Zagreb, (IKA) – The written legacy of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, collected in four volumes entitled All for the Faith and the Homeland, was presented on Monday, January 25, in the Vijenac Auditorium of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Institute in Zagreb. The presentation, prepared by the Croatian Conference of Bishops, was attended by Archbishop Josip Cardinal Bozanić of Zagreb, Archbishop Vinko Cardinal Puljić of Sarajevo, archbishops and bishops from Croatia, bishops from Bosnia and Herzegovina; figures in public, cultural, scientific and political life, including the president of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Academic Zvonko Kusić; the rector of the University of Zagreb, Prof. Dr. Damir Boras; the rector of the Catholic University of Croatia, Prof. Dr. Željko Tanjić; religious superiors led by the president of the Croatian Conference of Religious Superiors, Friar Jure Šarčević, OFMCap.; representatives of other religious communities, members of the diplomatic corps, Mayor Milan Bandić of Zagreb and others.
Cardinal Bozanić welcomed the attendees and congratulated those who had prepared this four-volume anthology, under the supervision of Archbishop Emeritus Marin Skrakić of Đakovo-Osijek. It is undeniable that Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a great figure in our ecclesial and national history, who markedly shifted the course of our national history toward new directions. Strong personalities represent highly complex realities. They are effective in multiple directions and indispensable to the course of the history of a given milieu. However, they are also conditioned by circumstances, possibilities or impossibilities and the situations of the given milieu and historical period, said the cardinal, pointing out that “great personalities often attract supporters, followers and admirers, many of whom are not able or do not want to understand or grasp the full depth and breadth of their role models and leaders. Adherents often lack the strength, and perhaps the will, to internalize and transmit to others the totality of the riches of the person they are following. Instead, they often simplify the personality of the source of their inspiration, selecting some of his ideas or only a few of his efforts, which they then promote with zeal and enthusiasm.” The cardinal noted that it is the task of the historian to offer the authentic legacy of the person in question and acquaint new generations with him in the totality of his reality, without diminishing or instrumentalizing him.
The fourth volume, entitled “All for the Faith and Homeland,” which was Strossmayer’s episcopal motto, allows us, following the commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of his birth and the hundred and tenth anniversary of his death, to encounter his published written legacy, which does not retell his words but provides his authentic thoughts, incentives and messages, said Cardinal Bozanić, who once again thanked those who prepared and published this significant contribution to Croatian historiography.
Msgr. Srakić spoke about the scope and content of Strossmayer’s written legacy and about him as a teacher of God’s people. He emphasized that the intention was to present a bishop, teacher, priest and pastor who not only bequeathed to our nation and Church the legacy of the Đakovo cathedral, the building and institution of the Academy of the Sciences and Arts etc. He also recalled what Strossmayer himself had said about his written legacy: “… and I leave my pastoral writings to my flock as a type of legacy in which it is possible to find refreshment in the holy faith and holy salvation.”
Few are acquainted with this legacy, which is preserved on the yellowed pages of the Herald of the Diocese of Đakovo-Srijem, although an objective opinion and assessment of the person of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer can only be formed after reading his pastoral writings addressed to his “beloved brother priests and beloved people,” said Archbishop Srakić. He also recalled the words of Archbishop Stepinac, who said: “The more I read about Strossmayer, as well as his speeches and homilies, the more I see that he was a great man. … He loved the Church and our poor nation immensely.”
Archbishop Srakić also noted that Strossmayer’s Lenten and other epistles written during the 55 years of his pastoral activity are rich in content, educational and reveal the wealth of his heart and mind, touching upon many topics from Church and public life. Furthermore, he said that this edition also includes some of Strossmayer’s homilies, travelogues, speeches at the First Vatican Council and political addresses before the Croatian Parliament. In the past, much has been said and written about Strossmayer, always repeating the same things, which in many cases have been false, incomplete or even malicious. However, the time has come to read Strossmayer, i.e., what he said and wrote, without political or ideological admixtures and unfounded interpretations, said Archbishop Srakić. He added that some texts had been translated for the first time from Latin to Croatian, and that the index of names and the index of topics will certainly make it easier to delve into the wealth of Strossmayer’s thought. Archbishop Srakić then thanked all those who contributed to this undertaking.
The president of Matica Hrvatska (Matrix Croatica), Academic Stjepan Damjanović, spoke about Strossmayer’s reflections on language. He recalled that at Strossmayer’s episcopal ordination, he delivered two speeches. His first speech, addressed to priests, was in the Latin language, thus demonstrating how much power he saw in books, power that can be used for good and for evil, and called some books, following the ancient philosophers, “sweet tasting poison offered to the hungry.” His second speech, addressed to the people and delivered in the Croatian language, concluded as follows: “The language of the people is especially considered by the Christian as the greatest gift from God, as a reflection in which the soul and heart of the people are revealed in their essence.” Strossmayer also encouraged the learning of foreign languages. This speech is important not only because it came at the beginning of his mandate but because it expresses his position on what language is and for what it is used. That which was the most important to him should not be overlooked: “… language is … the greatest gift from God.” Of course, this gift should be cherished and here Strossmayer’s thought should be considered in light of his activity as a Maecenas. Supporting books and writers signified the fostering of this gift from God and developing it so that it could serve the culture. Further citing Strossmayer’s thoughts about language, Damjanović said that from them could be discerned the lay but understandable conviction that one’s own language is the most beautiful in the world, and we note an awareness that the language had not developed as it should and was not serving the needs that every literary, i.e., standard language has to serve. He particularly reflected on the texts used in the Church, said Damjanović, who recalled how the decision in 1878 to introduce services in his diocese conducted in the Croatian language caused quite a stir. He also noted that Strossmayer was a distinguished Cyrillo-Methodian, who devoted particular attention to the Old Slavic language and the Croatian Glagolitic heritage.
Academic Dubravko Jelčić spoke on the topic “Strossmayer in the True Light.” He noted that in recent years several books and six proceedings from scientific meetings had been published but had not been sufficient for someone to engage in the serious reading and study of Strossmayer’s works. That is why today we find ourselves challenged by the volumes prepared by Msgr. Srakić. All these documents confirm that in a way Strossmayer, with his thoughts, ideas, observations and knowledge, is our contemporary. We could address the full range of topics that he touches upon today. However, he was also a writer, if for no other reason than by virtue of his travelogues. He was a visionary, who did not live only in his time but continues to live on. Despite this, he remains unread. I hope that these volumes will ultimately encourage us to read him thoroughly because had we already done so, the present misconceptions would not exist. Jelčić also addressed the thesis that Strossmayer was an ideologue of Yugoslavism. Strossmayer’s Yugoslavism is an issue that is incomprehensible to those who write about him because they did not understand what he meant by Yugoslavism. He understood it as a geographical concept, not a state-building one. This was implied because he followed Ljudevit Gaj’s idea of Greater Illyria, which Starčević later called Greater Croatia and Strossmayer called the Greater Southern Slav (Yugoslav) Territory. This is something that stems from his works and must be noted when reading his writings. However, readers have not recognized or understood it, which is why it is said that he was the man who created Yugoslavia. It is necessary to read and compare Strossmayer’s and Starčević’s writings. They are in agreement on many important points concerning the idea and significance of Croatia. It is necessary to understand that Strossmayer was among those who built the modern Croatian nation, as was Starčević. Starčević built it politically, while Strossmayer built its cultural identity, said Jelčić, and concluded: “I believe that these volumes provide new incentive to pick up Strossmayer’s writings and finally read them as they should be read.”
Msgr. Dr. Juraj Kolarić spoke on the topic “Strossmayer: A Bridge between West and East.” Recalling the social and political conditions at the time, he pointed out that nowhere in the world did so many great world religions coexist in such a small area, so that Pope Paul VI justifiably called it a “place of meeting and dialogue.” The first person who attempted to define this religious, confessional and national area, and to lead it to the path of Christian humanism and unity, was Josip Juraj Strossmayer. In all his religious, confessional, ecclesiastical, political and national controversies, he became and remained Croatian-centered, one of the greatest figures of all times, truly a bridge between the West and East. His political activity was manifested in his attempts to unify all the separated parts of Croatia within the wing of the Catholic Church and the Croatian Motherland as soon as possible. Kolarić pointed out that the manner in which Strossmayer spoke of unity was a forerunner of what we call ecumenism today. On his life’s journey, he was misunderstood, commended but also attacked by friends and foes, Catholics and Orthodox Christians, heretics and schismatics, free-thinking liberals and Catholic conservatives. Biblically speaking, “He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.” His life and work can be summarized in the following creeds that he bequeathed to us, and provide answers to his Catholic, pan-Slavic and ecumenical activity: All for the Faith and the Homeland; Freedom through Education, the Glory of God, Unity of the Churches; and the Unity and Love of the Nation, said Msgr. Kolarić.
In conclusion, Marijan Beljan, a member of the editorial board of Glas Slavonije, which provided the graphic layout and printing of the volumes, expressed his gratitude. The program was moderated by Prof. Dr. Vladimir Dugalić.