Denial and Repression of Anti-Semitism: Post-Communist Rehabilitation of the Serbian Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic

Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic (1881–1956) is arguably one the most controversial figures in contemporary Serbian national culture. Having been vilified by the former Yugoslav Communist authorities as a fascist and an antisemite, this Orthodox Christian thinker has over the past two decades come to be regarded in Serbian society as the most important religious person since medieval times and an embodiment of the authentic Serbian national spirit. Velimirovic was formally canonised by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2003. In this book, Jovan Byford charts the posthumous transformation of Velimirovic from 'traitor' to 'saint' and examines the dynamics of repression and denial that were used to divert public attention from the controversies surrounding the bishop's life, the most important of which is his antisemitism. Byford offers the first detailed examination of the way in which an Eastern Orthodox Church manages controversy surrounding the presence of antisemitism within its ranks and he considers the implications of the continuing reverence of Nikolaj Velimirovic for the persistence of antisemitism in Serbian Orthodox culture and in Serbian society as a whole. This book is based on a detailed examination of the changing representation of Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic in the Serbian media and in commemorative discourse devoted to him. The book also makes extensive use of exclusive interviews with a number of Serbian public figures who have been actively involved in the bishop’s rehabilitation over the past two decades.

Table of Contents:
Chapter One: Introduction Materials Used In The Study, Chapter Two: The Disputed Biography Of Nikolaj Velimirovic And His Changing Public Image 1945-2003, Chapter Three: Collective Remembering And Collective Forgetting: Memory Of Nikolaj Velimirovic And The Repression Of Controversy, Chapter Four: From Repression To Denial: Responses Of The Serbian Orthodox Church To Accusations Of Antisemitism, Chapter Five: ‘He Was Merely Quoting The Bible!’: The Denial Of Velimirovic’s Antisemitism Rising Above The Criticisms. Chapter Six: Antisemitism As Prophecy, Chapter Seven Conclusion References

About the Author :
Jovan Byford is Lecturer in Psychology at the Open University, UK.

Review :
"It is hard to believe that there are almost no scholarly works on such an important and controversial figure. Therefore, the appearance of Jovan Byford's book is a welcome and timely contribution. A native of Serbia trained as a psychologist, Byford conducted interviews and drew on the secondary literature of his profession to create this unique study of the psychological operations behind the making of Velimirović's cult. Byford meticulously demonstrates the textual, rhetorical, and argumentative tactics employed by the promoters of Velimirović's cult to repress, deny, or justify Velimirović's antisemitism." "This book provides an authoritative vivisection of the goals, behavior, and strategies of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and sheds light on the chuavinism behind the myths of martyrdom. Byford's claims and conclusions are well supported by strong evidence, most of which comes from Church sources and Velimirović's own works. No serious student of Serbia should miss this impressive book."