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Lavant (Tirol) |
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Maribor has been elevated to the status of Archbishopric |
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Bishopric Lavant (Lavantinska Skofija) |
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Kurfuerstliches Erzbistum Trier |
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Monumenta Frisingensia - (Brizinski spomeniki) |
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Heilige Zeichen |
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Internal disputes (panslavismus) |
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The Catholic Encyclopedia |
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Razvalina Salek |
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Cathedral of Maribor
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| Bishopric Lavant - (LAVANTINA) |
| An Austrian bishopric in the southern part of Styria, suffragan of Salzburg. |
| The original seat of the bishopric lay in the eastern part of Carinthia in the valley of the Lavant. It was here that Eberhard II, Archbishop of Salzburg, established, 20 Aug., 1212, at St. Andrä, with the consent of Pope Innocent III and Emperor Frederick II, a collegiate chapter, the canons of which followed the Rule of St. Augustine; its members were chosen from the cathedral chapter of Salzburg. On account of the great remoteness and the difficulty of travelling, the archbishop, about the year 1223, asked Pope Honorius III to allow him to found a bishopric at St. Andrä. After the pope had had the archbishop's request examined by commissioners, and had given his consent, Eberhard drew up the deed of foundation, 10 May, |
| 1228, wherein he secured the possession of the episcopal chair for himself and his successors in perpetuity. He named as first bishop his court chaplain Ulrich, who had formerly been priest of Haus,in Styria (died 1257). |
| In the deed of foundation of the new bishopric, no boundaries were defined. In a deed of Archbishop Frederick II of Salzburg of 1280, seventeen parishes, situated partly in Carinthia and partly in Styria, were described as belonging to Lavant; the extent of the diocese was rather small, but the bishops also attended to the office of vicar-general of the Archbishops of Salzburg for some scattered districts; they also frequently attended to the office of Vicedom (bishop's deputy in secular affairs) at Friesach. The tenth bishop, Dietrich Wolfhauer (1318-32), is mentioned in deeds as the first prince-bishop; he was also secretary of Frederick III the Handsome, of Austria, and was present at the battle of Mühldorf in 322. |
| Since the twenty-second bishop, Theobald Schweinbeck (1446-63), the bishops have borne without intermission the title of prince. The following prominent bishops deserve special mention: the humanist Johann I von Rott (1468-82), died as Prince-Bishop of Breslau; Georg II Agrikola (1570-84), who after 1572 was also at the same time Bishop of Seckau; Georg III Stobäus von Palmburg (1584-1618), a worthy promotor of the Counter-Reformation; Maximilian Gandolph Freiherr von Kienburg (1654-65), did much towards increasing the financial resources of the diocese. |
| By the new regulations under Emperor Joseph II, several bishoprics were added to the Diocese of Lavant. Prince-Archbishop Michael Brigido of Laibach in 1788 ceded a number of parishes in the southern part of what is now the Diocese of Lavant; and the district of Völkermarkt, which was afterwards again detached, was added to the bishopric at that time. The present extent of the diocese was brought about by the circumscription of 1 June, 1859. The valley of the Lavant and the district of Völkermarkt in Carinthia fell to Gurk; in consequence of which the District of Marburg was transferred from Seckau to Lavant; since then the diocese comprises the whole of southern Styria. By the decree of the Congregation of the Consistory of 20 May, 1857, the see of the bishop was removed from St. Andrä to Marburg; the parish church of St. John the Baptist in that place being erected into a cathedral, and the title "of Lavant" being preserved. On 4 Sept, 1859, Bishop Anton Martin Slomschek (1846-62) made his solemn entry into Marburg. His successors, Jakob Maximilian Stepischnegg (1862-89), and Michael Napotnik (since 1889) have shown great zeal for the promotion of the spiritual life by introducing religious orders and founding educational and charitable institutions and clubs. But the most beneficial work done for the religious life of the diocese was that of the diocesan synods, held by Stepischnegg (1883), and by Napotnik, who followed his example (1896, 1900, 1903, and 1906). |
| The bishopric is divided into 24 deaneries, and numbered (1909) 223 parishes, 200 chaplaincies (48 unoccupied), 7 unoccupied offices and benefices, 375 priests engaged in the cure of souls, 39 secular priests and 53 regular clergy in other positions, 37 clergy without office, 675 churches and chapels, and 521,896 souls. The cathedral chapter, which is four-fifths Slovene and one-fifth German, consists of one mitred cathedral provost, one mitred cathedral dean, and five canons. The old cathedral chapter, which was composed of the canons of the Augustinian order, was dissolved in 1808, and its property was assigned to the "Religionsfond" founded by Joseph II; in 1825 a new cathedral chapter was provisionally erected, and definitively so in 1847. Besides the actual canons, there are six stalls for honorary canons (four temporarily vacant). The council is composed of six advisors; the prince-bishop is the president. In the theological diocesan college there are eleven lecturers; the episcopal priests' seminary numbers (1909) 4 classes, with 42 students; the "Maximilianum-Viktorinum", an episcopal seminary for boys, 8 classes, with 80 students. Eight clerical teachers taught in 7 state schools. |
| In the diocese there are the following establishments of religious orders: 1 monastery of Minorites of Sts. Peter and Paul, at Pettau (founded 1239), with nine fathers; 4 Franciscan monasteries, with 31 fathers, 23 lay brothers, and 5 clerical novices; 1 Capuchin monastery at Cilli (founded 1611), with 6 fathers, and 4 lay brothers; 2 mission houses of the Fathers of St. Vincent de Paul, with 8 priests, and 10 lay brothers; 1 Trappist abbey, Maria Erlösung, at Reichenburg (founded 1881 by French Trappists), with 21 fathers, and 48 brothers. Orders of women: Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, 82, in 6 establishments, who are dedicated to the nursing of the sick; School Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi, 1 motherhouse, 14 affiliated houses, 190 sisters; School Sisters from the mother-house of Algersdorf, Graz, 9, with 1 institution 1 magdalen asylum, with 17 canonesses, and 15 lay sisters; Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross, 3, with one establishment; Sisters of the Teutonic Order, 9, with one hospital; 1 Carmelite Convent of Perpetual Adoration (10 sisters). The School Sisters conduct a training school for female teachers, 1 lyceum, 11 girls' schools, 5 boarding-schools, 6 kindergartens, 2 orphan asylums, 2 schools of domestic economy, and one home for servant-girls. There are 36 Catholic clubs and confraternities in the diocese, besides 25 associations for the building and adornment of churches. |
| The most prominent ecclesiastical buildings in the diocese are: the cathedral and parish church of St. John the Baptist, at Marburg, which was begun in the middle of the twelfth century as a Romanesque basilica, rebuilt after 1520 in the Gothic style, again restored after the fire in 1601, and once more in 1885; the provostship and parish church of St. Georg, at Pettau, erected in the Gothic style about 1314; the abbey and parish church of St. Daniel, at Cilli, dates from the middle of the sixteenth century; and the shrine of St. Maria der Wüste, in the neighbourhood of Marburg (built 1628), in the baroque style. |
| TANGL, Reihe der Bischöfe von Lavant (Klagenfurt, 1841); STEPISCHNEGG, Georg III. Stobäus von Palmburg, Fürstbischof von Lavant in Archiv. für Kunde österreichischer Geschichtsquellen (1856); Gesta et Statuta Synod. diœcesanœ, 1896 (Marburg, 1897); Die Zweite Diöcesansynode (Marburg, 1896); Ecclesiœ Lavantinœ Synodus diœcesana 1903 (Marburg, 1904); Synodus diœcesana 1906 (Marburg, 1907); Kirchliches Verordnungsblatt für die Lavanter Diöcese; Personalstand des Bistums Lavant in Steiermark für das Jahr 1909 (Marburg, 1909). |
| JOSEPH LINS. |
| Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter |
| Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
| A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY |
| Archeological discoveries in Slovenia, particularly around Ptuj, Celje and Ljubljana, point to the presence of Christian dioceses of Poetovio, Celeia and Emona in the late second century AD. In 745 AD, Borut, a Carantanian prince, accepted Christianity in order to receive help against the Avars. His son Gorazd and his nephew Hotimir were baptized while being held hostage in a Benedictine monastery on an island inlake Chiemsee in Bavaria. Under Borut's successors, Gorazd and Hotimir, entire country of Carantania was christianized. |
| Missionaries brought Christianity from Salzburg and Aquileia. |
| Internal disputes (panslavismus) |
| According to the historical document "Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum", Virgilius, the Bishop of Salzburg, sent missionaries to Carantania and Pannonia. His special envoy Modestus, a provincial bishop {died ca. 763}, selected Maria Saal as his missionary centre. The new religion was soon popularly accepted and could not be destroyed even by a heathen rebellion after the death of Hotimir. It appears that the rebellion was aimed more against foreign overlords than against Christianity. The evangelization of Slovenes was promoted also by the Benedictine Abbeys of Salzburg, Molzbichl, Innichen (769, Kremsmunster (777), San Giovanni al Timavo, Moggio, and Rosazzo. According to an agreement, made in 796AD by Arno the Bishop of Salzburg and Paulinus II, the Patriarch of Aquileia, the river Drava (Drau) became the border between the dioceses Salzburg and Aquileia. This agreement was confirmed by Charlemagne in 811. The religious, national and cultural identity of Slovenes was shaped within these borders for almost a thousand years. Lower Pannonia is another region important to the history of Christianity among Slovenes. In 866 AD, two brothers, Cyril and Methodius came to the court of Prince Kocelj of Lower Pannonia after German missionaries forced them to leave Moravia. The brothers' missionary activity, augmented by the translation of liturgical texts into the local language, also influenced the written culture of the time. The Slavonic liturgy was given official acceptance by Popes Hadrian II and John VIII. Methodius died in 885 AD. His disciples were exiled by the German bishops and Latin was reintroduced in religious services. With the invasion of Pannonia by the Hungarians christian religion and cultural activity in this area died. In the 10th and 11th centuries the missionary endeavour of the previous centuries was followed by institutionalization of Christianity. A network of parishes was organized and supervised by archdeacons on behalf of distant diocesan centres. During this time the Freising Manuscripts, the oldest known Slavonic and Slovenian written documents were created. The texts originated in the mid 9th century and were recorded in the late 10th century. These parchment manuscripts contain a text for general confession and a homiletic admonition to penance. They were most likely a part of the travelling pontifical of a bishop from Freising who owned several properties in Slovenia. The Manuscripts are now kept in Munich. |
| To the north of the river Drava, the Archbishops of Salzburg established three small dioceses: Gurk in 1072, Seckau in 1219 and Lavant in 1228. Completely dependent on Salzburg they did not influence the religious and cultural life of Slovenia. The diocese of Ljubljana was founded in the year 1461 AD in the centre of the Slovenian territory and officially confirmed by Pope Pius II the following year. The new diocese was large but unfortunately territorially fragmented. Monastic orders played an important role in the religious, cultural, social, and economic life of the Slovenian population. The Cistercian monks were of considerable importance in the centre of Slovenian territory (Sticna 1136, Viktring 1142, Kostanjevica 1234). Founded in 1140 and centrally located, the Benedictine abbey of Gornji Grad served as the material basis for the establishment of the Diocese of Ljubljana. Popular spiritual life was also fostered by the presence of four Carthusian monasteries : Zice 1160, Jurkloster 1170, Bistra 1255, Pleterje 1403. The presence of the Dominicans and Friars Minor was felt in towns from the beginning of the 13th century. At the same time the order of Dominican nuns moved to Velesovo, Studenice, Radlje, and Koper while the Poor Clares came to Mekinje, Koper and Skofja Loka. The order of Teutonic Knights arrived at Velika Nedelja in 1199 and later in Ljubljana and Bela Krajina. Numerous fraternities and guilds were typical in medieval religious life as well as mission churches and shrines. The veneration of the Eucharist and of the Mother of God as well as frequent pilgrimages became characteristic of the religious life of Slovenes. |
| In the 15th and 16th centuries the life of the Slovenian population was greatly affected by the Turkish invasions. In 1408 the Turks first raided the region of Bela Krajina. To defend themselves against the Turkish invasions the people erected fortified walls around the churches. This was also a time of great natural disasters and other trials. The people and lower clergy were poorly educated, confused, dissatisfied and rebellious. Several fanatical societies such as Whippers and Ecstatics were established in direct disobedience of the Church. Peasant uprisings, caused by the harsh toil and suffering of simple folk, only increased the chaos. Disorder in ecclesiastical circles and in society at large led to the Reformation. Around 1525 Protestant teaching began to spread in the land. The key personality of Protestantism in Slovenia was Primoz Trubar a member of the cathedral chapter in Ljubljana. He began to write books in the Slovenian language and is therefore the initiator of the Slovenian printed word. In 1550 he published "Abecednik" (a Slovenian language reader) and the Slovenian Catechism. Protestant activity in Slovenia reached its zenith in 1584 with the publication of the translation of the Bible into Slovenian. |
| The Catholic restoration in Slovenia began according to the principle of "cuius regio, eius religio" and was carried out by special state commissions under the leadership of Jurij Stobej Bishop of Lavant, Tomaz Hren Bishop of Ljubljana and Martin Brenner Bishop of Seckau. Catholic restoration in these dioceses was carried out with determination. This was a time of renewed religious growth and increasing interest in pilgrimages and fraternities. During this time special merit for spiritual and cultural growth goes to the Jesuits (Ljubljana 1597) and the Capuchins (Ljubljana 1606). The Jesuits organized well run schools and the Capuchins were valued as excellent preachers, missionaries and promoters of popular devotions. Education for girls was provided by the Ursuline nuns. A planned and determined implementation of the decrees of the Council of Trent ensured the final success of the Catholic restoration. |
| The reforms introduced under the rule of Maria Teresia and Joseph II were important milestones in the ecclesiastic and religious life of Slovenia. At this time new parishes were being established while monasteries were closed, religious fraternities abolished, and pilgrimages prohibited. Joseph II initiated the redefinition of diocesan borders with the purpose of aligning them with national borders. For a short time Slovenia also had her own metropolitan see (in Ljubljana from 1788 to 1806). The rearrangement of diocesan borders, of great significance for the nation, was concluded with the transfer of the see of the Diocese of Lavant from St. Andraz in Carinthia to Maribor (1859).This was accomplished by Bishop Anton Martin Slomsek. Since then diocesan borders in most instances have coincided with national borders. The final period of Slovenian life under the Hapsburgs was marked by strong episcopal personalities. These were Bishops Anton Alojzij Wolf (from 1824 to 1859) and Anton Bonaventura Jeglic (from 1898 to 1930) in Ljubljana and Bishop Anton Martin Slomsek (from 1846 to 1862) in Maribor. |
| Bishop Wolf organized and published a new translation of the Bible, founded Alojzijevisce, a school for boys of poor parents and made possible the publication of the Slovene-German and German-Slovene dictionary. Bishop Slomsek, a poet and writer and a great promoter of national consciousness founded the publishing house Mohorjeva Druzba in 1851. He established a theological seminary in Maribor and introduced a teaching order of nuns into that city. Bishop Jeglic was the author of religious, catechetical and educational books. He founded the first complete Slovenian classic grammar school in 1905, revived diocesan synods, encouraged the growth of the Society of Mary and the veneration of the Eucharist and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated Bishop Jeglic was one of the signatories of the May declaration and the co-founder of the Yugoslav Conference of Bishops. |
| National and religious life of this period was marked by the participation of priests in political (Anton Korosec), cultural (Anton Mahnic) and social activities (Janez Evangelist Krek). The 19th century was a special time for missionary vocations. Among them were Irenej Frederick Baraga, a linguist, writer and ethnologist and well known missionary to the North American Indians and Ignacij Knoblehar , a linguist and ethnologist who lived among the people of Sudan. |
| Important changes occurred in the life of the Slovenian nation after the first world war. As the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated the national territory of Slovenia was divided among three political entities; the largest part joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, while the rest became part of Italy and Austria. In 1923 Prekmurje, formerly part of the Diocese of Szombathely and a section of Carinthia, formerly of the Diocese of Gurk, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Maribor. On the other hand the Diocese of Ljubljana lost the deaneries of Postojna, Vipava, Idrija and Trnovo. In spite of the division of the Slovenian Church between three states, the religious life remained vigorous and dynamic. The time between the two world wars represented a period of Catholic revival which was manifested in vigorous lay movements. Particularly significant was the well organized Catholic Action. Two singular events that took place in Ljubljana demonstrate the strength of the religious conviction of Slovenes at the time: the 2nd Eucharistic Congress of Yugoslavia held in 1935 and the 6th International Congress of Christ the King held in 1939. |
| The Second WW and the revolution, initiated by the Communist Party of Slovenia with the ensuing civil war, had severe repercussions for ecclesiastical and religious life. The consequences of that tragic period were particularly felt after the war. Among other victims of the revolution were 123 priests. After the war with thousands fleeing communist violence, some 200 priests and the Bishop of Ljubljana,dr.Gregorij Rozman, left Slovenia. In a pastoral letter dated 20. September, 1945, the Yugoslav Bishops severely criticized the communist regime for its attitude towards the Catholic Church and for unjust social reforms (agrarian reforms, the separation of Church and state: in communist parlance not a democratic political division of activity into separate and autonomous spheres of interest but an outright intent to destroy religion and the Church). The result was extreme persecution of the Church; 234 priests were arrested and jailed, the Church property was nationalized, religious instruction was banned from schools and church schools were closed. The persecution culminated on the 20th of January, 1952 with an attack on Anton Vovk, the Bishop of Ljubljana at the railway station in Novo Mesto. A group of young communists poured gasoline over the Bishop's clothing and set him on fire. Although he survived the attack he never completely recovered from his injuries. His successor, dr. Jozef Pogacnik was imprisoned for five years while still a member of the Ljubljana cathedral chapter. The level of persecution was less intense in the regions of Styria and Primorje where the church organization had yet to be completed. The relations between the Catholic Church and civil authorities improved in 1966 with the implementation of diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Yugoslavia. Despite periods of severe repression alternating with periods of tolerance, the life of the Church in Slovenia was as dynamic as was possible under communist rule. Special sign of this dynamism were numerous priestly vocations (e.g. in the year 1973 Slovenia had 59 newly ordained priests). Religious press, represented by Druzina, a catholic weekly started in 1952, and Ognjisce, a monthly periodical for youth published from 1965, persevered and evolved in spite of official threats and obstacles. Religious instruction, banned from schools in 1952, was at first conducted in severely limited space in parochial churches. Today an efficient network of religious instruction is organized in parishes. Quite early on various courses, retreats and prayer meetings were introduced and prospered. Particularly well attended were marriage preparation courses. |
| The new church-state relationship permitted a necessary rearrangement of ecclesiastical administration in Slovenia. Special administrators were appointed by the Holy See for sections of the Archdiocese of Gorizia and of the dioceses of Trieste-Koper and Rijeka. In 1964 a unified administration for Slovensko Primorje was instituted. The diocese of Ljubljana was elevated to an archdiocese by John XXIII for its 500th anniversary. On the 22nd of November 1968 Paul VI inaugurated the Slovenian Ecclesiastical Province with the metropolitan see in Ljubljana and the suffragan bishop in Maribor. The organization of the Slovenian Ecclesiastical Province was completed in 1977 with the restoration of the Diocese of Koper into which the former administrative region of Slovensko Primorje was incorporated. A new phase in the church-state relationship began in 1980 with the appointment of dr. Alojzij Sustar to the position of Archbishop of Ljubljana and the Metropolitan of Slovenia. His efforts to restore the public celebration of Christmas, banned since 1952, started a gradual openness of society to democracy and inaugurated a new phase in national and religious life. As preparation for the general synod to inaugurate the plan of action of the Slovenian Church in the third millennium special pastoral councils were organized in individual dioceses. |
| Since independence new opportunities for work at home and abroad opened for the Catholic Church in the republic of Slovenia. The Church is faced with the task of the moral and spiritual renewal of the people, with the need for fundamental education and religious renewal. Because of an unclear legal and political situation the Church finds herself in an extremely unfavourable economic position, unable to develop her basic charitable, educational and cultural activities. However, in spite of current problems, the Church looks to the future with great hope. Numerous organizations, lay associations, gatherings of the faithful, meetings and vocations offer the basis for this optimistic outlook, but above all it is based on the openness of the Slovenian people to spiritual life and to God. |
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Razvalina Salek |
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| Pozgani gradovi |
| Castles burned or destroyed by partizans during and after II. World War |
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Zalog pri Moravcah - pozgan 1944 po partizanih |
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Grad Volcji potok - pozgan 1944 po partizanih |
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Haasberg - pozgan 1944 po partizanih |
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Cusperk - med vojno pozgali partizani |
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Ribnica - pozgana po drugi sv. vojni |
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Rihenberk - pogorel 1944 partizani |
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Hmeljnik - 19 Maja 1942 so ga pozgali partizani |
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Zuzemberk - unicen po partizanih |
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Soteska - pozgan Oktobra leta 1943 po partizanih |
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Grad Nadlisek - pozgan 16 Julija 1942 po Italianih |
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Grad Prezek - pozgali partizani 1942 |
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Bostanj - unicen 1943 po partizanih |
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Grad Crnelo - 1944 pozgan po partizanih |
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Stari Grad pri otoccu, pozgan leta 1942 po partizanih |
| Unicene Cerkve |
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Sv. Jurij na Igu - sistematicno rusena po UDV (Uprava drzavne varnosti) |
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Cerkev Dolnja Briga (Kocevska Reka) - 1945 porusena pokop. cerkev St. Valentina. |
