State policy of ”differentiation“ of priests of the Orthodox church in Bosnia nad Herzegovina (1945-1963)

Abstract

Addressing the issue of the state policy of separating the "loyal" from the "disloyal" priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1945 to 1963 is one of the most neglected issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina's historiography. In this paper, based on unpublished historical sources and available literature, the author contextualises the political circumstances of the state policy of differentiation of the "positive" from the "reactionary" priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, pointing to the motives and policy-makers of such a policy, and analyses its manifestation and effects. Furthermore, the author separately analyses the causes, motives and flow of the policy of granting state honours and decorations to individual priests in Bosnia and Herzegovina.