Eparchy of Križevci
Encyclopedia
The Eparchy of Križevci, sometimes referred to as the Croatian Greek Catholic Church or the Croatian Byzantine Catholic Church, is a recognized sui iuris
Catholic Church listed in the Annuario Pontificio
among the Eastern Catholic Churches of Constantinopolitan
or Byzantine tradition as the Church of the Byzantines of the Eparchy of Križevci. It consists of the eparchy proper (diocese) of Križevci itself , which is in Croatia
, and the Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro
.
It spans the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia
, Slovenia
, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
; it mostly gathers its faithful among the Croats
in central and eastern Croatia
and among the Rusyns
and/or Ukrainians
in eastern Croatia and northern Bosnia, with a small Serbian
minority.
The liturgy
is the Slavonic form of the Byzantine Rite
, using the Old Church Slavonic language and the Cyrillic alphabet.
The eparchy of Križevci is currently headed by Bishop Nikola Kekić (appointed 2009).
caused a number of Christian
refugees, mostly Serbs
, to migrate to the Military Frontier
of the Habsburg Monarchy
(in south-central Croatia
and in most of Slavonia
) during the 16th and 17th centuries. In particular after the Ottoman
defeat in Battle of Sisak
of 1593, the Habsburg
tried to established an ecclesiastical jurisdiction
in full communion
with Rome
and separated from the Serbian Orthodox Church
. After negotiations, it was decided to establish a Byzantine Rite
episcopacy based in the monastery of Marča (located near Ivanić Grad
).
This episcopacy was formally erected by Pope Paul V
on 21 November 1611 with the decree Divinae Majestatis arbitrio, and the eparchs (bishops) bore the title Episcopus Platæensis (from Plataea
, the titular see they were assigned to), while the Habsburg government called this see
Episcopatus Svidnicensis or Episcopatus Maciensum (Eparchy
of Marča). After the death in 1630 of the first eparch (bishop), Simeon Vratanja, and in 1628 of the Latin Bishop of Zagreb, Petar Dimitrović, the eparchy came into conflict with the Latins and in 1671 bishop Pavao Zorčić accepted for himself and his successors the position of vicar-general of the Latin bishops of Zagreb.
On 17 November 1735, the supporters of the Serbian Orthodox Church occupied by force of arms the monastery of Marča and two years later, on 17 June 1737, set fire to it. The monastery was restored to the Byzantine-Rite Catholics in 1753.
The bishops of the Eparchy of Marča were:
Empress Maria Theresa realized that it was necessary to grant independence to the eparchy, and she obtained from Pope Pius VI
its separation from the Latin Diocese of Zagreb, in a similar way as occurred in 1771 for the Eparchy of Mukacheve
from the Diocese of Eger.
Accordingly, on 17 June 1777, Pope Pius VI erected the Greek Rite Eparchy of Križevci which superseded the Eparchy of Marča. Vasilije Božičković
, who played a prominent role in the erection of the eparchy, was chosen as first eparch,
Many Orthodox Serbs
opposed the new eparchy, particularly the metropolitan of Karlovci
, Arsenije III Čarnojević
. However the Orthodox soldiers of the Žumberak
regiment of the Military Frontier
joined the Eparchy of Križevci.
Križevci, the location of the see
, is a town northeast of Zagreb
. The new bishop was a suffragan initially of the Archdiocese of Esztergom
, and later of Zagreb, after this became a metropolitan see in 1852.
to include all Byzantine Catholics in Yugoslavia
. Owing to this expansion and to population movements over time, Križevci includes Catholics of varied national heritage including:
and Montenegro
, the Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro
. It was formed in 2002 and its first exarch Djura Džudžar (Дюра Джуджар) was appointed in 2003, with the see in Ruski Krstur
. This is still associated with the Eparchy of Križevci, unlike the separate Apostolic Exarchate that was formed in Macedonia in 2003 and that is classified in the Annuario Pontificio
as a separate particular Church
.
However, only in the most recently published census
results for the Republic of Croatia, those of 2001, only 6,219 responding by defining themselves specifically as Greek Catholics.
A historical trend of a sharp decline in numbers, particularly in the general vicinity of Zumberak, is explained by a number of factors including emigration, particularly to the United States (including Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh), and rural depopulation, particularly in the period following the second world war.
Sui iuris
Sui iuris, commonly also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own laws”.-Secular law:In civil law the phrase sui juris indicates legal competence, the capacity to manage one’s own affairs...
Catholic Church listed in the Annuario Pontificio
Annuario Pontificio
The Annuario Pontificio is the annual directory of the Holy See. It lists all the popes to date and all officials of the Holy See's departments...
among the Eastern Catholic Churches of Constantinopolitan
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
or Byzantine tradition as the Church of the Byzantines of the Eparchy of Križevci. It consists of the eparchy proper (diocese) of Križevci itself , which is in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, and the Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro
Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro
The Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in Serbia and Montenegro, founded in 2003....
.
It spans the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
; it mostly gathers its faithful among the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
in central and eastern Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and among the Rusyns
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
and/or Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
in eastern Croatia and northern Bosnia, with a small Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
minority.
The liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
is the Slavonic form of the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
, using the Old Church Slavonic language and the Cyrillic alphabet.
The eparchy of Križevci is currently headed by Bishop Nikola Kekić (appointed 2009).
The Eparchy of Marča
The Ottoman wars in EuropeOttoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
caused a number of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
refugees, mostly Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, to migrate to the Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
(in south-central Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and in most of Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
) during the 16th and 17th centuries. In particular after the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
defeat in Battle of Sisak
Battle of Sisak
The Battle of Sisak was fought on June 22, 1593, between Ottoman forces of the Bosnian governor-general, or Beylerbeyi, Hasan-paša Predojević, and forces of the Holy Roman Empire under the supreme command of the Styrian general Ruprecht von Eggenberg...
of 1593, the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
tried to established an ecclesiastical jurisdiction
Ecclesiastical jurisdiction
Ecclesiastical jurisdiction in its primary sense does not signify jurisdiction over ecclesiastics , but jurisdiction exercised by church leaders over other leaders and over the laity....
in full communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with Rome
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
and separated from the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
. After negotiations, it was decided to establish a Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
episcopacy based in the monastery of Marča (located near Ivanić Grad
Ivanic Grad
Ivanić-Grad is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of Moslavina.-Geography:Ivanić-Grad is located south-east from Zagreb, connected: by highway A3 by train on direction Zagreb - Slavonski Brod - Vinkovci.-Population:In the 2001 census, the total population is 14,544, in the following...
).
This episcopacy was formally erected by Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V
-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
on 21 November 1611 with the decree Divinae Majestatis arbitrio, and the eparchs (bishops) bore the title Episcopus Platæensis (from Plataea
Plataea
Plataea or Plataeae was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes. It was the location of the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, in which an alliance of Greek city-states defeated the Persians....
, the titular see they were assigned to), while the Habsburg government called this see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
Episcopatus Svidnicensis or Episcopatus Maciensum (Eparchy
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
of Marča). After the death in 1630 of the first eparch (bishop), Simeon Vratanja, and in 1628 of the Latin Bishop of Zagreb, Petar Dimitrović, the eparchy came into conflict with the Latins and in 1671 bishop Pavao Zorčić accepted for himself and his successors the position of vicar-general of the Latin bishops of Zagreb.
On 17 November 1735, the supporters of the Serbian Orthodox Church occupied by force of arms the monastery of Marča and two years later, on 17 June 1737, set fire to it. The monastery was restored to the Byzantine-Rite Catholics in 1753.
The bishops of the Eparchy of Marča were:
- Simeon Vratanja (1607–1629)
- Maxim Predojević (1630–1642)
- Gabrijel Predojević (1642–1644)
- Vasilije Predojević (1644–1648)
- Sava Stanislavić (1648–1661)
- Gabrijel Mijakić (1663–1670)
- Pavao Zorčić (1671–1685)
- Marko Zorčić (1685–1688)
- Isaija Popović (1689–1699)
- Gabrijel Turčinović (1700–1707)
- Grgur Jugović (1707–1709)
- Rafael Marković (1710–1726)
- Georg Vučinić (1727–1733)
- Silvester Ivanović (1734–1735)
- Teophil Pašić (1738–1746)
- Gabrijel Palković (1751–1758)
- Vasilije BožičkovićVasilije BožičkovićTrifun Vasilije Božičković was the first bishop of the Eparchy of Križevci from the erection in 1777 to his death in 1785.-Life:Vasilije Božičković was born on 11 February 1719 in the village of Batinyan, near Zagreb...
(1759–1777)
Erection of the Eparchy of Križevci
To support the pastoral action for the Greek Rite population, the HabsburgHabsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
Empress Maria Theresa realized that it was necessary to grant independence to the eparchy, and she obtained from Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...
its separation from the Latin Diocese of Zagreb, in a similar way as occurred in 1771 for the Eparchy of Mukacheve
Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve
The Eparchy of Mukacheve is an eparchy of the Ruthenian Catholic Church, with territory located in the west of Ukraine.The eparchy, like the entire Ruthenian Catholic Church, is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church...
from the Diocese of Eger.
Accordingly, on 17 June 1777, Pope Pius VI erected the Greek Rite Eparchy of Križevci which superseded the Eparchy of Marča. Vasilije Božičković
Vasilije Božičković
Trifun Vasilije Božičković was the first bishop of the Eparchy of Križevci from the erection in 1777 to his death in 1785.-Life:Vasilije Božičković was born on 11 February 1719 in the village of Batinyan, near Zagreb...
, who played a prominent role in the erection of the eparchy, was chosen as first eparch,
Many Orthodox Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
opposed the new eparchy, particularly the metropolitan of Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
, Arsenije III Čarnojević
Arsenije III Carnojevic
Arsenije III Čarnojević was the Archbishop of Peć and Patriarch of Serbs from 1674 to 1691 and Metropolitan of Szentendre from 1691 to his death in 1706.-Family:Arsenije was born to the Cetinje clan of Old Montenegro...
. However the Orthodox soldiers of the Žumberak
Žumberak
Žumberak or Gorjanci is a range of mountains or hills between Croatia and Slovenia. The highest peak is Sveta Gera on the border between Croatia and Slovenia, being tall....
regiment of the Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
joined the Eparchy of Križevci.
Križevci, the location of the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
, is a town northeast of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. The new bishop was a suffragan initially of the Archdiocese of Esztergom
Archdiocese of Esztergom
The archbishopric of Esztergom was a historical diocese created in 1000 under Stephen I of Hungary largely on the territory of Upper Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon, its territory was reduced to its present-day extent and it became the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest on 31 May 1993...
, and later of Zagreb, after this became a metropolitan see in 1852.
Expansion
The Eparchy of Križevci was expanded after World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to include all Byzantine Catholics in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Owing to this expansion and to population movements over time, Križevci includes Catholics of varied national heritage including:
- CroatsCroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
from ŽumberakŽumberakŽumberak or Gorjanci is a range of mountains or hills between Croatia and Slovenia. The highest peak is Sveta Gera on the border between Croatia and Slovenia, being tall.... - RusynsRusynsCarpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
in SlavoniaSlavoniaSlavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
(Croatia), VojvodinaVojvodinaVojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
(Serbia) and northern BosniaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
who had emigrated from Carpatho-UkraineCarpatho-UkraineCarpatho-Ukraine was an autonomous region within Czechoslovakia from late 1938 to March 15, 1939. It declared itself an independent republic on March 15, 1939, but was occupied by Hungary between March 15 and March 18, 1939, remaining under Hungarian control until the Nazi occupation of Hungary in...
and SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south... - UkrainiansUkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
who emigrated from Galicia (now in UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) around 1900 - ethnic SerbsSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
- Macedonian converts through missionary activity in the 19th century
- a few RomaniansRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
in the Serbian Banat
Since the break-up of Yugoslavia
After the formation of independent republics from what had been Yugoslavia, a separate Apostolic Exarchate was created in SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, the Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro
Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro
The Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in Serbia and Montenegro, founded in 2003....
. It was formed in 2002 and its first exarch Djura Džudžar (Дюра Джуджар) was appointed in 2003, with the see in Ruski Krstur
Ruski Krstur
Ruski Krstur is a village in Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. It is located in the municipality of Kula, West Bačka District. The village has a Rusyn ethnic majority. Its population numbered 5,213 in the 2002 census...
. This is still associated with the Eparchy of Križevci, unlike the separate Apostolic Exarchate that was formed in Macedonia in 2003 and that is classified in the Annuario Pontificio
Annuario Pontificio
The Annuario Pontificio is the annual directory of the Holy See. It lists all the popes to date and all officials of the Holy See's departments...
as a separate particular Church
Particular Church
In Catholic canon law, a Particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:# Local particular Churches ...
.
Extension
The Eparchy reported for the year 2010 a total of 21,509 faithful in Croatia and 22,369 in Serbia and Montenegro.However, only in the most recently published census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
results for the Republic of Croatia, those of 2001, only 6,219 responding by defining themselves specifically as Greek Catholics.
A historical trend of a sharp decline in numbers, particularly in the general vicinity of Zumberak, is explained by a number of factors including emigration, particularly to the United States (including Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh), and rural depopulation, particularly in the period following the second world war.
Diaspora
The first Byzantine Catholic priest from Croatia came to the United States of America in 1902, whose work among Byzantine rite Croatians in Cleveland was encouraged by the bishop of Križevci. Another Croatian priest came to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in 1894. Križevci is one of the four Eastern European eparchies that are the roots of the Eastern-rite Catholic Churches in the United States.Vicariates
The eparchy is made up of four vicariates:- Žumberak vicariate
- Bosnian vicariate
- Slavonia-Srijem vicariate
- Dalmatian vicariate
Bishops
The list of the eparch (bishops) of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci is:- Vasilije BožičkovićVasilije BožičkovićTrifun Vasilije Božičković was the first bishop of the Eparchy of Križevci from the erection in 1777 to his death in 1785.-Life:Vasilije Božičković was born on 11 February 1719 in the village of Batinyan, near Zagreb...
(1777–1785) - Josaphat Bastašić (1787–1793)
- Silvester Bubanović (1795–1810)
- Konstantin Stanić (1815–1830)
- Gabrijel Smičklas (1834–1856)
- Đorđe Smičklas (1857–1881)
- Ilija Hranilović (1883–1889)
- Julije Drohobeczky (1891–1920)
- Dionisije Njaradi (1920–1940)
- Janko Šimrak(1942–1946)
- Gabrijel Bukatko (1952–1964)
- Vacant (1946–1960)
- Vacant (1961–1983, Joakim Segedi as Auxiliary BishopAuxiliary bishopAn auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
) - Slavomir MiklovšSlavomir MiklovšSlavomir Miklovš was the Greek Catholic bishop of Eparchy of Križevci, Croatia.Ordained to the priesthood in 1964, he became bishop of the eparchy in 1983 retiring in 2009....
(1983–2009) - Nikola Kekić (from 2009)