page_title: Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
section_title: Metropolitanate of Zeta (1346–1496)
hierarchical_section_title: Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral / History / Metropolitanate of Zeta (1346–1496)
caption_attribution_description: English: Cetinje, Montenegro. Court Church. Čeština: Cetinje, Černá Hora
context_page_description: The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral is the largest eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in modern Montenegro. Founded in 1219 by Saint Sava, as the Eparchy of Zeta, it continued to exist, without interruption, up to the present time, and remained one of the most prominent dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The current Metropolitan bishop is Amfilohije Radović. His official title is "Archbishop of Cetinje and Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral".
context_section_description: After the dissolution of the Serbian Empire (1371), the region of Zeta was ruled by the House of Balšići, and in 1421 it was integrated into the Serbian Despotate. During that period, the Republic of Venice gradually conquered coastal regions of Zeta, including cities of Kotor, Budva, and the Bar and Ulcinj. Metropolitanate of Zeta was directly affected by the Venetian advance. In 1452, the Venetians destroyed the Cathedral Monastery in Prevlaka, in order to facilitate their plans for the gradual conversion of the Eastern Orthodox Christians from these parts of the coast into the Roman Catholic faith. After that, the seat of the Metropolitanate moved several times, transferring between St Mark's Monastery in Budva, the Monastery of Prečista Krajinska, St Nicholas's Monastery on Vranjina (Skadar Lake), and St Nicholas's Monastery in Obod (Rijeka Crnojevića). Finally, it was moved to Cetinje, in the region of Old Montenegro, where the Cetinje Monastery was built in 1484, by Prince Ivan Crnojević of Zeta.
  Starting from the end of the 15th century, mountainous regions of Zeta became known as Crna Gora (Serbian: Црна Гора), meaning the Black Mountain, hence the Montenegro. In 1493, Prince Ivan's son and successor, Prince Đurađ Crnojević (1490-1496), opened a printing house in Cetinje, run by Hieromonk Makarije, and produced the first ever book to be printed among the South Slavs. It was the "Cetinje Octoechos", a Serb-Slavonic translation from the original Greek of a service book that is still used to this day in the daily cycle of services in the Orthodox Church. In 1496, entire Zeta, including Montenegro, fell to the Turks, but the Metropolitanate survived.
caption: Remains of the original Cetinje Monastery near the new "Court Church" in Cetinje
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