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THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE CHURCH IN NATIONAL ISSUES. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NORTH MACEDONIA AND MONTENEGRO Theodora Vounidi

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Theodora Vounidi         
The article was received: on October 13, 2023
The article was published: on December 2, 2023
DOI: 
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Abstract: This paper aims to illustrate the connection between the Orthodox church and nationalism in Southeast Europe by examining two case studies, the Montenegrin and the Macedonian. It is crucial to analyze whether the cases followed the region’s pattern of a different type of nationalism, including the national churches, having an essential role in creating national ideas. However, from the breakdown of the findings, we may hypothesize that “In the case of Montenegro, as well as the case of North Macedonia, the involvement of The Church to their national state had a multidimensional impact on their sustainability and created nationalism.” To prove the working hypothesis, the structure of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), and its influence on the creation of the new states after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, are analyzed. With examples and references to facts, it is explained how the SOC opposed the cases of national revolutions of the 20th century. In fact, the SOC maintained a status of reference to Serbia as the center of the former Yugoslavia, while the states endeavored to support their self-determination against Serbian nationalism. In the continuation of the paper, the term “nationalism” is explained by enlightening the main differences between the traditional definition, and contemporary events according to which the orthodox church interfered and influenced the national issues of the states are studied. Specifically, the case of the national elections of Montenegro, the involvement of the SOC in the overthrow of the government, and the case of the Macedonian Orthodox Church’s position on the name issue of North Macedonia are reported. With this analysis, an attempt will be made to convey to the reader how the orthodox church can, in different cases, get involved in national issues other than what historians formulated in the 19th century and give birth to internal matters. In addition, it is essential to emphasize that the pattern of creating nation-states and a national church is not always valid, resulting in flawed state sustainability.

KeywordsNorth Macedonia, Montenegro, Orthodox Church

 

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