Narratives of Adversity: Jesuits on the Eastern Peripheries of the Habsburg Realms (1640–1773)

X An Unredeemed Loss: The Jesuit Mission in Belgrade

X An Unredeemed Loss: The Jesuit Mission in Belgrade1 Situated on a high point overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, Belgrade has been a fortress since Roman times. The city passed under Ottoman control in 1521, and remained a center of Turkish military power until the end of the seventeenth century. While always an important center of Serbian culture, Belgrade’s location destined it to serve as a crossroads for diverse groups, not the least of which were the garrison soldiers of the various powers that occupied the city. Muslim roots stretched deeply into the urban landscape, and at least 120 mosques stood within the city walls in the seventeenth century. Serbian speakers may even have been in the minority.2 Belgrade was in many ways a logical place for the Society of Jesus, after its triumphant reestablishment in the Danube Basin, to seek to establish a presence. Even more importantly, the city was a gateway to cultures and institutions where the Jesuits hoped to make advances now that it had the support of nearby Austria. In the early seventeenth century the Society had maintained a presence in the city, and sent regular reports to their Provincial in Vienna.3 1 In the preparation of this chapter the author acknowledges support from Saint Louis University; thanks also to the staff of the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, Marija Petrović, and Slobodan Markovich. 2 Judah, The Serbs, 48. 3 These records indicate a continuous Jesuit presence from 1612 until 1635, with further activities in Belgrade in 1617, 1626 and possibly 1623. Austria 20, fols.11, 19; 38–118; 149; 157; 205–207; 211–212; 238, ARSI. Regarding Jesuit ownership of property in Ottoman Belgrade, see also a letter of Petrus Boscevich, “Parocho in Samandia,” 29 August 1653, Missio Hungarica 1607– 1633 et Transylvanica 1570–1650, Austria 20, fol. 294r, ARSI. 244 Narratives of Adversity But the Jesuit mission remained small, semi-clandestine, and restricted in its activities because of the role of Belgrade as an Ottoman bulwark against Christian expansion.4 In 1688, Austrian forces moving down the Danube seized it, although two years later the Ottomans regained control of the city. During this brief period the Jesuits operated a larger and more systematically organized mission in Belgrade.5 In each of these instances the Jesuits working in the city were from the Austrian province of the Society, although Serbian territory was never technically within the boundaries of the Province. However, this mission was staffed by only four, and then the following year, three Jesuit priests, did not establish a school, and was short lived: In 1690 the Ottomans, bent on avenging the humiliating loss of territory, recaptured Belgrade in a chaotic melee; three Jesuits, including Father Thomas Glavinić, were killed in the fighting and the remaining fathers withdrew. This tragedy would turn out to be the most significant single event in the history of all the Jesuit missions in Belgrade. Again in 1717 an Austrian army captured Belgrade, which in the meantime had been largely razed and rebuilt.6 A 21-year period of Habsburg control of the city and surrounding territory now began. Again, Jesuits followed in the Imperial armies, where they frequently served as chaplains, and set about establishing not merely a mission, but a more substantial presence in the community, which had an uninterrupted existence from 1722 until 1739.7 This was a period of peace but not of real stability, as Venice had concluded a treaty with the Porte in 1718, thereby altering the power relations in the region and leaving the Habsburgs without significant allies.8 The expansion of the Society ’s role in Belgrade was paralleled by the creation of a Catholic diocese in the city, a reflection of Habsburg hopes of recasting the boarder region as a stable part of the dynasty’s domains.9 Yet during most of these years, a stable Catholic hierarchy had not yet been established, and 4 Until 1632 the Society operated a “School of Christian Sciences” that taught a Latin curriculum. Fotić, “Belgrade,” 71. 5 Lukács, Catalogi V, 337. 6 Pastor, Geschichte der Päpste, xv, 103. 7 Velics, Vázlatok a magyar jezsuiták multjából, iii, 54. 8 Snooks, The Dynamic Society, 368. 9 Ritzler and Sefrin, Hierarchia Catholica, 119. 245 An Unredeemed Loss: The Jesuit Mission in Belgrade from 1720 until 1729 there was no Catholic bishop resident...