Izvorni znanstveni članak
A Contribution to the Understanding of the Earliest Phase of the Early Christian Complex of St. Mary on the Cemetery in Osor
Tin Turković
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Nikolina Maraković
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Sažetak
Linguistic and semantic analysis of the so called Osor credo has shown that the inscription could be, with considerable certainty, ascribed to the circle of Aquileia and Milan, and dated to the end of the 4"' century. Also, the present knowledge of the architecture of the complex seems sufficient for proposing the datation of the first phase of the early Christian complex exactly to the same period. In other words, the symbol of faith from Osor and the architecture of the first phase of the complex should be dated at the same time, contrary to the previous assumptions.
The Osor credo, as a local variant of symbol of faith, shows a combination of forms used in creeds from Aquileia and Milan. The contacts of bishop Cromazius from Aquileia (388-407/508) with St. Ambrosius of Milan were of crucial importance for the church of Aquileia, and, consequently, influenced the changes in architectonic conception of the cathedral complex (the change from traditional concept characteristic for Aquileia to the one characteristic for the circle of Milan), finally finished around 400. Apart from that, the strong anti-Arian atmosphere of the time is present also in the church of Aquileia. It 381 it finally sided with the catholic option, and this choice influenced also the architectonic conception conceived by bishop Cromazius. The presence of the word catholica in Osor crećo, which is a confirmation of anti-Arian belief, fits perfectly into the general picture of the time — the time defined by a strong Catholic reaction, lead by St. Ambrosius. St. Ambrosius replaced a number of Arian with like-minded bishops, in the wide area from Milan to Sirmium. By that, he intended to create an ideologically uniform landscape, to which belonged also Niceta from Remesiana, and probably also the writer of the Osor creed.
Further on, some of the analysed parts of the earliest early Christian complex in Osor show that they were modelled according to the Cathedral complex in Aquileia, the one that S. Tavano interprets as a "transitional", before the finalrealization of the new complex of bishop Cromazius in 400. It is a known fact that the bishop encouraged missionary activities, establishing new bishoprics in the area under his jurisdiction. The earliest mentioned is the one in Concordia, established short after 390.
In the context of everything said above, the first early Christian complex in Osor, as well as the symbol of faith that must be contemporary with it, could be dated with more certainty to the end of the 4, or the first years of the 5 century. It was a short period before the new architectural conception of bishop Cromazius started to prevail in the area, but the contacts of the bishop with Milan and St. Ambrosius were already evident in the written symbol of faith.
These interpretations allow some new hypotheses on the formation of the first bishoprics in Kvarner region, for which there are still no reliable proofs, as well as territorial organization, which has not been fully explained till the present. In the light of everything mentioned above, it may be easier to account for the fact that the bishop of Osor was not present on the councils in Salona in 530 and 533, as his bishopric was probably subordinate directly to Aquileia.
It should not be forgotten that Apsorus was a town of considerable importance during Late Antiquity, and the last harbour on the trade-route towards the northern provinces. I. Beuc estimated its population to 25 000 inhabitants. In the second half of the 4 century Christianity was established in the majority of Kvarner coastal centres. It would we quite logical to suppose that at the same time (somewhere at the end of the 4 century) Osor becomes a bishopric, and a centre of Christianization for the surrounding area.
Ključne riječi
Cathedral in Osor; Osorski credo; St.Mary on the Cemetery in Osor; early Christian complex
Hrčak ID:
148725
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.12.2005.
Posjeta: 1.061 *