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MORAL-THEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF CLERICS IN THE BAROQUE DUBROVNIK
Relja SEFEROVIĆ
Sažetak
Difficulties of Dubrovnik clerics regarding their intentions to achieve balance in the relationship between Church and the state became more radical in the period after the big earthquake of 1667. Namely, although the Holy See managed to meet the wishes of the
Senate of Dubrovnik and constantly finance renovation of the destructed city, most of these revenues were out of the reach of Dubrovnik clerics. Because of such situation, clergy of Dubrovnik became poor and lagged-behind, especially in the distant parishes of the Republic of Dubrovnik. Consequently, clerics became too week to resist the state pressure, and sometimes civil authorities managed to prevent new ordinations. Still, clergy managed to develop a firm intellectual core of educated individuals, who – as state theologians,
i.e. consultants in the interwoven affairs between Church and state – succeeded to protect status of the Church. Their knowledge was based on the thorough comprehension of the city’s Statutes and
customary laws in the Republic of Dubrovnik, which was combined with understanding of contemporary international legal and theological norms. This was possible since the above mentioned intellectuals in Dubrovnik managed to follow lectures of many domestic and foreign experts, who were trained at esteemed foreign universities, which was accompanied with extensive reading of appropriate literature. Thus, hundreds of the preserved
written opinions of Dubrovnik’s state theologians regarding various everyday life problems that had troubled Dubrovnik authorities, witness the importance of their work and knowledge, which was quite comparable with the mainstream within contemporary
western academic community. This statement can be confirmed by the presented analysis, i.e. comparison of their opinions with the ideas from the moral-theological compendia of Jacques Besombes, who was provost of the congregation of Christian Doctrine Fathers,
and Dominican Fulgenzio Cuniliati, whose studies are even today preserved in Dubrovnik. As time passed, authors from Dubrovnik started to write longer and more profound studies, in which they came out of the framework that was defined by the questions and problems of the Dubrovnik authorities. Although these tractates partly were product of the days that their authors had spent at foreign universities in Italy (mostly in Naples and Rome), they clearly spoke about the interests of domestic theologians and topics they have chosen among many other moral-theological questions. All these manuscripts were written in a classical scholastic manner, and this model was used also in presentation, i.e. in the form of questions and answers. Such form proves that these manuscripts were written mainly during the study years, sometimes even as lecture notes. Consequently, author of the article emphasizes that contribution of Franciscan Vital Andrijašević, Dominican Vlaho Morgini and laic Stjepan Šuljaga are especially valuable since their work represent original authorship. Fr Vital Andrijašević in his tractates Viridarium and »Park« has integrated his rich lecturing
and preaching experience, and when discussing some practical questions he finds answers in Biblical and Patristic scriptures, though he also integrated some ideas from the pagan antiquity. Approach of Vlaho Morgini was even more direct, since he discusses problem of usury in the form of letter to some highly positioned prelate (Lettere teologicomorali). This manuscript reveals rich culture and knowledge of its author, who was deeply concerned because of the crisis that affected the world. Unfortunately, even he proved himself as good preacher in Dalmatia and became a friend of several bishops, father
Morgini did not extend his work out of the theoretical framework, and he did not explicitly point out the actual problems in his surroundings.
On the other hand, Stjepan Šuljaga, who left his home city and became diplomat in the Austrian service, was more inclined to polemics. Namely, in 1767 Šaljuga has prepared a new edition of tractate Theologia moralis that had been written by Paul Gabriel Antoine, and in the foreword he commented many evils of his time. Moreover, Šaljuga argued the work of the French Enlightenment judging it as too overly pretentious lecturing. Consequently,
Šuljuga prizes simplicity and condemns probabilism that was quite popular mode of thinking at that time. Therefore, one can easily recognize that Šuljuga used his editorial position to strongly express his own attitudes, maybe because he lived out of Dubrovnik
in which his contemporaries did not enjoy similar freedom of action. Still, ecclesiastical intellectuals in Dubrovnik managed to express and record their message that is quite important regarding better understanding of their point of view at moral theology and
contemporary society.
Ključne riječi
Republic of Dubrovnik; society; Church; moral theology; usury; Fr Vital Andrijašević; father Vlaho Morgini; Stjepan Šuljuga
Hrčak ID:
116105
URI
Datum izdavanja:
19.12.2013.
Posjeta: 1.661 *