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APPLICATION OF EPISCOPACY FROM VRHBOSNA SEE IN 1903 AND THE AUSTROHUNGARIAN POLICY TOWARDS RELIGION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Zoran GRIJAK
Sažetak
In this article author analyses documents regarding the religious politics of Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This analysis was necessary for proper understanding of the historical circumstances concerning the application of Vrhbosna episcopacy to István Burián minister of finances of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1903. The analysis of the fore mentioned documents has shown that AH authorities were quite preoccupied with the problem of religious policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, conducting very pragmatic politics in order to prepare country for a peaceful annexment, which was
necessary for Austro-Hungarian domination on Balkans. Namely, these documents witness that AU authorities wanted to neutralize menace of the Great Serbian ideology, as well as to establish long lasting domination of the Monarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Therefore, AU authorities assumed that it was necessary to support state establishing body between Croats and Muslims. Consequently, AU policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina supported conversion of Muslims to Catholicism since it was believed that in such way the
country would be easier incorporated in the Monarchy, and the connections with Istanbul would attenuate. By the same token, Catholic Church, according to the supporters of such ideas, had to be very prudent and had to avoid individual conversions in order to evade Muslim antagonism towards Catholicism, since there existed concern that Muslims could turn back to Christianity through the Orthodox Church. On the other hand, historiography had stated that the first attempts of AU authorities to convert Muslims date back to 1882, i.e. immediately after the occupation without any experience with such complex issue. This means that the Monarchy made some of its chief postulates of policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
without detail analysis of religious, cultural and ethnic identity of population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Catholic episcopacy did not welcome interference of state in the ecclesiastical matters, similarly as clergy did not accept restrictive policy towards Muslim conversions to Catholicism, and less-favored financial policy towards Church. All this can be supported by perennial activities of bishop Stadler, who persisted on autonomy of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as other spiritual organizations had. Moreover, documents, like the fore mentioned application of episcopacy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, witness unified policy of Catholic Church in this country. In the appendix of this article one can find transcription of this application, in which there are listed all the examples regarding less-favored policy of AU authorities towards the Catholic Church in
Bosnia and Herzegovina in comparison with the policy towards Orthodoxy and Islam.
Ključne riječi
Bosnia and Herzegovina; metropolis of Vrhbosna; Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; Catholic Church; ecclesiastical history
Hrčak ID:
34598
URI
Datum izdavanja:
18.12.2008.
Posjeta: 2.869 *