"'Дунули су вихорни ветрови': ставови епископа Николаја Велимировића о Јеврејима, либерализму, комунизму и нацизму у штампи Жичке епархије пред Други светски рат"

English title: “Storm Winds Blew”: Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović’s Attitudes toward Jews, Liberalism, Communism, and Nazism in the Žiča Eparchy Press before World War II

The article analyzes the attitudes of Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović and parts of the Žiča Eparchy clergy toward Jews, liberalism, communism, and Nazism in church periodicals before the Second World War. Based on Pregled crkve eparhije žičke and Žički blagovesnik, it shows how Orthodox anti-modernism, fear of Bolshevism, criticism of the liberal West, antisemitic stereotypes, anti-Masonic motifs, and different responses to the rise of fascism and Nazism intersected in the eparchial public sphere.

At the core of Velimirović’s discourse was a critique of secular modernity. Liberalism, communism, capitalism, Freemasonry, and anti-Christian movements were interpreted as connected expressions of Europe’s spiritual crisis. Within this framework, anti-Jewish motifs also appeared, but the article shows that older Christian anti-Judaism, modern antisemitism, and anti-communist conspiracy theories must be distinguished.

The article also shows that the Žiča Eparchy press was not monolithic. Alongside sharp anti-liberal, anti-communist, and anti-Jewish formulations, it also included texts warning against fascism, Nazism, and ideological extremism. For this reason, the article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of Nikolaj Velimirović, Serbian church public discourse, and the political culture of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia before the Second World War.