1. GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN SERBIA; 2. ATTEMPT TO CREATE A SEPARATE MACEDONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R013700160010-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 4, 2011
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: August 29, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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F'yg 1952
CLASSIFICATION SECRET/CONTROL - U. S. OPPI CIALS ONLY
SECURITY-INFORMATION
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT
CD NO.
COUNTRY Yugoslavia
SUBJECT
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE
ACQUIRED
Orthodox Church.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS. INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATI.ONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 1BI SECTIONS 793
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW. THE REPRODUCTION OF, THIS FORM 15 PROHIBITED.
1,
1. Greek Orthodox Church in Serbia;
2. Attempt to Create a Separate Macedonian
During the last war, the Greek Orthodox (Pravoslav) Church of Serbia
suffered heavy losses. Twenty one bishops died, some were murdered,
and others perished in concentration camps. Of a total of 3,000
priests, about 700 were murdered, 500 died in concentration camps, and
250 were driven out of Croatia and Bosnia, losing their possessions.
More than one third of all churches and monasteries were destroyed.
Heaviest losses occurred in.0ernja Barlovac (sic) district where
176. out of a prewar total of 189 churches were destroyed. The lay
members of this Church, all of them Serbs, suffered a loss of nearly
one million out of a prewar total of eight million. Material losses 1
of the Pravoslav Church were estimated at about 6 billion gold dinars.
The Tito government has sought to exploit this weakening of the
Orthodox Church and has created a pro-Comm mist Pravoslav clerical
society (Brotherhood of.Orthodox Clergymen of the2Federated People's
Biepublic of Yugoslavia) within 4ational Front. But this'far
the great majority of the Serb clergy have not '8 owed to Tito ? s
.pressure and continue to abide by Serb monarchist and anti-Communist
traditions. Head of the Brotherhood is Father Milan Smiljanic,
a puppet and opportunist. Secretary is Father Ratko Jelic, and
treasurer Father Milan Stamenic, The society has a weekly, es
The Brotherhood has had little influence. By May 1952 only 214 priests
had; become members. None of the Archbishops and not one member of the
Holy Synod had entered it.
3. Since the 1913 annexation of Macedonia to Yugoslavia and the incorporation
of its church into the Serb Pravoslav Church, the local Pravoslavrs have
wanted to establish their own separate Orthodox Church independent of
Belgrade, with Bulgarian and not.Seirbian as the Church tongue. Under
CLASS I F I CATION SECRET/CCNTFOL - U. S..OJTICIALS ONLY
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ARMY
DATE DISTR. 29 August 1952
NO. OF PAGES 3
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REPORT NO.
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the 30. year rule of Earadjordjevic dynasty, which represented Serb dominance
and centralism, the wishes of the Macedonians were largely disregarded. The
Tito government, representing Communist anti-religious centralism, considers
the.txity of the Serb Pravoslav Church as disadvantageous to the regime,
Thus Titobas taken up the cause of a separate Macedonian Church in order to
weaken'the Serb Pravoslav Church and hamper its resistance to his regime by
creating difficulties for it,
4. The VMRO (Vufreshna Makedonska Revolutsionna Organizatsiya; Interval Macedonian
Revolutionary Organization (IMR0)) an undergroui.organisation supporting union
of Macedonia with Bulgaria, did not interest itself in church. affairs until
1945. Since then it has become one of the strongest supporters of an independent,
autonomous Macedonian Pravoslav Church, VMRO infiltrated its members into the
ranks of the Tito commmanists in Macedonia with instructions to bolster the
creation of a separate Macedonian Church. The Macedonians, especially the
Bulgar minority, wish to create an independent Archbishopric at Ohrid, a
Macedonian Holy Synod, and, more important, to use Bulgar as the tongue of their
.Church instead of Serb. These demands have become stronger since the Tito
regime (which fosters Macedonian Church separatism but combats Macedonian
efforts for a reunion with Bulgaria) sinvited" Metropolitan Josif Cvijic to
Belgrade and did not allow him to return to his seat at Skolpje. This is
because Metropolitan Josif is not only an exponent-of Church separatism but
also a protector of Macedonian separatism,3.
5. The Serb Pravoslav Church, under the leadership of Patriarch Vikentije
Prodanov, is trying to prevent the creation of an independent, autonomous
Macedonian Church. Patriarch Vikentije, not enjoying the Yugoslav regimens
full backing in this matter, has had to accept in principle minor administrative
concessions, but in the main he has firmly refused the.Macedonian attempt to
secede. Since Macedonian Church separatism goes hand in hand with national
secession, the Tito regime does not give. the former its all out support, and
allows an independent Macedonian Church to remain a dream of the Macedonians.5
On the other hand,-the Tito regime permits the Macedonians to play openly with
this idea to the extent of making serious difficulties for the Serb Pravoslav
- Chtirch, whose strength and influence on the Serb people it wishes to break-at
all costs.
6. Because of pressure b public opinion and the desire to keep the 50X1-HUM
flow of undisturbed, the Tito regime recently relaxed its grip on the
Pravoslav Church. For the first time since 1945, it permitted two priests,
Father German Coric, Vicar of the Belgrade Bishopric, and Dr. Dusan Glumac,
professor of theology at the University of Belgrade, 9o travel abroad, and to
visit Yugoslav refugees living outside of Yugoslavia. The number of priests
jailed has also been reduced; there are at present about 75 priests. still im-
prisoned. Otherwise the situation of the Pravoslav Church has not improved sub-
stantially. Its greatest handicap is still the catastrophic shortage of priests.
The excessive losses suffered between 1941-45 have not been made good. At
present there are only two Pravoslav theological seminaries functioning, and the
lack of adequate funds makes their work difficult.?
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/04/04: CIA-RDP82-00457RO13700160010-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/04/04: CIA-RDP82-00457RO13700160010-6
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/04/04: CIA-RDP82-00457RO13700160010-6