Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.22586/ss.19(2019).1.2
The Orthodox Clergy of Slavonia and Syrmia in the Fight against the Plague during the 18th Century
Veljko Maksić
Abstract
The inhabitants of the Slavonian-Syrmian area in the 18th century had the misfortune to witness the horrors of the plague several times. The goods traffic and people passing through the border area such as the Slavonian-Syrmian were attended by the risk of transmitting disease. In order to prevent the spread of epidemics of the plague, during the 18th century the Habsburg Monarchy built a cordon sanitaire at the state borders to stop the spread of epidemics. Despite all the security measures, it was not always possible to prevent the spread of an epidemic beyond the demarcation line. The population of the infected area was driven into despair by the ruthlessness and unknown etiology of the plague and by the absence of any effective treatment. The only salvation for the population was to invoke God and to hope for his assistance. The goal of the paper is to describe the role of Orthodox priests in circumstances in which the population could hope solely for divine assistance. The initial part of the paper explains the understanding of the plague epidemic among contemporaries, i.e. the interpretation of the epidemic as God’s punishment or the influence of demons; this part is followed by a description of the spiritual care of the clergy expressed through prayer. Secular officials were eager to utilize the influence of the clergy on the populace and used the Orthodox clergy to implement and explain the expediency of certain sanitary measures. The interaction between the clergy and populace during epidemics of the plague required the adjustment of clerical activities. The final part of the paper is concerned with the role of the clergy in medical activities.
Keywords
plague; Slavonia; Syrmia; Orthodox clergy; 18th century
Hrčak ID:
231390
URI
Publication date:
31.10.2019.
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