Ecclesiastical-administrative history of White Carniola

Abstract

The paper begins by presenting the traces of the ecclesiastical organisation in White Carniola in Antiquity and Middle Ages. The ecclesiastical affiliation of the province and its surroundings is outlined on the level of metropolises, (arch)dioceses, archdeaconships, deaneries, and parishes. The transition from the Zagreb Diocese under the Patriarchate of Aquileia in 1228 contributed to the establishment of the Aquileian network of parishes, which was after 1268 further expanded and consolidated by the German order of knights. In the 14^th century the Teutonic Knights found themselves in a tithe dispute with the Cathedral Chapter of Zagreb and successfully consolidated their incorporated parishes into their own Archdeaconship by the second half of the 15^th century. Special attention is given to ecclesiastical-administrative amalgamation and the context of the parishes of Žumberk, Vivodina and Poljane. The Josephine reforms signalled the advent of an important reorganisation of White Carniolan parishes, which was brought to completion in the 19^th century at the intervention of Prince Bishops Wolf and Pogačar. 1987 and 2004 saw the dissolution of Kočevje parishes and in 2006 the province was incorporated into the Diocese of Novo mesto.