Step by Step

From December 8-10, the papers carried the information that dignitaries of the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Moslem, Jewish and Protestant faiths in the former Yugoslavia had met in Pecs, Hungary, under the auspices of the European Conference of Churches. Among those present were the Dabro Bosnian Metropolitan Nikolaj, Belgrade Archbishop France Perko and Belgrade Mufti Hamdija Jusufspahic. Members of the conference sent an appeal to governments and international organizations to do all they could to stop the war and bring about a just peace. The members of various faiths were asked to urge for reconciliation and a purging of hatred.

All participants called for the easing of human suffering, insisted on the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid and condemned the expulsion of people. The people have the right to return to their settlements, but they must be given protection and guarantees that they will be able to preserve their national and religious identities. The priests of all faiths must be allowed to carry out their duties, especially in those places where the people are suffering.

The demands made in Pecs, were a repetition of all that Serbian Orthodox Church head Patriarch Pavle and Cardinal Franjo Kuharic who heads the Catholic Church in Croatia had demanded in Geneva 15 months ago.

President of the Chamber of Zhupans in the Croatian Sabor (Parliament) Josip Manolic, who also heads the parliamentary Committee for Relations with Serbs, called on Zagreb-Ljubljana Metropolitan Jovan to conduct the Orthodox Christmas service in Zagreb. The message was sent to Metropolitan Jovan in Slovenia where he was visiting parishes and was made via Croatian Ambassador Davor Ivisa in Belgrade. Zagreb has already named its ambassador to Belgrade even though the two countries have not yet recognized each other formally. The Metropolitan told journalists that Manolic's message was an invitation to return permanently, i.e., to come and conduct regular church business in Zagreb. The Metropolitan believes that the invitation is serious and a positive move, but that he isn't in a position to acquiesce. There are some problems which have to be resolved first. "My residence has been mined, and I have no place to stay, especially for the duration of such an important holiday," said the Metropolitan.

To all intents and purposes, the Metropolitan will not be going to Zagreb in the near future. For the time being, the atmosphere is much different from that of only four months ago. At the time, the Metropolitan was criticized for being in Belgrade and not in Zagreb. The Belgrade daily "Borba" wrote that the bishop justified his stay in Belgrade with dangers facing Serbian Orthodox sacred objects in Croatia. "For the Church and a man of the faith, this is a rather contradictory argument, and all the more reason not to forsake believers under such circumstances." "Surely he doesn't fear for his earthly life?", asked journalist Milena Drazic, adding "the captain is the last to abandon ship."

The Serbian Patriarch's office has assessed the criticism of Metropolitan Jovan as malicious and unseemly, because the Metropolitan didn't leave Croatia of his own free will, but because of troubles. The Serbian Patriarch's office claimed four months ago that under the circumstances, the Croatian authorities wished to see the Metropolitan in Zagreb since his presence would give "legitimacy to the 'democracy' there". Metropolitan Jovan left Zagreb under pressure and threats in September 1991, and his residence was mined seven months later. Since then, Catholic and Orthodox representatives have talked about the return of Orthodox episcopes to Croatia, but the Metropolitan had not been invited to Zagreb, nor had any guarantees of safety been issued. The Holy Synod (the Serbian Orthodox Church executive body) decided in 1992 that the Metropolitan's second seat would be in Ljubljana.

On January 10, 1993, a priest from Knin came to Sibenik (Northern Dalmatia) and conducted the service. "Two of our priests were supposed to visit Drnis and Promina the following week and administer to the old and sick, to hear their confessions and give them Communion. UNPROFOR couldn't give guarantees of safe conduct," said the Bishop of Sibenik Srecko Badurina. He went on to say: "I was told that the visit of the Bishop of Sibenik would be interpreted as the arrival of the Croatian authorities." But, "Regardless of how the whole matter is finally resolved, why can't the Catholic Church go about its business in Knin when the Orthodox Church is free to do so in Sibenik? The Orthodox Church is present, the old priest spent over a year in the Orthodox church. We gave him support and protection. We made a difference between support of church activities and support of other things," said Monsignor Badurina, in an interview to the Zagreb weekly "Globus".

The Bishop is an optimist; he believes that the Croatian civilian authorities want a normalization of relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church, and that this would certainly entail the return of the episcopes and the clergy, as well as the repair of damaged church facilities. "Their church activities have been disrupted, but not as much as ours. More of their facilities are preserved, and there are priests who have remained with their parishioners, from Osijek to Rijeka and Dubrovnik," said Monsignor Badurina. He doesn't know what kind of a relationship exists between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian authorities, adding: "I have been promised on several occasions that an effort would be made to make it possible for me to visit Knin". Finally, a detail which seems to indicate that a normalization of Catholic-Orthodox relations in Croatia is perhaps not all that far away. A meeting of Croatian and Serbian intellectuals in Zagreb was attended by several priests. A rapprochement will be reached, but slowly, step by step...

Five Orthodox Eparchies

Croatia is covered by five Serbian Orthodox Church eparchies: the Zagreb-Ljubljana metropolitan, and the eparchies of Dalmatia, Gornji Karlovac, Slavonia and Osijecko polje-Baranja (founded just before the outbreak of war in Croatia). In early 1992 rector Milenko Popovic said that some twenty priests had left the Zagreb-Ljubljana metropolitan, leaving only 5-6 active priests. In mid 1992 Metropolitan Jovan claimed: "Seventy Orthodox priests have been expelled from Croatia."

All the episcopes are in territories controlled by Serb forces: Lukijan is in Dalj (East Slavonija), Slavonian Bishop Lukijan is no longer in Pakrac but in Okucani (West Slavonija), Nikanor left Karlovac and found sanctuary in Veljun, while Longin, who had been in Australia, is currently in Knin. His predecessor Nikolaj has become the Dabro Bosnian Metropolitan. There are many who regard Nikolaj as the "spiritus movens behind the barricades" (which sprang up at the end of the summer of 1990).

According to Serbian Orthodox Church sources, 200 Orthodox churches and other facilities have been destroyed or damaged in Croatia, and not only in areas affected by war. Lukijan, the Bishop of Baranja, said that 40 of a total of 60 churches under his jurisdiction, have been destroyed.