It may be that when von Thurn also gratified a reasonable ambition of
the Orthodox Church he was moved by the idea that the Roman Catholic
Church of the Croats might thus to some extent be counteracted; he
may, on the other hand, have been impelled by altruistic motives when
he authorized the establishment of an Orthodox bishopric. Under Venice
the Church had not been recognized; and after having several times
almost succeeded in obtaining their bishop, a _modus vivendi_ was at
last reached in 1797, with the consent of the Senate and perhaps of
Rome. Under this arrangement the Orthodox were free to profess their
religion, but the Senate officially ignored their separation from the
Roman Church; their priests had to obtain their rights from the
Catholic bishops and allow the Catholic priests to cull certain of
their legitimate revenues. And this, although the Orthodox formed
one-half of the dioceses of Scardona and [vS]ibenik, and two-thirds of
that of Bocche di Cattaro. They were not more backward than the rest
of the population. Von Thurn--who, they thought, knew nothing of the
circumstances--was informed by them that the see of Dalmatia was
vacant and that they had elected the Archmandrite Simeon Ivcovi['c], a
man universally esteemed for his prudence and wisdom. They begged von
Thurn to confirm this election, and he did so.