly reinforced from Asia because of Greek control of the sea and the inadequacy of the Ottoman railway system, were dispersed too thinly across the region. They failed to stand up to the rapidly-mobilized Balkan armies. The Ottomans had three in Europe (the Macedonian, Vardar and Thracian Armies), with 1,203 pieces of mobile and 1,115 fixed artillery in fortified areas. The Ottoman High Command repeated its error of previous wars by ignoring
918-501: A full third of the fleet (the six new destroyers and the submarine Delfin ) reached Greece only after hostilities had started, forcing the navy to reshuffle crews, who consequently suffered from lacking familiarity and training. Coal stockpiles and other war stores were also in short supply, and the Georgios Averof had arrived with barely any ammunition and remained so until late November. Fotakis 2005 , p. 46 Montenegro
1071-547: A key role in preserving the spiritual, cultural, and national identity of Serbs in Kosovo . Dečani is often considered to be one of the most endangered European cultural heritage sites. The monastery has been under the legal protection of Serbia since 1947 and is part of the World Heritage list titled " Medieval Monuments in Kosovo ", designated as a Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance . The construction of
1224-688: A large army and was identified as the " Prussia of the Balkans." However, Bulgaria could not win a war alone against the Ottomans. In Greece, Hellenic Army officers had rebelled in the Goudi coup of August 1909 and secured the appointment of a progressive government under Eleftherios Venizelos , which they hoped would resolve the Crete question in Greece's favour. They also wanted to reverse their defeat in
1377-625: A large extent. Between 1908 and 1911, the office of the Navy Minister changed hands nine times. Interdepartmental infighting and the entrenched interests of the bloated and averaged officer corps, many of whom occupied their positions as quasi- sinecure , further obstructed drastic reform. In addition, the Ottoman ministers met the British attempts to control the navy's construction programme with suspicion. Consequently, funds for Gamble's ambitious plans for new ships were unavailable. To counter
1530-463: A large number of war correspondents. An estimated 200 to 300 journalists from around the world covered the war in the Balkans in November 1912. Due to poor organization, transportation problems and the protracted war with Italy , the Ottoman order of battle only had 12,024 officers, 324,718 other ranks, 47,960 animals, 2,318 artillery pieces and 388 machine guns ready by early October instead of
1683-662: 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
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#17327832399261836-520: A place where traditions of Romanesque architecture meet artistic patterns of the Byzantine world." The monastery, along with all other Serbian Medieval Monuments in Kosovo , was added to the UNESCO list of endangered World Heritage sites in 2006. Suspected Kosovo Albanian insurgents hurled hand grenades at the monastery on 30 March 2007, but caused little damage. In recent years, the situation around
1989-552: A population of 2,912,000, with about 228 heavy guns, grouped in ten infantry divisions, two independent brigades and a cavalry division, under the effective command of the former war minister, Radomir Putnik . The Serbian High Command, in its prewar war games, had concluded that the most likely site for the decisive battle against the Ottoman Vardar Army would be on the Ovče Pole Plateau, ahead of Skopje. Thus,
2142-630: A result of the war, the League captured and partitioned almost all of the Ottoman Empire's remaining territories in Europe. Ensuing events also led to the creation of an independent Albania , which dissatisfied the Serbs . Bulgaria, meanwhile, was dissatisfied over the division of the spoils in Macedonia and attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 June 1913, which provoked the start of
2295-528: A search for allies, Serbia was ready to negotiate a treaty with Bulgaria. The agreement provided that in the event of victory against the Ottomans, Bulgaria would receive all of Macedonia south of the Kriva Palanka – Ohrid line. Bulgaria accepted Serbia's expansion as being to the north of the Shar Mountains ( Kosovo ). The intervening area was agreed to be "disputed" and would be arbitrated by
2448-441: 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
2601-518: 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
2754-609: 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,
2907-558: Is to run away." However, Greece was the only Balkan country to possess a meaningful navy, which was vital to the League to prevent Ottoman reinforcements from being rapidly transferred by ship from Asia to Europe. The Serbs and the Bulgarians readily appreciated it as the chief factor in initiating the process of Greece's inclusion in the League. As the Greek ambassador to Sofia put it during the negotiations that led to Greece's entry into
3060-660: The Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Bulgaria , Serbia , Greece and Montenegro ) against the Ottoman Empire . The Balkan states' combined armies overcame the initially numerically inferior (significantly superior by the end of the conflict) and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies, achieving rapid success. The war was a comprehensive and unmitigated disaster for the Ottomans, who lost 83% of their European territories and 69% of their European population. As
3213-692: The Bosnian crisis , which led to the Austrian annexation of the province in October 1908. The Serbs then directed their war efforts to the south. After the annexation, the Young Turks tried to induce the Muslim population of Bosnia to emigrate to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman authorities resettled those who took up the offer in districts of northern Macedonia with few Muslims. The experiment proved to be
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#17327832399263366-486: 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
3519-523: The Dodecanese islands, a campaign which had dominated Ottoman military efforts. Though the Ottoman Empire and Italy made peace on 15 October 1912, only days after the outbreak of hostilities in the Balkans, the protracted war had prevented the Ottomans from reinforcing their position in the Balkans as their relations with the Balkan states deteriorated. The Ottomans' military capabilities were hampered by several factors, such as domestic strife caused by
3672-657: The Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean Sea . The Italians' decisive military victories over the Ottoman Empire and the successful 1912 Albanian revolt encouraged the Balkan states to imagine that they might win a war against the Ottomans. By the spring and summer of 1912, the various Christian Balkan nations had created a network of military alliances, becoming known as the Balkan League. The Great Powers, most notably France and Austria-Hungary , reacted to
3825-537: 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
3978-887: 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
4131-735: The First Balkan War , the monastery fell within the administration of the Kingdom of Montenegro . The then King Nikola I of Montenegro placed much of the surrounding land under the monastery's jurisdiction. During World War I , the monastery's treasures were plundered by the Austro-Hungarian Army , which occupied Serbia between 1915 and 1918. The monastery fell within the territory of the Italian-ruled Albanian Kingdom during World War II , and
4284-539: 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
4437-508: The Greco-Turkish War (1897) by the Ottomans. An emergency military reorganization, led by a French military mission, had been started for that purpose, but its work was interrupted by the outbreak of war in the Balkans. In the discussions that led to Greece joining the Balkan League , Bulgaria refused to commit to any agreement on distributing territorial gains, unlike its deal with Serbia over Macedonia. Bulgaria's diplomatic policy
4590-718: 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
4743-659: 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
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4896-605: 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
5049-644: The Sea of Marmara . In terms of forces engaged, it was the largest battle fought in Europe between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the beginning of the First World War. As a result, the Ottoman forces were pushed to their final defensive position across the Çatalca Line, protecting the peninsula and Constantinople . There, they managed to stabilize the front with the help of fresh reinforcements from Asia. The line had been constructed during
5202-494: The Second Balkan War . During the war, many civilians, overwhelmingly Muslim Turks , were either killed or forced to flee their homes. The highly politicized and disorganized units of the Ottoman army were quite incapable of evacuating the civilians in the war zone. This situation left many civilians in the occupied areas defenseless against the invading armies of the Balkan League. Although there are discussions about
5355-549: 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
5508-569: 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
5661-675: The Struma Corps (14th Infantry and Serez Redif divisions, plus the Nevrekop Detachment ), were deployed. Against Montenegro, four-plus divisions were deployed: According to the organizational plan, though the men of the Western Group were to total 598,000, slow mobilization and the inefficiency of the rail system drastically reduced the number of men available. According to the Western Army Staff, when
5814-845: The Struma Corps were to protect the right flank of the Vardar Army and prevent Bulgarian encroachment along the Struma . The Yanya Corps (22,000 men) was to defend Epirus and Albania from the Greek Army of Epirus , while the VIII Corps (29,000 men) was deployed to guard the Thessalian mountain passes leading to Thessaloniki. Additional 25,000 men of the Işkodra Corps were stationed in Shkodër to protect Northern Albania. Thus,
5967-463: 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
6120-480: The Tsar of Russia in the event of a successful war against the Ottoman Empire. During the war, it became apparent that the Albanians did not consider Serbia as a liberator, as had been suggested by King Peter I, and the Serbian forces failed to observe his declaration of amity toward Albanians. After the successful coup d'état for unification with Eastern Rumelia, Bulgaria began to dream that its national unification would be realized. For that purpose, it developed
6273-422: The 11th Infantry Division from the Eastern Army's IV Corps was moved there to replace it. Thus, one complete army corps was removed from the Eastern Army's order of battle. As a consequence of the insufficient intelligence of the invading forces, the Ottoman offensive plan failed in the face of Bulgarian superiority. That forced Kölemen Abdullah Pasha to abandon Kirk Kilisse , which was taken without resistance by
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6426-451: The 1912 Albanian revolt had broken out, and a formal agreement between Serbia and Montenegro had been signed on 7 March. On 18 October 1912, King Peter I of Serbia issued a declaration, 'To the Serbian People,' which appeared to support Albanians as well as Serbs: The Turkish governments showed no interest in their duties towards their citizens and turned a deaf ear to all complaints and suggestions. Things got so far out of hand that no one
6579-415: The Balkans. The Ottoman General Staff, assisted by the German military mission, developed twelve war plans designed to counter various combinations of opponents. Work on Plan No. 5, which was against Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, was very advanced and had been sent to the army staff for them to develop local plans. The Ottoman fleet had performed abysmally in the 1897 Greco-Turkish War, forcing
6732-476: The Bulgarian High Command decided to wait a few days, but that allowed the Ottoman forces to occupy a new defensive position on the Lüleburgaz - Karaağaç - Pınarhisar line. However, the Bulgarian attack by the First and Third Armies, which together accounted for 107,386 riflemen, 3,115 cavalries, 116 machine guns and 360 artillery pieces, defeated the reinforced Ottoman Army, with 126,000 riflemen, 3,500 cavalries, 96 machine guns, and 342 artillery pieces and reached
6885-494: The Bulgarian Third Army. The fortress of Adrianople, with some 61,250 men, was isolated and besieged by the Bulgarian Second Army, but for the time being, no assault was possible because of the lack of siege equipment in the Bulgarian inventory. Another consequence of Greek naval supremacy in the Aegean was that the Ottoman forces did not receive the reinforcements that had been in the war plans, which would have been further corps transferred by sea from Syria and Palestine. Thus,
7038-400: 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
7191-532: 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
7344-410: 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
7497-456: 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
7650-442: The Edirne-Kırklareli defensive line, where the Bulgarian First and Third Armies (a combined 174,254 men) defeated the Ottoman East Army (of 96,273 combatants), near Gechkenli, Seliolu and Petra. The Ottoman XV Corps urgently left the area to defend the Gallipoli Peninsula against an expected Greek amphibious assault, which never materialized. The absence of the corps created an immediate vacuum between Adrianople and Demotika , and
7803-445: 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
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#17327832399267956-427: The First Army and to be covered by the cavalry division that hid it from the Ottomans' sight. The Third Army had three infantry divisions and was assigned to cross Mount Stranja and to take the fortress of Kirk Kilisse ( Kırklareli ). The 2nd (49,180) and 7th (48,523 men) Divisions were assigned independent roles, operating in Western Thrace and Eastern Macedonia, respectively. Three hundred Armenians from throughout
8109-416: The First Balkan War by declaring war against the Ottomans on 8 October [ O.S. 25 September] 1912. The western part of the Balkans, including Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia, was less vital to the resolution of the war and the survival of the Ottoman Empire than the Thracian theatre, where the Bulgarians fought significant battles against the Ottomans. Although geography dictated Thrace would be
8262-400: 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 ,
8415-441: The Greek acquisition of the Georgios Averof , the Ottomans initially tried to buy the new German armoured cruiser SMS Blücher or the battlecruiser SMS Moltke . Not able to afford the ships' high cost, the Ottomans acquired two old Brandenburg -class pre-dreadnought battleships , which became Barbaros Hayreddin and Turgut Reis . Along with the cruisers Hamidiye and Mecidiye , both ships were to form
8568-408: The Greek navy played an indirect but crucial role in the Thracian campaign by neutralizing three corps, a significant portion of the Ottoman army, in the all-important opening round of the war. Another more direct role was the emergency transportation of the Bulgarian 7th Rila Division from the Macedonian Front to the Thracian Front after the end of operations there. After the Battle of Kirk Kilisse,
8721-418: 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
8874-503: 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
9027-411: The Judge is shown surrounded by angels in the western part of the church. Its twenty major cycles of fresco murals represent the largest preserved gallery of Serbian medieval art , featuring over 1000 compositions and several thousand portraits. Dečani Monastery is one of four World Heritage medieval monuments in Kosovo designated as a heritage site in danger. Since the arrival of KFOR peacekeepers in
9180-460: The League, "Greece can provide 600,000 men for the war effort. With 200,000 men on the battlefield, the fleet will be able to prevent 400,000 men from being landed by Turkey between Salonica and Gallipoli ." The Greek army was still undergoing reorganization by a French military mission , which arrived in early 1911. Under French supervision, the Greeks had adopted the triangular infantry division as their primary formation though more importantly,
9333-494: The Navy Ministry and dramatically improved the number and the quality of exercises in gunnery and fleet maneuvers. In 1912, the core unit of the fleet was the fast armoured cruiser Georgios Averof , which had been completed in 1910 and then was the fastest and the most modern warship in the combatant navies. It was complemented by three rather-antiquated battleships of the Hydra class . There were also eight destroyers, built in 1906–1907, and six new destroyers, hastily bought in
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#17327832399269486-522: The Ottoman Empire in order to safeguard their Albanian territories. Without a centralized national structure, Albanians were compelled to depend on Ottoman establishments, its military, and its administration to shield them from partition. However, all three proved inadequate against the onslaught of four invading Balkan armies. Even following the signing of the armistice in December 1912, Ottoman regular troops, along with Albanian irregular forces, persisted in central and southern Albania. Montenegro started
9639-428: 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
9792-455: The Ottoman Empire, Europe, and Russia, a small yet significant number, volunteered to fight on the side of the Balkan League's soldiers of more than 850,000. Under the leadership of Andranik Ozanian and Garegin Nzhdeh , the Armenian detachment was commissioned to fight the Ottomans first at Momchilgrad and Komotini and its environs, and then later İpsala , Keşan , and Malkara , and Tekirdağ . Serbia called upon about 255,000 men, out of
9945-419: The Ottoman First Army, with 105,000 men in eastern Thrace and the Kircaali detachment, of 24,000 men, in western Thrace. The Bulgarian forces were divided into the First, Second and Third Bulgarian Armies of 297,002 men in the eastern part and 49,180 (33,180 regulars and 16,000 irregulars) under the 2nd Bulgarian Division (General Stilian Kovachev) in the western part. The first large-scale battle occurred against
10098-413: 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
10251-436: The Ottoman government to begin a drastic overhaul. Older ships were retired, and newer ones were acquired, chiefly from France and Germany. In addition, in 1908, the Ottomans called in a British naval mission to update their training and doctrine. The British mission, headed by Admiral Sir Douglas Gamble , would find its task almost impossible. The political upheaval in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution prevented it to
10404-523: The Ottoman military personnel stationed in Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Epirus numbered almost 200,000 men, who were pitted against 234,000 Serbs, 48,000 Bulgarians and 115,000 Greeks. Bulgaria was militarily the most powerful of the four Balkan states, with a large, well-trained, well-equipped army. Bulgaria mobilized a total of 599,878 men out of a population of 4.3 million. The Bulgarian field army counted for nine infantry divisions , one cavalry division and 1,116 artillery units. The commander-in-chief
10557-582: 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
10710-498: 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
10863-456: 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
11016-445: 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
11169-519: 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
11322-478: 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
11475-518: The Serbs and looting Albanian homes. During the violent unrest in Kosovo on 17 March 2004, KFOR defended the monastery from an Albanian mob trying to throw Molotov cocktails at it. Several Albanians were shot and wounded in the clash. On 2 July 2004, the monastery was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNESCO cited it as "an irreplaceable treasure,
11628-761: The Serbs and the Montenegrins in the theatre of Sandžak and the Bulgarians and the Serbs in the Macedonian and the Bulgarians alone in the Thracian theatre. The bulk of the Bulgarian forces (346,182 men) was to attack Thrace, fighting against the Thracian Ottoman Army of 96,273 men and about 26,000 garrison troops, or about 115,000 personnel in total, according to Hall's, Erickson's and the Turkish General Staff's 1993 studies. It
11781-599: The Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling recognizing the monastery’s ownership of approximately 24 hectares of land. Because of the dimensions of the church, which by far surpass the size of all the other medieval Balkan churches, the monastery has been popularly named High Dečani . The church has five-nave naos, a three-part iconostasis , and a three-nave parvise . With the dome, it is 26 m high. Its outer walls are done in alternate layers of white and pink marble. The portals, windows, consoles, and capitals are richly decorated. Christ
11934-476: 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
12087-564: 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
12240-497: The Young Turk Revolution and the counterrevolutionary coup several months later. That resulted in different groups competing for influence within the military. A German mission had tried reorganizing the army, but its recommendations had not been fully implemented. The Ottoman army was caught in the middle of reform and reorganization. Also, several of the army's best battalions had been transferred to Yemen to face
12393-623: The Young Turks to grant effective autonomy over large regions in June 1912. Serbia, which had been helping to arm the Hamidian and Catholic Albanians rebelling in the Mirditë region; sent secret agents to some of the prominent leaders, taking the revolt as a pretext for war. Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria had all been in talks about possible offensives against the Ottoman Empire before
12546-556: 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
12699-586: The actions of Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece, there was enough time for Montenegro to prepare, which helped its successful military campaign. Known colloquially as "the sick man of Europe", by 1912, the Ottoman Empire was at the end stages of a centuries long decline. Upon the outbreak of war Turkish forces were extremely vulnerable. The Ottoman Empire itself possessed a far larger population than all of its adversaries combined, of around 26 million. However just over 6.1 million lived in what still remained of Ottoman Europe, of which only 2.3 million were Muslim. A majority of
12852-652: The analysis of the objectives of the Balkan Pact, it had deadly consequences for the Ottoman Army in Thrace, which was now required to defend the area from the bulk of the Bulgarian army against impossible odds. The misappraisal was also the reason for the catastrophic aggressive Ottoman strategy at the start of the campaign in Thrace. On the Thracian Front, the Bulgarian army had placed 346,182 men against
13005-511: 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
13158-517: 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
13311-428: 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
13464-511: The corpses of two elderly Albanians were found 400 metres (1,300 ft) from the monastery. They were reportedly killed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) for allegedly collaborating with Serbian forces. The KLA staged an attack not far from the monastery on 8 May, killing one person and wounding four others. That evening, Deçan's 300 remaining Serbs came to the monastery to seek shelter. Albanian civilians seeking refuge in
13617-508: The end of the 12th century, combines Orthodox traditions with Romanesque influences. The monastery reflects the cultural exchange between the East and West , representing Serbia's historical position during the medieval period. The Dečani church contains frescos that show defining moments from both Serbian history and Christian tradition . It also features the largest preserved collection of Byzantine painting. For centuries, Dečani has played
13770-693: The established command structure to create new superior commands, the Eastern Army and Western Army , reflecting the division of the operational theatre between the Thracian (against the Bulgarians) and Macedonian (against the Greeks, Serbs and Montenegrins) fronts. The Western Army fielded at least 200,000 men, and the Eastern Army fielded 115,000 men against the Bulgarians. The Eastern Army
13923-541: The exact amount of civilian casualties, when the war ended great changes occurred in the demographic makeup of the Balkan region. Tensions among the Balkan states over their rival aspirations to the provinces of Ottoman-controlled Rumelia ( Eastern Rumelia , Thrace and Macedonia ) subsided somewhat after the mid-19th-century intervention by the Great Powers , which aimed to secure both more complete protection for
14076-587: The faithful returned; most of the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church was returned to normal use and damaged and destroyed properties were restored. The process of rebuilding several churches is still underway, notably the cathedral of the Eparchy of Upper Karlovac in Karlovac . First Balkan War Balkan League victory Total: 156,139 killed, wounded, or died of disease Serbian and Montenegrin front Greek front The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of
14229-510: The formation of the alliances by trying unsuccessfully to dissuade the Balkan League from going to war. In late September, the League and the Ottoman Empire mobilized their armies. Montenegro was the first to declare war on 25 September ( O.S. )/8 October. After issuing an impossible ultimatum to the Ottoman Porte on 13 October, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece declared war on the Ottomans on 17 October (1912). The declarations of war attracted
14382-581: 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
14535-657: The initial mission was to pin down the Ottoman forces there until sufficient reinforcements could be sent from the Army of Thessaly after the successful conclusion of operations. The Greek navy was relatively modern, strengthened by the recent purchase of numerous new units and undergoing reforms under the supervision of a British mission . Invited by Greek Prime Minister Venizelos in 1910, the mission began its work upon its arrival in May 1911. Granted extraordinary powers and led by Vice Admiral Lionel Grant Tufnell , it thoroughly reorganized
14688-525: The main forces were formed as three armies for the advance towards Skopje, and a division and an independent brigade were to cooperate with the Montenegrins in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar . The First Army (132,000 men), the strongest, was commanded by Crown Prince Alexander , and the Chief of Staff was Colonel Petar Bojović . The First Army formed the centre of the drive towards Skopje. The Second Army (74,000 men)
14841-590: The monastery began during the reign of the Serbian King Stefan Dečanski , in 1327. The original founding charter from 1330, also known as the Dečani chrysobull , has been preserved to this day. After his death in 1331, Stefan Dečanski was buried in the still unfinished monastery, the construction of which was continued by his son Stefan Dušan , who became the King of Serbia in the same year. The main architect of
14994-517: The monastery during the second half of the 16th century and created 15 icons with depictions of the Great Feasts and hermits, as well as his most celebrated work, the icon of Stefan Dečanski. In the late 17th century, the Ottomans plundered the monastery, but inflicted no serious damage. In 1819, archimandrite Zaharija Dečanac became Metropolitan of Raška and Prizren . Following the end of
15147-591: The monastery has stabilized and it has reopened to visitors. Serbian President Boris Tadić attended a service at the monastery in April 2009. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited the monastery the following month. In the annual International Religious Freedom Report, the State Department wrote that the Deçan municipal officials continued to refuse to implement a 2016 Constitutional Court decision upholding
15300-485: The monastery returned to their homes following the withdrawal of Serbian military from Kosovo in June 1999. An Italian unit of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) was subsequently assigned to guard the monastery, which was attacked on several occasions. Dozens of Romanis sought sanctuary in the monastery over the next several months, fearing retaliatory attacks by their Albanian neighbours, who accused them of collaborating with
15453-556: The monastery was the Franciscan friar Vito of Kotor . According to Branislav Pantelić, the monastery represents the last phase of the Western, Gothic, Byzantine- Romanuesque architecture and contains Byzantine paintings and numerous Romanseque sculptures, part of a " Palaeologan renaissance ". The construction of the monastery lasted for a total of 8 years and covered an area of 4000 square meters. The outstanding artistic quality of
15606-505: The most influential people in the Ottoman capital, had reported to Berlin on 21 October that the Ottoman forces believed that the bulk of the Bulgarian army would be deployed in Macedonia with the Serbs. Then, the Ottoman headquarters, under Abdullah Pasha , expected to meet only three Bulgarian infantry divisions, accompanied by cavalry, east of Adrianople. According to historian E. J. Erickson, though that assumption possibly resulted from
15759-454: 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
15912-510: The ongoing rebellion. In the summer of 1912, the Ottoman High Command decided disastrously to dismiss some 70,000 mobilized troops. Though the regular army ( Nizam ) was well-equipped and had trained active divisions, the reserve units ( Redif ) that reinforced it was ill-equipped, especially in artillery, and badly-trained. The Ottomans' strategic situation was difficult, as their borders were almost impossible to defend against
16065-495: 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
16218-493: The overhaul of the mobilization system allowed the country to field and equip a far greater number of troops than had been the case in 1897. Foreign observers estimated Greece would mobilize approximately 50,000 men, but the Greek army fielded 125,000, with another 140,000 in the National Guard and reserves. Upon mobilization, as in 1897, the force was grouped in two field armies, reflecting the geographic division between
16371-554: The paintings took 15 years and were done by painters with origins from Serbia, Byzantine and Adriatic coast. The wooden throne of the hegumen (monastery head) was finished at around this time, and the church interior was decorated. Dečanski's carved wooden sarcophagus was finished in 1340. Those who contributed to the construction of the monastery were collectively gifted a village close to the city of Prizren named Manastirica , where many settled following completion. Serbian princess and Bulgarian empress consort Ana-Neda (d. ca. 1350)
16524-427: The planned full complement of 750,000 officers and soldiers. A total of 920 officers and 42,607 men of them had been assigned to non-divisional units and services, the remaining 293,206 officers and men were assigned to four armies. Opposing them and continuing their secret prewar settlements for expansion, the three Slavic allies (Bulgarian, Serbs and Montenegrins) had extensive plans to co-ordinate their war efforts:
16677-412: 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
16830-412: The primary battlefield in a war with the Ottoman Empire, the position of the Ottoman Army there was jeopardized by erroneous intelligence estimates of the opponents' order of battle. Unaware of the secret prewar political and military settlement over Macedonia between Bulgaria and Serbia, the Ottoman leadership assigned the bulk of its forces there. The German ambassador, Hans Baron von Wangenheim , one of
16983-479: 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
17136-711: The provinces' Christian majority as well as to maintain the status quo. By 1867, Serbia and Montenegro had both secured their independence, which was confirmed by the Treaty of Berlin (1878) . The question of the viability of Ottoman rule was revived after the Young Turk Revolution in July 1908, which compelled the Ottoman Sultan to restore the suspended constitution of the empire. Serbia's aspirations to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina were thwarted by
17289-496: 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
17442-475: The region in 1999, attacks on the Monastery have increased. Since 1999 there have been five significant attacks and near miss attacks on the monastery: As of 2023, Dečani Monastery has a 24/7 guard from KFOR . Of the four medieval monuments in Kosovo that are designated as a heritage site in danger, Dečani is the only one with a direct guard from KFOR . In 2021, Europa Nostra listed Visoki Dečani as one of
17595-474: 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
17748-515: The relatively modern core of the Ottoman battlefleet. By the summer of 1912, however, they were already in poor condition because of chronic neglect: the rangefinders and ammunition hoists had been removed, the telephones were not working, the pumps were corroded, and most of the watertight doors could no longer be closed. During the onset of the First Balkan War, most Albanians, including frequent rebels like Isa Boletin, united to defend
17901-548: The remainder were Orthodox Christians, considered unfit for conscription. The poor transport network of the Empire's Asian regions dictated that the only reliable way to mass transfer troops to the front was by sea where they'd be vulnerable to attacks from the Greek fleet based in the Aegean. In addition, in 1912 Ottomans were still at war with the Italians who in the year proceeding had overrun Ottoman Libya and by now were invading
18054-520: 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 ,
18207-508: 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
18360-706: The seven most endangered cultural heritage sites in Europe. Visoki Dečani , three episodes of the documentary series "Witnesses of Times" produced by the broadcasting service RTB in 1989 was created by Gordana Babić and Petar Savković, directed by Dragoslav Bokan , music was composed by Zoran Hristić . Serbian Orthodox Christian 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 )
18513-478: 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
18666-409: The summer of 1912 as the imminence of war became apparent. Nevertheless, at the outbreak of the war, the Greek fleet was far from ready. The Ottoman battlefleet retained a clear advantage in the number of ships, speed of the primary surface units and, most importantly, the number and calibre of the ships' guns. In addition, as the war caught the fleet in the middle of its expansion and reorganization,
18819-402: 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
18972-679: 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
19125-482: The two operational theatres that were open to the Greeks: Thessaly and Epirus. The Army of Thessaly (Στρατιά Θεσσαλίας) was placed under Crown Prince Constantine , with Lieutenant-General Panagiotis Danglis as his chief of staff. It fielded the bulk of the Greek forces: seven infantry divisions, a cavalry regiment, and four independent Evzones light mountain infantry battalions, roughly 100,000 men. It
19278-541: 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
19431-430: The war began, it had only 200,000 men available. Although more men would reach their units, war casualties prevented the Western Group from coming near its nominal strength. In wartime, the Ottomans had planned to bring more troops in from Syria, both Nizamiye and Redif . Greek naval supremacy prevented those reinforcements from arriving. Instead, those soldiers had to deploy via the land route, and most never made it to
19584-526: 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),
19737-444: Was Tsar Ferdinand , and the operating command was in the hands of his deputy, General Mihail Savov . The Bulgarians also had a small navy of six torpedo boats restricted to operations along the country's Black Sea coast. Bulgaria was focused on actions in Thrace and Macedonia. It deployed its main force in Thrace by forming three armies. The First Army (79,370 men), under General Vasil Kutinchev , had three infantry divisions and
19890-406: 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
20043-701: 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,
20196-591: 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
20349-542: Was buried in the church. During the Middle Ages, entire Albanian villages were gifted by Serbian kings, particularly Stefan Dušan, as presents to the Serbian monastery of Visoki Dečani, as well as those of Prizren and Tetovo . Bulgarian writer Gregory Tsamblak , author of the Life of Stefan Dečanski , was the hegumen (monastery head) at the beginning of the 15th century. The painter-monk Longin spent two decades in
20502-853: Was commanded by Nazim Pasha and had seven corps of 11 regular infantry divisions, 13 Redif divisions and at least one cavalry division: The Western Army (Macedonian and Vardar Army) constituted ten corps with 32 infantry and two cavalry divisions. Against Serbia, the Ottomans deployed the Vardar Army (HQ in Skopje) under Halepli Zeki Pasha , with five corps of 18 infantry divisions, one cavalry division and two independent cavalry brigades under the: The Macedonian Army (headquarters in Thessaloniki under Ali Rıza Pasha ) had 14 divisions in five corps, deployed against Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro. Against Greece, at least seven divisions were deployed: Against Bulgaria, in southeastern Macedonia, two divisions,
20655-597: Was commanded by General Božidar Janković , and since it was on the right wing, had the task to invade Kosovo and then move south to join the other armies in the expected battle at Ovče Polje. There were two more concentrations in northwestern Serbia across the borders between Serbia and Austria-Hungary: the Ibar Army (25,000 men), under General Mihailo Živković , and the Javor Brigade (12,000 men), under Lieutenant-Colonel Milovoje Anđelković. Greece, whose population
20808-510: Was commanded by General Stepa Stepanović and had one Serbian and one Bulgarian (7th Rila) division. It formed the army's left wing and advanced towards Stracin . Though the inclusion of a Bulgarian division was according to a prewar arrangement between Serbian and Bulgarian armies, it ceased to obey the orders of Stepanović as soon as the war began, only following those of the Bulgarian High Command. The Third Army (76,000 men)
20961-529: 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
21114-556: 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
21267-424: Was deployed to the south of Yambol and assigned operations along the Tundzha River. The Second Army (122,748 men), under General Nikola Ivanov , with two infantry divisions and one infantry brigade, was deployed west of the First Army and was assigned to capture the strong fortress of Adrianople ( Edirne ). Plans had the Third Army (94,884 men), under General Radko Dimitriev , to be deployed east of and behind
21420-402: 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
21573-405: Was expected to overcome the fortified Ottoman border positions and advance towards southern and central Macedonia, aiming to take Thessaloniki and Bitola. The remaining 10,000 to 13,000 men in eight battalions were assigned to the Army of Epirus ( Στρατιά Ηπείρου ) under Lieutenant-General Konstantinos Sapountzakis . As it had no hope of capturing Ioannina, the heavily fortified capital of Epirus,
21726-418: 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
21879-455: 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
22032-407: 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
22185-583: Was satisfied with the situation in Turkey in Europe. It also became unbearable for the Serbs, the Greeks, and the Albanians. By the grace of God, I have therefore ordered my brave army to join in the Holy War to free our brethren and to wish for a better future. In Old Serbia, my army will meet not only upon Christian Serbs but also upon Muslim Serbs, who are equally dear to us, and in addition to them, upon Christian and Muslim Albanians with whom our people have shared joy and sorrow for thirteen centuries now. To all of them, we bring freedom, brotherhood and equality. In
22338-526: 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
22491-464: 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
22644-458: Was targeted for destruction by the Albanian nationalist Balli Kombëtar and Italian fascist blackshirts in mid-1941. The Royal Italian Army responded by sending a group of soldiers to help protect the monastery from attack. The monastic treasure was exhibited in the rebuilt medieval refectory in 1987. The monastery's monks sheltered refugees of all ethnicities during the Kosovo War , which lasted from March 1998 to June 1999. On 7 May 1998,
22797-409: 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
22950-412: Was the smallest nation in the Balkan Peninsula, but in recent years before the war, it had improved its military skills with support from Russia . Also, it was the only Balkan country never to be fully conquered by the Ottoman Empire. As the smallest member of the League, Montenegro did not have much influence. However, it was advantageous for Montenegro, since when the Ottoman Empire was trying to counter
23103-407: Was then 2,666,000, was considered the weakest of the three main allies since it fielded the smallest army and had suffered a defeat against the Ottomans 16 years earlier, in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. A British consular dispatch from 1910 expressed the common perception of the Greek army's abilities: "If there is a war, we shall probably see that the only thing Greek officers can do besides talking
23256-458: Was to be supported by the Kırcaali Detachment of 24,000 military personnel, deployed along the Arda river to prevent the Bulgarians from reaching the Aegean Sea and thus cutting Ottoman transportation and communication links with Macedonia. The Vardar Army of some 58,000 men was deployed near Kumanovo against the First and Second Serbian Armies of 90,000 Serbian and approx. 50,000 Serbian and Bulgarian men. Approx. 28,000 additional men from
23409-410: Was to push Serbia into one that limited its access to Macedonia while simultaneously refusing any such agreement with Greece. Bulgaria believed that its army could occupy the big part of Aegean Macedonia and the port city of Salonica ( Thessaloniki ) before the Greeks could do so. In 1911, Italy had launched an invasion of Tripolitania , now in Libya , which was quickly followed by the occupation of
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