User:Matan865/Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Ervenik

Roman catholic church of St. Michael the Archangel (Croatian: Crkva sv. Mihovila Arkanđela) is the oldest church built in Ervenik. For the first time, it was mentioned in 1402, when the roman catholic parish was founded. Today's church dates back to 1839 and was built on the same site where the old church was located.

The clergy house was demolished during the Second World War by the Chetniks who expelled the Catholic (Croatian) population with the intention of ethnic cleansing the area. In 1941, on Christmas Eve, they killed the parish vicar Janez Kranjec in the cruellest possible way.

According to the schematism from 1887, it was recorded that the parish of Ervenik had 533 Catholics. In 1910, that number rose up to 643 Catholics (23.1% of the total population), while in 1953 only 84 Catholics (3.6%) left.

A small number of Catholics who remained living in the area of Ervenik after the Second World War perished or were expelled during the Croatian War of Independence (also know as Homeland War). In 1991, the church of St. Michael was looted and destroyed by the rebel Serbs. After the war, it was completely restored.

Parish Cemetery
In the cemetery located next to the parish church of St. Michael the Archangel, a total of 23 medieval tombstones - stećci - are visible today, of which 9 are decorated.

Glagolitic tradition
A strong Glagolitic tradition was maintained in the liturgy in the area of Ervenik until the end of the 19th century.