Church of Pentecost, Vinkovci

{{Infobox church

| name = Church of Pentecost

| fullname = Hram silaska Duha svetoga
Храм силаска Духа светога

| dedication = Pentecost

| image = Vinkovci-(20090523)-Crkva Silaska Sv. duha.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Church of Pentecost

| pushpin map =

| pushpin map alt =

| pushpin mapsize = 200px

| map caption =

| osgridref =

| denomination = Serbian Orthodox

| architect =

| status = Church

| functional status = Active

| construction cost = 3 million kuna{{cite news | url = http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/180240/1/Posvecena-ponovno-sagradjena-pravoslavna-crkva-u-Vinkovcima | newspaper = Glas Slavonije | language = hr | title = Posvećena ponovno sagrađena pravoslavna crkva u Vinkovcima | date = 2012-10-29 | access-date = 2012-11-26}}

| demolished date = 25 September 1991

| height = 30 m{{cite news | url = http://www.jutarnji.hr/pravoslavna-crkva-iz-1793--u-vinkovcima/248486/ | newspaper = Jutarnji list | language = hr | title = Pravoslavna crkva iz 1793. u Vinkovcima | date = 2008-04-29 | access-date = 2012-11-26 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120306213340/http://www.jutarnji.hr/pravoslavna-crkva-iz-1793--u-vinkovcima/248486/ | archive-date = 2012-03-06 | url-status = dead }}

| floor area = 290 m²

| style = Baroque

| years built = 1793

| archdiocese = Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja

| country = 20px Croatia

| location = 20px Vinkovci

| coordinates = {{coord|45.28821|N|18.80673|E|region:HR|display=inline,title}}

}}

Church of Pentecost ({{langx|hr|Hram silaska Duha svetoga}}, {{lang-sr-Cyrl|Храм силаска Духа светога}}) in Vinkovci is a Serbian Orthodox church in eastern Croatia. The church is one of two in the Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja that is dedicated to Pentecost. The original church, built in 1793, was destroyed in 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence,{{cite news | url = http://www.novossti.com/2011/03/zlo-u-ratu-dobrota-u-miru/ | language = sr | title = Zlo u ratu, dobrota u miru | newspaper = Novosti | issue = 585 | date = 2012-03-05 | access-date = 2012-11-26}} and an identical church was rebuilt in its place, in the period between 2007 and 2012.

History

Construction of original Church of Pentecost in Vinkovci was completed in 1793. In Vinkovci Serbian Orthodox Church in 1821 was baptized Josif Runjanin, composer of Lijepa naša domovino (Croatian national anthem) and Sava Šumanović.{{cite web|url=http://pravoslavlje.spc.rs/broj/1000/tekst/novi-hram-na-temeljima-srusene-svetinje/print/lat|title=Novi hram na temeljima srušene svetinje|access-date=2013-03-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120000641/http://pravoslavlje.spc.rs/broj/1000/tekst/novi-hram-na-temeljima-srusene-svetinje/print/lat|archive-date=2012-11-20}}

=Destruction and rebuilding=

After war planes of the Yugoslav People's Army bombed targets in the center of Vinkovci on 24 September 1991, they badly damaged the local Catholic rectory. A day later, in retaliation, the old Church of Pentecost was mined and razed to the ground after being robbed. The iconostasis and inventory was stolen and the church bells were missing for a long period of time. A parking lot stood in the church's place until the beginning of reconstruction.

During the initial phase of negotiations on the renewal with the local authorities, a wooden cross was erected at the location of the old church. In 2007, the building of a new, identical Church of Pentecost began. The final blessing and reinstatement in function happened in 2012. In the meantime, the church restored a part of its looted original iconostasis, and an anonymous source reported the location of the old bells, which were then put in function.