Kruševac Fortress or City of Prince Lazar ( Serbian : Крушевачки град , Kruševački grad ) was a medieval fortified town in Kruševac , Serbia , former capital of Prince Lazar . The city housed the court church , Lazarica . Today, all that remains of the town are ruins.
166-423: The Fortress of Kruševac was first mentioned in 1381, so it was most likely built by Prince Lazar , becoming the seat of his realm – Moravian Serbia . He ruled his country from Kruševac, as attested by signature and record in a charter issued in 1387 which includes the phrase In the famous city of my dominion Kruševac (у славноме граду господства ми Крушевцу). Lazar's son and successor Stefan Lazarević managed
332-484: A cephalophore , holding his severed head in his hand. In 1697, the Ravanica monks left their wooden settlement at Szentendre and moved to the dilapidated Monastery of Vrdnik-Ravanica on Mount Fruška Gora in the region of Syrmia . They renovated it and placed Lazar's relics in its church, after which this monastery became the centre of Lazar's cult. It soon came to be more frequently referred to as Ravanica than Vrdnik. By
498-643: A hospice for Syrian pilgrims in Jerusalem and arranged for Serbian monks to be welcomed in the established monasteries there. He died of pneumonia in the night between Saturday and Sunday, 14 January 1235, and was buried at the Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Veliko Tarnovo where his body remained until 6 May 1237, when his sacred bones were moved to the monastery Mileševa in southern Serbia. In 1253
664-508: A 16th-century Ragusan historian, Pribac and Lazar's surname was Hrebeljanović. Though Orbin did not provide a source for this claim, it has been widely accepted in historiography. Pribac was awarded by Dušan in yet another way: his son Lazar was granted the position of stavilac at the ruler's court. The stavilac (literally "placer") had a role in the ceremony at the royal table, though he could be entrusted with jobs that had nothing to do with court ritual. The title of stavilac ranked as
830-421: A Hungarian vassal since 1358. By conspiring with Venice, a Hungarian enemy, Nikola lost the protection of Hungary. Lazar, preparing for the confrontation with Nikola, promised King Louis to be his loyal vassal if the king was on his side. Prince Lazar and Ban Tvrtko attacked and defeated Nikola Altomanović in 1373. Nikola was captured in his stronghold, the town of Užice , and given in charge to Lazar's nephews,
996-613: A bishop in a specific land was not uncommon, and being placed under the Pannonian Bishop implies that there was no local Serbian bishop at the time. Tibor Živković concluded, based on primary sources of the Church of Constantinople, that there was no information regarding the establishment of any new ecclesiastical center and organization in Serbia, that the Serbian ecclesiastical center and capital
1162-468: A cephalophore in subsequent works, created in various artistic techniques. An isolated case among the images of Lazar is a 1773 copperplate by Zaharije Orfelin , in which the prince has a parading appearance, without saintly attributes except a halo. Lazar's relics remained in the Monastery of Vrdnik-Ravanica until 1941. Shortly before Nazi Germany attacked and overran Yugoslavia , the relics were taken to
1328-744: A leading role, the Ottomans abolished the Patriarchate once again in 1766. The church returned once more under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. This period of rule by the so-called " Phanariots " was a period of great spiritual decline because the Greek bishops had very little understanding of their Serbian flock. During this period, Christians across the Balkans were under pressure to convert to Islam to avoid severe taxes imposed by
1494-825: A linguistic point of view, Lazar's charters show traits of the Kosovo-Resava dialect of the Serbian language . In the charters, Lazar referred to himself as the autocrator ( samodržac in Serbian) of all the Serbian land, or the autocrator of all the Serbs. Autocrator, "self-ruler" in Greek, was an epithet of the Byzantine emperors. The Nemanjić kings adopted it and applied it to themselves in its literal meaning to stress their independence from Byzantium, whose supreme suzerainty they nominally recognized. In
1660-483: A marble pillar that was erected at the site of the Battle of Kosovo. The pillar was destroyed by the Ottomans, but the text is preserved in a 16th-century manuscript. Patriarch Danilo III wrote Narration about Prince Lazar around the time of the translation of Lazar's relics. It is regarded as historically the most informative of the ten writings, though it is a synthesis of hagiography , eulogy , and homily . The prince
1826-449: A powerful Hungarian noble who supported Sigismund. Around the same year, Lazar's daughter Jelena married Djuradj Stracimirović Balšić. About a year before, Lazar's daughter Dragana married Alexander , the son of Ivan Shishman , Tsar of Bulgaria. Since the encounter at Pločnik in 1386, it was clear to Lazar that a decisive battle with the Ottomans was imminent. After he made peace with Sigismund, to avoid troubles on his northern borders,
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#17328984067621992-578: A ruler than as a saint, except the icon with Đorđe Kratovac. During the Great Turkish War in the last decades of the 17th century, the Habsburg monarchy took some Serbian lands from the Ottomans. In 1690, a considerable proportion of the Serbian population living in these lands emigrated to the Habsburg Monarchy, as its army retreated from Serbia before the advancing Ottomans. This exodus, known as
2158-441: A specific diocese is uncertain, probably was not an Adriatic centre. Early medieval Serbs are accounted as Christian by 870s, but it was a process that ended in the late 9th century during the time of Basil I , and medieval necropolises until the 13th century in the territory of modern Serbia show an "incomplete process of Christianization" as local Christianity depended on the social structure (urban and rural). The expansion of
2324-548: A temporary see of Patriarch Arsenije III. The Ravanica monks established contacts with Serbian monasteries in the Habsburg Monarchy, and with the Russian Orthodox Church , from which they received help. They considerably enlarged their library and treasury during their stay at Szentendre. In this period they started to use printing to spread the veneration of the Holy Prince: they made a woodcut representing Lazar as
2490-527: A writer and translator, encouraged Lazar to work on the reconciliation of the two patriarchates. Through efforts of Lazar and Isaija, an ecclesiastical delegation was sent to the Constantinopolitan Patriarch to negotiate the reconciliation. The delegation was successful, and in 1375 the Serbian Church was readmitted into communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The last patriarch of
2656-520: Is a Ragusan document in Latin, dated 22 April 1371, in which he is referred to as Comes Lazarus . Ragusans used comes as a Latin translation of the Slavic title knez . The same document relates that Lazar held Rudnik at that time. In medieval Serbia, knez was not a precisely defined term, and the title had no fixed rank in the feudal hierarchy. Its rank was high in the 12th century, but somewhat lower in
2822-561: Is celebrated not only as a martyr, but also as a warrior. The patriarch wrote that the Battle of Kosovo ended when both sides became exhausted; both the Serbs and the Turks suffered heavy losses. The central part of Narration is the patriarch's version of Lazar's speech to Serbian warriors before the battle: You, O comrades and brothers, lords and nobles, soldiers and vojvodas —great and small. You yourselves are witnesses and observers of that great goodness God has given us in this life... But if
2988-414: Is considered to have the highest literary quality of the ten texts. Nun Jefimija (whose secular name was Jelena) was a relative of Princess Milica, and the widow of Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević. After his death she lived on with Milica and Lazar. Jefimija embroidered her Encomium with a gilded thread on the silken shroud covering Lazar's relics. Stefan Lazarević is regarded as the author of the text carved on
3154-509: Is explained by some historians as having resulted from the influence of an undercurrent in the Church associated with Lazar. The prince and Patriarch Spiridon had an excellent cooperation. The Church was obliged to Lazar for his role in ending the schism with Constantinople. Lazar also granted lands to monasteries and built churches. His greatest legacy as a church builder is the Monastery of Ravanica completed in 1381. Some time earlier, he built
3320-561: Is in this Russian book that Prince Lazar was for the first time referred to as a tsar. Around 1700, Count Đorđe Branković would write his Slavo-Serbian Chronicles , in which he claimed that Lazar was crowned tsar. This would influence Serbian folk tradition, in which the prince is to this day known as Tsar Lazar. After the death of Ivan the Terrible, Lazar is rarely mentioned in Russian sources. Lazar's cult in his Ottoman-held homeland, reduced to
3486-518: Is left today of the Hard town of Kruševac , as it was called by Constantine of Kostenets . Today, the surviving remains consist of the Donjon Tower, through which one entered the city, and part of the eastern wall . Inside the towers today are a hallway with a staircase still remains; this once gave access to higher levels and to an exit onto the city walls. One of the curiosities of this particular tower
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#17328984067623652-493: Is mentioned as " knez Lazar, of all Serbs and Podunavlje provinces" ( кнезь Лазарь всѣмь Срьблемь и подѹнавскимь странамь господинь ). In Hungary, he was known as the "Prince of the Kingdom of Rascia". In charters issued between 1379 and 1388, he named himself as Stefan Lazar. " Stefan " was the name borne by all Nemanjić rulers, leading the name to be regarded as a title of Serbian rulers. Tvrtko added "Stefan" to his name when he
3818-404: Is not known against whom Louis was intending to act. It is also possible that it was Radič Branković Rastislalić and that Lazar's attack had the approval of Louis. Lazar's state, known in literature as Moravian Serbia , was larger than the domains of the other lords on the territory of the former Serbian Empire. It also had a better organized government and army. The state comprised the basins of
3984-556: Is one of the autocephalous ( ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches . The majority of the population in Serbia , Montenegro and Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina are baptised members of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is organized into metropolitanates and eparchies , located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia . Other congregations are located in
4150-538: Is recorded in the work De Administrando Imperio ( DAI ), compiled by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus ( r. 913–959). The DAI drew information on the Serbs from, among others, a Serbian source. The Serbs were said to have received the protection of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), and Porphyrogenitus stressed that the Serbs had always been under Imperial rule. According to De Administrando Imperio,
4316-615: Is represented there with regal attributes, rather than saintly ones. His next image would not appear until 1594, when it was painted among images of numerous other personages in the Orahovica Monastery in Slavonia (then under Ottoman rule). For his cult, more important than iconography was the cultic literature. Despot Stefan Lazarević suddenly died in July 1427. He was succeeded by Despot Đurađ , Vuk Branković's son and Lazar's grandson. At
4482-619: Is why Serbs sometimes refer to themselves as the people of Heaven . Jefimija, the former wife of Uglješa Mrnjavčević and later a nun in the Ljubostinja monastery, embroidered the Praise to Prince Lazar , one of the most significant works of medieval Serbian literature. The Serbian Orthodox Church canonised Lazar as Saint Lazar . He is celebrated on June 28 [ O.S. June 15] ( Vidovdan ). Several towns and villages (like Lazarevac ), small Serbian Orthodox churches and missions throughout
4648-708: The Ban of Bosnia , formed an alliance against Nikola. According to Ragusan sources, the Republic of Venice mediated an agreement between Nikola Altomanović and Djuradj Balšić about their joint attack on Ragusa. Nikola was to gain Pelješac and Ston , the Ragusan parts of the region of Zahumlje, which was divided between Nikola's domain, Bosnia, and Ragusa. Louis I, the King of Hungary, sternly warned Nikola and Djuradj to keep off Ragusa, which had been
4814-538: The Bešenovo Monastery , also on Mount Fruška Gora. Syrmia became part of the Nazi puppet state of Croatia , controlled by the fascist Ustaše movement, which conducted large-scale genocide campaigns against the Serbs. The Archimandrite of Vrdnik, Longin, who escaped to Belgrade in 1941, reported that Serbian sacred objects on Fruška Gora were in danger of total destruction. He proposed that they be taken to Belgrade, which
4980-480: The Croatian War (1991–95). The bishops and priests and most faithful of the eparchies of Zagreb , of Karlovac , of Slavonia and of Dalmatia became refugees. The latter three were almost completely abandoned after the exodus of the Serbs from Croatia in 1995 ( Operation Storm ). The eparchy of Dalmatia also had its see temporarily moved to Knin after the self-proclaimed proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina
5146-521: The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople over the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum is considered to have begun in 731 by Emperor Leo III when he annexed Sicily and Calabria , but whether the Patriarchate also expanded into the eastern parts of Illyricum and Dalmatia is uncertain and a matter of scholarly debate. The expansion most definitely happened since the mid-9th century, when
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5312-786: The Eparchy of Buda in Hungary. In 1921, the Serbian Orthodox Church created a new eparchy for the Czech lands , headed by bishop Gorazd Pavlik . At the same time, the Serbian Church among the diaspora was reorganized, and the eparchy (diocese) for the United States and Canada was created. In 1931 another diocese was created, called the Eparchy of Mukačevo and Prešov , for the Eastern Orthodox Christians in Slovakia and Carpathian Rusynia . During
5478-533: The Glagolithic script, is one of the oldest known Slavic manuscripts. It was partly written in the Serbian redaction of Old Church Slavonic . Other early manuscripts include the 11th-century Grškovićev odlomak Apostola and Mihanovićev odlomak . Serbian prince Rastko Nemanjić , the son of Stefan Nemanja , took monastic vows at Mount Athos as Sava (Sabbas) in 1192. Three years later, his father joined him, taking monastic vows as Simeon . Father and son asked
5644-604: The Great Morava , West Morava , and South Morava Rivers, extending from the source of South Morava northward to the Danube and Sava Rivers. Its north-western border ran along the Drina River. Besides the capital Kruševac, the state included important towns of Niš and Užice, as well as Novo Brdo and Rudnik, the two richest mining centres of medieval Serbia. Of all the Serbian lands, Lazar's state lay furthest from Ottoman centres, and
5810-501: The Great Serb Migration , was led by Arsenije III Čarnojević , the patriarch of the Serbian Church. The Ravanica monks joined the northward exodus, taking Lazar's relics and the monastery's valuables with them. They settled at the town of Szentendre , near which they built a wooden church and placed the relics in it. They built houses for themselves around the church, and named their new settlement Ravanica. Szentendre also became
5976-699: The Habsburg monarchy , the Metropolitanate of Belgrade in the Kingdom of Serbia , and the Metropolitanate of Montenegro in the Principality of Montenegro . During World War I (1914–1918), the Serbian Orthodox Church suffered massive casualties. After the liberation and political unification, that was achieved by creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918), all Eastern Orthodox Serbs were united under one ecclesiastical authority, and all Serbian ecclesiastical provinces and eparchies were united into
6142-456: The Kosovo Field near Priština , on the territory of Vuk Branković. The Ottoman army was met by the forces commanded by Prince Lazar, estimated at between 12,000 and 30,000 men, which consisted of the prince's own troops, Vuk Branković's troops, and a contingent under the leadership of Vlatko Vuković sent by King Tvrtko. The Battle of Kosovo, the most famous battle in Serbia's medieval history,
6308-639: The League of Communists of Yugoslavia 's ideological differences with the Church, this negative attitude was also influenced by the fact that some priests during the war supported the Chetnik movement which are mentioned in Documents of the Commission for Religious Affairs where is stated that among other things, that the majority of priests during the war supported and cooperated with the movement of Draža Mihailović , and that
6474-589: The Metropolitanate of Skopje . The Patriarchate took over sovereignty on Mt. Athos and the Greek archbishoprics under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (the Archbishopric of Ohrid remained autocephalous), which resulted in Dušan's excommunication by Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople in 1350. In 1375, an agreement between the Serbian Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople
6640-534: The Moscow Kremlin . The walls of the cathedral were painted in 1565 with frescoes showing all Russian rulers preceding Ivan the Terrible. Only four non-Russians were depicted: Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and three Serbs—Saints Simeon, Sava, and Lazar. The prince is also represented in the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible , in its nine miniatures depicting the Battle of Kosovo. It
6806-533: The Second World War the Serbian Orthodox Church suffered severely from persecutions by the occupying powers and the rabidly anti-Serbian Ustaše regime of Independent State of Croatia (NDH), which sought to create a " Croatian Orthodox Church " which Orthodox Serbs were forced to join. Many Serbs were killed, expelled or forced to convert to Catholicism during the Serbian Genocide ; bishops and priests of
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6972-556: The Serb diaspora . The Serbian Patriarch serves as first among equals in his church. The current patriarch is Porfirije , enthroned on 19 February 2021. The Church achieved autocephalous status in 1219, under the leadership of Saint Sava , becoming the independent Archbishopric of Žiča . Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in 1346, and was subsequently known as the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć . This patriarchate
7138-533: The Serbian Empire . Epirus and Thessaly in its southwest broke away by 1359. The same happened with Braničevo and Kučevo , the empire's north-eastern regions controlled by the Rastislalić family , who recognized the suzerainty of King Louis of Hungary. The rest of the Serbian state remained loyal to young Tsar Uroš. Even within it, however, powerful Serbian nobles were asserting more and more independence from
7304-514: The Studenica monastery , after reconciling his two quarrelling brothers Stefan Nemanjić and Vukan . Stefan asked him to remain in Serbia with his clerics, which he did, providing widespread pastoral care and education to the people. Saint Sava founded several churches and monasteries, among them the Žiča monastery . In 1217, Stefan was proclaimed King of Serbia , and various questions of the church reorganization were opened. Saint Sava returned to
7470-459: The 13th century and the first half of the 14th century. During the reign of Tsar Uroš, when the central authority declined, the high prestige of the title of knez was restored. It was borne by the mightiest regional lord, Vojislav Vojinović, until his death in 1363. The Ottoman Turks took Gallipoli from Byzantium in 1354. This town at the south-eastern edge of the Balkan Peninsula was
7636-582: The Battle of Kosovo, Prince Lazar was interred in the Church of the Ascension in Priština, the capital of Vuk Branković's domain. After a year or two, in 1390 or 1391, Lazar's relics were transferred to the Ravanica Monastery , which the prince had built and intended as his burial place. The translation was organized by the Serbian Church and Lazar's family. The ceremonial interment of the relics in Ravanica
7802-477: The Battle of Marica. The same happened to Byzantium and Bulgaria . By 1388, Ottoman suzerainty was also accepted by Djuradj Stracimirović Balšić , the lord of Zeta. A Turkish raiding party, passing unobstructed through territories of Ottoman vassals, broke into Moravian Serbia in 1381. It was routed by Lazar's nobles Crep Vukoslavić and Vitomir in the Battle of Dubravnica , fought near the town of Paraćin . In 1386,
7968-462: The Book of Life. We do not spare our bodies in fighting in order that we may accept the holy wreathes from that One who judges all accomplishments. Sufferings beget glory and labours lead to peace. With Lazar's death, Serbia lost its strongest regional ruler, who might have been seen as the last hope against the expanding Ottomans. This loss could have led to pessimism and a feeling of despair. The authors of
8134-612: The Bulgarian state in 1018, Basil II , to underscore the Byzantine victory, established the Archbishopric of Ohrid by downgrading the Bulgarian patriarchate to the rank of the archbishopric. The now archbishopric remained an autocephalous church, separate from the Patriarchate of Constantinople . However, while the archbishopric was completely independent in any other aspect, its primate
8300-698: The Byzantines emperors and patriarch demanded that the Church administrative borders follow political borders. In the same century, the region was also politically contested between the Carolingian Empire and Byzantine Empire. The most influential and successful was emperor Basil I , who actively worked on gaining control over all the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (from Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian to Croatian Slavic peoples). Basil I likely sent at least one embassy to Mutimir of Serbia , who decided to maintain
8466-419: The Church of St Stephen in his capital, Kruševac ; the church would become known as Lazarica . After 1379, he built the Gornjak Monastery in Braničevo. He was one of the founders of the Romanian monasteries in Tismana and Vodiţa. He funded some construction works in two monasteries on Mount Athos, the Serbian Hilandar and the Russian St Panteleimon . Lazar extended his domain to the Danube in 1379, when
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#17328984067628632-410: The Convention of 1880, signed by representatives of Austro-Hungarian authorities and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the southern eparchies, that remained under the Ottoman rule, Serbian metropolitans were appointed by the end of the 19th century. Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century, several distinctive Serbian ecclesiastical provinces existed, including the Patriarchate of Karlovci in
8798-456: The Ecumenical Patriarchate, resulting in canonical recognition of full ecclesiastical independence ( autocephaly ) for the Metropolitanate of Belgrade in 1879. At the same time, Serbian Orthodox eparchies in Bosnia and Herzegovina remained under the supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but after the Austro-Hungarian occupation (1878) of those provinces, local eparchies gained internal autonomy, regulated by
8964-445: The Empire was divided, and its eastern half later became known as the Byzantine Empire . In 535, emperor Justinian I created the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima , centered in the emperor's birth-city of Justiniana Prima , near modern Lebane in Serbia. The archbishopric had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all provinces of the Diocese of Dacia . By the beginning of the 7th century, Byzantine provincial and ecclesiastical order in
9130-400: The Great Lavra fraternity, led by hegoumenos Nicolas, if he could purchase two monasteries in the Holy Land . His request was accepted and he was offered the monasteries of Saint John the Theologian on Mount Sion and St. George's Monastery at Akona , both to be inhabited by Serbian monks. The icon Trojerucica ( Three-handed Theotokos ), a gift to the Great Lavra from St. John Damascene ,
9296-418: The Holy Community to found a Serbian religious centre at the abandoned site of Hilandar , which they renovated. This marked the beginning of a renaissance (in arts , literature and religion ). Sava's father died at Hilandar in 1199 and was canonized as St. Simeon. Saint Sava stayed for some years, rising in rank, then returned to Serbia in 1207, taking with him the remains of his father, which he interred at
9462-503: The Holy Mountain in 1217/18, preparing for the formation of an autocephalous Serbian Church. He was consecrated in 1219 as the first Archbishop of the Serbian Church, and was given autocephaly by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople , then in exile at Nicaea . In the same year, Saint Sava published Zakonopravilo (St. Sava's Nomocanon). Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious. After this, in Serbia, Sava stayed in Studenica and continued to educate
9628-414: The Holy Prince Lazar was probably venerated throughout Moravian Serbia, as well as in two monasteries on Mount Athos , the Serbian Hilandar and the Russian St. Panteleimon , in which the prince had funded some construction works. During Despot Stefan's reign, only one image of Lazar is known to have been painted. It is in a fresco in the Ljubostinja Monastery, built around 1405 by Princess Milica. Lazar
9794-407: The Hungarian King Sigismund. When Turkish forces, moving toward Hungary, reached the borders of Moravian Serbia in the summer of 1390, Milica accepted Ottoman suzerainty. She sent her youngest daughter, Olivera, to join the harem of Sultan Bayezid I . Vuk Branković became an Ottoman vassal in 1392. Now all the Serbian lands were under Ottoman suzerainty, except Zahumlje under King Tvrtko. After
9960-425: The Morava basins contributed to Lazar's prestige and political influence in the Balkans due to the anticipated Turkish offensives. In charters issued between 1379 and 1388, the prince named himself as Stefan Lazar. " Stefan " was the name borne by all Nemanjić rulers, leading the name to be regarded as a title of Serbian rulers. Tvrtko added "Stefan" to his name when he was crowned king of the Serbs and Bosnia. From
10126-410: The Mrnjavčevićs' lands in Macedonia and Kosovo. Prizren and Peć were taken by the Balšić brothers, the lords of Zeta. Prince Lazar took Priština and Novo Brdo, recovering also his patrimony, the Fortress of Prilepac. The Dragaš brothers, Jovan and Konstantin , created their own domain in eastern Macedonia. King Marko was eventually left only a relatively small area in western Macedonia centred on
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#173289840676210292-657: The Musić brothers, who (according to Orbin with the secret approval of Lazar) blinded him. Lazar accepted the suzerainty of King Louis. Ban Tvrtko annexed to his state the parts of Zahumlje which were held by Nikola, including the upper reaches of the Drina and Lim Rivers, as well as the districts of Onogošt and Gacko . Prince Lazar and his in-laws, Vuk Branković and čelnik Musa, took most of Nikola's domain. Vuk Branković, who married Lazar's daughter Mara in around 1371, acquired Sjenica and part of Kosovo. Lazar's subordinate, čelnik Musa, governed an area around Mount Kopaonik jointly with his sons Stefan and Lazar, known as
10458-458: The Musić brothers. Djuradj Balšić grabbed Nikola's littoral districts: Dračevica , Konavle, and Trebinje . Ban Tvrtko would take these lands in 1377. In October of that year, Tvrtko was crowned king of the Serbs, Bosnia, Maritime, and Western Areas. Although Tvrtko was a Catholic, his coronation was performed at the Serbian Monastery of Mileševa , or at some other prominent Serbian Orthodox centre in his state. King Tvrtko asserted pretensions to
10624-409: The Nemanjić dynasty, which ruled Serbia from 1166 to 1371. Vukan's descendants are not mentioned in any known source that predates the 15th-century genealogies. Tsar Dušan died suddenly in 1355 at the age of about 47, and was succeeded by his 20-year-old son Stefan Uroš V . Lazar remained a stavilac at the court of the new tsar. Dušan's death was followed by the stirring of separatist activity in
10790-423: The Ottoman Sultan Murad I himself led much larger forces that took Niš from Lazar. It is unclear whether the encounter between the armies of Lazar and Murad at Pločnik , a site southwest of Niš, happened shortly before or after the capture of Niš. Lazar rebuffed Murad at Pločnik. After the death of King Louis I in 1382, a civil war broke out in the Kingdom of Hungary. It seems that Lazar participated in
10956-428: The Ottoman Empire under the millet system. After several failed attempts, made from c. 1530 up to 1541 by metropolitan Pavle of Smederevo to regain the autocephaly by seizing the throne of Peć and proclaiming himself not only Archbishop of Peć, but also Serbian Patriarch, the Serbian Patriarchate was finally restored in 1557 under the Sultan Suleiman I , thanks to the mediation of pasha Mehmed Sokolović who
11122-413: The Ottoman Turks took the remains of Saint Sava from monastery Mileševa to the Vračar hill in Belgrade where they were burned by Sinan Pasha on a stake to intimidate the Serb people in case of revolts (see Banat Uprising ) (1594). The Temple of Saint Sava was built on the place where his remains were burned. After consequent Serbian uprisings against the Turkish occupiers in which the church had
11288-467: The Ottoman conquest, and of Prince Lazar's fight against the Ottomans. The poster was presented at the Habsburg court. The same engravers produced a book titled Stemmatographia , published in Vienna in 1741. Part of it included copperplates of 29 rulers and saints, among whom were two cephalophores, Jovan Vladimir and Lazar. Stemmatographia was very popular among the Serbs, stirring patriotic feelings in them. The Holy Prince would often be represented as
11454-485: The Ottomans in 1459. The veneration of the Holy Prince Lazar was reduced to a local cult, centred on the Ravanica Monastery. Its monks continued to celebrate annually his feast day. The prince had granted 148 villages and various privileges to the monastery. The Ottomans reduced its property to a couple of villages containing 127 households in all, but they exempted Ravanica from some taxes. Italian traveller Marc Antonio Pigafetta, who visited Ravanica in 1568, reported that
11620-571: The Ragusans also applied to stavilac Lazar and presented him with three bolts of cloth. A relatively modest present as it was, it testifies that Lazar was perceived as having some influence at the court of Tsar Uroš. The peace between Prince Vojislav and Ragusa was signed in August 1362. Stavilac Lazar is mentioned as a witness in a July 1363 document by which Tsar Uroš approved an exchange of lands between Prince Vojislav and čelnik Musa . The latter man had been married to Lazar's sister, Dragana, since at least 1355. Musa's title, čelnik ("headman"),
11786-432: The Rastislalićs in the north. The book Il Regno de gli Slavi [The Realm of the Slavs] by Mavro Orbin, published in Pesaro in 1601, describes events in which Lazar was a main protagonist. Since this account is not corroborated by other sources, some historians doubt its veracity. According to Orbin, Nikola Altomanović and Lazar persuaded Tsar Uroš to join them in their attack on the Mrnjavčević brothers. The clash between
11952-603: The Ravanica Monastery, was given a boost during the office of Serbian Patriarch Paisije. In 1633 and several ensuing years, Lazar was painted in the church of the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć and three other Serbian churches. Patriarch Paisije wrote that Serbian Tsar Dušan adopted Lazar and gave him his relative, Princess Milica, in marriage. In this way, Lazar was the legitimate successor to the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1667,
12118-720: The Serbian Archbishopric was correspondingly raised to the rank of Patriarchate in 1346. In the century that followed, the Serbian Church achieved its greatest power and prestige. In the 14th century Serbian Orthodox clergy had the title of Protos at Mount Athos. On 16 April 1346 ( Easter ), Stefan Dušan convoked a grand assembly at Skopje , attended by the Serbian Archbishop Joanikije II , Archbishop Nicholas I of Ohrid , Patriarch Simeon of Bulgaria and various religious leaders of Mount Athos . The assembly and clergy agreed on, and then ceremonially performed
12284-473: The Serbian Church actively popularized the cults of canonized Serbian rulers. Arsenije IV Šakabenta , Metropolitan of Karlovci , employed in 1741 the engravers Hristofor Žefarović and Toma Mesmer to create a poster titled "Saint Sava with Serbian Saints of the House of Nemanja", where Lazar was also depicted. Its purpose was not only religious, as it should also remind people of the independent Serbian state before
12450-504: The Serbian Church in schism, Sava IV, died in April 1375. In October of the same year, Prince Lazar and Djuradj Balšić convened a synod of the Serbian Church in Peć. Patriarch Jefrem was selected for the new head of the Church. He was a candidate of Constantinople, or a compromise selection from among the candidates of powerful nobles. Patriarch Jefrem abdicated in 1379 in favour of Spiridon , which
12616-614: The Serbian Orthodox Church during the medieval period were hagiographies , known in Serbian as žitije (vita), that were written as biographies of rulers, archbishops and saints from the 12th up to the 15th century. The Ottoman Empire conquered the Serbian Despotate in 1459, the Bosnian Kingdom in 1463, Herzegovina in 1482 and Montenegro in 1499. All of the conquered lands were divided into sanjaks . Although some Serbs converted to Islam , most continued their adherence to
12782-551: The Serbian Orthodox Church were singled out for persecution, and many Orthodox churches were damaged or destroyed. Out of the 577 Serbian Orthodox priests, monks and other religious dignitaries in the NDH, between 214 and 217 were killed and 334 were exiled to German-occupied Serbia . Some of them were brutally tortured and mutilated by the Ustaše prior to being killed. In the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 71 Orthodox priests were killed by
12948-495: The Serbian Orthodox Church. The church itself continued to exist throughout the Ottoman period, though not without some disruption. After the death of Serbian Patriarch Arsenije II in 1463, a successor was not elected. The Patriarchate was thus de facto abolished, and the Serbian Church passed under the jurisdiction of Archbishopric of Ohrid and ultimately the Ecumenical Patriarchate which exercised jurisdiction over all Orthodox of
13114-514: The Serbian people in their faith. Later he called for a council outlawing the Bogomils , whom he considered heretics. Sava appointed several bishops, sending them around Serbia to organize their dioceses. To maintain his standing as the religious and social leader, he continued to travel among the monasteries and lands to educate the people. In 1221 a synod was held in the Žiča monastery, condemning Bogomilism . The following seats were newly created in
13280-470: The Serbian territory, it seems that the Church in Serbia or part of the territory of Serbia became linked and influenced by the Bulgarian Church between 870 and 924. With Christianization in the 9th century, Christian names appear among the members of Serbian dynasties (Petar, Stefan, Pavle, Zaharije). Prince Petar Gojniković (r. 892–917) was evidently a Christian ruler, and Christianity presumably
13446-462: The Serbian throne and the heritage of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was a distant blood relative to the Nemanjićs. Hungary and Ragusa recognized Tvrtko as king, and there are no indications that Prince Lazar had any objections to the new title of his ally Kotromanić. This, on the other hand, does not mean that Lazar recognized Tvrtko as his overlord. King Tvrtko, however, had no support from the Serbian Church,
13612-414: The Slavic title knez . The same document relates that Lazar held Rudnik at that time. In medieval Serbia, knez was not a precisely defined term, and the title had no fixed rank in the feudal hierarchy. Its rank was high in the 12th century, but somewhat lower in the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century. During the reign of Tsar Uroš, when the central authority declined, the high prestige of
13778-469: The Sultan by slashing him. He was then killed by the Sultan's bodyguards. Information about the course and the outcome of the Battle of Kosovo is incomplete in the historical sources. It can be concluded that, tactically, the battle was a draw. However, the mutual heavy losses were devastating only for the Serbs, who had brought to Kosovo almost all of their fighting strength. Although Serbia under Prince Lazar
13944-411: The Turks at the Battle of Kosovo, from a poem first published in 1815. In Serbian epic tradition , Lazar is said to have been visited the night before battle by a grey hawk or falcon from Jerusalem who offered a choice between an earthly kingdom—implying victory at the Battle of Kosovo—or a heavenly kingdom—which would come as the result of a peaceful capitulation or bloody defeat. According to
14110-424: The Turks in retaliation for uprisings and continued resistance. The success of Islamization was limited to certain areas, with the majority of the Serbian population keeping its Christian faith despite the negative consequences. To avoid them, numerous Serbs migrated with their hierarchs to the Habsburg monarchy where their autonomy had been granted. In 1708, an autonomous Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci
14276-505: The Ustaše, 10 by the Partisans , 5 by the Germans, and 45 died in the first decade after the end of WWII. After the war, the church was suppressed by the communist government of Josip Broz Tito , which viewed it with suspicion due to the church's links with the leadership from the period of Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the nationalist Chetnik movement. According to Denis Bećirović , aside from
14442-540: The Yugoslav drive to build up a Macedonian national identity . This was strongly resisted by the Serbian Church, which did not recognize the independence of its Macedonian counterpart. Similar plans for the creation of an independent church in the Yugoslav federal unit of Montenegro were also considered, but those plans were not put into action before 1993, when the creation of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church
14608-483: The alleged battle. In 1370 Lazar took from Altomanović the town of Rudnik , a rich mining centre. This could have been a consequence of Altomanović's defeat the year before. In any case, Altomanović could have quickly recovered from this defeat with the help of his powerful protector, the Kingdom of Hungary . It is uncertain since when Lazar had borne the title of knez , which is usually translated as "prince". The earliest source that testifies to Lazar's new title
14774-435: The battle. Vukašin's son and successor, King Marko , became the co-ruler of Tsar Uroš. In December 1371 Uroš died childless, marking the end of the Nemanjić dynasty, which had ruled Serbia for two centuries. The ruler of the Serbian state, which had in fact ceased to exist as a whole, was formally King Marko Mrnjavčević. Powerful Serbian lords, however, did not even consider recognizing him as their supreme ruler. They attacked
14940-450: The beginning of his reign, Đurađ issued a charter in which he referred to Lazar as a saint. When he reissued the charter in 1445, he avoided the adjective свети "saint", in reference to Lazar, by replacing it with светопочивши "resting in holiness". The avoidance to refer to the prince as a saint can be observed in other documents and inscriptions of that period, including those authored by his daughter Jelena. The Serbian Despotate fell to
15106-505: The center from which the Serbs received their baptism was marked as Rome . His account on the first Christianization of the Serbs can be dated to 632–638; this might have been Porphyrogenitus' construction, or may have encompassed a limited group of chiefs, with lesser reception by the wider layers of the tribe. From the 7th until mid-9th century, the Serbs were under influence of the Roman Church. The initial ecclesiastical affiliation with
15272-509: The church spread "hostile propaganda" against the Yugoslav Partisans and appointed persons in the administration of church institutions who were convicted of collaborating with the occupier. Along with other ecclesiastical institutions of all denominations, the church was subject to strict controls by the Yugoslav state, which prohibited the teaching of religion in schools, confiscated church property and discouraged religious activity among
15438-428: The communion of Church in Serbia with the Patriarchate of Constantinople when Pope John VIII invited him to get back to the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Sirmium (see also Archbishopric of Moravia ) in a letter dated to May 873. Alexis P. Vlasto argued that the Eparchy of Ras was founded during Mutimir's rule, as a bishopric of Serbia, at Ras with the church of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul , as part of
15604-459: The cultic writings interpreted the death of Lazar and the thousands of his warriors on the Kosovo Field as a martyrdom for the Christian faith and for Serbia. Sultan Murad and his army are described as bloodthirsty, godless, heathen beasts. Prince Lazar, by his martyrdom, remains eternally among the Serbs as the good shepherd. His cult was adjoined to the other great cults of medieval Serbia, those of
15770-532: The despotate from Kruševac until 1405, when the capital was moved to Belgrade , which he began renewing and refortifying in that year. Kruševac never lost its strategic importance, however. It was the meeting place of despot Stefan and Sultan Mehmed I in 1413. Struggles over the control of the city took place throughout the first half of the 15th century. It was occupied by the Turks briefly in 1413 and in 1427, and by Hungarians in 1437. After signing an agreement on
15936-517: The direct successor of the Nemanjić dynasty , which went extinct in 1371 after ruling over Serbia for two centuries. Lazar's programme had the full support of the Serbian Orthodox Church , but the Serbian nobility did not recognize him as their supreme ruler. He is often referred to as Tsar Lazar Hrebeljanović ( Serbian : Цар Лазар Хребељановић / Car Lazar Hrebeljanović ); however, he only held
16102-522: The epics, Lazar opted for the eternal, heavenly kingdom and consequently perished on the battlefield. "We die with Christ , to live forever", he told his soldiers. That Kosovo's declaration and testament is regarded as a covenant which the Serb people made with God and sealed with the blood of martyrs. Since then all Serbs faithful to that Testament regard themselves as the people of God, Christ's New Testament nation, heavenly Serbia, part of God's New Israel. This
16268-626: The first Ottoman possession in Europe. From there the Ottomans expanded further into the Balkans, and by 1370 they reached Serbian lands, specifically the territory of the Mrnjavčevićs in eastern Macedonia. An army of the Mrnjavčević brothers entered the territory controlled by the Ottomans and clashed with them in the Battle of Marica on 26 September 1371. The Ottomans annihilated the Serbian army; both King Vukašin and Despot Jovan Uglješa were killed in
16434-509: The first canonized Nemanjićs—Saint Simeon (whose secular name was Nemanja) and his son Saint Sava . The cults contributed to the consolidation of the Serbs in a strong religious and political unit. Lazar was, however, in the shadow of Saint Sava and Saint Simeon. Lazar's son and successor, Stefan Lazarević, was granted the title of despot by the Byzantine Emperor, and he ceased to be an Ottoman vassal in 1402. At least during his reign,
16600-568: The general plan of establishing bishoprics in the Slav lands of the Empire, confirmed by the Council of Constantinople in 879–880, most significantly related to the creation of the autonomous Archbishopric for Bulgaria of which Roman Church lost jurisdiction. However, according to Predrag Komatina, there is no mention of any bishopric in Serbia. In early medieval Europe, the existence of a Christian church without
16766-474: The hereditary lords of Prilepac, which together with the nearby Fortress of Prizrenac protected the mines and settlements around Novo Brdo. Lazar's father, Pribac, was a logothete (chancellor) in the court of Stefan Dušan , a member of the Nemanjić dynasty , who ruled as the King of Serbia from 1331 to 1346 and the Serbian Emperor ( tsar ) from 1346 to 1355. The rank of logothete was relatively modest in
16932-399: The hierarchy of the Serbian court. Dušan became the ruler of Serbia by dethroning his father, King Stefan Uroš III , then rewarding the petty nobles that had supported him in his rebellion, elevating them to higher positions within the feudal hierarchy. Lazar's father was among these nobles and was elevated to the position of logothete by pledging loyalty to Dušan. According to Mavro Orbin ,
17098-405: The last in the hierarchy of the Serbian court. It was, nevertheless, quite prestigious as it enabled its holder to be very close to the ruler. Stavilac Lazar married Milica; according to subsequent genealogies, created in the first half of the 15th century, Milica was the daughter of Prince Vratko , a great-grandson of Vukan . The latter was the son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja , the founder of
17264-515: The long run was the Battle of Marica eighteen years earlier, as the defeat of the Mrnjavčević brothers in it opened up the Balkans to the Turks. Lazar is celebrated as a saint and martyr in ten cultic writings composed in Serbia between 1389 and 1420; nine of them could be dated closer to the former year than to the latter. These writings were the principal means of spreading the cult of Saint Lazar, and most of them were used in liturgy on his feast day. The Encomium of Prince Lazar by nun Jefimija
17430-568: The mid-18th century, a general belief arose that the monastery was founded by Prince Lazar himself. Its church became too small to accommodate all the devotees who assembled there on holidays. The Treaty of Passarowitz , by which Serbia north of the West Morava was ceded from the Ottoman Empire to the Habsburg Monarchy, was signed on 21 July 1718. At that time, only one of the original Ravanica monks who had left their monastery 28 years ago,
17596-475: The monastery was never damaged by the Turks, and the monks practiced freely their religion, except that they were not allowed to ring bells. Saint Lazar was venerated at the court of Ivan the Terrible , the first Russian tsar (1547–1584), whose maternal grandmother was born in the Serbian noble family of Jakšić . Lazar appears in a fresco in the Cathedral of the Archangel , the burial place of Russian rulers in
17762-508: The most powerful nobles in the Serbian Empire. They controlled lands in the south of the Empire, primarily in Macedonia . In 1365, Tsar Uroš crowned Vukašin king, making him his co-ruler. Approximately at the same time, Jovan Uglješa was promoted to the rank of despot . A nephew of Prince Vojislav, Nikola Altomanović , gained control by 1368 of most of the territory of his late uncle; Nikola
17928-454: The new Serbian monarchy that emerged from 1815 onwards. The Serbian Orthodox Church in the Principality of Serbia gained its autonomy in 1831 and was organized as the Metropolitanate of Belgrade , remaining under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople . The Principality of Serbia gained full political independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, and soon after those negotiations were initiated with
18094-485: The only cohesive force in the fragmented Serbian state. After the demise of Nikola Altomanović, Prince Lazar emerged as the most powerful lord on the territory of the former Serbian Empire. Some local nobles resisted Lazar's authority, but they eventually submitted to the prince. That was the case with Nikola Zojić on Mount Rudnik , and Novak Belocrkvić in the valley of the Toplica River . Lazar's large and rich domain
18260-487: The opposition to Slobodan Milošević in the 1990s. Since the establishment of the Yugoslav federal unit of " Macedonia " (1944), communist authorities restricted the activities of SOC in that region, favoring the creation of a separate church. The Macedonian Orthodox Church was created in 1967, effectively as an offshoot of the Serbian Orthodox Church in what was then the Socialist Republic of Macedonia , as part of
18426-412: The population. In 1963, the Serbian Church among the diaspora was reorganized, and the eparchy for the United States and Canada was divided into three separate eparchies. At the same time, some internal divisions sparked in the Serbian diaspora, leading to the creation of the separate "Free Serbian Orthodox Church" under Bishop Dionisije . Division was healed in 1991, and Metropolitanate of New Gračanica
18592-537: The prince secured military support from Vuk Branković and King Tvrtko. The King of the Serbs and Bosnia was also expecting a bigger Ottoman offensive since his army, commanded by Vlatko Vuković , wiped out a large Turkish raiding party in the Battle of Bileća in 1388. A massive Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad, estimated at between 27,000 and 30,000 men, advanced across the territory of Konstantin Dragaš and arrived in June 1389 on
18758-486: The prince took Kučevo and Braničevo, ousting the Hungarian vassal Radič Branković Rastislalić from these regions. King Louis had earlier granted to Lazar the region of Mačva , or at least a part of it, probably when the prince accepted the king's suzerainty. This suggests that Lazar, who was himself a vassal of Louis, had rebelled, and indeed Louis is known to have been organizing a campaign against Serbia in 1378. However, it
18924-493: The prince was painted on a wall in the Hilandar Monastery. The same painter created an icon showing Lazar together with Đorđe Kratovac, a goldsmith who was tortured and killed by the Turks and recognized as a martyr. In 1675, Prince Lazar and several Nemanjićs were represented in an icon commissioned by the brothers Gavro and Vukoje Humković, Serbian craftsmen from Sarajevo. The prince's images from this period show him more as
19090-411: The procedure regarding the elections of Serbian Orthodox bishops in the Habsburg Monarchy, to the management of dioceses, parishes and monasteries. The act was upheld in force until it was replaced by the "Royal Rescript" issued on 10 August 1868. The church's close association with Serbian resistance to Ottoman rule led to Eastern Orthodoxy becoming inextricably linked with Serbian national identity and
19256-496: The raising of the autocephalous Serbian Archbishopric to the status of Patriarchate. The Archbishop was from now on titled Serbian Patriarch , although some documents called him Patriarch of Serbs and Greeks , with the seat at Patriarchal Monastery of Peć . The new Patriarch Joanikije II now solemnly crowned Stefan Dušan as " Emperor and autocrat of Serbs and Romans " (see Emperor of Serbs ). The Patriarchal status resulted in raising bishoprics to metropolitanates, as for example
19422-468: The region was destroyed by invading Avars and Slavs . The church life was renewed in the same century in the province of Illyricum and Dalmatia after a more pronounced Christianization of the Serbs and other Slavs by the Roman Church . In the 7th and mid-8th century the area was not under jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The history of the early medieval Serbian Principality
19588-494: The rest of the Despotate, later in 1454. Under Ottoman rule, Kruševac was renamed Aladža Hisar , Turkish for Colorful City , because of the diversity of materials from which the fortress was built. The Lazarica , which was built by Prince Lazar, was vandalized by the Ottomans, and was used for gunpowder storage. The best-preserved part of Prince Lazar 's former capital is the palace church of St. Stephen , Lazarica . Little
19754-549: The restoration of the Despotate, Đurađ Branković regained Kruševac in 1444. In 1454, the Ottomans launched an offensive with the goal of subduing the entirety of Serbia. At the beginning of the offensive, the Ottomans suffered enormous losses, especially in the Battle of Kruševac . The massive casualties inflicted on the Ottomans prompted Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror to personally reinforce his offensive using his entire Rumelian army. The city finally fell under Ottoman rule, along with
19920-692: The reunification of the Serbian state under him as the direct successor of the Nemanjićs. Lazar had the full support of the Serbian Church for this political programme. However, powerful regional lords—the Balšićs in Zeta, Vuk Branković in Kosovo, King Marko, Konstantin Dragaš, and Radoslav Hlapen in Macedonia—ruled their domains independent from Prince Lazar. Beside that, the three lords in Macedonia became Ottoman vassals after
20086-410: The rule of the same king, the Monastery of Gračanica was also renewed, and during the reign of King Stefan Uroš III (1321–1331), the Monastery of Dečani was built, under the supervision of Archbishop Danilo II . The status of the Serbian Orthodox Church grew along with the expansion and heightened prestige of the Serbian kingdom . After King Stefan Dušan assumed the imperial title of tsar ,
20252-504: The see was transferred to the Monastery of Peć by archbishop Arsenije. The Serbian primates had since moved between the two. Sometime between 1276 and 1292 the Cumans burned the Žiča monastery, and King Stefan Milutin (1282–1321) renovated it in 1292–1309, during the office of Jevstatije II . In 1289–1290, the chief treasures of the ruined monastery, including the remains of Saint Jevstatije I , were transferred to Monastery of Peć. During
20418-473: The single Serbian Orthodox Church, in 1920. The first primate of the united SOC was Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije (1920–1930). The SOC gained great political and social influence in the inter-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia , during which time it successfully campaigned against the Yugoslav government's intentions of signing a concordat with the Holy See . The united Serbian Orthodox Church kept under its jurisdiction
20584-549: The summer of 1390. Lazar is venerated in the Orthodox Christian Church as a martyr and saint , and is highly regarded in Serbian history , culture and tradition. In Serbian epic poetry , he is referred to as Tsar Lazar ( Serbian : Цар Лазар / Car Lazar ). Lazar was born around 1329 in the Fortress of Prilepac , 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southeast of Novo Brdo , then an important mining town. His family were
20750-490: The sword, if wounds, or if the darkness of death comes to us, we accept it sweetly for Christ and for the godliness of our homeland. It is better to die in battle than to live in shame. Better it is for us to accept death from the sword in battle than to offer our shoulders to the enemy. We have lived a long time for the world; in the end we seek to accept the martyr's struggle and to live forever in heaven. We call ourselves Christian soldiers, martyrs for godliness to be recorded in
20916-402: The time of Peter I (927–969) and Samuel of Bulgaria (977–1014). It was of a small size. It is considered that it was possibly founded by the Bulgarian emperor, but most probably it represented the latest date in which it could have been integrated into the Bulgarian Church. The episcopy was probably part of the Bulgarian metropolis of Morava, but certainly not of Durrës . If it was on
21082-449: The time of Prince Lazar, the Serbian state experienced the loss of some of its lands, the division of the remaining lands among regional lords, the end of the Nemanjić dynasty, and the Turkish attacks. These circumstances raised the question of a continuation of the Serbian state. Lazar's answer to this question could be read in the titles he applied to himself in his charters. Lazar's ideal was
21248-653: The time of Saint Sava: Older eparchies under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Archbishop were: In 1229/1233, Saint Sava went on a pilgrimage to Palestine and in Jerusalem he met with Patriarch Athanasios II. Saint Sava saw Bethlehem where Jesus was born, the Jordan River where Christ was baptized, and the Great Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified ( Mar Saba monastery ). Sava asked Athanasios II, his host, and
21414-429: The title of knez was restored. It was borne by the mightiest regional lord, Vojislav Vojinović, until his death in 1363. In the period between 1374 and 1379 the Serbian Church recognized Lazar as the "Lord of Serbs and Podunavlje " (господар Срба и Подунавља). In 1381, he is signed as " knez Lazar, of Serbs and Podunavlje " ( кнезь Лазарь Срьблѥмь и Подѹнавїю ). In an inscription from Ljubostinja dated to 1389, he
21580-440: The title of prince (Serbian: кнез / knez ). Lazar was killed at the Battle of Kosovo in June 1389 while leading a Christian army assembled to confront the invading Ottoman Empire , led by Sultan Murad I . The battle ended without a clear victor, with both sides enduring heavy losses. Lazar's widow, Milica , who ruled as regent for their adolescent son Stefan Lazarević , Lazar's successor, accepted Ottoman suzerainty in
21746-436: The town of Prilep . Jovan Uglješa's widow, Jelena, who became a nun and took the monastic name of Jefimija, lived on with Prince Lazar and his wife Milica. After the demise of the Mrnjavčević brothers, Nikola Altomanović emerged as the most powerful noble on the territory of the fragmented Serbian state. While Lazar was busy taking Priština and Novo Brdo, Nikola recovered Rudnik from him. By 1372, Prince Lazar and Tvrtko ,
21912-474: The tsar's authority. Uroš was weak and unable to counteract these separatist tendencies, becoming an inferior power in the state he nominally ruled. He relied on the strongest Serbian noble, Prince Vojislav Vojinović of Zahumlje . Vojislav started as a stavilac at the court of Tsar Dušan, but by 1363 he controlled a large region from Mount Rudnik in central Serbia to Konavle on the Adriatic coast, and from
22078-419: The two groups of Serbian lords took place on the Kosovo Field in 1369. Lazar withdrew from the battle soon after it began. His allies fought on, but were defeated by the Mrnjavčevićs. Altomanović barely escaped with his life, while Uroš was captured and briefly imprisoned by the brothers. There are indications that the co-rulers, Tsar Uroš and King Vukašin Mrnjavčević, went their separate ways two years prior to
22244-476: The unification of the Metropolitanate of Belgrade , the Patriarchate of Karlovci , and the Metropolitanate of Montenegro . Christianity started to spread throughout the southeastern Europe during the 1st century. Early martyrs Florus and Laurus from the 2nd century, who were murdered along with other 300 Christians in Ulpiana , near modern Lipljan , are venerated as Christian saints. Bishop Irenaeus of Sirmium
22410-627: The upper reaches of the Drina River to northern Kosovo . The next in power to Prince Vojislav were the Balšić brothers, Stracimir , Đurađ , and Balša II . By 1363, they gained control over the region of Zeta , which coincided for the most part with present-day Montenegro . In 1361, Prince Vojislav started a war with the Republic of Ragusa over some territories. Ragusans then asked most eminent persons in Serbia to use their influence to stop these hostilities that were harmful for both sides. In 1362
22576-421: The walls were torn down during the last century down to build houses; stone from the fortress was probably used in constructing nearby homes. Kruševac Fortress was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is now protected by the Republic of Serbia . Lazar of Serbia Lazar Hrebeljanović ( Serbian Cyrillic : Лазар Хребељановић ; c. 1329 – 15 June 1389)
22742-472: The war as one of the opponents of Prince Sigismund of Luxemburg . Lazar may have sent some troops to fight in the regions of Belgrade and Syrmia . As the Ottoman threat increased and the support for Sigismund grew in Hungary, Lazar made peace with Sigismund, who was crowned Hungarian king in March 1387. The peace was sealed, probably in 1387, with the marriage of Lazar's daughter Teodora to Nicholas II Garay ,
22908-416: The world are named after him. His alleged remains are kept in Ravanica Monastery . It is uncertain since when Lazar had borne the title of knez , which is usually translated as "prince" or "duke". The earliest source that testifies to Lazar's new title is a Ragusan document in Latin, dated 22 April 1371, in which he is referred to as Comes Lazarus . Ragusans used comes as a Latin translation of
23074-470: Was Serbian by birth. His cousin, one of the Serbian Orthodox bishops Makarije Sokolović was elected Patriarch in Peć. The restoration of the Patriarchate was of great importance for the Serbs because it helped the spiritual unification of all Serbs in the Ottoman Empire. The Patriarchate of Peć also included some dioceses in western Bulgaria. In the time of Serbian Patriarch Jovan Kantul (1592–1614),
23240-434: Was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire . Lazar's state, referred to by historians as Moravian Serbia , comprised the basins of the Great Morava , West Morava , and South Morava rivers. Lazar ruled Moravian Serbia from 1373 until his death in 1389. He sought to resurrect the Serbian Empire and place himself at its helm, claiming to be
23406-575: Was a refuge for Eastern Orthodox Christian monks who fled from areas threatened by the Islamic Ottomans. This brought fame to Lazar on Mount Athos , the centre of Orthodox monasticism. The Serbian Church ( Serbian Patriarchate of Peć ) had since 1350 been in schism with the Patriarchate of Constantinople , the central authority of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity. A Serb monk from Mount Athos named Isaija, who distinguished himself as
23572-462: Was abolished by the Ottoman Empire in 1766, though several regional sections of the church continued to exist, most prominent among them being the Metropolitanate of Karlovci , in the Habsburg monarchy . After the re-creation of Serbia , ecclesiastical autonomy was regained in 1831, and the autocephaly was renewed in 1879. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was re-established in 1920, after
23738-453: Was about 20 at that time. In this period, Lazar became independent and began his career as a regional lord. It is not clear how his territory developed, but its nucleus was certainly not at his patrimony, the Fortress of Prilepac, which had been taken by Vukašin. The nucleus of Lazar's territory was somewhere in the area bordered by the Mrnjavčevićs in the south, Nikola Altomanović in the west, and
23904-617: Was accepted by the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church. On 14 April 1942, after the German occupation authorities gave their permission, the reliquary with Lazar's relics was transported from Bešenovo to the Belgrade Cathedral Church and ceremonially laid in front of the iconostasis in the church. In 1954, the Synod decided that the relics should be returned to the Ravanica Monastery, which
24070-490: Was accomplished in 1989—on the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. Kosovo curse : "Whoever is a Serb and of Serb birth, And of Serb blood and heritage, And comes not to the Battle of Kosovo, May he never have the progeny his heart desires, Neither son nor daughter! May nothing grow that his hand sows, Neither dark wine nor white wheat! And let him be cursed from all ages to all ages!" – Lazar curses those who do not take up arms against
24236-677: Was also martyred, in 304. Emperor Constantine the Great (306–337), born in Naissus (modern Niš in Serbia), was the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire . Several local bishops, seated in present-day Serbia, became prominent during the 4th century, such as Germinius of Sirmium , Ursacius of Singidunum and Secundianus of Singidunum (modern Belgrade ), while several Councils were held in Sirmium . In 395,
24402-400: Was an economically prosperous and militarily well organized state, it could not compare to the Ottoman Empire with respect to the size of territory, population, and economic power. Lazar was succeeded by his eldest son Stefan Lazarević . As he was still a minor, Moravian Serbia was administered by Stefan's mother, Milica. She was attacked from the north five months after the battle by troops of
24568-465: Was at Destinikon , while Ras in the mid-9th century was only a border fort which became the ecclesiastical center of the bishopric by 1019-1020. The imperial charter of Basil II from 1020 to the Archbishopric of Ohrid , in which the rights and jurisdictions were established, has the earliest mention of the Bishopric/Episcopy of Ras, stating it belonged to the Bulgarian autocephal church during
24734-451: Was attended by the highest clergy of the Serbian Church, including Patriarch Danilo III. It is most likely at this time and place that Lazar was canonized, though no account of his canonization was written. He was included among the Christian martyrs , with his feast day being celebrated on 15 June . According to writings by Patriarch Danilo and other contemporary authors, Prince Lazar
24900-520: Was captured and beheaded by the Turks. His death could thus be likened to that of early Christian martyrs who were slain by pagans. In a medieval state with a strong link between the State and the Church, as in Moravian Serbia, a canonization was not only an ecclesiastical act. It also had a social significance. After two centuries of rule of the Nemanjić dynasty, most members of which were canonized, Lazar
25066-524: Was created, which would later become a patriarchate (1848–1920). During the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-1780), several assemblies of Orthodox Serbs were held, sending their petitions to the Habsburg court. In response to that, several royal acts were issued, such as Regulamentum privilegiorum (1770) and Regulamentum Illyricae Nationis (1777), both of them replaced by the royal Declaratory Rescript of 1779, that regulated various important questions, from
25232-539: Was created, within the united Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1983, a fourth eparchy in North America was created specifically for Canadian churches: the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada . The gradual demise of Yugoslav communism and the rise of rival nationalist movements during the 1980s also led to a marked religious revival throughout Yugoslavia, not least in Serbia. The Serbian Patriarch Pavle supported
25398-993: Was crowned king of the Serbs and Bosnia. In the charters, Lazar referred to himself as the autocrator ( samodržac in Serbian) of "All Serbian Lands" ( самодрьжца всеѥ Срьбьскьіѥ землѥ ), or the autocrator of "All the Serbs" ( самодрьжць вьсѣмь Србьлѥмь ). Autocrator, "self-ruler" in Greek, was an epithet of the Byzantine emperors. The Nemanjić kings adopted it and applied it to themselves in its literal meaning to stress their independence from Byzantium, whose supreme suzerainty they nominally recognized. Lazar and Milica had at least eight children, five daughters and three sons: Serbian Orthodox Church Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Serbian Orthodox Church ( Serbian : Српска православна црква , Srpska pravoslavna crkva )
25564-544: Was established. The eparchy of Slavonia had its see moved from Pakrac to Daruvar . After Operation Storm , two monasteries were particularly damaged, the Krupa monastery built in 1317, and the Krka monastery built in 1345. The eparchies of Bihać and Petrovac, Dabar-Bosnia and Zvornik and Tuzla were also dislocated due to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina . The eparchy see of Dabar-Bosnia
25730-403: Was fought on 15 June 1389. In the fierce fighting and mutual heavy losses, both Prince Lazar and Sultan Murad lost their lives. Lazar is killed during battle, Sultan Murad was assassinated after the battle by Serbian nobleman later identified as Miloš Obilić (or Kobilić), pretended to have deserted to the Ottoman forces. When brought before Murad, Obilić pulled out a hidden dagger and killed
25896-744: Was given to Saint Sava and he, in turn, bequeathed it to Hilandar . Saint Sava died in Veliko Tarnovo , capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire , during the reign of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria . According to his Biography , he fell ill following the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Epiphany , 12 January 1235. Saint Sava was visiting Veliko Tarnovo on his way back from the Holy Land , where he had founded
26062-477: Was least exposed to the ravages of Turkish raiding parties. This circumstance attracted immigrants from Turkish-threatened areas, who built new villages and hamlets in previously poorly inhabited and uncultivated areas of Moravian Serbia. There were also spiritual persons among the immigrants, which stimulated the revival of old ecclesiastical centres and the foundation of new ones in Lazar's state. The strategic position of
26228-417: Was of a higher rank than stavilac . Lazar's activities in the period between 1363 and 1371 are poorly documented in sources. Apparently, he left the court of Tsar Uroš in 1363 or 1365; he was about 35 years of age, and had not advanced beyond the rank of stavilac . Prince Vojislav, the strongest regional lord, suddenly died in September 1363. The Mrnjavčević brothers, Vukašin and Jovan Uglješa , became
26394-455: Was proclaimed. The organization was not legally registered before 2000, receiving no support from the Eastern Orthodox communion, and succeeding to attract only a minority of Eastern Orthodox adherents in Montenegro. The Yugoslav wars gravely impacted several branches of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Many Serbian Orthodox Church clergy supported the war, while others were against it. Many churches in Croatia were damaged or destroyed during
26560-407: Was reached. The Battle of Kosovo (1389) and its aftermath had a lasting influence on medieval legacy and later traditions of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1455, when Ottoman Turks conquered the Patriarchal seat in Peć, Patriarch Arsenije II found temporary refuge in Smederevo , the capital city of Serbian Despotate . Among cultural, artistic and literary legacies created under the auspices of
26726-526: Was selected by the emperor from a list of three candidates submitted by the local church synod . In three sigillia issued in 1020 Basil II gave extensive privileges to the new see. In the first and third charter of Basil II was mentioned Bishopric of Serbia, while in the second charter of Basil II, dated 1020, the bishopric of Ras is mentioned, with the seat at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Ras . The 10th- or 11th-century Gospel Book Codex Marianus , written in Old Church Slavonic in
26892-464: Was spreading in his time. Since Serbia bordered Bulgaria, Christian influences and perhaps missionaries came from there, increasing during the twenty-year peace. The Bulgarian annexation of Serbia in 924 was important for the future direction of the Serbian church. By then, at the latest, Serbia must have received the Cyrillic alphabet and Slavic religious text, already familiar but perhaps not yet preferred to Greek. Following his final subjugation of
27058-418: Was still alive. His name was Stefan. Shortly before the treaty was signed, Stefan returned to Ravanica and renovated the monastery, which had been half-ruined and overgrown with vegetation when he came. In 1733, there were only five monks in Ravanica. Serbia was returned to the Ottoman Empire in 1739, but the monastery was not completely abandoned this time. After the Great Serb Migration, the highest clergy of
27224-409: Was temporarily moved to Sokolac , and the see of Zvornik-Tuzla to Bijeljina . Over a hundred Church-owned objects in the Zvornik-Tuzla eparchy were destroyed or damaged during the war. Many monasteries and churches in the Zahumlje eparchy were also destroyed. Numerous faithful from these eparchies also became refugees. By 1998, the situation had stabilized in both countries. The clergy and many of
27390-412: Was that it was plastered with pebbles, a rare style and probably one of the reasons that prompted the Turks to name the fortress "Colorful City". The area of the former fortress has been converted into a park and now holds a museum. The park is almost entirely neglected, except around the church. The walls and buildings remains are very poorly preserved and unmarked, with no protection from vandals. Parts of
27556-454: Was the first lay person to be recognized as a saint. During his lifetime, he had achieved considerable prestige as the major lord on the territory of the former Serbian Empire. The Church saw him as the only ruler worthy and capable of succeeding the Nemanjićs and restoring their state. His death was seen as a turning point in Serbian history. The aftermath of the Battle of Kosovo was felt in Serbia almost immediately, although more significant in
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