THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH During Times of War 1980-2000 and the Wars Within it

THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH During Times of War 1980-2000 and the Wars Within it
Author: Milorad Tomanic
Publisher:
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2021-01-21
Genre:
ISBN:

During the 1980s, two attitudes crystallized in Serbia, which read as follows: 1) Serbs and Croats can no longer live together in Croatia, as well as Serbs and Muslims in Bosnia, and 2) the solution to this problem is the unification of all Serbian countries (those parts of Yugoslavia where Serbs are the majority of the population). The creators of this solution were primarily prominent members of two institutions: the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) and the Serbian Writers' Association (UKS). Later, it was accepted with open arms by the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church who were its most determined and persistent representatives. Already in the early 90s, two Serbian entities were created outside Serbia: Serb Republic of Krajina (in Croatia) and Republika Srpska (in Bosnia and Herzegovina). All that was needed was to merge them with the motherland of the Serbian people. And thus, the ultimate goal would be achieved. But it turned out that the realization of such a project required capable individuals: politicians, spiritual leaders and military leaders. And, of course, people who are firm in the belief that their fight is just and justified. Instead, Serbs had at their disposal communists once loyal to Tito's regime, "elite intellectuals" who wisely kept silent during Tito's life, and a large number of zealous bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, some of whom were willing to sacrifice thousands of people to achieve certain political goals. These goals were thought to be achievable with military leaders ready to completely destroy a city like Vukovar, hold a city like Sarajevo under siege for more than a thousand days, and shoot thousands of (war) prisoners in an organized manner, as was done in Srebrenica. Or, with convicted criminals at the head of paramilitary formations whose members expressed their patriotic feelings through robbery, rape and killing. At the same time, the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church left their dioceses and bishops' courts, leaving Orthodox believers without spiritual help and holy communion. They hung out and took photos with those who mercilessly shot thousands of unarmed or disarmed people. They baptized and blessed paramilitary formations that committed numerous war crimes. And they demanded continuing of the war, regardless of the number of those who will suffer. According to the author of this book, the above facts contain the answer to the question why the Serbian people, at the very end of the second millennium since the birth of Jesus Christ, experienced one of the greatest defeats and humiliations in its entire history.

Serbian Orthodox Fundamentals

Serbian Orthodox Fundamentals
Author: Christos Mylonas
Publisher: Central European University Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 963924161X

This book is a comprehensive exposition of the interaction of a national (the Serbian people) and a religiou (the Orthodox Christian faith) content, in the formation of a distinctive national identity and a mode of being. Its interdisciplinary approach, drawing on sociology, social anthropology, theology, political theory, Balkan historiography, and Serbian folklore, is deployed to provide a powerful and original analysis of how Serbian Orthodoxy has resulted in the sacralisation of the Serbian nation by framing the parameters of its existence. Addresses the following questions: what 'makes' a Serb? Are meaningful assumptions possible by introducing Serbian Orthodoxy as the primal point of reference? Why does religion appear to have an especially strong appeal?

Service Book

Service Book
Author: Holy Trinity Monastery
Publisher: Holy Trinity Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1999
Genre: Liturgics
ISBN: 9780884651277

The Divine Liturgy is the name given in the Orthodox Church to the service of Eucharistic communion. This convenient pocket size sewn volume actually contains two books in one: All the necessary texts for the celebration of the liturgy by the priest and deacon, interpolated with comprehensive rubrical directions, and "Instructional Information" explaining how the clergy should prepare themselves to celebrate divine services. It also includes the thanksgiving prayer and three appendices with petitions for particular needs that may be inserted in the litany of fervent supplication, daily and festal dismissals. Traditional English is used throughout in the translation of service texts.