Matija Mazarek

Matija Mazarek or Matija Masarek (Serbian: Матија Мазарек) (1726–fl. 1792) was an 18th-century Catholic priest.[1] In the second half of the 18th century he was the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje. His reports to the Vatican are an important source for demography study of his diocese.

Matija Mazarek
Матија Мазарек
Born1726
Janjevo, Ottoman Empire
Other names
  • Matija Masarek
  • Matija Mazrreku
CitizenshipOttoman Empire
OccupationCatholic archbishop
Known forwriting reports about 18th century influx of Albanians to Serbia

Origin

Mazarek was born in Janjevo in 1726. There are different views about the ethnicity of the Mazarek family. Noel Malcolm believes that they were Albanians who absorbed Serbian and forgot the Albanian language. The basis for his position are toponyms in Malësia (region of northern Albania and southern Montenegro). Some other authors, such as Luca Maiocchi, point to a Slavic origin of this family name, typical for the group of mixed Montenegrin-Albanian tribal names (i.e. Krasnić/Krasniqi).[2] Vukanović believes this family name is derived from pan-Slavic word mes-arъ (English: butcher).[2] Skoko connected this family name with Serbo-Croatian name for a bird.[2] Elsie links the name to Mazreku, an Albanian tribe north of Shkodër, the geographic position m(b)as rekës - "beyond the river" (Latin: transfluvium).[3]

Career

Before 1743 Jovan Nikolović (or Gjon Nikolle) sent Mazarek to Italy to be trained for his religious tasks.[4] In 1750 he was archbishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje.[5]

Many of his ancestors and descendants were notable Catholic priests, such as:

Reports

He wrote notable reports to Vatican during the second half of the 18th century. Those reports include description about migrations of people from Malësia (region now divided by Montenegro and Albania) to region he referred to as Serbia (modern-day Kosovo). In 1792 he reported that villages around Đakovica received influx of Catholics from Albania.[8]

He was not pro-Albanian and his reports include many complaints about Albanians who arrived from Malesia.[9] Mazarek also emphasized very high birth rate of Albanians.[10] His prayers included "Ab albanensibus libera nos Domine" (English: Lord, save us from Albanians).[9][11]

References
  1. Simoniti, Vasko (2003). Fanfare nasilja. Slovenska Matica. p. 368. ISBN 978-961-213-105-0. V drugi polovici 18. stoletja je tako npr. katoliški nadškof Matija Masarek v Skopju pisal o hudih pritiskih muslimanskih Albancev (»Libera nos, Domine, ab Albanensibus ! «) in stalnih sporih s predstavniki pravoslavne vere, ki so silili katolike k ...
  2. Maiocchi 2009, p. 98.
  3. Elsie 2015, p. 138.
  4. Maiocchi 2009, p. 100.
  5. Zanella, Luana (2006). L'altra guerra del Kosovo: il patrimonio della cristianità serbo-ortodossa da salvare. Casadei Libri. p. 29. ISBN 978-88-89466-07-0.
  6. Zagreb (Croatia). Leksikografski zavod FNRJ.; Ivo Cecić; Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod; Igor Gostl (1955). Enciklopedija Jugoslavije. Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod. p. 591. ISBN 9788670530133. Petar Mazarek ili Massarechi
  7. Maiocchi 2009, p. 111.
  8. Grothusen, Klaus Detlev (1 January 1984). Jugoslawien: Integrationsprobleme in Geschichte und Gegenwart : Beitr̈age des Südosteuropa-Arbeitskreises der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft zum V. Internationalen Südosteuropa-Kongress der Association internationale d'études du Sud-Est européen, Belgrad, 11.-17. September 1984. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 139. ISBN 978-3-525-27315-9. So berichtet Matteo Mazrreku 1792 von einigen Dörfern in der Umgebung von Gjakova, daß sie Zuzug von Katholiken aus Albanien erhalten hätten, „venuti per motivo della fame dalle Montagne dell'Albania" = Archivio storico ...
  9. Maiocchi 2009, p. 101.
  10. Courbage, Youssef; Todd, Emmanuel (13 August 2013). A Convergence of Civilizations: The Transformation of Muslim Societies Around the World. Columbia University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-231-52746-0.
  11. Pipa, Arshi; Repishti, Sami (1984). Studies on Kosova. East European Monographs. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-88033-047-3. He prays: "Ab albanensibus libera nos Domine."90 He may have had a personal reason for doing so. Nevertheless, Mazrreku's report is interesting because it points out the significant role of the Albanians in the Ottoman Empire by the end ...

Sources


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