Eastern Orthodoxy in Austria refers to communities, institutions and organizations of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity on the territory of modern Austria. There are several Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions in Austria. As of 2019, it is estimated that there are some 400,000 to 450,000 Eastern Orthodox believers in Austria. [1] Most of them are ethnic Serbs and Romanians.
By the end of the Middle Ages, migration of Eastern Orthodox Christians towards Austrian lands was intensified due to expansion of the Ottoman Empire in various regions of Southeastern Europe. Exiled members of Eastern Orthodox royal and noble families were welcomed by Habsburg rulers, who granted them new possessions. In 1479, emperor Friedrich III granted castle Weitensfeld in Carinthia to exiled members of Branković dynasty of Serbia. Often accompanied by their priests, exiled noble families created first Eastern Orthodox cells in Austrian lands. [2]
During the period of Ottoman–Habsburg wars (16th-18th centuries), Habsburg policy towards Eastern Orthodox Christians was often marked by special interests, related to complex religious situation in various regions of the expanding Habsburg monarchy. Political aspirations of Habsburg rulers were directed towards various lands in Southeastern Europe, held by the declining Ottoman Empire. Since those regions were inhabited by Eastern Orthodox population, Habsburg court was inclined to adopt policy of religious tolerance. [3]
Emperor Leopold I issued several charters (1690, 1691, 1695) to Eastern Orthodox Serbs, who sided with Habsburgs during the Vienna War (1683-1699), granting them religious freedom in the Monarchy. Serbian Orthodox patriarch Arsenije III visited the Austrian capital (Vienna) on several occasions, and died there in 1706. [4] [5]
Serbian Orthodox metropolitan Isaija Đaković, who visited the Austrian capital on several occasions since 1690, also died in Vienna, in 1708. [6] During the 18th century, Eastern Orthodox communities in major Austrian cities were consisted mainly of ethnic Greeks, Serbs and Romanians. Most prominent among them were merchants and officers, who were the main donors of religious institutions, at first under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Metropolitanate of Karlovci. Later development led to the creation of autonomous and particular jurisdictions, thus establishing separate parishes for different ethnic communities. That process was finalized after the First World War (1914-1918). [7]
There are several Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions on the territory of modern Austria:
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.
The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church in modern Montenegro. Founded in 1219 by Saint Sava as the Eparchy of Zeta, it has continued to exist, without interruption, up to the present time, and has remained one of the most prominent dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The current Metropolitan bishop is Joanikije II. His official title is "Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral".
The Metropolitanate of Karlovci was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713, it was known as the Metropolitanate of Krušedol, and between 1713 and 1848, as the Metropolitanate of Karlovci. In 1848, it was elevated to the Patriarchate of Karlovci, which existed until 1920, when it was merged with the Metropolitanate of Belgrade and other Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions in the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to form the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The Metropolitanate of Belgrade was an Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical province (metropolitanate) which existed between 1831 and 1920, with jurisdiction over the territory of Principality and Kingdom of Serbia. It was formed in 1831, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople granted church autonomy to its eparchies in the Principality of Serbia. Territorial enlargement and full canonical autocephaly were gained in 1879. The Metropolitanate existed until 1920, when it was merged with Patriarchate of Karlovci and other Serbian ecclesiastical provinces to form the united Serbian Orthodox Church. The seat of the Metropolitanate was in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Patriarchate of Karlovci or Serbian Patriarchate of Sremski Karlovci, was a patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed between 1848 and 1920. It was formed when the Metropolitanate of Karlovci was elevated to the rank of patriarchate. The Patriarchate of Karlovci nominally existed until 1920, when along with several other Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions in the defunct Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as the Metropolitanate of Cetinje, it was merged with the Metropolitanate of Belgrade to form the united Serbian Orthodox Church. The seat of the Patriarchate was in Karlovci.
Arsenije III Crnojević was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1674 to his death in 1706. In 1689, during the Habsburg-Ottoman War (1683–1699), he sided with Habsburgs, upon their temporary occupation of Serbia. In 1690, he left the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć and led the Great Migration of Serbs from Ottoman Serbia into the Habsburg monarchy. There he received charters, granted to him by Emperor Leopold I, securing religious and ecclesiastical autonomy of Eastern Orthodoxy in the Habsburg Monarchy. In the meanwhile, after restoring their rule in Serbian lands, Ottomans allowed the appointment of a new Serbian Patriarch, Kalinik I (1691–1710), thus creating a jurisdictional division within the Serbian Orthodox Church. Until death, in 1706, Patriarch Arsenije remained the head of Serbian Orthodox Church in Habsburg lands, laying foundations for the creation of an autonomous ecclesiastical province, later known as the Metropolitanate of Karlovci.
Kalinik I was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1691 until 1710.
Kalinik II was Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1765 to 1766. He was the last holder of that office before the Ottoman Empire abolished the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1766. As an ethnic Greek, he was seen as a foreigner among Serbs, who favored the deposed patriarch Vasilije I. Since his tenure was marked by various internal conflicts, Kalinik decided to resign his post, and even went a step further: he sent a pre-agreed petition to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople asking for the abolition of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, citing accumulated debts as the main reason for this motion, signed by him and 5 other bishops. On 11 September 1766, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople convinced the Sultan to abolish the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and place its dioceses under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. That decision affected only Serbian dioceses under Ottoman rule, since Serbian Autonomous Metropolitanate of Karlovci in Habsburg monarchy remained out of reach of Constantinopolitan Phanariotes.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Hungary refers to communities, institutions and organizations of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Hungary. Historically, Eastern Orthodoxy was an important denomination in the medieval and early modern Kingdom of Hungary. In modern times, Eastern Orthodoxy is mainly the religion of some ethnic minorities. In the 2001 national census, only 15,928 persons declared themselves Orthodox Christians. Estimates in 2020 suggested that 1.54% of the population was Orthodox.
The Serbs in Austria are the second largest ethnic minority group in Austria, after Germans. The first wave of Serbs to Austria began in the early 19th century, while the largest wave was during the migrant worker program of the 1960s and 1970s. Serb immigration to Austria is still active today due to economic and familial factors. Like in most Western European countries, the Serb community in Austria consists mainly of Serbs from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mojsije Putnik (1728–1790) was the Metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci between 1781 and 1790, during the reign of Joseph II. He was known for publishing the Toleranzpatent meant to ensure equal rights for the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Catholic church in Sremski Karlovci.
The Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana is an Eastern Orthodox eparchy (diocese) and one of the five honorary metropolitanates of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The headquarters of the metropolia is located in Zagreb, Croatia, and its jurisdiction covers northern Croatia and the entire territory of Slovenia.
Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci is the central or patriarchal eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with seat in Belgrade, Serbia. The head of the eparchy is the Serbian patriarch.
Early modern history of Serbia refers to the history of Serbia during the early modern period, from the Ottoman conquest in the second half of 15th century up to the beginning of the Serbian Revolution in 1804. The era includes periods of Ottoman and Habsburg rule in various parts of Serbia. During that time, several Habsburg–Ottoman wars were fought on the territory of Serbia.
The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, or simply Peć Patriarchate, was an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate that existed from 1346 to 1463, and then again from 1557 to 1766 with its seat in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć. It had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Eastern Orthodox Christians in Serbian Lands and other western regions of Southeastern Europe. Primates of the Patriarchate were styled Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch.
The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Austria and Switzerland or Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Austria and Switzerland is an eparchy (diocese) of the Serbian Orthodox Church, created in 2011, with jurisdiction over Serbian Orthodox churches in Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Malta. Its headquarters are located in Vienna, Austria.
Vikentije Popović-Hadžilavić was metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci, and the highest-ranking prelate of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Habsburg Monarchy, from 1713 to 1725.
Isaija Đaković or Isaija I was elected to the rank of Metropolitan of Krušedol (Karlovci) in 1708. Isaija is best remembered as the first Serbian metropolite under Habsburg monarchy and for his diplomatic skills when he obtained the amendments in the Privileges. He was succeeded by Sofronije Podgoričanin.
Mojsije Petrović was the first Metropolitan of the unified Metropolitanate of Belgrade and Karlovci, from 1726 to 1730. As such, he exercised great influence among the Serbian and Romanian Orthodox faithful in the Habsburg Monarchy.
Sofronije Podgoričanin was a Serbian Orthodox bishop who served in the Eparchy of Slavonia from 1705 to 1710 and was elevated to the Metropolitan of Krušedol from 1710 to 1711.
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