Collection The Agony Of The Church Serbia In Light And Darkness

...The aim of this volume is to give to the English-speaking people some glimpses into the past struggles, sufferings and hopes of the Serbian nation. I have tried to describe the Serbian life in light, in its peace, its peaceful work, its songs and prayers; in darkness, in its slavery, its sins, its resistance to evil and battle for freedom.

Nikolaj Velimirovic (1880-1956) was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church and an influential theological writer and political emigrant after the Communist takeover of Josip Broz Tito in Yugoslavia. He strongly supported the unity of all Orthodox churches and established particularly good relations with the Anglican and Episcopal Church. He obtained doctorates from the University of Berne (1908), while the thesis was published in German in 1910, whereas the doctor's degree in philosophy was prepared at Oxford and defended in Geneva (Filozofija Berklija: Berkeley's Philosophy in French) in 1909. At the end of 1909 he entered a monastic order. In 1919, then Archimandrite Nikolai was consecrated Bishop of the Monastery Zica of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1915 he was delegated to England and America by the Serbian Church, where he held numerous lectures, fighting for the union of the Serbs and South Slavic peoples. At the beginning of 1919 he returned to Serbia, and in 1920 was posted to the Ohrid archbishopric in Macedonia, where in 1935, in Bitola he reconstructed the cemetery of the fallen German soldiers from WWI.

Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović (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. Velimirović was formally canonised by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2003. In this book, Jovan Byford charts the posthumous transformation of Velimirović 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 Velimirović 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 Velimirović 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.

The Agony of the Church (1917) is a lengthy essay by Nikolaj Velimirović concerning the spiritual emergency of the European church brought on by the First World War. Excerpt: "The Church is a drama. She represents the greatest drama in the world's history, yea, she personates the whole of the world's history. She originated in an astounding personal drama. Humanly speaking, in the life of Jesus Christ during the three years of His public work there was more that was dramatic, from an outside and inside point of view, than in the lives of all other founders of religion taken together. And speaking from a soteriological and theological point of view, His life-drama had a cosmic greatness, involving heaven and earth and both ends of the world's history. Wonderful was the life of Buddha, but his teaching was still more wonderful than his life. Very striking was the life of Mohammed, the life of a pious and romantic statesman, but his work quickly overgrew his personality. Five years after Mohammed's death, Islam numbered more followers than Christianity five hundred years after Golgotha. But the life-drama of Jesus was and still is reckoned as the most marvellous aspect of Christianity: not His teaching or His work, but His life."

This biography examines the long life of the traveller and author Stephen Graham. Graham walked across large parts of the Tsarist Empire in the years before 1917, describing his adventures in a series of books and articles that helped to shape attitudes towards Russia in Britain and the United States. In later years he travelled widely across Europe and North America, meeting some of the best known writers of the twentieth century, including H.G.Wells and Ernest Hemingway. Graham also wrote numerous novels and biographies that won him a wide readership on both sides of the Atlantic. This book traces Graham’s career as a world traveller, and provides a rich portrait of English, Russian and American literary life in the first half of the twentieth century. It also examines how many aspects of his life and writing coincide with contemporary concerns, including the development of New Age spirituality and the rise of environmental awareness. Beyond Holy Russia is based on extensive research in archives of private papers in Britain and the USA and on the many works of Graham himself. The author describes with admirable tact and clarity Graham’s heterodox and convoluted spiritual quest. The result is a fascinating portrait of a man who was for many years a significant literary figure on both sides of the Atlantic.

The writings in "Serbia in Light and Darkness" by Rev. Father Nicholai Velimirovic examine Serbia's history, culture, and spirituality. Velimirovic extols the virtues of Serbian heritage, culture, and religion. He talks on the Serbian Orthodox Church's profound spirituality and the significance of faith in Serbian culture. Along with highlighting the nation's history of political independence and opposition to foreign domination, he also emphasizes the accomplishments of Serbian literature, art, and music. Velimirovic discusses Serbia's problems, including the effects of wars, poverty, and political unrest. He expresses displeasure at the corruption and lack of morals he perceives in Serbian society, as well as criticism of the activities of foreign countries that have attempted to subjugate or govern Serbia. Velimirovic highlights the value of optimism, faith, and fortitude throughout the whole book. He acknowledges the difficulties and obstacles that the Serbian people may experience while urging them to embrace their culture and strive for a brighter future. Overall, "Serbia in Light and Darkness" is a passionate and intelligent examination of Serbia's history, culture, and current problems. Writings of Velimirovic are characterized by his ardent devotion to the spiritual and cultural traditions of his own country and his strong affection for it.