Multiculturalism and Multiconfessionalism in Boka Kotorska in the XVIII Century

The identity and Serbian Orthodox Church in Boka under the Venetian rule (1687-1797)

Abstract

As we had already depicted, life in XVIII century Boka Kotorska was marked by great migrations and numerous heterogeneous factors of this multicultural and multiconfessional environment, under the auspice of the Republic of Venice. Common people, although of different religions, lived in accordance with their social and economic needs and interests, in mutual tolerance, interlacing and respecting sanctities of both churches. The role of the church, both Orthodox and Catholic, was multifaceted and essential. Its part in organizing civil life and institutionalization of legal bodies, as well as its place within private devotion of individuals in the local area, were very important. The Orthodox Church, which was not an official church of the Republic of Venice, implied in its fundamental function efforts for preserving the ethnic and religious identity of the Serbian Orthodox community in this area, as a pivot of multiculturalism. Especially important in that aspect is Savina Monastery, the Zion of the Orthodox people in XVIII century Boka Kotorska, in the absence of the Diocese of Dalmatia and Boka and under foreign Venetian rule.