Prof. dr Zorica Kuburić, УДК: 271.222(497.11)-9 Univerzitet u Novom Sadu, 271.222(497.11)-662:322 Filozofski fakultet Originalni naučni rad [email protected] Primljen: 01.08.2014. SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE CONTEXT OF STATE'S HISTORY Summary During its history of the formation and survival in the context of a direct territo- rial and political contact with challenges of Roman Catholicism and Islam, the Serbian Orthodox Church has developed a strategy of conservative reaction that does not accept changes or the challenges of modernity. As the counterweight to the lack of strong bor- ders of the Serbian people, the Serbian Orthodox Church has developed strong board- ers that protect the Orthodox identity. Paradoxically, although it was stronger than the state in which it developed the religious identity of the citizens, the Church has always re- mained in the shadow of the state, with the need to be protected and accepted. Of indica- tors of religiosity, the strongest part of the identity is the icon as a symbolically open sys- tem for the presence of the holy. Social aspects of Orthodox religiosity have been main- tained for centuries by Slavas, family rituals that carry the message of ancestry and be- longing. Keywords: Serbian Orthodox Church, Rituals, Identity, Conciliarity, Icon, Slava. INTRODUCTION Christianity first took hold in the region between the seventh and eighth centuries. Throughout Serbia’s tumultuous history, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been the backbone of the Serbian state and has served as a custodian of Ser- bian national identity. Though Orthodox Christianity has dominated Serbia since the thirteenth century, Islam was ascendant during the rule of the Ottoman Em- pire, which began in 1459 and lasted until 1878. Serb resistance to the rule of the Ottoman Turks and to the spread of Islam was sustained and informed to a large degree by their Orthodox faith. Serbs have also resisted the Roman Catholic in- fluence (Kuburić, 2014a; Popović, 1997; Slijepčević, 1991; Kašić, 1967). In the fourteenth century the area of Montenegro (then called Zeta) became an independent feudal state controlled by Orthodox bishops. However, at the end of the fifteenth century, the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. In the late seventeenth century Montenegro fought back against Ottoman domina- tion. The Assembly of Montenegrins chose Danilo I Petrović (1670–1735) as bishop, and the Petrović dynasty was established. During his reign Montene- 388 Zorica Kuburić: Serbian orthodox Church in the context… grins struggled to unite religion and politics. Petar I Petrović (1784–1830) was one of the most significant figures in the history of Montenegro. During his reign he strengthened Montenegro’s independence, although the region remained un- der Ottoman control, and united the Montenegrin tribes and coastal population, which was under Hungarian influence. His successor, Petar II Petrović Njegoš (1813–51), was an extraordinary statesman, philosopher, and writer who formed state institutions, strengthening administrative and state authority during his reign (Grujić, 1995: 141). After several victories over the much larger Turkish army, Montenegro finally won its independence in 1878. Shortly after, the country com- mitted itself to respecting the human rights of Muslims, and in 1886 it signed an agreement with the Vatican to grant the Roman Catholic minority the right to ex- press their religious freedoms. Montenegro became a kingdom on August 28, 1910, under King Nikola I Petrović (1841–1921) and in 1918 joined the King- dom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929) (Kuburić, 2014b). From 1918 to 2013 the region was politically transformed several times. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was established in 1918, and its successor, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, existed from 1929 until its collapse in 1941. The socialist state of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was formed in 1943 and was officially proclaimed with a constitution in 1946. This state was renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963 and ex- isted until just after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. After the end of Sovi- et dominance, which had been characterized by state suppression of religion, a wave of popular religious fervor erupted in the newly formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which included the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Mon- tenegro (Kuburić, 2006: 307). The new Yugoslavian state lasted from 1992 until 2003 and was riven throughout its existence by religious conflict between its Ro- man Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim populations. When Yugoslavia broke apart into six independent nations, Serbia and Montenegro was one of them. Montene- gro, in a referendum held on May 21, 2006, chose to become independent, and it formed its own government. This region bears three main religious traditions: Orthodox Christianity, prevalent throughout the countries of Serbia and Montenegro; Islam, concen- trated in Kosovo and in Sandžak, a southwestern part of Serbia, and in the east- ern parts of Montenegro; and Roman Catholicism, concentrated in Vojvodina, a northern Serbian province (Kuburić, 2002). Following the introduction of Islam into the region during the Ottoman conquest in the fourteenth century, intense antagonism developed between Chris- tians and Muslims, which has marked the country, especially the predominant- ly Muslim Kosovo region, in modern times (Kuburić, 2014c). Since the begin- ning of the twentieth century, population growth among Muslims has been high, Religija i tolerancija, Vol. XII, № 22, Jul – Decembar, 2014. 389 while the Christian population has diminished, especially after World War II. Be- tween 1990 and 1995 separatist tendencies grew stronger, pushing Yugoslavia in- to a civil war. It is estimated that during the conflict nearly 800 Serbian Orthodox parishes, monasteries, churches, and chapels were damaged or destroyed. In addi- tion, 300 mosques and other Islamic sacred buildings were destroyed or damaged in Kosovo. Kosovo is seen as a border region where two parallel societies, Islam- ic and Christian, exist, with frequent conflicts and parallel lives. Ever since the Battle of Kosovo of 1389 between Ottoman Turkish and Balkan Christian forces, there have been established ethnic and religious borders that are now also territo- rial (Duijzings, 2005; Crucified Kosovo, 1999; Bogdanović, 1986; Jokić, 2004). SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH Between the seventh and eighth centuries, following the influences of Rome and Constantinople, this region converted to Christianity. This conversion was accelerated by brothers Saint Cyril (c. 827-69 CE) and Saint Methodius (c. 825-84 CE), as well as their disciples, who translated Christian religious services from Greek into the Old Slavic language (Grujuć, 1995: 6). During the early ninth century, Serbia was the border zone between the Byzantine and Roman spheres of influence (Kuburić, 2006:308). The Serbian Orthodox Church was established in 1219 when Saint Sava (c. 1176-1236) was consecrated the first archbishop (1219-35). Among the first epis- copates (dioceses) was the Metropolitanate of Zeta (Popović, 1997: 108; Vesel- inović, 2004: 6) which had its seat in Miholjska prevlaka, a monastery dedicat- ed to the Archangel Michael that was destroyed during the Middle Ages (it has since been rebuilt). From that period until the Turkish conquest in 1389 and the collapse of Serbia in 1459, the Serbian Orthodox Church flourished within the Byzantine cultural circle, influencing every aspect of life and serving to uphold Serbian cultural and spiritual heritage. Following Turkish rule in 1459, the Serbian patri- arch (head of the church) was abolished, though in 1557 it was reestablished in Peć, only to be abolished again in 1766 (Popović, 1997: 122) when the church came under the control of the patriarch of Constantinople. Due to the difficult political situation in 1690, the Patriarch Arsenije III Carnojević led the group of 70 000 Serbs. They left occupied Serbia moving to the Hungary (later, part of the Austrian Empire) where the Serbian Orthodox Church had gained required rights and benefits (Veselinović, 2004: 117). In 1879, after the creation of an in- dependent Serbian state, an autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Serbi- an Orthodox Church was created in the kingdom of Serbia. The title of patriarch was renewed in 1920, uniting the church under one head (with residence in Bel- grade) and embracing all Orthodox Christians in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, 390 Zorica Kuburić: Serbian orthodox Church in the context… and Slovenes (Veselinović, 1966: 199). The new patriarch was Dimitrije Pav- lović (reigned 1920-30). Between World War I and World War II, the Serbian Orthodox Church was the state church. During World War II hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Serbs were killed in concentration camps. Among those imprisoned were Ortho- dox clergy, including Patriarch Gavrilo Dožić. Following Allied and Soviet liber- ation in 1944, the country came under atheistic Communist rule, and efforts were made to destroy religion. Serbian Patriarch Pavle, the former bishop of Raška and Prizren, was elected at the end of 1990 and presided over the Serbian Orthodox Church throughout the disintegration of Yugoslavia and during the civil war and its aftermath (Kuburić, 2006:308). Revitalization of religion occurred after the fall of the Communist Party and the breakup of the old socialist system (Kuburić, Gavrilović, 2013). As war broke out in the region, it spurred the revitalization of religion and mobilized re- ligious and nationalistic groups, strengthening the connection of Montenegrins to the church. However, tensions inside the church have persisted, particularly with respect to whether Montenegro should have its own autocephalous church sep- arate from the Serbian Church. In 1993 a movement to create the Montenegrin Orthodox Church began, and Metropolitan Mihailo (born Miraš Dedeić [1938– ]) later became its head. However, he was excommunicated by the Holy Assem- bly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for his controversial and inappropriate private life.