Čerin Parish

Župa Čerin

Čerin Parish is the seat of Western Brotnjo and the parish center of Čerin, which has about 4,800 inhabitants. This place was once the seat of the municipality, but later the municipal seat was moved to Čitluk. The patron saint of the parish is Saint Stephen the First Martyr, whose feast day is celebrated on August 3rd.

In the village, a grand monument has been erected in memory of the fallen defenders. Today, Čerin is a religious, educational, economic, and geographical center of Upper Brotnjo.

A legend is associated with the construction of the church, and it goes as follows: “The administration of the Custody entrusted Fra Marijan Miletić with the task of building the church. In 1863, he dared to visit the area and try to find a suitable location for the new chapel. The biggest problem was finding land whose owner was not a Turk, as they were unwilling to sell land to the friars for any amount of money. While surveying the area and inquiring about the landowners, he found a small hill near the Čerin spring that was unclaimed. When he started consulting with more experienced people about what to do, he learned that the Turks claimed that even such land belonged to the person whose land it bordered.
Then, Fra Marijan, according to Fra Andrija Nikić’s writings based on the notes of Fra Duje Ostojić, “settled with the family of Ivan Martinac. After that, Fra Marijan called several trusted people. They prepared stones, wood, and straw. When it got dark, they built a small house with dry stone and covered it with straw. They set up a hearth made from decayed wood and lit a fire to blacken the roof and walls as quickly as possible (…). The Turkish lord who claimed ownership of the hill noticed the fire and came to the newly built house. He saw the small house and the friar with the people. The next day, he went and reported the case to the court. The court sent experts to the site. The experts saw the house half-aged, as its roof had blackened and the hearth had decayed. They then stated that, according to Turkish law, this could not be demolished. The Aga protested again, but when asked to show ownership papers, as he had none, the experts declared the hill to be church property.”