Montenegro
Montenegro
Republic founded in June 2006; during most of the 20th century the area had been part of the various incarnations of Yugoslavia. The area maintained its independence from the Ottoman Empire for centuries. From the 16th to 19th centuries, it was a theocratic state, ruled by bishop princes. In 1852 it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and fell with it to the Axis. After World War II it became part of the Soviet puppet state of Yugoslavia. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was a member of a series of confederated states until voting for complete independece. The largest Christian group in the country are the Eastern Orthodox. Only about 2 per cent of the country is Catholic. Ecclesiastically it is governed by the archdiocese of
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World Fact Book
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New Catholic Dictionary
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Montenegro
A kingdom in the Balkan Peninsula, on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea; the territory was in ancient times a portion of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Emperor Diocletian made Southern Dalmatia a separate province, Praevalis (Dioclea, Dioclitia) with Dioclea as its capital. From the seventh century the north-western portion of the peninsula began to be invaded by Slav tribes; one of these, the Serbs, settled in the territory which they still possess, and founded there several principalities (Zupanate), the most southern of which was called Zeta, or (after the ancient Dioclea) Duklja. From Zeta sprang the Nemanjiden family, under whose autocracy the Servian Empire attained its greatest power. Stefan I Nemanja was recognized as Chief Zupan by Emperor Manuel I, in 1165; having reduced into submission the stubborn lesser Zupans, he embraced the Orthodox Faith, and then began to organize the Servian Church. His youngest son, Sawa, or Sabas, after being appointed first Orthodox Archbishop of Servia in 1221, founded a see for Zeta in the monastery of St. Michael near Cattaro. In the Empire of the Serbs, each heir apparent to the throne was first appointed administrator of the Province of Zeta. However, under King Stefan Dusan (1331-55) a member of the Balscicz family was named Governor of Zeta. From 1360 to 1421 this family ruled in Zeta, notwithstanding the constant opposition of the Cernojevic family, settled in Upper Zeta. On the destruction of the Great Servian Empire by the Turks after the battle of Amsfeld in 1389 Zeta became the refuge of the most valiant of the Serbs, who refused to submit to the Turkish yoke.
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Venetians established a settlement on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, and conquered a portion of the Servian Empire in spite of the opposition of the people. As vassal of the Venetians, Iwan Cernojewic, the son of Stefan (brother-in-law of Skanderbeg), secured for himself sovereign authority. He founded the monastery of Cetinje about 1478 or 1485. It was during this period that the land received the name of Crnagora, or Montenegro. Under Iwan’s son, George (1490–), the first Slav liturgical books were printed at Obod (1493-5). In 1516 he abdicated and the people invested the bishop (vladika), who was also superior of the monastery at Cetinje, with supreme secular authority. Subsequently the bishop, who until 1697 was always chosen by the National Assembly was both spiritual and temporal ruler of the little state, although he named a secular governor to conduct war and administer justice. The Turks made repeated attacks during the fifteenth century on the freedom of the mountain kingdom. The Montenegrins, notwithstanding their heroic opposition, were finally forced to make their submission, and from about 1530 had to pay tribute to the Sanjak of Scutari. In domestic affairs, however, they remained independent, and the sovereignty of the Porte was mostly of a purely nominal character. Frequently the little nation, which (according to the description of the Italian Mariano Bolizza in 1611) then contained 90 settlements and 8027 armed men, engaged in war with the Turks, being often assisted with money and arms by the Venetians.
In 1696 Danilo Petrovic, of the Njegos family, was elected vladika, and made the episcopal dignity hereditary in his house, the vladika, who as bishop could not marry, being succeeded on his death by his nephew or brother. As prince of a nation recognizing the Orthodox Church, Danilo inaugurated closer relations with Russia, which held the same religious beliefs, and Peter the Great undertook the protectorate of Montenegro in 1710. Since that date the Montenegrins have always shown themselves the faithful allies of Russia in its wars against the Turks; although at the end of these wars they usually reaped no advantages. The Russians, however, often made large contributions of money to their poor allies: in 1714 Peter I contributed 10,000 rubles towards the relief of those whose property had been burnt and for the rebuilding of the destroyed monasteries; in 1715 he assigned an annual contribution of 500 rubles and other presents to the monastery of Cetinje; and in 1837 Emperor Nicholas I assigned to the prince a fixed annual income of 9000 ducats.
The most prosperous era of Montenegro opened with the reign of Vladika Peter I Petrovic (1777-1830), who repelled unaided a fierce attack of the Turks in 1796 and rendered valuable aid to the Russians against the French during the Napoleonic wars. Because of his glorious reign, Peter was proclaimed a saint by the people in 1834. He was succeeded by Peter II Petrovic (1830-51), who was educated at St. Petersburg; this monarch, who was a distinguished poet, rendered valuable services to his country by raising its intellectual and commercial condition. Having abolished the office of governor, which had been too frequently the occasion of strife, he took into his own hands the secular administration, founded schools, instituted a system of taxation, organized a guard as the nucleus of a standing army, and established a senate of twelve members. His successor and nephew, Danilo (1851-60), changed Montenegro into a secular state, dispensed with episcopal consecration, and undertook the administration as a secular prince. At a national assembly held at Cetinje on 21 March, 1852, the separation of the spiritual and secular powers of the vladika was decreed, and the supreme ecclesiastical authority entrusted to the archimandrite of the monastery of Ostrog. In the same year Russia and Austria recognized Montenegro as an hereditary, secular, and independent state. The Porte, however, which still regarded the country as “a portion of its Rajahs temporarily in revolt,” refused its recognition and sent an expedition of 60,000 men against it. When the land seemed about to be overwhelmed by such huge forces, Austria interfered in its behalf, and compelled the Porte to discontinue the war. The political position of the land, however, remained still undefined. In 1858, when the Turks attacked Montenegro without any declaration of hostilities, the European Great Powers, especially France and Russia, came forward as its protectors, and a commission of the Powers fixed the frontiers of the country, whose territory was increased by a few districts.
In 1860 Danilo was shot by a Montenegrin deserter, and, as he left behind only a daughter two years old, his widow secured on 14 August, 1860, the election of the youngest son of Danilo’s brother, who still reigns. Montenegro’s participation in the insurrection of Herzegovina led in 1862 to a war with Turkey, during which the Turks invaded the land and occupied Cetinje. The Peace of Scutari conceded to the Turks various fortresses along the road leading from Herzegovina through Montenegro to Scutari. In 1870, however, the Porte surrendered its right to occupy these fortresses. In 1875, when the insurrection occurred in Bosnia, Nikita, who controlled an army of 15,000 well-armed troops, formed an alliance with the Bosnians against the Turks, and prosecuted the war with success until 1878. Not only did he repel all the Turkish attacks, but he even succeeded in capturing Antivari (thus securing a long-desired maritime outlet for his country) and Dulcigno in 1878. At the Congress of Berlin Turkey recognized the political independence of Montenegro (13 July, 1878), the territory of which was now more than doubled. According to Article 29 of the Treaty of Berlin, however, Montenegro might neither keep ships of war, nor fortify the coast, and was obliged to recognize the right of Austria to police the coast. It was only in 1909 that the country secured a release from these conditions. When Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in October, 1908, and thereby annihilated the dreams of Montenegro and Servia of a United Servian Empire, Montenegro protested in common with Servia and, encouraged by Russia, demanded from Austria the annulment of Article 29 of the Treaty of Berlin and the evacuation of Spizza. In April, 1909, Austria agreed to the abrogation of Article 29, but refused to surrender Spizza, and secured the retention of that portion of the Berlin Treaty, which forbade the transformation of Antivari into a naval station. In 1905 Nikita granted the country a constitution and a national assembly elected by popular suffrage. Although the economical resources of the land are small, and its cultural conditions, notwithstanding the great progress made in the last fifty years, leave much to be desired, it occupies a position of increased consideration and importance with regard to the Balkan politics of the European powers on account of the ability of its ruler and its intimate relations with Russia, Italy, and Servia. In 1900 Prince Nikita received the title of Royal Highness, and in August, 1910, with the consent of all the powers he had himself crowned king. On that occasion Russia gave expression to the ancient friendship existing between the countries by naming the new king General Field-Marshal, the heir- apparent Major General, and Prince Mirleo Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Army.
Montenegro has an area of 3630 sq. miles and a population of 250,000 inhabitants, of whom the great majority are of unmixed Serb stock. About 223,500 belong to the Greek Orthodox Church; 12,900 are Catholics (mostly Albanians), and about 14,000 are Mohammedans. The capital is Cetinje. The earlier plenary power of the prince has not been substantially lessened by the Constitution of 6 (19) December, 1906. The members of the popular assembly (Skupschtina) are elected by public direct suffrage every four years; the assembly includes twelve ex-officio members, among whom are the Orthodox metropolitan, the Catholic Archbishop of Antivari, the Mufti of Montenegro, the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, etc. The state religion is the Greek Orthodox; all other religious bodies recognized by the State are at liberty to practice their religion, but every attempt on their part to gain converts from among the Orthodox is forbidden. The Orthodox Church of Montenegro is autocephalous, i.e., independent of the Patriarch of Constantinople; its spiritual head, who bears the titles of Metropolitan of Skanderia and Parathalassia, Archbishop of Tsetinia, etc., is chosen by the National Assembly from the ranks of the native unmarried secular clergy or monks, and is consecrated by the Russian Holy Synod at St. Petersburg. He resides at the monastery of St. Peter at Cetinje. In 1877 a second see, that of Brda and Ostrog, was erected. The protopresbyterates number 17, and the parishes about 160. The priestly office is as a rule hereditary, since each priest trains his son for the priesthood: the office of protopresbyter is similarly in the possession of certain families.
Since the convention between the Holy See and the Prince of Montenegro of 18 August (ratified 8 October), 1886, the Catholic Church enjoys the official recognition of the State. Its head is the Archbishop of Antivari, who is immediately subject to the Holy See. There are 13 secular priests, 10 regular priests, 27 churches and chapels, and eleven elementary schools. The number of parishes is thirteen, but a law recently passed by the Skupschtina, in contravention of the Convention and without consulting the Roman authorities, reduced the number to seven. The archiepiscopal see is at present (1910) vacant, its administration being carried on by Don Metodio, O.S.F. Negotiations concerning the filling of the see and the alteration of the Convention are being carried on between the Holy See and the Montenegrin Government (1910).
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The earlier literature will be found in VALENTINELLI, Bibliografia della Dalmatia e del Montenegro (Zagabria, 1855; Supplement, 1862). Consult ANDRIC, Gesch. des Fuerstentums Montenegro bis 1852 (Vienna, 1853); LENORMANT, Turcs et Montenegrins (Paris, 1866); DENTON, Montenegro, its People and History (London, 1877); CHIUDINA, Storia del Montenero da’ tempi antichi fino a’nostri (Spalato, 1882); COQUELLE, Histoire du Montenegro et de la Bosnie (Paris, 1895); CAPPELLETI, Il Montenegro ed i suoi principi (Livorno, 1896); MACSWINEY DE MASHANAGLASS, Le Montenegro et la Saint-Siege (Rome, 1902); ROVINSKY, Montenegro in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (St. Petersburg, 1905), in Russian; SCHWARZ, Montenegro (Leipzig, 1888); HASSERT, Beitraege zur physischen Geographie von Montenegro (Gotha, 1895), with bibliography; MARTINI, Il Montenegro (Rome, 1897); WYON AND PRANCE, The Land of the Black Mountain (London, 1903); PASSARGE, Dalmatien und Mont. (Leipzig, 1904); Montenegro und sein Herrscherhaus (1906); PAGLIANO, La constituzione del Mont. (Rome, 1906); NOLTE, Essai sur le Mont. (Paris, 1907).
JOSEPH LINS Transcribed by John Fobian In memory of Dorothy Copeland
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XCopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Montenegro
called by the natives Tchernagora, and by the Turks Karadagh, i.e., Black Mountains, in view of the dark appearance of the wooded hills of this remarkably mountainous country, is a semi-independent Slavish principality, between lat. 420 10′ and 420 56′ N., and long. 180 41′ and 200 22′ E.; bounded on the north by the Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the south and east by Albania, and on the west by the Dalmatian circle of Cattaro, and covering a territory of 3738 square miles, with a population of about 311,000.
General Description. The country is very mountainous, and agriculture is therefore prosecuted to a moderate extent only, and in a very rude and primitive manner. The products are like those of other European lands of the same latitudes. “The general aspect of Montenegro,” says Wilkinson, the celebrated English traveller, “is that of a succession of elevated ridges, diversified here and there by a lofty mountain-peak, and in some parts looking like a sea of immense waves turned into stone. Trees and bushes grow amid the crags, and in the rugged district of Ceoo the fissures in the rocks are like a glacier, which no horse could pass over without breaking its legs. The mountains are all limestone, as in Dalmatia; but in no part of that country do they appear to be tossed about as in Montenegro, where a circuitous track, barely indicated by some large loose stones, calling itself a road, enables a man on foot with difficulty to pass from the crest of one ascent to another. Some idea of the rugged character of the country may be formed from the impression of the people themselves, who say that ‘when God was in the act of distributing stones over the earth, the bag that held them burst, and let them all fall upon Montenegro.’ The chief productions cultivated there are Indian corn and potatoes; cabbages, cauliflowers, and tobacco are also grown in great quantities, and vegetables are among the principal exports of Montenegro. Potatoes, indeed, have been a most profitable acquisition to the poor mountaineers, as well for home consumption as for exportation, since their introduction in 1786” (Dalmatia and Montenegro London, 1848, 2 volumes, 8vol, 1:411-413). Besides agriculture, the chief occupation of the Montenegrins is fishing. There are few who exercise any trade, though some perform the offices of blacksmiths, farriers, or whatever else their immediate wants may require. They are knit together in clans and families, and have many feuds among themselves, which are perpetuated by the hereditary obligation of avenging blood. In their disposition towards strangers they are, like most mountaineers, hospitable and courteous, and bear a friendly feeling for those who sympathize with their high notions of independence and devotion to their country. They are cheerful hi manner, and though very rude, yet by no means uncouth. Education among them is at a very low ebb; in fact, it is held in contempt, and many, even among the priests, are unable to read or write. In 1841 several schools were established, and the art of printing introduced; but the unsettled state of the country has hitherto prevented much improvement. Their language is a very pure Servian dialect, called by Krasinski “the nearest of all the Slavonian dialects to the original Slavonic tongue; that is, that into which the Scriptures were translated by St. Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century, and which still continues to be the sacred tongue of all the Slavonian nations who follow the Eastern Church.”
There are no towns in Montenegro, and the largest village contains only 1200 inhabitants. Cettigne or Tzettinie, the seat of government, contains between twenty and thirty well-built houses, besides a convent and the palace of the prince of Montenegro. The villages are unwalled; the houses, or rather huts, which compose them are very rarely provided with chimneys, and in the elevated districts are more wretched in appearance than even the mud-hovels of Ireland. “The houses,” says Wilkinson, “are of stone, generally with thatched roofs, but many are covered partly or entirely with wooden shingles, a mode of roofing very common in Slavonic countries. Some of the better kinds are roofed with tiles, on which large stones, the primitive nails of Montenegro, are ranged in squares, to keep them from being torn off by the wind. Each house generally contains one or two rooms on the ground-floor, with a loft above, occupying the space between the gables, where they keep their Indian corn and other stores. The ascent to it is by a ladder, applied to a square hole in its floor, calling itself a door; and this floor, which performs the part of ceiling to the lower room, is frequently of wicker-work, laid on rafters running from wall to wall. The lower room is at once the parlor, the sleeping-room, and the kitchen; but in the small villages the houses have no loft, and their style of building is very primitive, the walls being merely of rude stones, without cement, and the roof of the coarsest thatch. In the better kind of houses is a bedstead, standing in one corner of the room. It may be styled a large bench, and generally consists of planks resting on a simple frame, having the head and one side to the wall; and a foot-board, with a post running up to the ceiling, completes the whole wood-work.
Those who can afford it have a large mattress and quilt, or blankets; but no Montenegrinbed is encumbered with curtains or sheets, and the only extras seen upon it are intended for warmth, in which the struccha [somewhat like the Scotch plaid, and worn by both sexes over their shoulders] performs an essential part. Native visitors are satisfied to roll themselves up in their strucche and lie on the floor, which is the bare earth; and the poorer people, who cannot afford bedsteads, do the same at their homes, though this is no great hardship to the Montenegrin, who is accustomed, as long as the season will allow him, to sleep out of doors, upon the ground, or on a bench made of stones and mud. But whether in or out of the house, in a bed or on the ground, the Montenegrin always keeps on his clothes, his arms are close to his side, and when aroused by any alarm, or by the approach of morning, he is up at the shortest notice; and no toilet intervenes, on ordinary occasions, between his rising and his pipe. The embers of the fire, which had been covered up with ashes the night before, are then scraped up, and the usual habits of the day begin. The fireplace, which is in another corner of the room, is a raised hearth on the floor, with a caldron suspended from a ring above; it also serves as an oven, the Montenegrin bread being merely dough baked in ashes, as by the Arabs now and by the patriarchs of old, and without leaven. Chimneys are an unknown luxury in most Montenegrin houses, and the smoke escapes as it can. The furniture is not abundant, consisting of a bench, a few wooden stools, and a simple table; and the only brilliant-looking objects in the house are the arms and dresses of the inmates. Clocks or watches are also luxuries unknown to Montenegro, except at Tzettinie and the convents, and the only mode of ascertaining time is by watching the sun, or by common hour-glasses, and an occasional sundial. In some of the wildest mountain districts the houses or huts are of the meanest character, made of rough stones piled one on the other, or of mere wicker-work, and covered with the rudest thatch, the whole building being merely a few feet high. Few houses in Montenegro have an upper story, except at Tzettinie, Rieka, and some other places, where they are better built than in the generality of the villages, of solid stone, and roofed with tiles. Warm houses are indeed very requisite there in winter, when it is very cold, the level of the whole country being considerably above the sea, amid lofty peaks covered with snow during many months, and subject to stormy winds that blow over a long range of bleak mountains. The climate, however, is healthy, and these hardy people are remarkable for longevity.
“Both men and women are very robust, and they are known to carry as much as 200 funti (about 175 pounds) on their shoulders, over the steepest and most rugged rocks. All appear muscular, strong, and hardy in Montenegro; and the knotted trees, as they grow amid the crags, seem to be emblematic of their country, and in character with the tough, sinewy fibre of the inhabitants. But, though able, the men are seldom inclined to carry anything, or take any trouble that they can transfer to the women, who are the beasts of burden in Montenegro; and one sees women toiling up the steepest hills under loads which men seldom carry in other countries. They are therefore very muscular and strong, and the beauty they frequently possess is soon lost by the hard and coarse complexions they acquire, their youth being generally exhausted by laborious and unfeminine occupations. The sheaves of Indian corn, the bundles of wood, and everything required for the house or the granary are carried by women; and the men are supposed to be too much interested about the nobler pursuits of war or pillage to have time to attend to meaner labors. As soon as the tillage of the lands is performed, they think they have done all the duties incumbent upon men; the inferior drudgery is the province of the women, and the Montenegrin toils only when his inclination demands the effort.
The men therefore (as often is the case in that state of society), whenever active and exciting pursuits are wanting, instead of returning to participate in or lighten the toils necessity had imposed on the women, are contented to smoke the pipe of idleness or indulge in desultory talk, imagining that they maintain the dignity of their sex by reducing women to the condition of slaves. The men wear a white or yellow cloth frock, reaching nearly to the knees, secured by a sash around the waist; under it is a red cloth vest, and over it a red or green jacket without sleeves, both richly embroidered, and the whole covered by a jacket bordered with fur. They wear a red Fez cap, and white or red turban, below which protrudes at the back of the neck a long lock of hair. The women wear a flock or pelisse of white cloth and open in front, but much longer than that of the men, and trimmed with various devices, and with gold ornaments in front as well as around the neck. The red cap of the girls is covered with Turkish coins arranged like scales. The red cap of the married women has, instead of coins, a black silk border, and on gala days a bandeau of gold ornaments. Women and men wear opanche (sandals), the soles of which are made of untanned ox-hide, with the hair taken off, and that side outward, and these enable them to run over the steepest and most slippery rocks with facility. The marriage ceremonies are celebrated with great signs of rejoicing. Eating and drinking form a principal part of the festivity, with the noisy discharge of guns and pistols, and the duration of the entertainment depends on the condition of the parties.” When a young man resolves on marrying, he expresses the wish to the oldest and nearest relation of his family, who repairs to the house of the girl, and asks her parents to consent to the match. This is seldom refused; but if the girl objects to the suitor, he induces some of his friends to join him and carry her off; which done, he obtains the blessing of a priest, and the matter is then arranged with the parents. The bride only receives her clothes, and some cattle, for her dowry.
Political Divisions and Government. Montenegro is divided into the districts of Montenegro Proper and Brda or Zjeta, each of these being subdivided into four nahies” or departments, and these are further subdivided, each subdivision having its own hereditary chief. Some islands in the Lake of Scutari also belong to Montenegro. Until 1852 the head of the government was the Vladika (“metropolitan,” or “spiritual chief”), who, besides his proper office of archbishop and ecclesiastical superior, was at the same time chief ruler, lawgiver, judge, and military leader. This theocratic administration became (1697) hereditary in the Petrovitch family, but as the vladika cannot marry, the dignity was inherited through brothers and nephews. (See below.) Since 1852 the two offices have been disjoined, and the vladika is restricted to his ecclesiastical office, while the cares of government devolve upon the “Gospodar” (” hospodar”) or lord, though the common people still apply to him the title “sveti gospodar,” which properly belongs to the vladika alone. The vladika Pietro II (1830- 51) established a senate of sixteen members, elected from the chief families of the country, and in this body the executive power is vested. The public officers, local judges, and public representatives are appointed by popular election. From time to time an Assembly of all the adult males of the country takes place in a grassy hollow near Cettigne, the capital; but the powers of this assembly are very undefined. For defraying the expenses of government, taxes are levied on each household. The prince also receives from Russia a subsidy of 8000 ducats (3733), and from France one of 50,000 francs (1980). As the Montenegrin, even when engaged in agricultural operations, is always armed with rifle, vataghlan, and pistols, an army of 26,000 men can be summoned on the shortest notice, and in desperate cases 14,000 more troops can be raised. Their intense love of independence and heroism in defence of their country are worthy of the highest respect; but out of their own country they are savage barbarians, who destroy with fire and sword everything they cannot carry off.
History. Montenegro belonged in the Middle Ages to the great Servian kingdom, but after the dismemberment of the latter, and its conquest by the Turks at the battle of Kossovo (1389), the Montenegrins, under their prince, who was of the royal blood of Servia, maintained their independence, though compelled to relinquish the level tracts about Scutari. with their chief fortress of Zabliak, and confine themselves to the mountains (1485). In 1516 their last secular prince resigned his office, and transferred the government to the vladika. The Porte continued to assert its claim to Montenegro, and included it in the pachalic of Scutari; but the country: was not conquered till 1719, and on the withdrawal of the Turks soon afterwards, it resumed its independence. In 1710 Montenegro sought and obtained the protection of Russia, the czar agreeing to grant an annual subsidy on condition of harassing the Turks by inroads, and this compact has, down to the present time, been faithfully observed by both parties. Another part of the agreement was that the vladika be consecrated by the czar, and this continues to be done even now, though this officer is at present only an ecclesiastical ruler. In 1796 the prince-bishop, Pietro I, defeated the pacha of Scutari, who had invaded Montenegro, with the loss of 30,000 men; and for the next quarter of a century we hear no more of Turkish invasions. The Montenegrins rendered important aid to Russia in 1803 against the French in Dalmatia, and took a prominent part in the attack on Ragusa, the capture of Curzola, and other achievements. Pietro II, who ruled from 1830 to 1851, made great efforts to civilize his people and improve their condition. He established the senate, introduced schools, and endeavored, though unsuccessfully, to put an end to internal feuds and predatory expeditions into the neighboring provinces. Some Turkish districts having joined Montenegro, the Turks attacked the latter in 1832, but were repulsed.
A dispute with Austria regarding the boundary resulted in a war, which was terminated by treaty in 1840. In 1851 the last prince- bishop died, and his successor, Danilo I, separated the religious from the secular supremacy, retaining the latter under the title of gospodar. This step caused the czar Nicholas to withdraw his subsidy (which was renewed, and the arrears paid, by the czar Alexander II), and the imposition of taxes thus rendered necessary caused great confusion. This was taken advantage of by the Turks, who, under Omer Pasha, invaded the country; but the intervention of the great powers compelled a treaty, February 15, 1853. Danilo, however, in vain endeavored to obtain the recognition of Montenegro as an independent power, though he repaired to the Paris Conference in 1857 for this purpose. He, moreover, greatly improved the laws and condition of the country. In 1860 the Montenegrins excited an insurrection against the Turkish rule in the Herzegovina, which was soon suppressed, and in return they themselves were so hard pressed by the Turks that they were glad to agree to a treaty (September 13, 1862) by which the sovereignty of the Sublime Porte over Montenegro was recognised, though the word itself consigning such authority is not stated in the compact. The present ruler of the country is Nikita, a man of good education, secured in Paris and Berlin, and an excellent politician, who has been actively engaged in seeking support from Austria, Russia, and Germany to establish the complete independence of his realm. Since the commencement of the Pan-Slavic movement he has enjoyed many favors from Russia, and received from its emperor in 1869, while on a visit to St. Petersburg, a historical sword, with the Servian inscription “God save the king.” In 1874 new complications arose with Turkey on account of murders committed on the Albanian borders, and Montenegro declared war in January 1875; but a compromise was effected towards the end of the month. Since 1871 a political weekly has been published at Cettigne, and there are now telegraphic connections in the Montenegrin possessions. There is also a postoffice department, which was established with the aid of the Austrian government in 1872. The most recent improvements are of a character indicating a very rapid progress in culture.
Religion. The Montenegrins are members of the Non-united Greek Church, excepting only a few Roman Catholics and Jews. The czar of Russia is recognised as the highest authority, for to him belongs the ordination of the Vladika, the spiritual head of the Montenegrin Church. As we have seen above, the vladika was formerly both temporal and spiritual ruler. He is now prince-bishop, and next to him in authority stands the archimandrite of the convent of Ostrok. Priests, of whom there are about 200, are ordained by the vladika, and are charged thirty dollars for admission to holy orders, the money going to the state. They join in war and in the other occupations of the people. The priests must also be married before they can come up for consecration, but the vladika is not allowed to marry; and as the office must be kept within the family to which it has descended since 1516, the succession always falls to a nephew, or some other male relative. The vladika has an annual revenue of $10,000. The Montenegrin Greek Christians, who number, according to the Statistical Year-book of the Russian Empire (volume 2, 1871), 125,000, hate the pope equally as the Turks. They reject images, crucifixes, and pictures, and will not admit a Romanist without rebaptizing him. Monasticism exists to a small extent. Their principal convents are those of Tzetinie, Ostrok, and St. Stefano. See Wilkinson, Dalmatia and Montenegro, volume 1, chapter 6; Krasinski, Montenegro and the Slavonians in Turkey (Lond. 1855); and the same author in the Brit. and For. Qu. Rev. July 1840; Vaclik, La Souverainte du Montenegro (Leipsic, 1858); Ubicini, Les Serbes du Turquie (Paris, 1865); Noe, Montenegro (Leipsic, 1870); Nightingale, Religious Ceremonies, pages 99-112; Daniels, Geographie, 2:61 sq.