The Early Modern Multi-Confessional Balkans in the Regional Policy of the Holy See Review of Confessionalization on the Frontier. The Balkan Catholics between Roman Reform and Ottoman Reality by A

. The monograph by Hungarian historian Antal Molnár summarizes many years of research into the age of Confessionalization in the Balkans in the space of collision and coexistence of Christianity and Islam. In the territories that fell under the rule of the Ottoman Porte in the 14 th – 16 th centuries, the Holy See undertook missionary activities, the most successful in which were the Bosnian Franciscans, and cooperated with the rich and influential communities of the Ragusan merchants. The author turns to the role of the Catholic Church in the early stages of nation-building among the Albanians who had had no state tradition and explains why the idea of church union among Orthodox Serbs actually failed. The end of the Confessionalization age came with the Great Turkish War (1683–99), which saw the return to Hungary of territories that had been under the Ottoman rule for a century and a half, but which also proved tragic for Catholics who remained in the Ottoman Empire. The book is based on Italian, Hungarian and Croatian archives and offers an analysis of the historiography of the issue in a number of European languages. The author makes extensive use of methods of microhistory and cultural history, going back to broad generalizations through a detailed examination of selected well-documented cases.

Антал Молнар -венгерский историк, специалист по истории Центральной и Юго-Восточной Европы в раннее Новое время, политике Святого Престола в Венгрии и религиозной ситуации на Балканах.В 1999 г. он защитил диссертацию по литературе в Сегедском университете (Венгрия), в 2002 г.диссертацию по истории в университете «Париж -Сорбонна IV» (Франция); в 2007 г. хабилитировался в Будапештском университете им.Л. Этвеша.В  2011-2016 гг.был   Antal Molnár is a Hungarian historian, an expert in the history of Central and South-Eastern Europe in the Early Modern Period, politics of the Holy See in Hungary, and religious situation in the Balkans.In 1999 he defended his thesis in literature at the University of Szeged (Hungary); in 2002 he defended his thesis in history at Paris-Sorbonne University (France); in 2007 he habilitated at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.In 2011-16 Molnár was a director of the Hungarian Academy (Cultural and Scientific Center) in Rome; since 2019 he has been the head of the Institute of History of the Research Centre for the Humanities (since 2020 he is also deputy director the center) of Eötvös Research Network.He teaches at leading universities in Hungary and is a member of a number of reputable international scholarly organizations, in particular, the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.
The scholar, who has worked in the archives of Hungary, Italy and Croatia for many years, has been attracted by polyethnic and poly-confessional Balkans as an object of the religious policy of the Holy See for a long time.Antal Molnár's new book published in English combines the results of research on the Franciscans in Bosnia, Ragusan merchants in the territories conquered by the Ottomans, the activities of the Society of Jesus in Transylvania, etc. Knowledge of English, German, French, Italian, Serbo-Croatian, and Turkish allowed the author to combine the European (Christian) tradition of studying interconfessional relations in the region with the Ottoman tradition.As a result, a multi-level reconstruction of the phenomenon, which in recent decades has received the name "Confessionalization" (from German Konfessionalisierung) or Confessional age was presented to the readers.
In the early 1990s, German historians Wolfgang Reinhard, Heinz Schilling, et al. proposed a convincing concept of how the European states of the Early Modern Period accumulated the confessions that were dominant in their territories into secular systems, placing the authority of religious institutions at the service of the economic, socio-political, spiritual, and cultural tasks. 1  Confessionalization, which, along with the Eurocentric model of offensive Catholicism after the Council of Trent, made it possible to see its local variants with their characteristic trans-confessional ties.As a result, what is presented to the reader is a complex society, where the positions of the papacy were not strong enough to win over the local population, Catholic missions were met with a rebuff (despite the fact that they studied the languages of the local population, wrote down their liturgical texts, and often acted as their historiographers), and "trading nations," primarily trading posts of the Republic of Ragusa that fought for sales markets, became important intermediaries in the field of interconfessional relations.
The geographical scope of the study is outlined and explained at the end of the book, when the reader, who has already read the eight chapters, can assess the validity of such a choice.The author took as a basis the Renaissance concept of imaginary Illyria (Dalmatia, Slavonia, Croatia, and Bosnia), focused on its part that was under the rule of the Ottoman Porte, supplemented the list with Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Ottoman possessions in the south of Hungary.Greece as a completely different ethno-cultural and confessional reality was not included in it.The Balkan ("Illyrian") territories under Christian rule -Croatia and Dalmatiadid not become an object of analysis either.
The book is divided into ten chapters and is structured so that each previous chapter provides the reader with a set of facts and working hypotheses necessary to understand the subsequent one.Chapter 1 offers a detailed analysis of the source base; Chapter 2 is devoted to the Franciscan province of Bosnia; Chapter 3 recreates the principles of interaction between the Holy See and the Balkan missions according to the available fragmentary information; Chapter 4 reveals the nature of the Balkan policy of the Holy See and the Republic of Venice; Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 show the relationship of Catholic orders with local churches and merchant communities on the examples of the struggle for objects of religious worship; Chapter 7 introduces the activities of the Albanian mission; Chapter 8 introduces the doomed attempts to persuade Orthodox Serbs to opt for the union; Chapter 9 is devoted to a dramatic page in regional history, the Great Turkish War (1683-99), and its devastating consequences; applying the methods of microhistory, Chapter 10 recreates the religious world of a Bosnian woman (represented in the sources only fragmentarily), who worked her way form a fugitive wearing man's clothes to a nun in Rome.The book ends with a glossary of terms, a cartographic appendix, and a list of archival and published sources and literature in a dozen languages.The author refers to the tools of microhistory and cultural history as methodological guidelines, so a number of chapters are built around the analysis of one or several cases.For modern Russian historiography, which is largely based on the legacy of the study of Slavic reciprocity and closely connected with the national historical schools of the region, Molnár's book opens up new research horizons and problemoriented theoretical perspectives that are not obvious in the dichotomy "the Slavs and Russia."The facts contained in the monograph prove that the population of the Ottoman provinces in the Balkans was not simply an object of Ottoman discriminatory policy.In the territories where the power of the Holy See was not strong enough and the Ottoman Porte pragmatically distanced itself from interference in the internal affairs of Christian institutions, Christian communities were formed under the sign of religious martyrdom as carriers and guardians of national identity and as links that connected the territories controlled by Muslims with European civilization.
Bosnian Catholicism of the Franciscans is considered in Chapter 2 as unique, exemplary to a certain extent, experience of centuries of institutional continuity and adaptability to changing and often unfavorably hostile conditions.The formation of medieval statehood was completed in Bosnia later than in other early feudal states of the peninsula, and the Bosnian church that retained its local flavor was developing on the civilizational watershed of Western and Eastern Christianity, which is why it was often called heretical.After the Ottoman conquest, the Franciscans, who had been present in the country since the end of the 13 th century, were able to take over all the functions of the Bosnian state that had ceased to exist.They gained recognition from the Ottoman authorities, and when the residence of the Bosnian bishop was in Belgrade, they remained the only real Catholic institution in the province, which Rome was forced to reckon with.In the 17 th century, their jurisdiction extended over the Catholic diasporas of Bulgaria; the Franciscan emissaries successfully sought political and financial support at European courts from Spain to Rzecz Pospolita.Therefore, the Ottoman model of confessionalization was implemented in Bosnia, which was typologically close to the evolutionary compromise course of the Eastern Christian churches of the peninsula.The decline of Catholicism in Bosnia was associated with the success of the Holy League in the liberation of Hungary and the Balkans.
In Chapter 3, the author shifts the focus from the local level to the central one and addresses the topic of the Holy See's coordination of missionary activities through the Inquisition (Holy Office) and the newly created (after 1622) Congregation of Propaganda Fide.This is the least documented part of the study because before the opening of the archives in 1998, scholars' knowledge of the activities of the Holy Office outside the Alps was next to nothing.Today, if we focus on the Balkans, it is only a scattered collection of appeals from local missionaries for apostolic succession, explanations, and instructions on how to proceed in difficult situations.To resolve the conflicts that regularly arose in the south of Hungary, in Bulgaria, or in Albania between the mission and individual brothers and between the Benedictines, Franciscans, and Jesuits who were competing for the flock, the Inquisition needed experienced personnel, well-versed in doctrinal matters and familiar with local realities.Amazing stories about passionate individuals who changed their faith, returned to the bosom of Catholicism, refused to obey disciplinary punishment, and violated the canons and prescriptions, show that despite its sluggishness and slowness, the Inquisition acted with caution and was focused on eliminating any conflict situations.According to the author, there is every reason to believe that when the Congregation was created, maybe the experience of the Holy Office was not taken as the basis of its activity, but it was comprehended and taken into account.
The Republic of Venice, undoubtedly, was among the states that played a special role in Southeastern Europe in the confessional age.However, Chapter 4 is devoted to an analysis of the reasons why despite its long border with the Ottoman Empire and intensive economic and cultural ties in the Balkans, La Serenissima lost the fight for the right to become the center of missionary activity in the region.Venice's role in keeping Dalmatia, Albania, and Greece in the orbit of European culture can hardly be overestimated, but "Venetian South-East of Europe" was not meant to be.Venice, which the Holy See was ready to consider as the main mediator in the Balkans in the late 16 th century, was not suitable for this role under the conditions of a tightly centralized model of missionary activity that triumphed after the Council of Trent.Moreover, by its attempts to act independently and inconsistently, Venice upset the balance between the Bosnian Franciscans, the Hungarian episcopate, and Ragusa that claimed the role that Venice failed to cope with.
The Republic of Ragusa managed to spread its influence over a significant part of the Balkans; the trading posts of monopoly merchants brought enormous income to the treasury of the metropolis; the struggle for markets and control over trade routes went hand in hand with the interference in church affairs, the struggle for the appointment of priests, and control over Catholic chapels that were the true centers of spiritual and social life of local Catholics.In Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, stages and outcome of the struggle for Catholic chapels in wealthy populous Belgrade and provincial Novi Pazar are reconstructed in detail and analyzed in the context of the interfaith balance of power in Ottoman Serbia.Microhistorical reconstructions time the history of claims and pretensions, intentions and ambitions, intrigues and patronage relations of both church actors (Franciscans, Jesuits, bishops and archbishops, the Holy See) and secular ones (Ottoman authorities were the object of corrupt activity of almost all parties involved in a conflict; the Ragusan Senate, which used church institutions to expand the area of trade; merchant communities and the local population).Like a drop of water, such individual issues reflected a specific feature of the Balkan ethno-religious situation: connection of the church with trade; transformation of the merchant class into regional elite; influence of the church on the formation of nations.In Chapter 7, on the example of the Albanians, the author considers the issue of premodern forms of national consciousness and nation-forming processes that had been interrupted by the 19 th century.As a methodological guideline, he chose the works by ethno-symbolist Caspar Hirschi, who suggested that for the Early Modern Period, a nation should be defined as an abstract entity with unique features, a defined territory, a sense of political and cultural independence, and exceptional pride. 2 This definition is applicable to the Albanians.Unlike the Greeks and the Serbs, they did not have a national church, which would have become an institution consolidating the nation in the conditions of the lost statehood, and switched to nation-building under the influence of European ideas of the late 19 th century.However, looking ahead, we can say that the modern Albanian nation was formed around Islam as one of the features that united its members in the 17 th century, when the Holy See considered missionary activity in the Balkans that were occupied by the Ottomans as an important direction of regional policy, comparable to the evangelization of the indigenous population of both Americas.Albanian Catholics and Catholicism as a denomination capable of uniting the Albanians who had never had statehood had a chance to direct the formation of the Albanian nation in the Modern Era along the path of building a community based on the Christian faith.Congregation of Propaganda Fide did much work in that sphere, paying attention to the translation of religious literature into Albanian, to training Albanian priests in Italian seminaries, to visitations and missionary work among the Albanians.These efforts were ended by the wars of the Holy League, which victoriously swept through the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire with fire and sword and, as it was mentioned above, led to demographic and ethnoconfessional changes and a sharp decrease in the interest of the Holy See in the Balkans.
Another example of failed Catholic evangelization is considered in Chapter 8, which gives an answer to the question why the idea of the union did not receive support among the Serbian clergy and believers.The historian pays attention to two mutually exclusive historiographical lines: the Croatian one, which took on trust missionary reports of fervent support for the union among Orthodox Serbs, and the 2 C. Serbian one, which exposed any efforts of the Holy See in this respect as falsification and distortion.In fact, during the Early Modern Period there was no other organization on the Balkan Peninsula that could compete with the Serbian Orthodox Church in terms of the number of believers, income stability, and mutual understanding with the Ottoman authorities.Under the Nemanji dynasty, the church actually became state church.Maintaining a close connection with the broad masses of believers and following the traditions of people's religious commitment, it was incorporated into the Ottoman administrative and financial system during the period of Turkish rule.Its power was based on the right to collect taxes, and the expansion of the Sultan's possessions was accompanied by the foundation of Orthodox monasteries in the conquered territories.The idea of a union attracted the clergy of the southwestern outskirts of the Patriarchate of Pe (Macedonia, Herzegovina).Understanding the futility of efforts to spread the union to other territories forced the Holy See to abandon the idea of union in those lands.
Chapter 9 summarizes the centuries-long laborious work of Catholic missions in the territory of the Ottoman Empire.Waged by the Holy League under the patronage of Pope Innocent XI, the war led to the liberation of vast territories from Ottoman rule but did not put an end to the presence of the Turks in the Balkans.Catholicism began to decline: the stratum of prosperous city dwellers was forced to leave the country, the number of monasteries was reduced to three, and Catholicism turned into a marginal confession professed by the rural population.The Christian population, missionaries, monks, and priests in the territories that remained under the rule of the Sultan found themselves in the position of collaborators without any legal protection and patronage.Many of them left their places of residence forever and moved to the liberated regions.The war led to the partial territorial reintegration of Hungary and the liberation of Transylvania, but at the same time it resulted in the appearance of innocent victims of the war -the "third party," the Balkan Catholics.
O.V. Khavanova."The Early Modern Multi-Confessional Balkans in the Regional Policy of the Holy See".Review of Confessionalization on the Frontier.The Balkan Catholics between Roman Reform and Ottoman Reality byA.Molnár (Roma: Viella, 2019 O.V. Khavanova."The Early Modern Multi-Confessional Balkans in the Regional Policy of the Holy See".Review of Confessionalization on the Frontier.The Balkan Catholics between Roman Reform and Ottoman Reality byA.Molnár (Roma: Viella, 2019 -Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Deputy Director for the Research Institute (Historical Departments), Head of the Center for the Study of the History of the Multinational Austrian Empire; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7694-5292,khavanova@inslav.ru,Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (32A, Leninsky Prospekt, Moscow 119334, Russia).Статья поступила в редакцию 28.02.2023;принята к публикации 30.03.2023.The article was submitted 28.02.2023;accepted for publication 30.03.2023.
Historia provinciae -журнал региональной истории.2023.Т. 7, № 2 ISSN 2587-8344 (online) 716 Molnár decided to consider the history of Christian communities in the Balkans in terms of Ottoman Reviews O.V. Khavanova."The Early Modern Multi-Confessional Balkans in the Regional Policy of the Holy See".Review of Confessionalization on the Frontier.The Balkan Catholics between Roman Reform and Ottoman Reality by A. Molnár (Roma: Viella, 2019) Historia Provinciae -the Journal of Regional History, 2023, vol.7, no. 2 ISSN 2587-8344 (online) 718 Hirschi, The Origins of Nationalism: An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).Khavanova."The Early Modern Multi-Confessional Balkans in the Regional Policy of the Holy See".Review of Confessionalization on the Frontier.The Balkan Catholics between Roman Reform and Ottoman Reality by A. Molnár (Roma: Viella, 2019) Historia Provinciae -the Journal of Regional History, 2023, vol.7, no. 2 ISSN 2587-8344 (online) 722