The Orthodox Clergy Association of Croatia in the service of the communist regime: the Slavonian Eparchy from 1947 to 1967

Autor na temelju arhivskog gradiva prikazuje organizaciju staleškog Udruženja pravoslavnog sveštenstva u Hrvatskoj te odnos s crkvenom hijerarhijom i komunističkim vlastima od njegovog osnivanja 1947. godine pa do 1967. godine. Poseban naglasak stavljen je na Slavonsku eparhiju i djelovanje njenog episkopa Emilijana, pobornika svećeničkih udruženja. U radu su navedeni podatci o financiranju Udruženja te o članstvu. Prikazani su i tablično, čime je omogućen sintetizirani pregled financiranja, kao i brojnosti Udruženja.Drawing on archival records, the author presents the organization of the Professional Association of Orthodox Clergy in Croatia as well as the relation to the Church hierarchy and the communist leadership from the establishment of the Association in 1947 to 1967. Special emphasis is placed on the Slavonian eparchy and the actions of bishop Emilijan, a proponent of clerical associations. The paper presents data on the financing of the Association and on membership, shown in tables, providing an insight into a combined review of the financing and numbers of the Association. From the establishment of the Association’s initiative committee in Croatia in 1947 and up to 1967, between 85% and 92% of the Orthodox clergy were members of the association, whereas in the territory of the Slavonian eparchy the percentage was even higher, between 90% and 100%. The communist government was crucial to the Association’s formation and increased presence at state, republic and local levels, mainly through synchronised actions aimed at controlling religious communities, more or less similarly applied in all communist states. After the Association had been started, established and had achieved mass membership, the Commission for Relations with Religious Communities and Udba (the State Security Service) with the assistance of the police and local party organizations entirely took control of the operations and personnel management of the Association, which eventually had an impact on the selection and appointment of senior church dignitaries. Most of the financial donations received by the Association and the Serbian Orthodox Church were mainly spent on material needs of the clergy, on restoration and construction works of religious facilities as well as on excursions and seminars, occasionally appearing rather factional than religious. The relationship with the communist government and the focus on solving particularly, the material needs of the clergy certainly had an effect on the presence of the faithful in at rites of the church, which came down increasingly to attendance at traditional annual occasions rather than at daily, weekly and other religious obligations. In contrast, the Catholic Church, acting as a vehement opponent of clerical associations, succeeded in being a strong as well as the only oppositional element in the territory of Croatia. The hierarchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church very rapidly accepted the reality of the existence of the Association and in so doing established an informal pact with the communists; in contrast to the Catholic Church, it became dependent on state assistance. This came even more to the fore in the territory of the Slavonian eparchy, because considering a member of the Association officiated as bishop and promoted the Association until his death. Finally, although the Serbian Orthodox Church was under the indirect control of the communists, the strengthening of nationalism within the Church was not prevented. To a great extent, it emerged already in the 1950s and it continually grew during the 1960s, when the Macedonian Orthodox Church was established, and during the following decades