Transylvania : Orthodox Rebellion against Uniate Church, lead by Visarion 1744




In 1688 the Estates of Transylvania had renounced the sovereignty of the Ottoman Sultan and submitted to Emperor Leopold I. In negotiations 1698-1701 the union of the Transylvanian Orthodox church with the Catholic Church, resulting in the Creation of the (Transylvanian) Uniate Church, was achieved. Changes in rite and organization were implemented.
In 1744 monk Visarion Sarai, a Bosnian Vlach, travelled through Transylvania, stirring up Orthodox peasants against the Uniate Church. He caused a peasant rebellion. He was arrested and later executed.
Maria Theresia now appointed a commission, empowered to use force against any Orthodox christian in Transylvania who refused to join the Uniate church. However, this policy was largely resented; many Uniate priests were expelled by their parishioners. In 1759, Maria Theresia finally agreed to tolerate the Orthodox church and to permit her to elect a bishop.


EXTERNAL
FILES 		The fight for the defence of Orthodoxy, from The Uniatism in Transylvania, by Mircea Pacurariu
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on March 19th 2004, last revised on November 19th 2004

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