Stjepan Krizin Sakač (10 October 1890 – 23 August 1973) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n historian. He was born in Kapela Kalnička. After graduating theology in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, he received his doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1915), then in Innsbruck (1920), and also in the oriental Church Sciences (1924). He was ordained as a priest in 1917. He was the first Croatian Jesuit of the Eastern Rite (which he took in 1925). He was a professor in Sarajevo, and afterwards he worked in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Macedonia. Since 1937 he was a professor of Slavic church history, and since 1966 an honorary professor and a

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divinity, divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters ...

at the Pontifical Oriental Institute and a board member of the Institute of St. Jerome. As a historian he investigated the ethnogenesis of Croats - he advocated the theory that the early

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

originated from

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...

and

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...

, but also Old Persia. His main work is ''The contract of the Pope Agathon and Croats against the naval warfare in about 679'' (''Ugovor pape Agatona i Hrvata proti navalnom ratu oko 679''; 1931). He died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakac, Stjepan Krizin 1890 births 1973 deaths People from Ljubešćica People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Croatian Jesuits 20th-century Croatian historians Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Yugoslav Roman Catholic priests