Eparchy of Marča
Eparchy of Marča Marčanska biskupija Марчанска епархија | |
|---|---|
The Marcha Monastery (1775) | |
| Location | |
| Country | Habsburg monarchy |
| Coordinates | 45°45′48″N 16°29′33″E / 45.76333°N 16.49250°E |
| Statistics | |
| Members | 60,000–72,000 |
| Information | |
| Rite | Byzantine |
| Established | 21 November 1611 |
| Dissolved | 1753 |
The Eparchy of Marča (Croatian: Marčanska biskupija, Serbian Cyrillic: Марчанска епархија) was an Eastern Christian ecclesiastical entity taking two forms in the 17th century: an Eastern Orthodox eparchy and an Eastern Catholic vicariate. The term was derived from the name of the monastery at Marča (today Stara Marča) near Ivanić-Grad, Habsburg monarchy (present-day Zagreb County, Republic of Croatia).
Although Serbian Orthodox bishop Simeon Vratanja traveled to Rome in 1611 and formally accepted jurisdiction of the Pope over this bishopric, until 1670 Serb bishops continued to recognize the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and struggled against conversion attempts by Roman Catholic bishops from Zagreb. This semi-union existed until the 1670 appointment of Pavle Zorčić as bishop. All Serb Orthodox clergy who objected to the union were arrested and sentenced to life in prison in Malta, where they died. The bishopric eventually became the Eastern Catholic Eparchy of Križevci.