THE SMALL SERBIAN CHURCH NEAR THE SAVA RIVER - Sremska Mitrovica

This temple is dedicated to the St. First Martyr Archbishop Stefan. By archeological diggings, in 1980. under the altar of this building, the mosaic cross of red marble was found, and it goes back to the time of Sirmium. It is like this because this church was built on the base of the old temple, which probably are the remains of the old basilica of the first centuries of the Christianity. Further archeological researches confirmed that: there were bathrooms ( terme) at the time of the antic city Sirmium, and after the Christianity won these places were or destroyed or turned into the churches. The written evidences are from 1729., made because of the canonic visit of Pečuj Bishop, to Sremska Mitrovica rectory, where the visitors wrote: “On July 5th the church of St. Demetra on Sava was blessed, which is now inhabited by Sizmatic Serbs. They have magnificent and solid church…”. Three years later the analytic criticizer of Karlovci rectory wrote: “ The church is very old made of stone, ceiling of wood, altar of stone.” That is what the history says.
The interior of the church is made special with the magnificent iconostasis. There is more than one floor and decorated with the finest carvings, which brings together the motives of flora and fauna. Teodor Kračun, the most famous baroque painter of this area painted the icons which are put into the iconostasis. The facial expression of the saints gives the characteristic of their personalities, where the first one is the icon of the St. Jovan the Baptizer. Some motives on the iconostasis are unrepeated in the world`s painting. The icon of the Ressurection of the Christ on the second floor of the iconostasis, where the Christ is shown with the shovel in his hands, and kneeling in front of him is Marija Magdalena – and it is not found in the annals.
New artesian well 300m deep refreshes the passers- by, and more and more trees and grass divides the Small church of the heat , rush and traffic rush in the city life.