Zagreb, October 9, 1998 (IKA) — Retired Serbian Orthodox Archpriest Jovan Nikolić died at the age of 72 on Sunday, October 4, and was buried yesterday, October 8, at the Zagreb cemetery of Mirogoj. The funeral and celebration of the Holy Liturgy, attended by relatives, friends, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, representatives of various organizations, numerous Orthodox faithful and members of other religions, was conducted by the parish priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Zagreb, the Rev. Milenko Popović. On behalf of the Serbian Orthodox parish of Sisak, Petar Olujić paid final respects to Father Jovan, emphasizing that Jovan Nikolić had been a travelling priest, proclaiming the Gospel, forgiveness and charity. “For Orthodox faithful, Father Nikolić#!s death is a great loss, because he was an exemplary ecumenicist, a champion of all types of humanism, dialogue, tolerance, and peace among the nations of various religions,” said Olujić.
Representatives of organizations attending the funeral to pay their last respects to Archpriest Jovan included the following: Dr. Slobodan Uzelac on behalf of the Prosvjeta Serbian Cultural Society, the Capuchin priest, theologian and academic Fra Tomislav Šagi Bunić on behalf of Kršćanska sadašnjost; Don Mladen Karađole on behalf of the Croatian Branch of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, Mihael Montiljo on behalf of the Croatian-Israeli Society; Dr. Ivan Golub on behalf of the Institute for Ecumenical Theology and Dialogue of the Catholic Theological Faculty, and Ivan Zvonimir Čičak on behalf of the Croatian Helsinki Commission.
Father Jovan was one of the founders and members of the editorial staff of the magazine Izazov for the culture of peace and nonviolence, and a participant in many ecumenical, peace-making and theological meetings. He was one of the founders of the Christian Information Service (KIS), a member of the League for Peace, the Croatian Branch of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, the theological society Kršćanska sadašnjost and the Croatian Helsinki Commission. He was often a guest lecturer at the Spirit of Assisi ecumenical lecture series at the Catholic Church of St. Marcus Crisinus (sv. Marko Križevčanin) in Zagreb. During the entire recent war, he remained in Croatia, and was engaged in ecumenical and pastoral activities until his death.
Father Jovan Nikolić was born in 1926 in Kovina (Banat). He completed secondary school in Smederevo and in 1946 began studying philosophy in Zagreb while at the same time studying theology in Belgrade. In 1954 he was ordained as a priest and began his service the Moslavina region, in Mikleuška and Kutinica. From 1959 to 1967, he served in Varaždin and then took over the Serbian Orthodox Municipality in Zagreb. Father Jovan Nikolić retired in 1992.