Römische Historische Mitteilungen 65/2023, pp. 409-434, 2024/05/01
Central Europe emerged from the 17th century with a comprehensive political and confessional reorganization due to the transfer of Hungary to the Habsburg sphere of power and influence. At the same time, the lands of St. Stephen’s Crown returned to the circle of Christianized countries in Europe. The papacy played a major role in this development. On the other hand, the expulsion of Islam from this zone had disastrous consequences for Catholicism in the Balkans, whose ecclesiastical struc-tures completely collapsed as a result of the repressive measures taken by the Otto-mans. For Southeastern Europe, this marked the beginning of a period of persistent confessional crises, which were combined with the national question in the 18th and 19th centuries and were to continue right into our own time. This article examines the role of the popes, especially Innocent XI, in this process of reorganization of Central and Southeastern Europe. Special attention is paid to the alliances initiated and fostered by the papacy, the financing of this policy and its importance for the papacy itself and the church in the field of political and liturgical representation.
