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https://doi.org/10.21857/m16wjc61p9
The Church Organisation of the Rab Diocese in Early 19th Century
Josip Celić
Sažetak
At the dawn of the modern time, the town of Rab was a fully constructed and
class-regulated commune, with all the institutional urban features won during a yearlong
municipal legal-historical tradition, similar to other towns along the East Adriatic
coast.
As regards the ecclesiastic state of affairs, Rab as the seat of one of our earliest
dioceses inherited the tradition of Roman civil law. Moreover, apart from Zadar in
Dalmatia, it was structure-wise the richest in the number of members belonging to
the Catholic clerical class, ranging from the bishop and the chapter to lower clergy and
members of religious orders.
Based on the official census data and other original archival material, published
sources and recent literature, the ecclesiastic status of the Rab Diocese within the Zadar
District during French administration in Dalmatia has been presented. The class
structure of the Rab Diocese has been presented in hierarchical order – their clan link,
ranging from members of nobility and bourgeoisie to common folk; their housing arrangements
have also been presented. For all the persons individually, their church office
and title, position or monastic status have been stated, and for the majority of them,
the accurate age as well. Furthermore, fraternities and charitable religious institutions
in Rab have been named.
Despite the high total number of members of clergy, no examples have been recorded
of any of their family members, though they may have been financially supported,
having managed to advance to the higher, transitional lower middle class. Their relatives
evidently originated from the villages around Rab. Hence, they had no prospect of
integration into bourgeoisie.
During French administration, the church remained upright thanks to its intact
estates and being additionally state-financed on the grounds of claiming damages for
the abolished tithe. Excepted therefrom were the lower and unneeded components of the
clergy, which served no public charity purpose.
The clergy in Rab formed a considerable part of the town population; this confirms
the presence of Roman civil law and advanced church life; the social structure of Rab;
and the importance of the overall civilisation in the town of Rab.
Ključne riječi
Rab; 1810; Rab Diocese; bishop; clergy; religious orders; parishes; class structure; church history; historical demography
Hrčak ID:
198991
URI
Datum izdavanja:
17.4.2018.
Posjeta: 1.155 *