Church of Holy Salvation, Cetina
Church of Holy Salvation | |
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Crkva Svetog Spasa | |
Chalcedonian christianity | |
Architecture | |
Years built | 9th century |
Type | Protected cultural good |
Reference no. | Z-4303[1] |
Part of a series on the |
Catholic Church in Croatia |
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The Church of the Holy Salvation or Holy Saviour (Croatian: Crkva Sv. Spasa) was a Pre-Romanesque church in the Dalmatian Hinterland, Croatia, whose ruins are now a historic site. It is located in the small village of Cetina, near the spring of the river Cetina, 8 km northwest from the town of Vrlika.
The remains of the church are of historical significance in Croatia, as it is the only
Description
The church was once a one-longitudinal-nave structure with a
The church is vaulted with five pairs of strong semi-circular
History
Medieval times
The church was built near Vrlika, called Vrh Rike in the 9th to 10th century.
It was commissioned as a private church by the local župan (district-prefect) Gastika of Cetina, at the recommendation of Pope Stephen VI, in memory of his family.[9] This is confirmed by inscriptions from a beam taken from the altar, which notes in Latin: AD ONOREM D(omi)N(u)M N(ostri) IESU CHR(ist)I EGO GASTICA HUPPANUS D(onavi) [...] I ET ANIMATE MEE ET MATR(i)S MEE NOMINE NEMIRA ET F(i)LIIS MEIS NOMINE.[10] It translates that the church had been dedicated to Christ and built on the order of the prefect Gastika, the son of Nemira.[11] The beams are held along with other artifacts found at the site at the Archaeological Museum in Split.
Destruction
In the early 15th century,
Despite its damaged state, the church ruins were still viewed as a sacred site by the local population. Franciscan archaeologist
In the late 19th century, Franciscan friar Lujo Marun of the Knin parish became the first person to conduct an excavation of the site, the findings which he published in 1895 and 1896.[14] Marun took the first known photograph of the church in 1894, which turned out to be immensely valuable for future researchers, as the photograph depicts parts of the church wall which no longer exist.[15] Despite his efforts, Marun was unable to complete his work and could not therefore offer conclusive evidence on the church's formation.[15]
Modern
It wasn't until 1947 that a more scientific, archaeological excavation of the site was conducted by the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments.[16] Led by renowned archaeologist Stjepan Gunjača, the team's work focused on excavating inside the church along with the surrounding area and preserving what was left of the existing structures.[17] It was Gunjača and his team who discovered the altar beam confirming district prefect Gastika as the donor for the church.[18] The team unearthed hundreds of old-Croatian graves, many containing jewelry, coins, belts, weaponry, and other artifacts now kept at the archaeology museum in Split.[18][19] With these findings, the Croatian archaeological group was able to put the age of the church at the late 9th century.[20]
The
The historical and spiritual ownership of remains of the church has long been a source of tension between the local Croatian Catholic and Serb Orthodox population, with both sides claiming ownership. After the archaeological excavations were completed in 1954, the Serbian Orthodox population began a campaign of burying their dead haphazardly throughout grounds in order to lay claim to the church.[26] In 1983 monks from the Serbian Orthodox Church erected iron barred gates at the entrance of the church and walled off the windows to keep to prevent Catholics from utilizing the church.[27][28][29] At the same time an ancient wall fragment depicting the Croatian interlace was also destroyed.[28] It was not until after the end of the war that Catholics were able to return to the church and continue their yearly pilgrimage to celebrate the Ascension.[30][31]
Graves
The graves found near the Church, dated from the 9th through 14th century, had a specific kind of textile that was found to be comparable in quality with 18th and 19th century clothing.
The excavations by Gunjača and his team unearthed over 1,000 graves over a 11,250m2 area, the majority estimated to have been buried between the 11th and 16th centuries along with some outliers. Several artifacts found in the graves include earrings, rings, buttons, fabric, tiles, and various coins.[33]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ "Arheološko nalazište crkve sv. Spasa". Registar Kulturnih Dobara. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
- ^ a b "Cetina - Sv. Spas". Muzej Hrvatskih Arheoloških Spomenika u Splitu. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Goss, Vladimir (2010). "The Croatian Westwork Revisisted" (PDF). Journal of the Institute of Art History of Slovak Academy of Sciences: 9. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ Jurković 1995.
- ^ ISBN 978-953-212-395-1.
- ^ a b c "Povijest" [History]. Official site of Vrlika (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
- ^ Jurković 1995, p. 63.
- ^ Jurković 1995, p. 55.
- ^ Jurković 1995, pp. 63–64, 75.
- ^ Deloga, Vedrana. "Donatorski natpis župana Gostihe iz crkve Sv. Spasa u Cetini (Vrh Rici)".
- ^ a b "RKT župa Gospe Ružarice - Crkva sv. Spasa, Cetina" (in Croatian). Municipality of Vrlika. Archived from the original on 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
- ^ Milošević, Ante (2005). "Arheološki izvori za srednjovjekovnu povijest Cetine". Filozofski Fakultet, Zadar: 11.
- ^ Zlatović, Stipe (October 1879). "Stara crkva i grobiste u Vrelu Cetine". Viestnik Hrvatskoga arheološkoga društva. 4: 103.
- ^ Marun, Lujo (1895). "Starohrvatsko groblje sa crkvom Sv. Spasa u Cetini". Starohrvatska Prosvjeta (1): 183–187, 224–230.
- ^ S2CID 127428949. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2020-02-15. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Jelovina, Dušan (1990). "STAROHRVATSKA CRKVA SV. SPASA NA VRELU RIJEKE CETINE I GROBLJE OKO NJE U SVJETLU ARHEOLOSKIH ISTRAZIVANJA". Prilozi Povijesti Umjetnosti U Dalmaciji. 30 (1): 36. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ Jelovina, D. (1981). "In memoriam STJEPAN GUNJAČA (1909-1981)". Starohrvatska Prosvjeta. III (14): 9–11. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ a b GUNJAČA, STJEPAN (1955). "RAD MUZEJA HRVATSKIH STARINA U GODINI 1952" (PDF). Starohrvatska Prosvjeta. III (4): 228. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Živković, Diana Nola. "STUDIJA O POTENCIJALU KULTURNE I PRIRODNE BAŠTINE 160 STUDIJA O POTENCIJALU KULTURNE I PRIRODNE BAŠTINE" (PDF). Grad Knin. Uvea. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- S2CID 127428949. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2020-02-15. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Crkveni život" (in Croatian). Municipality of Civljane. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
- ^ "Borba za veru, crkvu i prosvetu". Krka (in Serbian) (42). 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
Za manastir Dragović «v čast Presvjatija Djevi Mariji i roždestva jeja». Milaš misli da je bio osnovan 1395. god. Njegov postanak tradicija dovodi u vezu sa bosanskim kraljem Stefanom Tvrtkom I, koji je opet «po ženskoj lozi» bio u rodu s Nemanjićima i koji je na vrelu Cetine ozidao crkvu «sv. Spasa», koju su Turci razorili 1512. g. Ruševine sa bogumilskim stećcima vide se još i danas.
- ^ Petricioli, Ivo (December 1995). "Crkva Sv. Spasa na vrelu Cetine". Starohrvatska Prosvjeta. III (22): 19–20. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ Gunjača, Stjepan (December 1995). "Radovi na crkvi i groblju Svetog Spasa na vrelu Cetine". Starohrvatska Prosvjeta. III (22): 33. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ Radic, Frano (1895). "Starohrvatsko groblje sa crkvom Sv. Spasa u Cetini". Starohrvatska Prosvjeta. I (3–4): 184.
- ^ Škrinjar, Ljubomir. "Starohrvatska crkva Svetog Spasa na izvoru rijeke Cetine". hkv.hr. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "6. prosinca 1981. Stjepan Gunjača". Narod.hr. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ a b MARASOVIĆ, Tomislav (1995). "Crkva Sv. Spasa na vrelu Cetine". Starohrvatska Prosvjeta. III (22): 41.
- ISBN 9789536525027.
- ^ "Naše Kijevo" (PDF). Kijevo.hr. Glasnik Općine Kijevo. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Hodočašće starohrvatskoj crkvi Sv. Spasa na vrelu Cetine". Informativna katolička agencija. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Znanost u Hrvata: prirodoslovlje i njegova primjena" [Centuries of Natural Science in Croatia: Theory and Application] (in Croatian). June–October 1996. Archived from the original on 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ Milošević, Ante (2005). "Arheološki izvori za srednjovjekovnu povijest Cetine". Sveučilište u Zadru: 26. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
General sources
- Jurković, Miljenko (December 1995). "Sv. Spas na vrelu Cetine i problem westwerka u hrvatskoj predromanici" [The Church of the Saviour at the Source of the Cetina River and the Westwork in the Croatian Pre-Romanesque]. Starohrvatska Prosvjeta (in Croatian). III (22). Split: ISSN 0351-4536. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
- Marasović, Tomislav (December 1995). "Crkva Sv. Spasa na vrelu Cetine: Prilog tipološkoj analizi" [The Church of st Saviour at the Source of the Cetina River]. Starohrvatska Prosvjeta (in Croatian). III (22). Split: ISSN 0351-4536. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
- Petricioli, Ivo (December 1995). "Crkva Sv. Spasa na vrelu Cetine" [The Church of the Holy Saviour at the Source of the Cetina River]. Starohrvatska Prosvjeta (in Croatian). III (22). Split: ISSN 0351-4536. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
External links
- Media related to Holy Salvation church, Cetina at Wikimedia Commons