Image of Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich in the Works of Bishop Jovan Velimirović

Abstract

The paper deals with the description of Bishop Nicholai in the works of Bishop Jovan Velimirović. As the nephew of Bishop Nicholai, and staying near him, Bishop Jovan had the opportunity to witness many events from his uncle’s life, as well as crucial events from the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church in that period. Bishop Jovan stayed near Bishop Nicholai from the second grade of high school and had the opportunity to witness many events in his uncle’s life. He parted ways with him only in 1944, when the Nazi Germans took Patriarch Gavrilo and Bishop Nicholai from the Vojlovica Monastery to the Dachau concentration camp. Bishop Jovan wrote three works about Bishop Nicholai: the memoir “Bishop Jovan’s Memories of Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich” and two shorter articles which appeared in the Glas Crkve [The Voice of the Church] journal. All three works were published after the death of Bishop Jovan. The works of Bishop Jovan will be placed in a broader historical context and will help in understanding key events from the life of Bishop Nicholai, as well as fateful events from the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church in that period. In his works, he was meticulous, without the intention of elevating the main figure of his “Memories” in relation to the other figures mentioned in his works, objectively and truthfully portraying both personalities and events. Also, his work provides new insight into the life and work of Bishop Nicholai, and — being analyzed in a wider historical context — it also provides new knowledge about the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church in that period.