Mirko Đorđević (

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Мирко Ђорђевић;

29 November Events Pre-1600 * 528 – Antioch suffers its second major earthquake in two years, killing thousands and destroying its remaining edifice. * 561 – Following the death of King Chlothar I at Compiègne, his four sons, Charibert ...

1938, Brod –

18 April Events Pre-1600 * 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. * 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...

2014, Šimanovci) was a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n publicist and editorial-staff-member of Republika magazine. Although Christian, he was

heterodox In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , + , ) means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". ''Heterodoxy'' is also an ecclesiastical jargon term, defined in various ways by different religions and ...

in his

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

, a critic of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

, its

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

and advocate for

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

. Đorđević was an opponent of political intolerances in Serbian society.

Biography

Đorđević was born in the Belčine

mahala is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. History Historically, mahallas were autonomous social ins ...

, located in the

Crna Trava Crna Trava ( sr-Cyr, Црна Трава, ) is a village and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the population of the village is 338 inhabitants, while population of the municipality is ...

municipality, a part of the

Jablanica District The Jablanica District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It lies in the southeastern parts of the country. According to the 2022 census, the district has a population of 184,502 inhabitants. The administrative center of the dis ...

, on 29 November 1938 to Čedomir and Rajinka Đorđević. In 1964, Đorđević graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology, having previously studied Yugoslavian Literature. He received his master's degree in 1975 and became a

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

teacher in a Šimanovci

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. He also taught Serbo-Croatian Language and Literature at the Belgrade Pedagogical Academy before he had retired. He was married to Mirjana, with whom he had two children, a son and a daughter, respectively called Aleksandar and Ksenija. Đorđević died in 2014, aged 75.

Points of view

Criticism of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Đorđević championed

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

and, having vociferously opposed the right-wing ''nikolajevci'' (followers of

Nikolaj Velimirović Nikolaj Velimirović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николај Велимировић; – ) was a Serbian Orthodox prelate who served as Bishop of Ohrid and Žiča from 1920 to 1956. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orator, h ...

) and ''justinovci'' (followers of

Justin Popović Justin Popović ( sr-cyr, Јустин Поповић, , secular name Blagoje Popović, sr-cyr, Благоје Поповић; 6 April 1894 – 7 April 1979) was a Serbian Orthodox theologian, archimandrite of the Ćelije Monastery, Dostoyevs ...

) factions within the

(hereafter SPC), pushed for evangelisation, not clericalisation, terming those in favour of the latter as "captives of

phyletism Phyletism or ethnophyletism (from and , , 'tribal') is the principle of nationalities applied in the ecclesiastical domain: in other words, the conflation between church and nation. The term ethnophyletism designates the idea that a local autoceph ...

". He considered the SPC to be a surrogate for the

Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia The Central Committee was the highest organ of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY), the ruling party of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, between two congresses, which it was elected by and reported to. An exception to this ...

in post-

Titoist Titoism is a Types of socialism, socialist political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito and refers to the ideology and policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) during the Cold War. It is characterized by a br ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Staunchly opposed to Milošević, Đorđević found himself disheartened by the ostensible support of the SPC for his regime. Ultimately, Đorđević believed the Church to be a salvific institution and as such, disqualified from becoming too involved with local politics.

Historical Jesus

While remaining true to the traditional Christian belief in regard to Jesus' divinity, exemplified by the title

Son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

, Đorđević was quick to add that Jesus was the

"much like the rest of us" thus repudiating the traditionally prevalent Christological notion of

dyophysitism Dyophysitism (; from Ancient Greek, Greek δύο ''dyo'', "two" and φύσις ''physis'', "nature") is the Christology, Christological position that Jesus Christ is in two distinct, inseparable natures: God in Christianity, divine and human natur ...

. Đorđević didn't believe Jesus committed any of the

miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

attributed to him in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. Upon criticising

Anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, he besought the Christians of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

not to be swayed by

, reminding them that both Jesus and his

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

have all been

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He also believed that Jesus had been in a romantic relationship with

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

and opted for a figurative interpretation of his

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

, rather than a literal one.

Bibliography (selection)

*'' Осмех богиње Клио'' (The Smile of the Goddess Clio), Belgrade 1986. *''Знаци времена'' (Signs of Times), Belgrade 1998. *''Слобода и спас: хришћански персонализам'' (Freedom and Salvation: Christian Personalism), Belgrade 1999. * La Voix d'une autre Serbie : L'Anti-journal (The Voice of Another Serbia: The Anti-Journal),

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Saint-Maur-des-Fossés () is a Communes of France, commune in Val-de-Marne, the southeastern suburbs of Paris, suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. History Abbey Saint-Maur-des-Fossés owes its name to Saint-Maur A ...

1999. *''Ратни крст српске цркве'' (The Crusade of

Serbian Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populatio ...

), Belgrade 2001. *''Легенда о трулом Западу'' (Legend of the Rotten West), Belgrade 2001. *''Кишобран патријарха Павла: критика паланачког ума'' (Umbrella of Patriarch Pavle:

Criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the ...

on Provincial Mind), Belgrade 2010.catalogue
of

National Library of Serbia The National Library of Serbia () is the national library of Serbia, located in the capital city of Belgrade. It is the biggest library, and oldest institution in Serbia, one that was completely destroyed many times over in the last two centuries ...

, Retrieved 2017-05-29.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Đorđević, Mirko 1938 births 2014 deaths Serbian writers Serbian translators Serbian journalists Serbian Christians Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia 20th-century Serbian translators Serbian nationalism