Church of the Holy Annunciation, Dubrovnik

Summary

The Church of the Holy Annunciation (Serbian: Црква Светог благовјештења, romanizedCrkva Svetog blagovještenja; Croatian: Crkva svetih Blagovijesti) is a Serbian Orthodox church in Dubrovnik, south Croatia. It was built in 1877.

Holy Annunciation Orthodox church
Црква св. Благовјештења
Crkva sv. Blagovještenja
Holy Annunciation Orthodox church
Map
42°38′28″N 18°06′34″E / 42.641028585945925°N 18.109498745659835°E / 42.641028585945925; 18.109498745659835
LocationDubrovnik
CountryCroatia
DenominationSerbian Orthodox
History
DedicationAnnunciation
Architecture
StyleNeo-Byzantine[1]
Years built1877[2]
Administration
ArchdioceseEparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina

History edit

The first demand to built an Orthodox church in the city came when in February 1770 Count Orlov's fleet, on a mission to encourage revolt in Greece, confiscated Dubrovnik's ships which were transporting Ottoman reinforcements near Nafplio.[3] In 1775 it was agreed that Russian Empire will send its consul to Dubrovnik and that he will build an Orthodox chapel in the garden of the Russian consulate.[3]

On April 30, 1867, in the Municipal Assembly, rich trader Božo Bošković bought three houses of baron Frano Gondola with a garden behind them for a sum of 28,500 fiorins inside the Walls of Dubrovnik in the old town.[4]

The church has a valuable collection of icons, some of them dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.[5][6] A comprehensive history of the church and its parish entitled The Serbian Orthodox Church in Dubrovnik to the Twentieth Century was published in Dubrovnik, Belgrade and in Trebinje in 2007.[7][8] The book was published in the Gaj's Latin and the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet[9]

Damage and reconstruction edit

The church sustained damage from bombing during the Siege of Dubrovnik.[2]

In 2009, the church was restored using funds from the Ministry of Culture of Croatia, City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, private contributions and credit. This was the first restoration of the church.[2]

Museum of Serbian Orthodox Church in Dubrovnik edit

The church community maintains a museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Dubrovnik. It keeps religious objects such as a copy of the Miroslav Gospels from 1897, a gospel in Russian printed in Moscow in 1805 and busts of Ivan Gundulić and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić[5] The museum also has 18 portraits. Of these, 9 depict Vlaho Bukovac[5] Other portraits depict Medo Pucić, Valtazar Bogišić, Petar II Petrović-Njegoš and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić.[5] A number of old gospels, big collection of icons, highly decorated priest robes, chalices and jewellery is also kept as a part of the Museum collection.[10]

Library of Serbian Orthodox Church in Dubrovnik edit

The church owns a library of about 12 000 books. In addition to liturgical books in Church Slavonic language, there are also books on different themes in Italian, French, Russian and other languages. Of note are a New Testament printed in Kiev in 1703 and a Menologium printed in Kiev in 1757 [5]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Simmonds, Lauren (January 23, 2017). "A Closer Look at Dubrovnik's Churches". Total Croatia News. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "PREMA ZAVRŠETKU". Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Calic, Marie-Janine (2019). The Great Cauldron: A History of Southeastern Europe. Harvard University Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 9780674983922.
  4. ^ Spasić, Goran; Reljić, Jelica; Perišić, Miroslav (2012). Kultura Srba u Dubrovniku 1790-2010 iz riznice Srpske pravoslavne crkve Svetog blagoveštenja. Beograd: Arhiv Srbije.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Обновљена православна црква у Дубровнику". Politika (in Serbian). June 8, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  6. ^ "Zbirka ikona Srpske pravoslavne crkvene općine, Dubrovnik". MDC Crkvene zbirke (in Serbian). Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  7. ^ Arsic, Irena (July 15, 2011). "Srpska pravoslavna..." (in Serbian). Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  8. ^ Ирена Арсић. "Српска православна црква у Дубровнику: До почетка 20. века, илустрована". микро књига (in Serbian). Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  9. ^ "Nepoznati pravoslavni Dubrovnik". Mail-archive.com. December 2, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  10. ^ Spasić, Goran; Reljić, Jelica; Perišić, Miroslav (2012). Kultura Srba u Dubrovniku 1790-2010 iz riznice Srpske pravoslavne crkve Svetog blagoveštenja. Beograd: Arhiv Srbije.