
The paper “Interwar Attitudes of Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović toward the Communists” analyzes Nikolaj Velimirović’s attitudes toward communism in the interwar period. It argues that his anti-communism should not be reduced to a simple political alignment with the right, nor interpreted only through later controversies surrounding his legacy. Instead, the paper situates his views within a broader theological, intellectual, and political critique of modernity. Velimirović opposed communism primarily because he understood it as aggressive atheism, vulgar materialism, and a totalitarian expression of secular modernity. At the same time, his criticism of communism was inseparable from his criticism of capitalism, liberal individualism, Western secularization, and the ideological radicalization of European society after the First World War. The paper shows that Velimirović’s thought combined Orthodox Christian social concepts, anti-modernist criticism, Russophile religious imagination, and concern over revolutionary violence and ideological polarization. By placing his views in the context of interwar Yugoslavia, the study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of religious intellectuals, anti-communist discourse, and symbolic power in Southeast European political culture.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, political religion, totalitarian ideologies, symbolic power, anti-modernism, political culture, Nikolaj Velimirović, communism, modernity, Southeast Europe, Serbian Orthodox Church
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, political religion, totalitarian ideologies, symbolic power, anti-modernism, political culture, Nikolaj Velimirović, communism, modernity, Southeast Europe, Serbian Orthodox Church
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
