The Charter of Despot Stefan on the Annual Fair in Munkács

The charter on the fair in Munkács is today kept in the State Archives of the Transcarpathian Region in Ukraine. The original was not closed with a seal, but only folded, since it is an order without a solemn character, written on paper and authenticated with a small impressed seal. Formally, the charter is distinguished by a typically Hungarian style - Despot Stefan's title is abbreviated, but it includes the formula “by the grace of God,” which is customary in Hungarian royal documents. Nekudim is given as the place of issue without further qualification, and the date is formulated according to Hungarian tradition, in which May 6 is designated by the feast of Saint John before the Latin Gate - the day commemorating the persecution of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian by the Roman emperor Domitian, which exists in Western Christian tradition.

The charter begins with an address to a wide circle of recipients (prelates, barons, magnates, villages, castellans and stewards). Here friendship and goodwill are expressed, which is a customary diplomatic formulation in medieval acts. Despot Stefan reminds the addressees of the royal privilege, which he had confirmed by his charter, and emphasizes the obligation to allow merchants free access to the fair. He stresses that he will personally protect them from attack, which shows his role not only as lord but also as guarantor of security on his estates. The charter contains an order that this decision be proclaimed in towns, market towns and fairs, so that all may be informed. This is an important aspect of medieval legal practice, since public proclamation strengthened the validity and enforcement of decisions. The charter ends with a blessing, common in the diplomatic and legal documents of that age.

The charter on the fair in Munkács shows Despot Stefan Lazarević as a powerful Hungarian magnate who governs significant estates in the northern parts of Hungary.

The document emphasizes legal continuity - King Sigismund's decision is confirmed by the Despot's charter - and highlights the importance of economic development through trade.

Its formal tone, diplomatic courtesy and legal precision make it a significant monument of Serbian-Hungarian relations in the first half of the 15th century.

It is interesting that five centuries after the repose of Holy Despot Stefan Lazarević , the town of Mukachevo in newly created Czechoslovakia was one of the centers of the revival of Orthodoxy in Transcarpathia at the beginning of the 20th century, and that the first Orthodox eparchy in this region was the Eparchy of Mukachevo and Prešov, which existed from 1931 to 1945,

and in that period was an eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church: it covered eastern Slovakia and Transcarpathia, and its seat was in the town of Mukachevo. On the eve of the Second

World War, Mukachevo was annexed to Hungary, and the Eparchy of Mukachevo and Prešov was abolished after the annexation of Transcarpathian Ukraine, together with the town of Mukachevo, to the Soviet Union in 1945, when the territory of the eparchy passed under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church.