Ratac Abbey

Ratac or Ratac Abbey (Italian: Santa Maria de Rotezo, Serbian: Манастир Богородице Ратачке)[1] was a fortified monastic complex on the coast of the peninsula between Bar and Sutomore in modern-day Montenegro. Ratac Abbey was under jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar, though relations between Ratac abbots and Bar archbishops were not always good.[2]

Ratac
Floor plan of the largest church of Ratac
Religion
AffiliationCatholic
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusAbbey
Statusinactive
Location
LocationBar, modern-day Montenegro
Shown within Montenegro
Geographic coordinates42.1223°N 19.0612°E / 42.1223; 19.0612

Based on the charters issued to Ratac by the rulers of Serbia of Nemanjić dynasty, Ratac had a hospital that provided treatment to people who lived in poverty.[3] In the middle of the 15th century people infected with leprosy were treated in this hospital.[4]

The earliest source that mentions Ratas is from 1247, though it probably existed much earlier.[5] On 15 March 1306 Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia issued a charter to Ratac in which he appointed his son Stephen as his future successor.[6]

Building of the new church within the already existing monastic complex began in 1347.[7]

At the beginning of the First Scutari War Ratac was captured by Venetians. In 1407 representatives of the Venetian Republic and Balša III met on the territory in possession of Ratac in attempt to negotiate peace. During negotiations held in June 1408 Venetians insisted to keep Ratac in their possession.[8]

The Treaty of Vučitrn, signed in Vučitrn on 22 April 1426 between the Republic of Venice and the Serbian Despotate, formally ended the Second Scutari War. By this treaty Venice ceded Ratac to Serbian despotate.[8] Ratac was included into the list of Serbian demands probably based on the pressure of the people from Bar on Serbian negotiators.[9]

Since 1443 it was again under Venetian control until 1571 when it was destroyed by the Ottomans.[10]

In the 15th century the abbot of Ratac monastery was Gjergj Pelini, one of the most notable priests and businessmen of his time.[11] Pelinović was not the only abbot of Ratac Abbey. According to one 1445 Venetian report, there were two abbots in Ratac who shared the income of the abbey. Pelinović managed to remove his colleague and continued to manage the monastery alone. He was succeeded by Petar Fortis.[12]When in the late 16th century jurisdiction of the Benedictine monastery Ratac collapses the Orthodox rite began to strengthen in the area of Catholic parishes Spič, Sozina and Kastel Lastva which were under jurisdiction of this monastery. The Orthodox clergy and the Orthodox believers at the same time began to use Catholic Churches of that area for their rites.[13]

References
  1. Arsenije III [i.e. treći] Crnojević u istoriji i književnosti. Naučna Knjiga. 1949. p. 429. Retrieved 5 January 2014. Чувен je манастир Богородице Ратачке, у коме су служили »ра- dri Benedittini«, на челу с митроносним опатом.
  2. Spremić, Momčilo (1964). Zbornik Filozofskog fakulteta (in Serbian). Naučno delo. p. 205.
  3. Posebna izdanja. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. 1980. p. 2. У средњовековној Србији велнка бене- диктинска опатија св. Богородице Ратачке имала је исто један такав хоспитал који се спомиње и у повељама српских владара из породице Немањића намењених овом манастиру.
  4. Ćirković, Sima; Mihaljčić, Rade (1999). Лексикон српског средњег века (in Serbian). Knowledge. p. 266. ISBN 9788683233014. Средином XV века у манастиру Ратачке опатије код Бара помиње се болница у којој су се између осталог лечили и губавци.
  5. Letopis. У Српској народној задружној штампарији. 2008. p. 1129. Богородица Ратачка код Бара помин>е се први пут 1247
  6. Zbornik radova Vizantoloshkog instituta. Institut. 2009. p. 338.
  7. Vojislav J. Đurić; Gordana Babić-Đorđević (1997). Srpska umetnost u srednjem veku: XIV-XVI vek. Srpska književna zadruga. p. 60. ISBN 9788637906636. Неки споменици тог времена очувани у српском Поморју указују јасно на изворе и путеве ути- цаја који су се повремено осећали у Србији. Зна се да је градња Богородице ратачке, нове цркве бенедиктин- ског манастира заснованог много раније на полуострву Ратац... започета 1347
  8. Univerzitet u Beogradu. Filozofski fakultet (1964). Zbornik Filozofskog fakulteta. Naučno delo. pp. 196–197. Већ 1407 на њеном терену састали су се ради преговора представници Балше III и Републике
  9. Miloš Antonović (2003). Town and District in Littoral of Zeta and Northern Albania in XIVth and XVth Century. Istorijski institut. p. 219. ISBN 978-86-7743-031-3.
  10. "Upravljane kulturnoistorijskim nasleđem" (PDF). Institut za evropske integracije i međunarodnu saradnju. p. 34. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  11. Recueil de travaux de l'Institut des études byzantines. Naučno delo. 1996. p. 15. ...Марије Ратачке", једном од нај- угледнијих свештеника, али и од највештијих пословних људи свога доба.
  12. Spremić, Momčilo (1964). Zbornik Filozofskog fakulteta (in Serbian). Naučno delo. p. 204.
  13. Ivan Jovović, 2013, Dvooltarske crkve na crnogorskom primorju, {Kada je krajem XVI vijeka propala Ratačka opatija to je imalo za posljedicu jačanje pravoslavnog obreda na području onih katoličkih župa (Spič, Sozina i Kastel Lastva) koje su bile pod jurisdikcijom ovog drevnog benediktinskog samostana. Došlo je do povećanja broja pravoslavnog klera i vjernika, koji usljed nedostatka sakralnog prostora počinju da se koriste već postojećim katoličkim crkvama, "When the Ratac Abbey collapsed at the end of the sixteenth century, this resulted in the strengthening of the Orthodox rite in the area of Catholic parishes (Spic, Sozina and Kastel Lastva) that were under jurisdiction of this ancient Benedictine monastery. There has been an increase in the number of Orthodox clergy and believers who, due to lack of sacral space, are beginning to use the already existing Catholic churches"} https://www.maticacrnogorska.me/files/53/06%20ivan%20jovovic.pdf #page=77-78

Further reading
  • Ratačka opatija kod Bara, Momčilo Spremić, Zbornik Filozofskog Fakulteta, 1964, VIII— 1, 191—215
  • Benediktinska opatija svete Marije Ratačke kod Bara, Acta diplomatica et iuridica, Savo Marković, Bar
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