Transcribed:

“John Bollani, representative of the Venetian possessions, says that there is no priest, or bishop, or Latin archbishop over our church, but that there are those of our faith over our church, and we wanted there not to be a Latin archbishop in Krajina, a bishop (metropolitan?) of Zenta of the Slavic faith should be appointed, because this bishop of Krajina is called the bishop of Zenta, and he appoints the zagi (?) and the priests, and without them we cannot be….”

Document dated 1455. This document is of particular importance, as it is a report sent to the Venetian Senate by a representative of the Venetian possessions in what was called Zenta. This representative, whose name was Jovan or Gjon Bollani, sends this report to Venice precisely from Saint Nicholas of Vranina (in today’s Montenegro), presenting the opinion and the decision of the owners of what was called Zenta, where Stefan Cernovici was the ruler.

According to this report, it is written that they did not want Latin priestesses and bishops or archbishops, but to belong to the Slavic church. In exchange, taxes would continue to be paid to Venice as in the time of the Balshaj. It is interesting that in the settlements at the end of the document, several centers inhabited by Albanians such as Hoti, Shkreli, Gruda, Kuqi (or Kuçi), Piperi, Bushati, Fishta, etc. are shown. where the Slavic church never managed to penetrate even though it may have tried to do something like that.

Always according to the document, an agreement was made or this decision was signed by these church centers. Such a thing cannot be accepted at all by the population, at least not with their desire, because as we wrote above, centers such as Hoti, Gruda, Bushati, Fishta, etc. keep their Latin faith.

This was only a decision by Cernovic and the Slavic Church, where Venice in this case was only interested in taxes and to some extent may have accepted that some centers were under the influence of the Slavic Church. So, as we can see, we are dealing with the beginnings of the conversion of cult objects, from the Latin one to the Orthodox-Slavic one, like the birth of schism, since these areas were inhabited by the same population, and precisely with the increase in the influence of the Serbian church, the division also begins.

Document excerpted from: “Monumenta spectantia historiam Slavorum meridionalium (1868)” Vell. X, page 68)