Understanding the Heritage of Cyril and Methodius in the Light of Slovenian Catholicism and National Consciousness

Simon Malmenvall

Understanding the Heritage of Cyril and Methodius in the Light of Slovenian Catholicism and National Consciousness

DOI: 10.62983/rn2865.25b.4

Keywords: Cyril and Methodius, Franc Grivec, Anton Martin Slomšek, Stanislav Škrabec, Ivan Vrhovnik, Christian unity, Slovenian national consciousness, Society of SS. Cyril and Methodius

Abstract:
The point of departure for this article is the scholarly authority of Franc Grivec (1878–1963), a long-serving professor of ecclesiology and Eastern theology at the Faculty of Theology in Ljubljana (1920–1963), who is still regarded as the foremost Slovenian expert on Saints Cyril and Methodius. In his work, the ideas of Christian unity, Slavic solidarity, and Slovenian national consciousness are closely intertwined. In this respect, Grivec continued and deepened a process initiated in Slovenian culture in the mid-nineteenth century—during the formation of the modern Slovenian nation—by the pedagogue and Bishop of Maribor, Anton Martin Slomšek (1800–1862). Building on this foundation, the article focuses in particular on the origins of Grivec’s interpretation of the role of the holy brothers as bearers of the religious and linguistic self-confidence of Slovenian ancestors. Within this vision of the past and the corresponding conception of a desired future—including the introduction of the Slovenian language into the liturgy—the Franciscan friar and linguist Stanislav Škrabec (1844–1918) and the diocesan priest and historian Ivan Vrhovnik (1854–1935) emerged as especially significant figures at the turn of the twentieth century. Drawing on the example of the Thessaloniki brothers, Vrhovnik in particular also advocated the establishment of the Society of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a broad-based and politically influential organization. Its mission was to establish Slovenian schools and to promote the teaching of the Slovenian language in ethnically mixed regions along the borders with German- and Italian-speaking lands.

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