Naslov
Mel in ore, fel in corde: on ambiguous relations between the State authorities and public preachers in the late Baroque Dubrovnik

Autori
Seferović, Relja

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
Sermons in Religious and Cultural Politics and Practice in Russia and Europe in the Eighteenth — Early Nineteenth Centuries

Mjesto i datum
Moskva, Ruska Federacija, 26.08.2016. - 27.08.2016

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Pozvano predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
Republic of Dubrovnik; Baroque; preachers; cathedral; sermons; Church orders; local churches; social history

Sažetak
Traditionally perceived as the last Catholic stronghold on the brink of the Ottoman Empire in Balkans, the Republic of Dubrovnik/Ragusa enjoyed a continuous material, political and spiritual help from Rome. This help became essential in the aftermath of the disastrous earthquake of 1667, when the State was confronted with imminent extinction and it prolonged its existence until the beginning of the 19th century mostly due to regular financial support and understanding of the papacy. Although the adherence to the Roman Catholic Church may be considered as a part of the Ragusan identity (as members of other religious confessions were officially not allowed to become Ragusan citizens), the State authorities followed a more pragmatic approach in everyday life. Thus young apprentices of Orthodox Christian origins coming from hinterland to learn their craft from Ragusan artisans were tacitly permitted to keep their confession during their stay in Dubrovnik, while the Jews were occasionally even appointed as official diplomatic representatives of the State in some Adriatic and Mediterranean ports. This notorious pragmatism and obvious control imposed by the State over the local impoverished Church provoked often conflicts with the local clergy, who were unable to raise their voice against the long lasting restraint. The Archbishopric of Dubrovnik traced its roots back to the early medieval period, but in the course of time the archbishops themselves were reduced to mere observers and executors of the official acts by the State authorities, who directly supervised some internal affairs of the Church. The public preaching was among the most important of them: the influence of the word spoken in public has never been underestimated. Because of its aforementioned strategic importance, Dubrovnik for centuries enjoyed a lot of prestige among the foreign preachers. They were regularly being invited from Italy at the expense of the Ragusan Senate to preach in Advent and Lent in the City cathedral in front of the Rector and other dignitaries of the Republic. The less distinguished members of the society (both patricians and commoners) attended services offered by domestic preachers mostly at Dominican and Franciscan churches in the city. In both cases the homilies were usually reduced either to theological speculations or to moral advices in general, because any concrete criticism of the public government was severely suppressed. This was a multilingual environment, where Latin and Italian were kept as official languages until the dissolution of the Republic, while the Slavic idiom served in private practice. Both foreign and domestic preachers delivered their homilies in the cathedral in Italian, whereas it was common to preach in local idiom in other churches. Obviously, the use of various languages at public sermons also underlined social differences. The national cohesion in these circumstances played no part. The public preachers in Dubrovnik were usually recruited among religious orders, especially the Mendicant friars and Jesuits. The process of their election and appointment, some personal experiences collected during their prestigious and important service, as well as the entire formal conduct of the social establishment towards them and their mission offer an insight into rather ambiguous relations between them and the State authorities.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Teologija, Filologija, Povijest

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