Eparchy of Marča

After the Ottoman capture of Smederevo fortress in 1459 and fall of Bosnia 1463 different populations of Orthodox Christians moved into Syrmia and by 1483 perhaps 200,000 Orthodox Christians moved into central Slavonia and Syrmia[4][5] At the beginning of the 16th century settlements of Orthodox Christians were also established in western Croatia.[6] In the first half of the 16th century Serbs settled Ottoman part of Slavonia while in the second part of the 16th century they moved to Austrian part of Slavonia.[7] In 1550 they established the Lepavina Monastery.[8] Orthodox Christians which settled Military Frontier from area of the Ottoman Empire were most often called Vlachs, while most documents state that the Vlachs coming "from Bosnia" or "from Turkey" ie from the Bosnian pashaluk, also they were of different ethnic origin and from 1611 under the Greek Catholic bishops of Marča.[9] At the end of the 16th century a group of Serb Orthodox priests built a monastery dedicated to Saint Archangel Gabriel (Serbian: Манастир Светог Арханђела Гаврила) on the foundations (or near them)[10] of the deserted and destroyed Catholic Monastery of All Saints.[11]

Some scholars promoted the view that Marča, as a diocese of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, was established in the late 16th century (1578 or 1597).[12] This theory was used as evidence of the long-time presence of the Serb population on the northern bank of river Sava.[12]

In 1609 Serb Orthodox priests established Marča Monastery in Marča near Ivanić-Grad. In the same year the Marča Monastery became a seat of the Eparchy of Vretanija. This bishopric was the westernmost eparchy of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. Its name was derived from Vretanija (Serbian: Вретанијски остров) which was a part of the title of the Serbian Patriarch.[13] Its first bishop was Simeon Vratanja, appointed in 1609 by the Serbian Orthodox patriarch Jovan to the position of bishop of all Orthodox Serbs who settled to Croatia.[14] This appointment marked establishment of the Eparchy of Vretanja in 1609 according to historian Aleksa Ivić.[15]

Being under strong pressure from Croatian clergy and state officials to recognize the jurisdiction of the Pope, and to convert the population of his bishopric to Eastern Catholicism, Simeon Vratanja visited Pope Paul V in 1611 and recognized his jurisdiction and maybe the Union of Florence as well.[16] The strongest influence to his decision had Martin Dobrović, who convinced Simeon to recognize papal jurisdiction and to accept the Eastern Catholicism.[17][18]

In November 1611, the Pope appointed Simeon as bishop of Serbs of Slavonia, Croatia and Hungary. He also granted all estates that once belonged to the Catholic Monastery of All Saints to the Marča Monastery.[19] Pope Paul V granted to Bishop Simeon, Greek Catholic episcopal authority in Croatia, Hungary, Slavonia and Žumberak, which was also been confirmed by Archduke Ferdinand and Bishop of Zagreb Petar Petretić. From "Vlach" Bishop Simeon as he was called by authorities from Vienna it was expected to implement unification of Orthodox Vlachs with the Catholic Church in area of Croatian Military Frontier and Slavonian Military Frontier.[20] On 21 November 1611 Marča was established as an eparchy (bishopric) of the Eastern Catholic Church,[21] having around 60,000 believers.[1]

Simeon continued to use Slavic language, Julian calendar and maintained connection with Serbian Patriarchate of Peć.[22]

In 1642 Benedikt Vinković wrote a letter to emperor Ferdinand III to write a report about "Vlachs" (Orthodox Serbs).[23] Vinković's activities were aimed against Serb bishop of Marča, Maksim Predojević, whom he reported to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith when Predojević refused to support the conversion of the population of his bishopric to Catholicism.[24] Vinković had intention to depose Predojević and appoint Rafael Levaković instead.[25]

In 1648 the king appointed Sava Stanislavić as bishop of the Bishopric of Marča, as wished by the Slavonian Serbs, although Petar Petretić, bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb proposed another candidate.[26]

This kind of semi-union attitude of Serb bishops of the Bishopric of Marča remained until 1670 and appointment of Pavle Zorčić on the position of bishop.[27] All priests of the Bishopric of Marča who objected to the union were arrested and imprisoned in Malta where they all died.[28]

Until 19 November 1735, the Marča monastery was the seat of the Greek Catholic bishops when the Orthodox Grenzers expelled the last three Greek Catholic monks. Following the verdict of Vienna authorities and decision that monastery belongs to the Greek Catholics, the Orthodox Grenzers burned Marča monastery on 28 June 1739.[29] In 1754 around 17,000 Serb Uskoks rebelled in support of the Marča monastery, the seat of Uskok bishopric. The monastery was abandoned, as ordered by Empress Maria Theresa, and its treasury was looted.[30]