Review article
The Ecclesial Administration of lstria and Cohabitation of Pluriethnic Believers from 16th to 19th Century
Ivan Grah
; Porečko-pulska biskupija
Abstract
The Istrian peninsula was divided from the 16th to the 19th century on the basis of Ecclesial administration into six dioceses: Trieste, Koper, Novigrad, Poree, Pula and Pi6an, while the state borderline divided it into Austrian and Venetian lstria. Throughout this period several times the plague and malaria, together with wars devastated the population, mostly on the western coast, in a lighter manner in the inland. From time to time, the state authorities inhabited the devastated cities and villages with the immigrants and refugees from before Turkish invasion of the eastern Mediterranean and Balkans.
New inhabitants, immigrant Greeks, Albanians, Slavs - mostly Croatians, imported into their new homeland their popular and religious traditions, culture, way oflife and work. These novelties at thebeginning made difficult their cohabitation, just as their cohabitationwith the rare aboriginal population and previous social organisation. Perseverant activity of a civil and Ecclesial authority through a longer period made a co-existence possible. In the coastal urban region the immigrants mostly accepted the Italian language and culture, and in the inland rural regions Croatian language and culture was developed. The immigrant Croatians found in Istria the familiar Old-Slavonic liturgy. Istrian bishops, with individual exceptions, did not oppose the usage of Old-Slavonic liturgy in their dioceses, on the contrary: they provided the necessary number of so-called glagolitic priests, as well as those practicing the Latin liturgy. They provided them with the Old-Slavonic liturgical books, watched over the faithand morals, and rooted out the deviations and superstitions. Linguistic
and national events and conflicts were unknown up to the end of the 18th century.
Keywords
diocese of Istria; immigrants; glagolitic priests; priests of Latin liturgy; glagolitic liturgical books
Hrčak ID:
124601
URI
Publication date:
12.1.2009.
Visits: 1.275 *