Eparchy of Zvornik and Tuzla

In the north-eastern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the territory of the present day Eparchy of Zvornik and Tuzla, there are several archeological localities that indicate the presence of early Christianity in that region during late Roman period and early Middle Ages. Since 1284, the region came under the rule of Serbian king Stefan Dragutin and soon after that an Eastern Orthodox Bishop Vasilije was appointed for all Bosnian regions, western of the river Drina.^[2] During the reign of Serbian Despots Stefan Lazarević (1389-1427) and Đurađ Branković (1427-1456), much of the north-eastern Bosnia was again under Serbian rule.^[3] During that time, the foundation was laid for the establishment of an Eastern Orthodox Eparchy in that region, under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć.

By the end of 15th century much of the region was conquered by Ottoman Turks who organized the territory into a province called the Sanjak of Zvornik. Between 1526 and 1541, during the attempt of Metropolitan Pavle of Smederevo to restore the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, Eparchy of Zvornik and its bishop Teofan were also included in local ecclesiastical disputes with Archbishopric of Ohrid.^[4] Finally in 1557, Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was restored and the Eparchy of Zvornik was returned to its jurisdiction, with bishops of Zvornik holding the honorary title of metropolitan.^[5]

In 1766, when Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was abolished, the Eparchy of Zvornik and all other Serbian eparchies under Ottoman rule came under the jurisdiction of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Bishop of Zvornik kept his honorary title of Metropolitan, as was also the custom in the Ecumenical Patriarchate. By the end of 18th century and during much of 19th century, bishops of this Eparchy resided in the city of Tuzla. Since 1878, territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina was under the occupation of Austria-Hungary, but under the Church Convention of 1880 all Eastern Orthodox eparchies remained under supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. At the end of the First World War in 1918, all Serbian Orthodox bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina reached a unanimous decision to join with other Serbian ecclesiastical provinces into united Serbian Orthodox Church. The process of unification was completed in 1920 and since then Eparchy of Zvornik and Tuzla remains part of the united Serbian Orthodox Church.^[6]

This is an incomplete list of bishops and metropolitans of Zvornik.

• Ozren Monastery
• Papraća Monastery
• Lovnica Monastery

• Eastern Orthodoxy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• List of the Eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church

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• Вуковић, Сава (1996). Српски јерарси од деветог до двадесетог века (Serbian Hierarchs from the 9th to the 20th Century). Евро, Унирекс, Каленић.
• Bataković, Dušan T. (1996). The Serbs of Bosnia & Herzegovina: History and Politics. Dialogue Association. ISBN 9782911527104.
• Mileusnić, Slobodan (1997). Spiritual Genocide: A survey of destroyed, damaged and desecrated churches, monasteries and other church buildings during the war 1991-1995 (1997). Belgrade: Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
• Radić, Radmila (1998). "Serbian Orthodox Church and the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina". Religion and the War in Bosnia. Atlanta: Scholars Press. pp. 160–182. ISBN 9780788504280.
• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs. Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9781434458766.
• Sotirović, Vladislav B. (2011). "The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in the Ottoman Empire: The First Phase (1557–94)". Serbian Studies: Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies. 25 (2): 143–169. doi:10.1353/ser.2011.0038. S2CID 143629322.

 

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