SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ST. АSSUMPTION OF THE LORD

According to written sources before the construction of today’s temple, in the immediate vicinity there was a small church, blue colored, covered with roofed roof and dedicated to the “Lord of the Lord”. In one protocol from 1744, the old and new buildings were recorded as “the small and veliquy of the church in the town of Subotica”.
Church of durable material was erected in the time between 1723/26. During the bishop’s visit to Backi Sophroni Tomasevic. Although Marko Protić, a parish couple and a chronicler, states that the “cheetbie” was a builder-master, it is more likely that the word builder refers to the donor, because the word “xeleb” means the flock of livestock, so Nikola Čelebdžija could be a ktitor, otherwise a trader who was engaged in breeding and selling cattle.
The time of construction is confirmed by the record on the old iconostasis, which during the great renovation in 1909 was given to the smaller church, dedicated to St. Dimitri in Alexandrov. Namely, they were recorded for two years, and this in 1726, which marks the year of completion of the construction of the temple. The second year of 1766 marks the first major renovation, as well as the painting of the iconostasis. The painterly value of the iconostasis, which will only be published after his transfer, and in particular his cleansing in 1952, supports the fact that at the time of the iconostasis, the Serbian Orthodox Church was very developed, with a rich fund and a large number of people; goodwill. In an older text the following was recorded: “It is noteworthy that our church has been relieved of the wrath … how little a church is within the scope of the Serbian metropolis.”Hence it is quite understandable that the rich church subotica municipality has commissioned a representative iconostasis in 1766, as an extraordinary rocky sculpture, as well as a painting part whose values ​​and the author will only be discovered later.
During the church, many interventions were carried out, and the first council was in 1766. In 1804, extensive work was carried out on the church, when the church was extended (about 11.40 m) and extended (about 1.50 m). On that occasion, the usual choral gallery, “patosan” board, was made over the occasion. The church is equipped with voluntary contributions by the ktitor. Thus, in 1804, Nikola Kirovic donated to the church a predicament that stood on the northern wall of the nave. In the church’s porch there is a stone cross, which at its expense gave rise to Matija pl. Vojnić in 1832.
In the great renovation of the church 1909/10. It was done according to the projects of Mihailo Milan Harminec, architect from Budapest; many changes and additions were made on the building. The church is expanded, the older belfry is demolished, and from the old and new material, a new bell tower with two angular spaces, a baptistery and a nursery has been built.
In eight windows, the technique of stained glass, the figures of the saint are painted, and that is at the expense of some Serbs, as stated in the church record number 104/1910. years. Stained glass was made by the company “Türoler Glassmalerei” from Innsbruck, and the bombing of Subotica during the Second World War was largely destroyed.
The Orthodox Church in Subotica was renovated and enlarged at the beginning of the 19th century (re-renovated to the centenary of the reconstruction) and acquired the stylistic features of the architectural-baroque solutions of the early 19th century. Many changes and additions made the temple today has no original stylistic feature, except for the appearance of the bell tower. By its architectural conception and peripheral decorative plastic, which was performed during the great renovation, today the temple is a characteristic example of neo-baroque churches. It is a one-nave building with a semicircular apse, and a transept in the east, and a gateway and a belfry in the west. The prominent, western part of the temple is most representative of the centralized shallow rhizalite and the raised Baroque tower, which further emphasizes the verticalism of the building.The entrance is marked with two stone pillars that rest on an elevated base and carry a slightly rounded fronton. A two-wing wooden portal with arched overhead is placed centrally. The lateral facades are treated with horizontal division of shallow fugs, and pilasters run in a rhythmic series and carry capitals with rich Baroque decoration in the form of volutes and acanthus leaves, reaching to the height of the lofty crown. Between the windows with a segment port, and the impression of elongation is achieved with transparent relief embossment. In the umbrella, over the transept and on the way, from the north and south sides there are mosques with mildly pointed arches, with centrally set circle and geometric decoration. On the facade canvas there are discrete decorative elements of secessionist lines, often used on sacral architecture from that time.A two-wing wooden portal with arched overhead is placed centrally. The lateral facades are treated with horizontal division of shallow fugs, and pilasters run in a rhythmic series and carry capitals with rich Baroque decoration in the form of volutes and acanthus leaves, reaching to the height of the lofty crown. Between the windows with a segment port, and the impression of elongation is achieved with transparent relief embossment. In the umbrella, over the transept and on the way, from the north and south sides there are mosques with mildly pointed arches, with centrally set circle and geometric decoration. On the facade canvas there are discrete decorative elements of secessionist lines, often used on sacral architecture from that time.A two-wing wooden portal with arched overhead is placed centrally. The lateral facades are treated with horizontal division of shallow fugs, and pilasters run in a rhythmic series and carry capitals with rich Baroque decoration in the form of volutes and acanthus leaves, reaching to the height of the lofty crown. Between the windows with a segment port, and the impression of elongation is achieved with transparent relief embossment. In the umbrella, over the transept and on the way, from the north and south sides there are mosques with mildly pointed arches, with centrally set circle and geometric decoration. On the facade canvas there are discrete decorative elements of secessionist lines, often used on sacral architecture from that time.and pilasters run in a rhythmic series and carry capitals with rich Baroque decoration in the form of volutes and acanthus leaves, reaching to the height of the lofty crown. Between the windows with a segment port, and the impression of elongation is achieved with transparent relief embossment. In the umbrella, over the transept and on the way, from the north and south sides there are mosques with mildly pointed arches, with centrally set circle and geometric decoration. On the facade canvas there are discrete decorative elements of secessionist lines, often used on sacral architecture from that time.and pilasters run in a rhythmic series and carry capitals with rich Baroque decoration in the form of volutes and acanthus leaves, reaching to the height of the lofty crown. Between the windows with a segment port, and the impression of elongation is achieved with transparent relief embossment. In the umbrella, over the transept and on the way, from the north and south sides there are mosques with mildly pointed arches, with centrally set circle and geometric decoration. On the facade canvas there are discrete decorative elements of secessionist lines, often used on sacral architecture from that time.over the transept and on the way, from the north and south sides there are atike with a mildly pointed arched end, with centrally set circle and geometric decoration. On the facade canvas there are discrete decorative elements of secessionist lines, often used on sacral architecture from that time.over the transept and on the way, from the north and south sides there are atike with a mildly pointed arched end, with centrally set circle and geometric decoration. On the facade canvas there are discrete decorative elements of secessionist lines, often used on sacral architecture from that time.
Iconostasis was created in 1910, the work of Johannes Luke, and under the supervision of Paje Jovanović. The works were financed from the contributions of Marijeta, Aleksandar Manojlović, a wealthy Subotica citizen who gave 10,000 crowns for making it, about which there is a record in the squid below the icon of Jesus Christ. The master executed a note of his artistic character by displaying the icons in a dampened “sfumato” tone. The supporters of the iconostasis and the gold-plated cut were made by the masters from the workshop “Ratai and Benedek” from Pest.
The Virgin’s throne is in a sculptural carvings and was made in 1785. It is assumed that the work of Aksentija Markovic, and according to the record, we find out that the ktitor was Jelisaveta, a member of Georgi Konstatinovic.
At the Arch of Throne there is the icon of Sv. Sava Serbian, oil on canvas, performed in realistic style, work by Aleksandar Sekulić from 1910, painter from Zrenjanin. The icon was given to the temple by Stevan Sekulic, which has a record in the lower right corner of the icon.