Josip Juraj Strossmayer’s Legacy in Yugoslav State-Building Project(s)

• In Event: Remains of the Past: The Catholic Church in the Communist Regimes of East Central Europe I

Abstract

The Bishop of Djakovo, Josip Juraj Strossmayer (1815–1905), was a fervent admirer of the Yugoslav idea and pan-Slavic initiatives. Throughout his life, he ardently supported South Slavic collaboration - most notably between Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs within the Habsburg realms. Strossmayer maintained that Christianity, by its very nature, should unite the Serbian and Croatian peoples rather than estrange them, viewing any division as contrary to the fundamental teachings of love and mutual understanding.
Notably, his reputation was further enhanced by his rejection of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council, a stance that earned him favor among liberal elites, even if it was not embraced by the Habsburg court. His ideas later found renewed significance in the public discourse of both interwar and communist Yugoslavia, where his legacy was instrumental in framing the narratives of Yugoslav state-building and shaping relations with the Vatican. Despite the divergent worldviews of the architects behind these state-building projects, Strossmayer was celebrated as an ideal and true Yugoslav - even though he was of German origin.
The paper examines how proponents of the Yugoslav ideal leveraged Strossmayer’s legacy as a role model to exert pressure on the Church hierarchy in Yugoslavia. In the post–Second World War period, his image was actively promoted by state sponsored priest associations. This appropriation of his legacy highlights the ensuing clash between the Catholic Church, entrenched within a nationalistic network, and the transnational community championed by liberal and communist actors.

Author

• Zeljko Oset, ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities (Hungary)