Juraj Divnić (, , , c. 1440 – 1530) was

bishop of Nin The Diocese of Nin (historically, Nona) was a Catholic jurisdiction probably founded in the middle of the 9th century. Fine, 1991, p. 254 Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

on about 1440, and was part of the known Divnić family, which settled in Šibenik in the 14th century from

Skradin Skradin is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia. It is located near the Krka (Croatia), Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and from Split, Croatia, Split. The main attraction of the park, Slapo ...

. He studied Laws probably in Italy and entered in the ecclesiastic career. On 3 July 1464 he became titular of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in the peninsula of Mandalina (now into the town of Šibenik). In the same year he was made beneficiary also of the estates of a church in the island of

Zlarin Zlarin is a small island off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia near the mainland city of Šibenik. Administratively, it is part of Šibenik-Knin County. In the winter time, the island has a population of 284, but from March to October its population ...

. On 19 March 1479 he was appointed

bishop of Nin The Diocese of Nin (historically, Nona) was a Catholic jurisdiction probably founded in the middle of the 9th century. Fine, 1991, p. 254 minor orders In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

on 1 May 1479; in the following two days he was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

; and in the next Sunday, the 9 May, he was consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in the patriarchal church of Venice by Patriarch

Maffeo Gherardi Maffeo Gherardi (1406–1492), known as the Cardinal of Venice, was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Life Maffeo Gherardi was born in Venice in 1406, the son of nobles Giovanni Gherardi and Cristina Barbarigo. He entered the Cam ...

. In 1482 Juraj Divnić visited Rome. In 1486 he was authorized by the pope to live in the near

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. He participated to the wars for defending the Croatia from the Ottomans, being a witness of the Battle of Krbava and defending Nin during the siege of 1499. He did not participate to the Lateran Council of 1512 – 1517 not to leave his flock, threaded by

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. Juraj Divnić approved the

Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance of Mary, the mother of Jesus. While sometimes described as a type of vision, apparitions are generally regarded as external manifestations, whereas visions are more often understood as ...

occurred in May 1516 in a little island near Nin, known as ''Our Lady of the Hare''. Due to his old age, in 1523 Juraj Divnić asked

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI (; ; ; ), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. The only Dutch people, Du ...

to be allowed to retire and be succeeded by his nephew Jakob. The Pope agreed but ordered that he maintained the title of bishop of Nin. In 1528 he restored the Cathedral of Nin (now Church of St. Anselm), supplied new religious furnishings, and prepared his tomb. He died in

on 8 August 1530, and he was buried in the side chapel of Our Lady of the Hare, in the cathedral of Nin, where is still present his sepulchral inscription.

Works

His only literary work which has survived is a long letter written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

on 27 September 1493 to

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

about the Battle of Krbava, where the Croatian army was destroyed by the

Ottoman cavalry The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding (''timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the army, ...

. The Latin text is preserved in the

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark (, but in historical documents commonly referred to as the ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositories for manuscripts in Italy and ...

, Ms Lat. Cl. X cod. 174, and it was translated in Croatian in 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Divnić, Juraj 1530 deaths 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Croatia 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Republic of Venice People from Šibenik Year of birth uncertain