Servia
(SERBIA)
A European kingdom in the north-western part of the Balkan peninsula.
I. HISTORY
The greater part of the territory of the present Kingdom of Servia belonged, at the beginning of the Christian era, to the Roman Province of Moesia, the western part to the Province of Dalmatia. Under Roman supremacy a number of cities arose along the Danube and the Morava, and the country attained to a considerable height of economic prosperity and intellectual development. Christianity found entrance into the Roman districts of the Balkan Peninsula at an early date and suffered but little in this region from the persecutions of the emperors. Martyrs are not mentioned until the reign of Diocletian, when several suffered death for Christ at Singidunum (Belgrade). During the migrations the country was traversed in succession by Ostrogoths, Huns, and Lombards. In 550 it was conquered by the Emperor Justinian, head of the Eastern Empire. Soon after this, the Avars fell upon the land, devastating and burning wherever they went, and turned the region into a wilderness. In the seventh century the forefathers of the present Serbs, a tribe of the southern Slavs, migrated into the country, which received from them the name of Servia. During the Middle Ages and well into modern times the term included not only the present Servia, but also Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the northern parts of Macedonia and Albania. In the early centuries of their history the political cohesion of the Serbs was slight; the political organization was based upon the family clan, the sadruga (zadruga). The sadruga was composed of about fifty or sixty persons, who bore a common name and obeyed an elder who was the representative of the clan in dealings with outsiders or with the gods. All members of the clan had the same rights and were entitled to a share of the common possessions. Several such family-clans formed a tribe whose affairs were managed by a council of the family elders. At the head of the tribe was a Zupan, elected by the elders of the families. The religion of the Serbs was a natural religion. They worshipped their gods in the open air and accompanied their sacrifices with singing. They had neither images, temples, nor priests. In common with all Slavs they believed in a life after death.
At various times during the first centuries of their history they were obliged to acknowledge the supremacy either of the Eastern Empire or of the Bulgarians. For short periods also they were able to maintain their independence. They accepted Latin Christianity in the eighth century, during the period of Bulgarian suzerainty. Until the union of Servia with the Greek Orthodox Church, the Servian Church was under the control of the Latin Archbishop of Spalato and, later, the Latin Archbishop of Antivari. After the death of the most powerful of the Bulgarian princes, Symeon (927), the Servian Zupan Cestaw was able, for the first time, to unite several Servian tribes against Peter, the weak ruler of the Bulgarians. However, the destruction of the Bulgarian kingdom by Basil II, Bulgaroktonos, the Byzantine emperor (976-1025), re-established Byzantine supremacy over the whole Balkan Peninsula. Although the oppressive sway of the Eastern Empire led to repeated revolts of the Serbs, the supremacy of Constantinople continued until the twelfth century. For a time indeed the Grand Zupan Michael (1050-80) was able to maintain his independence; he even received the title of king from Pope Gregory VII. In the twelfth century the family of the Nemanyich, to whom the union of the Serbs is due, became prominent in Servian history. Urosch, who was Zupan of Rassa from about 1120, entered into friendly relations with the Hungarian king, Bela II. His son, Stephen I, Nemanya (1159-95), conquered the chiefs of the other Servian tribes, with the exception of those in Bosnia, and thus founded a united hereditary and independent state. He accomplished this with the aid of the Eastern Emperor, Manuel I, to whom he swore fealty in return for recognition as Grand Zupan. Free from his oath after the death of Manuel I (1180), he seized for himself those portions of Servian Territory which belonged directly to the Eastern Empire.
Stephen I, Nemanja, who was a Catholic, maintained amicable relations with the popes in ecelesiastico-political affairs, especially with Pope Innocent III. He received the latter’s legates and letters in a friendly manner and repeatedly assured the pope of his attachment. His brother Vlkan, as lord of Antivari and Cattaro, was also closely connected with the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the Greek Orthodoxy Church grew constantly stronger in the eastern part of the country, although in this era the sharp distinction between the Churches of the Eastern and Western Empires had not yet appeared. In 1196 Stephen abdicated in favour of his eldest son and retired to the monastery of Chilandar, which he had founded on Mount Athos. Here he died in 1199 or 1200. The work of the father was continued during the administration of the son, Stephen II (1196-1228), who had received an excellent Byzantine education and was a skilful diplomatist. In church affairs he, like his father, maintained good relations with the popes. The sixth canon of the Servian Council of Dioclea (1199) formally declared that the Servian Church regarded the Roman Church as the mother and ruler of all the Churches. During the Fourth Crusade, which ended in the establishment of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, Stephen II had the skill to maintain himself against all his neighbors and to use the favourable opportunity for increasing his power. Like the Bulgarian Kalojan, he asked Innocent III to grant him the title of king and to send a legate to Servia. However, the opposition of the Hungarian king, Emmerich, prevented the carrying out of this plan, to which Pope Innocent had given his consent. Stephen finally obtained the royal crown in 1217 from Honorius III, probably through the aid of Venice, which, since the Fourth Crusade had become a neighbor of Servia. In order to make his kingdom autonomous in religious matters he appointed his brother Sabas, who had been a monk at Mount Athos, Metropolitan of Servia, and organized the dioceses of the Servian Church in co-operation with this new metropolitan.
Stephen II had four sons and was succeeded by one of them, Stephen Radoslav (1228-34). This king was the son-in-law of the Emperor Theodore the Epirote, and as such regarded himself as a Greek. He was so incompetent that he was overthrown and banished by the nobility. His brother Stephen Vladislav (1234-1243) could not maintain his power in the confusion caused by the incursion of the Mongols into the Balkan Peninsula, and was obliged to resign the throne to a more vigorous brother and content himself with the empty title of king. Stephen Urosch I the Great (1243-76) was victorious in a war with the city of Ragusa, the bishop of which was obliged, in 1254, to renounce all ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Servian territory. He was also successful, in league with the Latin Empire of Constantinople, in a campaign against the Greek Empire of Nica, but failed in an attack upon Hungary. After the fall of the Latin Empire the relations between the papacy and Servia grew gradually less intimate; although married to a Catholic Frenchwoman, Helena, Stephen Urosch permitted both his sons to be brought up in the Greek Orthodox religion. Of these sons Stephen Dragutin, who drove his father from the throne, soon gave up the government to his younger brother Stephen Milutin (1282-1321), while retaining for himself the title of king. The separation from Rome was completed during the reigns of these two princes and has continued from that period until the present day, although several popes have exerted themselves to reestablish the union, e. g. Nicholas IV (1288), Benedict XI (1303), and Clement V (1308).
Stephen Milutin conquered several provinces of the Byzantine Empire, and advanced victoriously as far as Mount Athos, besides receiving Bosnia, without striking a blow, as the dowry of his wife, a daughter of the Hungarian king Stephen V. During his reign and that of his son Stephen IV, Urosch (1320-31), Servia gained a European reputation and was the leading power of Eastern Europe. The son carried on a successful war against the revived Bulgarian kingdom and broke its power forever. Stephen IV Urosch, was willing, in 1323, to unite with Rome and abandon the schism in order to secure the aid of Western Europe against the claims to the throne of his half-brother Vladislav; but this union with Rome was only of short duration. As in the latter years of his reign he showed a preference for the son of a second marriage, his eldest son Stephen Duschan rose against him and threw him into prison where he was soon killed. Stephen Duschan being probably an accomplice in his death. The constant aim of this, the greatest of all the rulers of Servia (1331-55) was to establish a Greater Servia, which should unite all the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, to conquer Constantinople, and to win for himself the crown of a new Oriental empire with its centre at Constantinople. Taking advantage of the civil war in the Eastern Empire he was able, in 1336-40 and in 1345, to conquer Albania, Macedonia, Epirus, and Thessaly, and undertook thirteen campaigns against Constantinople in which he advanced as far as the imperial capital itself. In 1346 he was crowned at Skopje as ‘Tsar of the Serbs and Greeks"; this is translated in Latin documents as " Imperator Rasciae et Romaniae ". At the same time, in a Servian synod, he had the Servian Archbishop of Ipek created an independent "Metropolitan of the Serbs and Greeks", notwithstanding the anathema of the Church of Constantinople. The new head of the Servian Church had twenty metropolitans and bishops under him.
Stephen Duschan’s reign has been called the Golden Age of Servia, because he gave the country a better administration and judicial system, sought to improve education. mining, commerce, etc., and, in issued a code of laws, an important monument of the Kingdom of Servia. He was very hostile to the Catholic Church. Article 6 of his code punished with death any Servian who adhered to the "Latin heresy", or any Latin ecclesiastic who sought to make proselytes. Yet he repeatedly entered into relations with the pope in order to gain aid from Western Europe against increasing danger of Turkish invasion, and held out the prospect of union with the Latin Church. The great kingdom he had created soon fell to pieces during the reign of his weak son, Urosch V (1355-71). Vlkasin, a Servian noble, rose against Urosch as a rival and gained almost the entire country for his cause; the strength of the kingdom was frittered away by internal disorders and civil wars, and thus the way was prepared for the Turks. Vlkasin lost both the throne and his life at the battle on the Maritza River (26 September, 1371), in which he took part as an ally of the Eastern Empire. Two months later, Urosch V also died, and with his death the Nemanyich dynasty became extinct. The nobles disputed over a successor; Lazar Gobljanovitch, one of the most prominent, formed an alliance with the Bulgarians, Albanians, and Bosnians, and defeated a viceroy of the Turkish Sultan, Amurath I. However, the Serbs suffered a severe defeat on 15 June 1389, in the terrible battle on the Plain of Kossovo (the Plain of the Blackbirds). Lazar and a large number of the most distinguished Serbs were taken prisoners and were beheaded during the night after the battle. The land was defenseless against the Turks, and Servian independence was in abeyance for four hundred Years. Amurath’s successor, Bajazet, divided the country between a son and a son-in-law of Lazar, both of whom were obliged to Pay tribute to the Turks and to take part in the Turkish military expeditions. In 1459 Mohammed II put an end to the sovereignty of these two rulers. Servia was formally incorporated into the Turkish Empire and was divided into pashalics. Many Servian families were destroyed, many others fled to Hungary, some 200,000 persons were dragged away as slaves. The Servian Patriarchate of Ipek was also suppressed, and the Servian Church was placed under the control of the Groeco-Bulgarian Patriarchate of Schrida. In 1557 the Patriarchate of Ipek was reestablished, and remained independent until its second suppression in 1766.
For more than two hundred years the name of Servia almost entirely disappeared from history. However, the Turks maintained only a military occupation of the country; they rung large sums of money from the people, and took large numbers of young men to be trained as Janizaries. But they did not claim any land for themselves, and thus the Serbs under the Turkish yoke were able to preserve their language, customs, religion, and the memory of the heroic age of their country until the hour of their deliverance. The folk-songs, which celebrated the exploits of their most famous heroes, did much to preserve the national consciousness during the worst periods of oppression, by keeping before the people the recollection of Servia’s history and past greatness. The first hope of deliverance from the Turkish yoke came from Austria which, under Charles of Lorraine, repeatedly defeated the Turks in the years 1684-86 and took possession of several provinces. When, in 1690, the Emperor Leopold I issued a proclamation declaring that he would protect the religion and the political rights of all Slavonic peoples on the Balkan peninsula, and called upon them to rise against the Turks, about 36,000 Servian and Albanian families, led by their patriarch, emigrated from Servia. After Leopold had given them the desired guarantees they crossed the Save and settled in Slavonia, in Syrmia, and in some of the Hungarian cities, where their descendants now form a considerable portion of the population. Their rights have always been protected by the emperor, and the see of a Servian patriarch was established at Carlowitz. The victories of Prince Eugene of Savoy forced Turkey to surrender all of Servia to Austria by the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718). But the Austrian Government was not able to win the sympathy of its new subjects, and, after the unsuccessful war of Charles VI against Turkey (1738-39), Servia was retroceded to that power.
Although the Serbs themselves had contributed largely to the restoration of the Turkish supremacy, their loyalty was ill repaid by the cruelties of the Janizary revolt. At the request of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Patriarchate of Ipak was again suppressed, in 1766, and the Servian Church was placed directly under the patriarch of Constantinople, who sent as bishops to Servia almost exclusively men of Greek nationality, who were hostile to Servian efforts for liberty. During the war against Turkey carried on by Joseph II and Catherine II in the years 1788-1790, rose in favour of Austria. In 1804 a general revolt was provoked by the atrocities of the Janizaries. The head of the rebellion was George Petrowitch, who was also called Karageorge (Black George). A series of victories delivered the country from the Turkish soldiers, and in 1807 even Belgrade was taken. The people, however, were not sufficiently supported by Russia, and could not obtain complete freedom. By the Treaty of Bucharest, in 1812, the Serbs were guaranteed complete amnesty and granted a measure of internal self administration, but were obliged to remain under Turkish suzerainty. As the Turks did not keep their promises a new revolt broke out in 1815, the leader of which was Milosch Obrenovich, Karageorge having been assas-sinated. On 6 November 1817, Milosch was proclaimed Prince of Servia at Belgrade by an assembly of Servian nobles by the Porte in 1820. By the Peace of Adrianople (1829), Servia received the right to elect its own princes, the right of self administration, in short, internal autonomy, but was obliged to pledge itself to pay a fixed yearly tribute to the Porte. Treaty of Akerman (1826) and the Peace of Adrianople (1829) also granted the people of Servia, freedom of worship and the right to elect their bishops. In 1832 a concordat was made with the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople which regulated the relation of the Servian to the Greek Orthodox Church; the Archbishop of Belgrade received the title of Metropolitan of Servia, and was henceforth to be elected without the participation of the Patriarch of Constantinople; the election, however, must be announced to, and confirmed by, the patriarch, who had the privilege of confirming it and consecrating the new metropolitan. In 1830 Milosch was recognized by the Porte as hereditary prince; in 1834 the Turkish military occupation of Servia was limited to Belgrade.
Influenced by Russia, Milosch ruled as an absolute prince without calling any national assembly; he seized commercial monopolies for his own benefit, and in this way so irritated the people that in 1835 a revolt broke out. He was finally obliged to grant a constitution which, however, the Turkish Government replaced in 1838, by the organic Statue (Ustav). This statute replacing the National Assembly with a senate provided with extensive powers, satisfied neither the people nor the prince. Milosch swore to observe the Organic Statute, but did not keep his oath and, after a fresh uprising, in 1839, abdicated in favour of his eldest son Milan I. Milan died in three months and was followed by his incapable and tyrannical brother Michael, who, in 1842, was forced by his opponents to abdicate, and then fled to Austria. A national assembly convoked 11 September, 1842, elected the son of Karageorge, Alexander Karageorgevitch, Prince of Servia. He was confirmed by the sultan, but only with the title of Beschbeg (overlord). In his home policy he followed Austria and, influenced as rigidly conservative, which made him unpopular among the Serbs and in Russia. When in 1858, the Senate wished to force him to retire, he sought protection with the Turkish garrison at Belgrade. Thereupon the National Assembly (Skupshtina) deposed him as a fugitive, and called to the throne Milosch Obrenovitch, now eighty years old, who had abdicated in 1839. Milosch was followed, in 1860, by his son Michael, who had been forced to abdicate in 1842. Under him the organization of the army was carried out, notwithstanding complaints from the Porte, and the efforts of the Serbs to become entirely independent of Turkey became constantly more evident. Urged by Austria, the Turks, in 1867, withdrew the last garrison, that of Belgrade, from the country, in order-to allay the national excitement. Notwithstanding the success that had been attained, a conspiracy was formed against the ruling prince, who was killed on 29 June, 1868, in the park of Topschider. The Skupshtina then chose as prince the sole surviving member of the Obrenovitch family, Milan II, then a student in Paris.
During Milan’s minority a new constitution was granted to the country by the regent Ristitch. When, in September, 1874, the Christians of Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Turkish yoke, and the revolt constantly spread, Milan believed the occasion favourable to gain the independence of the country, while augmenting it with Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Old Servia, thus founding a Great Servia. In July, 1876 he began war against the Turks, without being able to gain any success in battle. Nevertheless, when war broke out between Turkey and Russia in 1878, he joined Russia , and the Servian army in Bulgaria captured several places which the Turks were on the verge of abandoning. In the Peace of San Stefano, Servia gained not only the recognition of its complete independence, but also considerable additions to its territory, which was still further increased by the Congress of Berlin. In return it was obliged to grant unconditional equality to all denominations and to assume a part of the Turkish national debt. On 21 August, 1878 the independence of the country was formally proclaimed. One of Milan’s first acts was to obtain for the Servian Church complete independence from the Greek Church and release from its obligations it had assumed in 1832. In 1879 he compelled the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople to recognize the Servian Church as self-governing, and to renounce all rights over it. Since then the relations between the two Churches have been friendly. On 6 March, 1882, Milan assumed the title of king. In 1884, to increase his territories, thinking to exploit the embarrassment of Bulgaria, which after the annexation of Eastern Rumelia was threatened by the Turks and deserted by Russia, he declared war on that principality, although ill prepared for it. Led by their courageous ruler, Alexander of Battenberg, the Bulgarians gained a brilliant victory over the Serbs at Slivnitza, and only the interference of Austria, which hastily sent Count Khevenhüller to the Bulgarian head-quarters and checked Prince Alexander, saved Servia.
In his home policy, too, Milan sheltered himself under the protection of Austria and opposed his own people. The Serbs, greatly embittered by the Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, became more and more favourable to the Radical and Russophile party, while the king’s position was rendered increasingly difficult by the agitation of political party leaders who were under Russian influence, and the bad financial management of his cabinet. At last Milan’s quarrels with his wife Natalie, the daughter of a Russian colonel, led to the dissolution of the marriage by the metropolitan. When the Liberal party, which had been the support of Milan and Ristitch, was defeated in the elections of 1888, and the Radicals forced a new and more democratic constitution, Milan abdicated, 6 March, 1889, in favour of his only son Alexander, a minor, and then left the country. In 1892 he gave up his Servian citizenship. The sorely distracted country had still less internal peace during Alexander’s reign. The regency during his minority was carried on mainly by Ristitch. In 1893 the impulsive king although only sixteen years old, declared himself of age, and forced the regency to retire. Alexander recalled his father from Paris to help him against the Radicals and the menace of anarchy. Milan returned to Belgrade, 21 January, 1894, at once assumed control of the administration, did away with the democratic Constitution of 1889 by a coup data, restored that of 1869, and limited the constitutional liberties and the suffrage. In 1897 he also assumed supreme control of the army.
However, the friendly relations between father and son were ruptured in 1900 by the marriage of Alexander, who was mentally somewhat abnormal, with a widow of ill repute named Draga Maschin. Milan broke off all connection with his son and left the country for good (d. at Vienna 11 February, 1901). After that, Alexander ruled despotically, contrary to the Constitution. By two political stratagems a new constitution was forced on the country in 1901, but was set aside after two years. The king lost whatever sympathy was still felt for him on account of the undignified manner in which the queen, 1901, deceived the country into expecting an heir to the throne. When at last the queen formed a plan to have one of her brothers, Lieutenant Nikodem Lunjevitza, who was hated in the army, made heir to the throne, a revolt broke out. In the night of 10-11 June, 1903, a number, of officers, who had formed a conspiracy under the leadership of Colonel Mischitch, entered the palace and murdered the king and queen, the queen’s two brothers, and three ministers. The following day the army proclaimed Peter Karageorgevitch, son of the former Prince Alexander Karageorgevitch, king, and the National Assembly confirmed the choice on 15 June, after restoring the Constitution of 1889.
Even under the new dynasty the country has not yet (1911) found peace and economic development. Peter’s position was from the beginning made more difficult by the fact that he was rightly regarded as an accessory to the murder of his predecessor, and was, moreover, completely controlled by the assassins during the early ears-of his reign. These murderers claimed the chief positions in the army and the civil service; on account of his connection with them Peter’s administration was only recognized by the Powers after the lapse of some time, the last power to recognize him being Great Britain (1906). The country was kept in disorder by the constant struggles between political parties, while cabinet changes and dissolutions of the Chamber followed in rapid succession. In foreign affairs, Servia was soon involved in an economic and political dispute with Austria-Hungary, with which it carried on its main export trade. When Servia formed a customs union with Bulgaria, in 1906, a customs war with Austria-Hungary began, which inflicted severe damage on the economic life of the country. Relations with Austria-Hungary were still further strained by the zealous agitation for a Great Servia carried on among the related peoples of Mentenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia, and even Croatia. In October, 1908, Austria completed the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; this brought the anti-Austrian feeling in Servia to fever-heat, as the Serbs believed they had a moral claim on these countries inhabited by related peoples. The Servian Government, in a note addressed to the signatory Powers, protested against what it alleged to be an infringement of the Treaty of Berlin of 1878. It also formed an alliance with Montenegro, called out the reserves, and set about raising a war loan. Servia was openly supported by Russia, and secretly encouraged by Great Britain. It demanded from Austria-Hungary the cession of a strip of territory to connect Servia, by way of the Sandjak of Novi Bazar and Bosnia, with Montenegro and the Adriatic; it also demanded the autonomy of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the supervision of the European Powers.
In the spring of 1909 war seemed inevitable. However, the stand taken by Germany, which declared itself ready to support Austria-Hungary with arms if the latter were attacked by Russia in a war with Servia led Russia to change its position and forced Servia to yield. Servia was obliged to acknowledge formally the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to renounce economic and territorial compensation, and to express the desire to renew friendly relations with the dual monarchy. At the same time the Crown Prince George was obliged to renounce his right to the succession in favour of his brother Alexander. George had a large share in urging a war and was greatly disliked by the Serbs on account of his wild behavior, his extravagance, and brutal conduct. Since then the relations between Servia and Austria, Hungary have become more friendly, and the customs war was settled in tho early part of 1911 by a commercial treaty.
II. ACTUAL CONDITIONS
Servia has an area of 18,650 square miles; on 31 December, 1900, the population was 2,492,882. Of this number 2,331,107 were by language Serbs, 89,873 Rumanians, 7494 Germans, 2151 Albanians, 1956 Magyars. Divided by religions, 4,460,515 belonged to the Serbo-Orthodox Church, 10,423 were Roman Catholics, 1399 Protestants, 3056 Turkish Mohammedans, 11, 689 Mohammedan Gypsies, while 71 belonged to various other religions. At the beginning of 1910 the population was estimated at 2,855,660. According to the constitution of 2 January, 1909, Servia is a constitutional monarchy, hereditary by primogeniture in the male line in the Karageorgevitch family. The King shares the legislative power with the national assembly, the Skupshtina; this consists of 160 deputies elected for four years. The right of suffrage is exercised by every Servian citizen who is twenty-one years of age and pays a national tax of at least 15 pence, as well as all members of sadrugas who have reached their majority, irrespective of taxation. Those voters are eligible as deputies who are thirty years old and pay an annual state tax of 30 pence. A "Great Skupshtina", consisting of twice the ordinary numbers of deputies, is elected for certain special occasions, as for making changes in the Constitution, electing a king when there is no heir to the throne, etc.
The national religion of Servia is that of the Orthodox Greek Church. All denominations permitted by the Government enjoy complete freedom and protection, so far as their exercise does not contravene morals and public order. However, all attempts to influence the members of the State Church to adopt other creeds are forbidden. All church organizations are under the supervision of the Ministry of Worship and Education, which also watches the correspondence of all Servian with foreign ecclesiastical authorities. The control of the Orthodox Church is in the hands of a synod consisting of the five bishops of the country under the presidency of the metropolitan, the Archbishop of Belgrade. This synod elects all the bishops, issues all the edicts for the guidance of the Church, and has a share in drawing up all laws referring to the Church and clergy. The metropolitan is elected by a special synod consisting of the active bishops, all archimandrites and arch-priests of the subdivisions of Servia, the head of the ecclesiastical seminary of St. Saba, and several lay adherents of the Orthodox Church. The choice of this synod requires the confirmation of the king. In’ 1907 there were 750 churches and chapels, 54 monasteries, 1042 priests, and 98 monks. The , Orthodox Church is supported partly by the revenues of the church lands, partly by additional sums granted by the State. The value of the church lands is nearly 345 million marks; that of the monastery lands makes an additional 250 million marks.
Since 1848 the Catholic Serbs, who are in large part subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, have bee under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of Diakovo, in Slavonia. Although freedom of religion was constitutionally guaranteed by the Congress of Berlin, the position of the Catholic Church is a disadvantageous one, as the Orthodox clergy put various difficulties in the way of parochial work. In the course of the nineteenth century negotiations were several times begun for the erection of a Latin bishopric in Servia. Bishop Strossmayer of Diakovo, especially, tried repeatedly to attain this end, but all efforts were in vain. In 1890 the Holy See gave its consent to the erection of a bishopric for Servia, but the movement has failed on account of the opposition of the Servian Government and other difficulties. There are only three parochial stations for the Catholics of Servia, and the expenses of these are largely borne by the Austro-Hungarian Government. The title of Catholic Primate of Servia is borne by the Archbishop of Antivari, who, since March, 1911, has been Father Matthew Cardun of the Dalmatian province of the Franciscans.
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NOVAKOVITCH, Serbiache Bibliographie 1741-1867 (Belgrade, 1869) (in the Servian language); JOVANOVITCH An English Bibliography on the New Easter Question (Belgrade, 1909); GOPCEVIC Serbien und die Serben (Leipzig, 1880); TUMA Serbien (Hanover, 1894); DE GUBERNATIS, La Serbie et les Serbes (Paris, 1898); COQUELLE, e Royaume de Serbie (Paris, 1901); LAZARD AND HOGGE, La Serbie d’aujourd’hui (Gembloux, 1900); HOGGE, La Serbie de nos jours (Brussels, 1901); CVIJIC, Siedlungen der serbiscchen Länder (6 vols., Belgrade, 1902-09)(in the Servian language); DAVELUY, La Serbie (Brussels 1907); MIJATOVITCH, Servia and the Servians, (London, 1908); STEAD, Servia by the Servians, (London, 1909); KANITZ, Das Königreich Serbien und das serbische Volk von der Römerzeit bis zur Gegenwart (two vols., Leipzig, 1904-09); LAZAROVICH-HREBELIANOVITCH, The Servian People (New York, 1910); VON RADIC, Die Verfassung der orthodox-serbischen und rumänischen Partikularkirchen (1880). concerning the history of the country, cf. HILFERDING, Geschichte der Serben und Bulgaren (2 pts., Bautzen, 1856-64).; VON KALLAY, Geschichte der Serben (2 vol Budapest and Leipzig, 1877-1885); RANKE, Serbien und die Türkei im neunzehnten Jahrhundert, (Leipzig, 1879); MIJATOVITCH, History of Modern Servia, (London, 1872); CUNIBERTI, Serbia e la dinastia Obrenovic, 1804-93, (Turin 1893); YAKSCHITCH, L’Europe et la résurrection de la Serbie (Paris, 1907); GAVRILOVIC, Miloch Obrenovitch (Belgrade, 1908) (in French); BARRE, La tragédie serbe (Paris, 1906); GEORGEVIC, Das Ende der Obrenovic, (Leipzig, 1905); IDEM, Die serbische Frage, (Leipzig, 1908); VON KALLAY, Geschichte des serbischen Aufstands 1807-10, (Vienna, 1910);JIRECEK, Geschichte der Serben, (Gotha, 1911); (vol I extends to 1371, and the work contains a bibliography of Servia).
JOSEPH LINS Transcribed by Jeffrey L. Anderson
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIIICopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Servia
(Turkish, Sirb Vilayeti), a state of Europe, bounded north by Slavonia and Hungary proper, east by Roumania and Bulgaria, south by Roumelia, and west by Bosnia. Until 1878, Servia was a dependency of Turkey, but in that year the treaty of Berlin established its entire independence. The Servian nationality extends far beyond the boundaries of the principality of Servia. Servians constitute nearly the entire population of Montenegro, Bosnia, and Herzegovina; they constitute ninety-five percent of the population in the former kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, ninety percent in Dalmatia, and eighty percent in the former military frontier. Including all these districts, the Servians occupy a territory of about 69,000 square miles, with a compact population numbering more than 6,000,000 persons. The majority of all the Servians belong to the Orthodox Eastern (or Greek) Church. The following article refers to the principality of Servia exclusively. SEE AUSTRIA; SEE HUNGARY; SEE MONTENEGRO; SEE TURKEY.
1. Area, Population, etc. Servia contained before the treaty of Berlin 16,817 square miles. Its population in 1885 was 1,902,419, all Serbs of Slavic origin, excepting about 140,000 Wallachs, 25,000 Gypsies, and 15,000 Turks, Bulgarians, Jews, Germans, and Hungarians. By the treaty. of Berlin in 1878 a territory formerly belonging to Turkey was annexed to Servia, and the area of the principality raised to 18,687 square miles, with a population of 1,720,000 inhabitants. The country is mountainous and densely wooded. From the interior numerous chains proceed northward, forming massive barriers both on the eastern and western frontiers, and sloping pretty steeply towards the swampy plains along the Save and the Danube. The principal rivers are the Morava and Timok, affluents of the Danube, and the Kolubara, an affluent of the Save, which itself falls into the Danube at Belgrade. The principal towns are Belgrade (the capital), Kraguyevatz, Semendria, Uzhitza, and Shabatz, and in the new districts Nish and Vranya. The climate is temperate and salubrious, but somewhat cold in the higher regions. The soil in the valleys is fertile, and cereals are raised in abundance. The mountains are believed to be rich in valuable minerals, but mining is almost unknown, and manufacturing industry is in the most backward condition. There is no nobility, and the peasants are free householders.
2. Church History. The original inhabitants of Servia were principally Thracians. Conquered, shortly before Christ, by the Romans, it formed part of Illyricum, under the name of Moesia Superior. Overrun by the Huns, Ostrogoths, Longobards, etc., it came under Byzantine rule about the middle of the 6th century, but was wrested therefrom early in the 7th century by the Avars. These latter were driven out by the Serbs, then living north of the Carpathians, who themselves spread over the country in great numbers. About the middle of the 9th century they were converted to Christianity by missionaries sent by the emperor Basil. For about 200 years they were almost constantly at war with the neighboring Bulgarians, but in 1043 Stephen Bogislas broke their power. His son Michael (1050-80) took the title of king, and was recognized as such by pope Gregory VII. A struggle of nearly a hundred years resulted in the maintaining of their independence, and in 1165 Stephen Nemanja founded a dynasty which lasted for two centuries. During this period the kingdom attained the acme of its power and prosperity, embracing, under Stephen Dushan (1336-56), the whole of Macedonia, Albania, Thessaly, Northern Greece, and Bulgaria. At the request of king Stephen II, son of Stephen Nemanja, the bishops of Servia were in 1221 authorized by the patriarch of Constantinople to elect their metropolitan on condition that he be confirmed by the patriarch.
The brother of the king, St. Sabbas, became the first archbishop of Uzhitza and all Servia. Stephen Dushan, in 1351, convoked the synod at Seres, which raised the metropolitan of Servia to the dignity of a patriarch, and declared him independent of the patriarch of Constantinople. The jurisdiction of the Servian patriarch extended not only over Servia and Bulgaria, but also over a large portion of Macedonia. He had his residence near Ipek, at the termination of the Streta Gora Mountains in Albania. In consequence of this measure, the patriarch of Constantinople pronounced the anathema against the Servian patriarch, but this was revoked in 1379. The progress of the Turkish arms proved fatal to the welfare of Servia. In 1389 Lazarus I was defeated at Kossovopolje, and his son and successor, Stephen, became a vassal of Turkey. In 1459 Mohammed II incorporated Servia with Turkey, excepting Belgrade, which was held by the Hungarians until 1521.
By the treaty of Passarowitz (1718) a considerable portion of the country was made over to Austria, but in 1739 it reverted to Turkey. During all this time the Turkish government had allowed the patriarchate to continue. Even when, in 1690, patriarch Arsenius III, after the failure of the Servian insurrection which the Austrians had instigated against Turkish rule, had emigrated with 37,000 Servian families to Austrian territory, the patriarchate of Ipek was not interfered with, but the appointment was always conferred upon a Greek, who purchased the position from the divan of Constantinople; In 1765 (according to another statement in 1769) this patriarchate was abolished and united with that of Constantinople. The last patriarch (Basil) fled to Russia, where he died, in St. Petersburg. Four metropolitans, generally Greeks, were now appointed for Servia, the sees of whom were Belgrade, Nish, Uzhitza. and Novi-Bazar, and none of whom had a suffragan. After sixty years of oppression, the people, under George Czerny, rebelled, and, with the assistance of Russia, triumphed, and Czerny was elected by the people prince of Servia. Deserted by Russia and France, the Turks again became masters of the country (1813). But two years after, under Milosh Obrenovitch, the people won back their liberties. Milosh was chosen prince of Servia (1817), and subsequently recognized by the sultan. After the election of Czerny, the metropolitan of Carlovitz, in Austria, had been recognized as the head of the Servian Church; but in 1830 Milosh again appointed a metropolitan for Servia. In 1834 Turkey restored six Servian districts which she had retained since 1813, and in the spring of 1872 relinquished a few additional localities, though not all that Servia claimed as her own. The seat of the legislature, which had always been at Kraguyevatz, was removed to Belgrade in October, 1875.
3. Religion, etc. The inhabitants nearly all belong to the Greek Church, but are independent of the patriarch of Constantinople.
The hierarchy of the Church of Servia consists at present (1879) of a metropolitan and five bishops. The metropolitan is elected by the prince and the Servian bishops. He resides at Belgrade, and, according to the regulations of 1839, is assisted in the government of the Church by a titular bishop and several protopresbyters and presbyters. The titular bishop and the other diocesan bishops constitute, at the same time, the Synod of the Metropolitan, to which are referred all marriage affairs, as well as all complaints of the administration and government of the Church by the metropolitan. The metropolitan receives fees far the ordination of presbyters, the consecration of churches, etc., and a fixed annual income of 6000 florins (about $2400). He also possesses some real estate, especially vineyards near Semendria. The bishops are elected by the people, under the superintendence and guidance of the minister of justice, and ordained by the metropolitan. They have an unlimited jurisdiction in all matters purely ecclesiastical. All churches and ecclesiastical institutions are under the superintendence of the minister of justice, who makes the necessary arrangements conjointly with the elders of the Church. Servia has now five diocesan bishops, namely, the bishop of Shabatz, the bishop of Uzhitza (who resides at Karanovatz), the bishop of Negotin, and in the districts annexed in 1878 to Servia the bishops of Nish and Vranya. Each of them has a fixed income of 4000 florins (about $1600). He also receives fees for ordinations, consecration, and other ecclesiastical functions. In regard to fees for burials, the bishop has to come to an understanding with the family of the deceased. All other fees were abolished in 1822, although voluntary gifts are still frequently made and accepted. The bishops have to pay from their income their archdeacons and secretaries. The secular clergy number about nine hundred members. The clergymen in the town receive fixed salaries, while those in the rural districts only receive fees. Every parish priest is obliged to keep accurate lists of births, marriages, and deaths..
Servia has many convents, most of which, however, have only a small number of inmates. Many of the convents have been wholly abandoned; others are hermitages, near which lodging houses are erected at the time of pilgrimages. The convent Sweti Kral (holy king) at Studenitza contains the bones of king Stephen Nemanja, by whom it was founded, and who in 1200 died as monk of one of the convents on Mount Athos. His son Rastka, better known in Servian history as St. Sabbas, the first archbishop of Uzhitza, transferred the bones of his father in 1203 to the Convent of Studenitza; which after the cloister name of king Stephen is sometimes called the Laura of St. Simon.
A Roman Catholic bishopric was established by pope Innocent X in 1644 at Belgrade. In 1728 the see was transferred from Belgrade to Semendria, and the name of the diocese is now Belgrade and Semendria. The bishop is a suffragan of the archbishop of Antivari, in Albania. The number of Roman Catholics is small. In 1861 some accounts claimed a population of 30,000, but the Roman statistician Petri (Prospetto della Gerarchia Episcopale [Rome, 1850]) says nothing of the Roman Catholic population of the diocese. The official statistical bureau of Belgrade gave the number of Roman Catholics in 1874 as 4161. In 852,.the papal nuncio of Vienna, Viale Prela, visited Belgrade in order to reorganize the diocese, but no account of the results of his mission has ever been published. The Protestants numbered in 1874, according to the official statistical report of the government, 463, the Jews 2049, and the Mohammedans 6306. In the districts annexed in 1878 there are estimated to be 75,000 Mohammedans. Secession from the State Church is rigorously forbidden, but otherwise all the other religious denominations enjoy entire religious liberty.
Education is making rapid progress in Servia. Fifty years ago there was no public primary school; now education is compulsory, and for its management a special ministry of education has been organized. In 1874 there were 517 public schools, with 23,000 pupils. The first gymnasium was established in 1830, and in 1874 the principality had two complete gymnasia and five progymnasia, with an aggregate attendance of 2000 students. A normal school was established in 1872. The high school in Belgrade contains three faculties, and has about 200 students.
4. Character. The Servians are distinguished for the vigor of their frame, their personal valor, love of freedom, and glowing poetical spirit. Their manners and mode of life are exceedingly picturesque, and strongly prepossess a stranger in their favor. They rank among the most gifted and promising members of the Slavic family. See Ranke, Die serbische Revolution (Hamburg, 1829; 2d ed. 1844); Milutinovitch, Gesch. Serbiens von 1389-1815 (Leipsic, 1837); Cunibert, Essai Historique sur les Revolutions et l’Independance de la Serbie depuis 1804 jusqu’a 1850 (ibid. 1855, 2 vols.); Hilferding, Gesch. der Serben und Bulgaren (Bautzen, 1856) Denton [Rev. W.], Servia and the Servians (Lond. 1862); Elodie Lawton Mijatovics (Wm. Tweedie), Hist. of Modern Servia (ibid. 1874); Saint-Ren Taillandier, La Serbie au 19e Siecle, Kara George et Milosch (Paris, 1875); Grieve, The Church and People of Servia (Lond. 1864); Jakshich, Recueil Statistique sur les Contres Serbes (Belgrade, 1875).