Обнова цркве у мачванској Црној Бари 1781. године
Restoration of the Church in the Mačva village of Crna Bara in 1781

Summary/Abstract: The document that we present here is housed in The Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister's Office in Istanbul (İstanbul, Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi, Gayri Müslimler Dinî ve Hayrî İşler Kalemi Belgeleri (A.DVN.KLS) dosya 1, vesika n. 37). That is the report of the kadi of Šabac relating to the restoration of the church in the Mačva village of Crna Bara compiled on 2 July 1781. It is diplomatically classified into the category of ilams (i‘lām) – court reports with the proposal to solve a problem, submitted by a kadi or his representative naib to higher authorities. The procedure of the permit issuance depended on the scope of the work. The permit for smaller repairs was usually issued by the vali – the highest state authority for a particular area. Upon the completion of works, a commission would go to the scene, draw up a report and submit it to the kadi. The kadi would forward it, along with his opinion, to the vali. The governor of a province would then issue the buyruldi confirming that the repair was in line with law and that no one had the right to make additional inspections. In the case of the restoration of the church in Crna Bara, members of the commission disagreed because the mubashir, appointed by the Belgrade vali, tried to extort a bribe. Namely, even before the commission prepared a joint report on repairs of the church in Crna Bara, the mubashir sent to the vali a separate opinion that the church was expanded compared to its previous state. As the Belgrade vizier then ordered that the inhabitants of Crna Bara and the surrounding villages be apprehended, it is clear that he sided with his mubashir. In this case, the kadi of Šabac had to address the central authorities as the danger loomed that people would leave their villages, fearing prison and other punishments. The church in Crna Bara is one of the oldest churches in Mačva. It existed in the 18th century, as attested by this Ottoman document as well. The Turks destroyed it at the time of the First Serbian Uprising on 4/16 May 1809. After the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815, instead of Crna Bara, a church was built in the neighbouring village of Glogovac, where the priests from Crna Bara served during the 19th century. The present-day church in Crna Bara is dedicated to the Ascension of the Lord and was officially consecrated in 1927.

• Details
• Contents