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WP:NATIONALIST, WP:NPOV, WP:OR. Citing Krunoslav Draganovic, seriously? These edits are clearly meant to promote the notion that a so-called Croatian Orthodox Church actually existed before WWII and was not merely a wartime construct of the Ustashe meant to facilitate the genocide of Serbs in the NDH
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{{short description|Former autocephalous Orthodox church in 1940s Croatia}}
{{short description|Religious body created during World War II}}
{{More footnotes|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
[[File:Pavelić, Artuković i Germogen 1003a.jpg|thumb|[[Ante Pavelić]] (left) and [[Andrija Artuković]] (in the middle) meet [[Patriarch Germogen of Croatia|Patriarch Germogen]].]]
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The '''Croatian Orthodox Church''' ({{lang-hr|Hrvatska pravoslavna crkva}}) was a religious body created during [[World War II]] by the Fascist [[Ustaše]] regime in the [[Independent State of Croatia]] (NDH). It was created in order to [[Cultural assimilation|assimilate]] the large Serb minority and also to unite other Orthodox communities into a state-based Orthodox Church.
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| language = [[Croatian language|Croatian]] and [[Church Slavonic]]
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| headquarters = [[Zagreb]]
| territory = [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Southeastern Europe|Southeastern]] Europe ([[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and parts of [[Montenegro]] and [[Serbia]])
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NDH authorities finally made a move to organize a domestic Orthodox Church. This was part of a policy to eliminate Serb culture from Axis Croatia. The church lasted from 1942–45, and was intended to serve as a national church to which Serbs living in Croatia would convert, thus making it possible to describe them as "Croats of Orthodox faith". It was only recognized by one other Orthodox church, the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]], on 4 August 1944<ref>Krišto, Jure. ''Sukob simbola: Politika, vjere i ideologije u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj''. Globus, Zagreb 2001. (pg. 258)</ref> (at the time, Romania was also under the control of the [[Fascism|Fascist]] regime of [[Ion Antonescu]]). The Croatian Orthodox Church was managed by Montenegrin nationalist [[Savić Marković Štedimlija]]. There were some discussions during the 1990s, after the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]], regarding the revival of such a church.
The '''Croatian Orthodox Church''' ({{lang-hr|Hrvatska pravoslavna crkva}}) was an autocephalous Orthodox Church established during [[World War II]] (1942-1945) in the [[Independent State of Croatia]], and a Religious community and association created in 2010.


==History==
Organized religion in Croatia started in the province of [[Dalmatia]] during ancient times. In the medieval period the [[Councils of Split]] in 925 were held, which were presided over by [[Tomislav of Croatia|King Tomislav I]]. The Councils of Split were the turning point in which the Croatian Church was established. From 1708 until 1848 the [[Metropolitanate of Karlovci]] was established and their leader was given among others the title of [[Croatian Patriarch]]<ref>Pećki patrijarsi i Karlovački mitropoliti u 18 veku, publisher= Glasnik Istoriskog društva u Novom Sadu, No 4, author=Radoslav Grujić, date=1931, pp=13-34</ref> which can be seen in the coat of arms of Patriarch [[Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta|Arsenije IV]]. After 1848 the Metropolitanate of Karlovci was given the title [[Patriarchate of Karlovci]] and Emperor Franz Joseph I also confirmed the title "Patriarch of Serbia", during this time it was under the protection and jurisdiction of the Habsburg monarchy. The Patriarchate of Karlovci was abolished with the creation of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] by decree of Prince Regent Alexander of Yugoslavia. After the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, the idea of a separate Croatian Orthodox Church became a reality. In order to unite all Orthodox communities (Croats, Serbs, Vlachs etc.) in the newly formed [[Independent State of Croatia]], the Croatian Orthodox Church was created. It was a state-based autocephalous Orthodox Church which was in full communion with the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]], [[Romanian Orthodox Church]] and the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]].<ref>[https://hrvatskapravoslavnacrkva.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/hrvatska-pravoslavna-crkva-cinjenicama-protiv-krivotvorina// Croatian Orthodox Church - with facts against falsification, 22 October 2018] (Retrieved 28 December 2018)</ref> In 1945 communist persecuted Croatian Orthodox clergy and executed even lay members of the Orthodox Church. In 1990 with the reestablishment and independence of [[Croatia]] the idea to resurrect the Croatian Orthodox Church was once again mentioned, since 2010 an organization of the same name operates as a religious community.
The Croatian Orthodox Church was created, to be considered one of the three faiths to which Croats could officially belong (the main being Catholicism and Islam). The reason for the creation of this Church was a loss of a significant part of the territory to Partisans and Chetniks, as well as the additional German pressure over growing anarchy in the country, which is why concession to the Serb population was deemed necessary.<ref>{{harvnb|Kolaric|2007|pp=232–234}}</ref>{{unreliable source|date=December 2016}}


The church was formed by a government statute (No. XC-800-Z-1942) on 4 April 1942. On 5 June, using a statute issued by the government, the church's constitution was passed. On 7 June, Germogen became the only Orthodox [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of [[Zagreb]]. The church lasted until the collapse of the NDH. Its leader [[Germogen, Metropolitan of Zagreb]] and previously a priest of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]], who is said to have had [[Uniate]] sympathies, was shot dead by Partisans after the war as a collaborator. Many or most of the church's priests were Serbian priests compelled to change churches in order to survive, together with [[defrock]]ed Orthodox priests, émigré priests from Russia, and some Uniate and Roman Catholic priests.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
==Early history==
{{multiple image
| footer = '''Left:''' Baptism of Croats 7-8th century, [[Bela Čikoš Sesija]]<br />'''Right:''' Church council of 925 in Split, [[Celestin Medović]]
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| image1 = Pokrštenje Hrvata Bela Čikoš Sesija.JPG
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| image2 = Splitski crkveni sabor Celestin Medović.JPG | 190px
}}


Before the Croatian Orthodox Church was formed, the NDH officially described the Eastern Orthodox Church as the "Greek-Eastern Church", and would refer to it as the "Schismatic Church" or the "Greek non-Uniate Church". The Ustasha wanted to make their church legitimate; they asked for recognition from the [[Ecumenical Patriarch]] in [[Istanbul]].{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
In the medieval period the [[Councils of Split]] in 925 were held, which were presided over by [[Tomislav of Croatia|King Tomislav I]]. The Councils of Split were the turning point in which the Croatian Church was established. Which regulated the language, especially Church SLavic which was used by Glagolitic clergy.<ref>Članci i rasprave iz starije hrvatske povijesti, publisher= Hrvatsko kulturno društvo sv. Jeronima, author=Zelić-Bučan, date=1994, pp=130-136</ref> In the Council of 928 the Archbishop of Split was given right to govern all parishes on the Croatian territory.<ref>Članci i rasprave iz starije hrvatske povijesti, publisher=Hrvatsko kulturno društvo sv. Jeronima, author=Zelić-Bučan, date=1994, pp=136</ref> With this The supremacy of the metropolitan Archbishopric of Split was confirmed, and the Diocese of Nin was abolished.<ref>Prva stoljeća Hrvatske, publisher= Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada, author=Neven Budak, date=1994, pp=32</ref> With the Church Council of 1067 promoted Latin, but did not ban Galgolitic or Church Slavonic. This would be the end of the Byzantine influence and the start of the domination of the Latin influence.

== Orthodox Croats ==

[[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]] 1566 issued an order in which he says that roman friars of [[Buda]], [[Timișoara]] and [[Dubrovnik]] and of all Croatian nation do not ask for charity if these people(Croats) belongs to the Greek Patriarch([[Greek Orthodoxy]]).<ref> (Krunoslav Draganović - O. Dominik Mandić, Herceg-Bosna i Hrvatska, Laus, Split, 1991, https://www.academia.edu/28688943/Herceg_Bosna_i_Hrvatska._Herzeg-Bosnia_and_Croatia_# page= 47</ref>
From [[Syrmia]] 1634 we have a report on the Catholics which convert to Orthodoxy: more than 10 villages, i.e. Soljani, Veliki Remete, [[ Golubinci ]], [[ Ruma ]], Vojinci, [[ Manđelos ]] and [[ Sremska Mitrovica ]]"<ref>{{Sono andate al rito Raseiano piu di 10 ville eioe Soljani,Velike Remete, Golubinei, Ruma, Vojinei, Mangjeloš e Mitrovica,magior parte e fra tutto sarrano case 200 e
piO https://www.academia.edu/28086638/Masovni_prijelazi_katolika_na_pravoslavlje_hrvatskog_govornog_podru%C4%8Dja_u_vrijeme_vladavine_Turaka._The_Massive_transfer_of_Catholics_to_Orthodoxy_in_the_Croatian_speaking_regions_during_the_Ottoman_reign_
Krunoslav Draganović #page=76}}</ref>
In 1635, Bishop Franjo Ergelski of Zagreb claimed that among Orthodox Vlachs nearly half were Catholics and that peasants who fled among the Vlachs abandoned the Catholic faith and convert to Orthodoxy. Orthodox priests according to Bishop Ergelski baptized Catholic children and performed other religious services for them<ref>O preseljavanju ‘‘odbjeglih kmetova” u Varaždinski generalat. Prilog poznavanju ranonovovjekovnih migracija na dijelu prostora današnje sjeverozapadne Hrvatske, Hrvoje Petrić, 2011. https://hrcak.srce.hr/85405#page=59</ref>
There are records in the literature of the late 18th and early 19th centurie that point to the existence of Orthodox Croats. D. Teleki von Szék claims in 1795 that Croats were mostly Catholics and that to a lesser extent [[ Grenzers ]] of Military Frontier belong the [[ Greek Orthodox Church ]]. An 18th-century source after describing the fighting in which Croatian units participated, says that "there were three Greek priests with the Croats and two with the Hungarians. The Austrian writer Carl Christian Viktor writes in his book "Chronicon viennense" 1790 how the "Turkish Croats" invaded the emperor's land and plundered villages under the protection of "Pasha and Sanjak", while the "emperor Croats" in turn pursued those robbers and plundered the villages of "Turkish Croats". It can be assumed that part of the Turkish Croats are and Orthodox. According to Emperor [[ Joseph II ]](1785) in addition to Catholic Croats, there were also Croats of "Greek religion"<ref>Jernej Kopitar as a strategist of Karadžić’s reform of the literary language, Mario Grčević, 2009. https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=68920 #page=27</ref>That the Orthodox were not all considered as Serbs but many as Croats not in the regional sense can be conclude on the basis of the national self-determination of their descendants who as migrants were arriving by ships to America via [[Ellis Island ]] near New York. Statements of emigrants were recorded by US officials or retrieved from shipping lists and entered into a computer database that covers the period 1892-1924. The database is available at the link<ref>https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger</ref>Records that testify existence of Orthodox who called themselves as Croats and came from western and southwestern jekavian area exist in large numbers.<ref> Jernej Kopitar as a strategist of Karadžić’s reform of the literary language, Mario Grčević, 2009. https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=68920 #page=24</ref>
<ref>{{S prezimenom »Tesla« upisano je u bazi 89 osoba, od toga 29 Hrvata i
5 Srba. Oni koji su u bazi evidentirani kao Hrvati, zovu se »Vasilj«, »Vasily«, »Stevan«, »Simo«, »Sava«, »Rade«, »Petar«, »Marko«, »Mile«, a dolaze iz mjestâ kao npr. »Medak«, »Vojnic«, »Vrbovsko«, »Mitrovica«. Hrvatima se izjašnjavaju i doseljenici s prezimenom »Desnica« (pristigli 1906.—
1913.) (»Vasilj«, »Stojan«, »Stefan«, »Siwo«, »Nicola«, »Mile«, »Joan«, itd.)
iz mjesta »Srbovcina«, »Serb«, »Srb«, »Kimocac«, »Kozin«, itd. Prezime
»Desnica« u bazi ima 20 nositelja, od čega je za 10 evidentirano da su Hrvati, a 3 Srbi; prezime »Momcilovic« ima 48 nositelja, od čega 30 Hrvata,
10 Srba. Pod etničke Hrvate upisano je svih 11 osoba koje se prezivaju »Srbljan« (1905.—1913.) (»Jovo«, »Rade«, »Slavko«, itd.), iako baza evidentira da ima samo 9 Hrvata s tim prezimenom. Za usporedbu, prezime »Horvat« ima 1248 nositelja, među kojima su u bazi 382 osobe evidentirane kao
Hrvati, a 5 kao Srbi.
Pod prezimenom »Gjukic« u bazi je upisano 67 osoba, od toga 42 Hrvata i 4 Srbina; prezime »Mihajlovic« ima 75 nositelja, od toga 27 Hrvata, 8
Srba; prezime »Mihailovic« ima 41 nositelj, od toga 26 Hrvata, 1 Srbin; prezime »Dubaic« ima 12 nositelja, od toga 7 Hrvata, 2 Srbina; prezime »Raskovic« ima 41 nositelj, od toga 15 Hrvata, 4 Srbina; prezime »Lazarevic«
imaju 32 nositelja, od toga 7 Hrvata, 4 Srbina; prezime »Milosevic« imaju
273 nositelja, od toga 116 Hrvata, 16 Srba (»Milosevich« 32, 9 Srba, nema
Hrvata); prezime »Ciganovic« ima 45 nositelja, od toga 27 Hrvata, 7 Srba;
prezime »Gutesa« ima 12 nositelja, od toga 6 Hrvata, nema Srba; prezime
»Jerosimic« ima 5 nositelja, od toga 4 Hrvata, nema Srba; prezime »Trkulja« ima 98 nositelja, od toga 60 Hrvata, 4 Srba; prezime »Rakic« ima 159
nositelja, od toga 70 Hrvata, 29 Srba, prezime »Uzelac« ima 211 nositelja,
od toga 121 Hrvat, 16 Srba, prezime »Vukasavljevic« ima jednu potvrdu,
Hrvat; prezime »Strbac« ima 58 nositelja, od toga 23 Hrvata, 11 Srba; prezime »Pupovac« ima 36 nositelja, od toga 9 Hrvata, 3 Srbina; prezime »Dimitrovic« ima 35 nositelja, od toga 13 Hrvata, 8 Srba, itd.https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=68920 #page=24,25 }}
</ref> Most Catholics of southern [[ Herzegovina ]] especially in the central parts of the diocese in the 15th century or earlier convert to Orthodoxy.<ref>https://www.academia.edu/28086638/Masovni_prijelazi_katolika_na_pravoslavlje_hrvatskog_govornog_podru%C4%8Dja_u_vrijeme_vladavine_Turaka._The_Massive_transfer_of_Catholics_to_Orthodoxy_in_the_Croatian_speaking_regions_during_the_Ottoman_reign_ Krunoslav Draganović #page=51,52</ref> [[ Adolfo Veber Tkalčević ]] in a book "Trip to Constantinople" in 1886 talking with the Balkan peoples that live in Constantinople and they mentione Vlachs. This is part of the conversation: Tkalcevic says "How Croats, but they call themselves as Serbs in homeland if they are Orthodox. The person from Constantinople answers "I do not know how someone calling himself now in homeland because I have been in Constantinople for a long time but everyone here either [[ Vlachs ]] or Catholics call themselves as [[ Croats ]]. It's a name from old times!"<ref>https://digitalna.nsk.hr/pb/?object=view&id=11813&tify={%22pages%22:[181],%22panX%22:0.576,%22panY%22:0.327,%22view%22:%22s%20can%22,%22zoom%22:0.717}&tify={%22pages%22:[1],%22view%22:%22scan%22}#page=171,181</ref>Existence of Croats as Orthodox priests in the late 19th century testifies Serbian newspaper Srbobran in which was stated complaint that among Orthodox priests exist some "Orthodox Croats" priests.<ref>{{Jernej Kopitar as a strategist of Karadžić’s reform of the literary language, Mario Grčević, 2009. ; "Da je takvih pravoslavnih svećenika bilo još i krajem 19. stoljeća, kazuje pritužba u časopisu Srbobran da među pravoslavnim svećenicima »zatekosmo čak neke
da su ›pravoslavni Hrvati‹ koji sa amvona srpskog prosvjetitelja Save hrvatsku misao propovijedahu" https://hrcak.srce.hr/44341#page=33}}</ref>

==Modern era and attempts==
The basis was on the [[Metropolitanate of Karlovci]] created in the 18th century on Croatian crown lands under the Habsburgs, during that time the Head of the Church held the title of [[Croatian Patriarch]],<ref>Pećki patrijarsi i Karlovački mitropoliti u 18 veku, publisher= Glasnik Istoriskog društva u Novom Sadu, No 4, author= Radoslav Grujić, date=1931, pp=13-34</ref> which can be even seen in the coat of arms of Patriarch [[Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta|Arsenije IV]]. In 1848 Croatian Ban [[Josip Jelačić|Josip Count Jelačić Bužimski]] in an attempt to gain Serb support pushed for [[Josif Rajačić|Metropolit Josip Rajačić]] to be elevated to Patriarch of the new [[Patriarchate of Karlovci]] and gaining autonomy for the Serbian Vojvodina, which would result in him gaining the title Patriarch of the Serbs and even enthrone Jelačić as the Ban of [[Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)|Croatia]].<ref>1848 in Croatia, publisher= Croatian Historic Museum, date=1998, pp=30-50</ref> This started a support for creating a separate Croatian Orthodox Church under Croatian administration and territory, which was advocated especially during the reign of Croatian Ban [[Josip Šokčević|Josip Baron Šokčević]].<ref>Hrvatsko Slovo, author= Mate Kovačević, date=2013, pp=14</ref> The idea never came to life and the Patriarchate of Karlovci was left as it is until 1920 when it was abolished by a state decree under Prince Regent Alexander of Yugoslavia. When the Yugoslav regime and state broke down during the [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|April War]] a new Croatian State was proclaimed. It was controlled under the [[Ustaše]] regime and saw many crimes committed against the Serbs, which was viewed as an act of revenge. During the first year the Orthodox question was brought up, since the Orthodox population was largely formed by Serbs, then Croats, then Vlachs etc. In an act to normalize relationship with the Orthodox and specially Serb population an idea to proclaim an independent Orthodox Church was established.

==Croatian Orthodox Church (1942-1945)==
The Croatian Orthodox Church was created, to be considered one of the three faiths to which Croats could officially belong (the main being Catholicism and Islam). The reason for the creation of this Church was a loss of a significant part of the territory to Partisans and Chetniks, as well as the additional German pressure over growing anarchy in the country, which is why concession to the Serb population was deemed necessary.<ref>{{harvnb|Kolaric|2007|pp=232–234}}</ref>

[[File:Pavelić, Artuković i Germogen 1003a.jpg|thumb|[[Ante Pavelić]] (left) and [[Andrija Artuković]] (in the middle) meet [[Patriarch Germogen of Croatia|Patriarch Germogen]].]]

The church was formed by a government statute (No. XC-800-Z-1942) on 4 April 1942. On 5 June, using a statute issued by the government, the church's constitution was passed. On 7 June, Germogen became the only Orthodox [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of [[Zagreb]]. The church lasted until the collapse of the NDH. Its leader [[Germogen, Metropolitan of Zagreb]] and previously a priest of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]], who is said to have had [[Uniate]] sympathies, was shot dead by Partisans after the war. Many or most of the church's priests were Orthodox Croatians, as well as Serbs and many Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox priests (émigré priests from Russia).

The Croatian Orthodox Church was in full communion with three other Churches. Its autocephaly was recognized in 1942 by the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]], [[Romanian Orthodox Church]] and on 27 July 1942 by [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] (Benjamin I).<ref>[https://hrvatskapravoslavnacrkva.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/hrvatska-pravoslavna-crkva-cinjenicama-protiv-krivotvorina// Croatian Orthodox Church - with facts against falsification, 22 October 2018] (Retrieved 28 December 2018)</ref>


==Proposals for a revival==
==Proposals for a revival==
{{see also|Association of Croatian Orthodox Believers}}
{{see also|Association of Croatian Orthodox Believers}}
On 6 March 1993, Juraj Kolaric, dean of the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb, was reported by the [[Tanjug]] news agency as stating that the "Orthodox Church in Croatia should be organized along the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church|Macedonian]] principle, with its [[patriarch]], and break away as far as territory was concerned, from Serbia”.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/serbian_digest/77/t77-3.htm|title= The Orthodox Church in Croatia|publisher=Vreme News Digest Agency|number=77|date=15 March 1993|accessdate=11 Nov 2016}}</ref> Kolaric tried several times to establish such a church by the "Croat Orthodox believers and possible Croatian Orthodox clergy, because then all the conditions for an [[autocephalous]] church would be met".
On 6 March 1993, Juraj Kolaric, dean of the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb, was reported by the [[Tanjug]] news agency as stating that the "Orthodox Church in Croatia should be organized along the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church|Macedonian]] principle, with its [[patriarch]], and break away as far as territory was concerned, from Serbia”.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/serbian_digest/77/t77-3.htm|title= The Orthodox Church in Croatia|publisher=Vreme News Digest Agency|number=77|date=15 March 1993|accessdate=11 Nov 2016}}</ref> Kolaric tried several times to establish such a church by the "Croat Orthodox believers and possible Croatian Orthodox clergy, because then all the conditions for an [[autocephalous]] church would be met". Kolaric claimed that if such a church were formed it would eventually by recognized by the Patriarch of Constantinople as the Serbian Orthodox Church would never again be present in Croatia.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

Since 2010 the Croatian Orthodox Church, an association of Orthodox believers is active and currently waiting for the state to change the status from communion to Church.

==Insignia and symbols==

[[File:Croatian Orthodox Church - Coat of Arms.PNG|thumb|150px|Coat of arms of the Croatian Orthodox Church]]

Since the reestablishment of the [[Metropolitanate of Karlovci]] in the 18th century, the Croatian coat of arms was part of the official coat of arms as well as present on the Metropolitanatian throne, this can be seen in the coat of arms above the throne of Patriarch Arsenije IV, as well as from the Church flag from 1748. Since 1848 the Croatian tricolor was used alone or sometimes together with the Serbian tricolor flag (if mixed population) in local areas, as well as bishops and archbishops palaces. In 1942 the Croatian tricolor flag with the Croatian coat of arms with a blue Orthodox Greek Cross was used as the official insignia of the Croatian Orthodox Church.


==References==
==References==
Line 152: Line 21:


==Sources==
==Sources==
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Paris|first=Edmond|authorlink=Edmond Paris|title=Genocide in Satellite Croatia, 1941-1945: A Record of Racial and Religious Persecutions and Massacres|year=1961|location=Chicago|publisher=American Institute for Balkan Affairs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KP_SAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book|author=Veljko Đ. Đurić|title=Ustaše i pravoslavlje: hrvatska pravoslavna crkva|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWBAAAAIAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Beletra}}
* {{cite book|author=Veljko Đ. Đurić|title=Ustaše i pravoslavlje: hrvatska pravoslavna crkva|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWBAAAAIAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Beletra}}
* {{cite book|author=Gojo Riste Dakina|title=Genocide Over the Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia: Be Catholic Or Die|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1c1AAAAMAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Institute of Contemporary History}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Rivelli|first=Marco Aurelio|authorlink=Marco Aurelio Rivelli|year=1998|title=Le génocide occulté: État Indépendant de Croatie 1941–1945|language=French|trans-title=Hidden Genocide: The Independent State of Croatia 1941–1945|location=Lausanne|publisher=L'age d'Homme|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwBnceJfwgUC}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Rivelli|first=Marco Aurelio|authorlink=Marco Aurelio Rivelli|title=L'arcivescovo del genocidio: Monsignor Stepinac, il Vaticano e la dittatura ustascia in Croazia, 1941-1945|language=Italian|trans-title=The Archbishop of Genocide: Monsignor Stepinac, the Vatican and the Ustaše dictatorship in Croatia, 1941-1945|location=Milano|publisher=Kaos|year=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQtnAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite journal|last=Bartulin|first=Nevenko|title=Ideologija nacije i rase: ustaški režim i politika prema Srbima u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj 1941-1945.|work=Radovi|publisher=Institute of Croatian History|volume=39|issue=1|date=October 2007|pages=209–241|language=Croatian|format=PDF|accessdate=9 January 2015|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/49085?lang=en|ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Novak|first=Viktor|authorlink=Viktor Novak|title=Magnum Crimen: Half a Century of Clericalism in Croatia|volume=1|url=https://books.google.rs/books?id=b1jyvQAACAAJ|year=2011|location=Jagodina|publisher=Gambit}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Novak|first=Viktor|authorlink=Viktor Novak|title=Magnum Crimen: Half a Century of Clericalism in Croatia|volume=1|url=https://books.google.rs/books?id=b1jyvQAACAAJ|year=2011|location=Jagodina|publisher=Gambit}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Novak|first=Viktor|authorlink=Viktor Novak|title=Magnum Crimen: Half a Century of Clericalism in Croatia|volume=2|url=https://books.google.rs/books?id=vF9GMwEACAAJ|year=2011|location=Jagodina|publisher=Gambit}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Novak|first=Viktor|authorlink=Viktor Novak|title=Magnum Crimen: Half a Century of Clericalism in Croatia|volume=2|url=https://books.google.rs/books?id=vF9GMwEACAAJ|year=2011|location=Jagodina|publisher=Gambit}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Stojanović|first=Aleksandar|title=A Beleaguered Church: The Serbian Orthodox Church in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) 1941-1945|journal=Balcanica|year=2017|volume=48|pages=269–287|url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/ft.aspx?id=0350-76531748269S}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.njegos.org/past/stedimlija.htm Savic Markovic Stedimlija - Ideologist of "Red Croatia"], njegos.org; accessed 20 April 2015
*[https://hrvatskapravoslavnacrkva.wordpress.com Croatian Orthodox Church, official site], accessed 27 December 2018 {{hr icon}}
*[http://www.hri.org/news/agencies/serb/1996/96-04-04.serb.html#06 New Attacks on the Serbian Orthodox Church], hri.org, 4 April 1996
*[http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/serbian_digest/77/t77-3.htm The Orthodox Church in Croatia], ''Vreme News Digest'' Agency No 77, 15 March 1993
*[http://www.hrvatskipravoslavci.com Official website of the Croatian Orthodox Community], hrvatskipravoslavci.com; accessed 20 April 2015 {{hr icon}}
*[http://www.hrvatskipravoslavci.com Official website of the Croatian Orthodox Community], hrvatskipravoslavci.com; accessed 20 April 2015 {{hr icon}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Croatian Orthodox Church]]
[[Category:Croatian Orthodox Church]]
[[Category:Independent State of Croatia]]
[[Category:Independent State of Croatia]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1942]]

Revision as of 17:38, 9 November 2019

Ante Pavelić (left) and Andrija Artuković (in the middle) meet Patriarch Germogen.

The Croatian Orthodox Church (Croatian: Hrvatska pravoslavna crkva) was a religious body created during World War II by the Fascist Ustaše regime in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). It was created in order to assimilate the large Serb minority and also to unite other Orthodox communities into a state-based Orthodox Church.

NDH authorities finally made a move to organize a domestic Orthodox Church. This was part of a policy to eliminate Serb culture from Axis Croatia. The church lasted from 1942–45, and was intended to serve as a national church to which Serbs living in Croatia would convert, thus making it possible to describe them as "Croats of Orthodox faith". It was only recognized by one other Orthodox church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, on 4 August 1944[1] (at the time, Romania was also under the control of the Fascist regime of Ion Antonescu). The Croatian Orthodox Church was managed by Montenegrin nationalist Savić Marković Štedimlija. There were some discussions during the 1990s, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, regarding the revival of such a church.

History

The Croatian Orthodox Church was created, to be considered one of the three faiths to which Croats could officially belong (the main being Catholicism and Islam). The reason for the creation of this Church was a loss of a significant part of the territory to Partisans and Chetniks, as well as the additional German pressure over growing anarchy in the country, which is why concession to the Serb population was deemed necessary.[2][unreliable source?]

The church was formed by a government statute (No. XC-800-Z-1942) on 4 April 1942. On 5 June, using a statute issued by the government, the church's constitution was passed. On 7 June, Germogen became the only Orthodox Metropolitan of Zagreb. The church lasted until the collapse of the NDH. Its leader Germogen, Metropolitan of Zagreb and previously a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, who is said to have had Uniate sympathies, was shot dead by Partisans after the war as a collaborator. Many or most of the church's priests were Serbian priests compelled to change churches in order to survive, together with defrocked Orthodox priests, émigré priests from Russia, and some Uniate and Roman Catholic priests.[citation needed]

Before the Croatian Orthodox Church was formed, the NDH officially described the Eastern Orthodox Church as the "Greek-Eastern Church", and would refer to it as the "Schismatic Church" or the "Greek non-Uniate Church". The Ustasha wanted to make their church legitimate; they asked for recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul.[citation needed]

Proposals for a revival

See also: Association of Croatian Orthodox Believers

On 6 March 1993, Juraj Kolaric, dean of the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb, was reported by the Tanjug news agency as stating that the "Orthodox Church in Croatia should be organized along the Macedonian principle, with its patriarch, and break away as far as territory was concerned, from Serbia”.[3] Kolaric tried several times to establish such a church by the "Croat Orthodox believers and possible Croatian Orthodox clergy, because then all the conditions for an autocephalous church would be met". Kolaric claimed that if such a church were formed it would eventually by recognized by the Patriarch of Constantinople as the Serbian Orthodox Church would never again be present in Croatia.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Krišto, Jure. Sukob simbola: Politika, vjere i ideologije u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj. Globus, Zagreb 2001. (pg. 258)
  2. ^ Kolaric 2007, pp. 232–234
  3. ^ "The Orthodox Church in Croatia". Vreme News Digest Agency. 15 March 1993. Retrieved 11 Nov 2016.

Sources

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croatian_Orthodox_Church&oldid=925368344"