Masonry of the temple

I remember Mr. German from my childhood in Vrnjačka Banja, where he was the parish priest, and I went to the same grade of elementary school with his son Vlasta. As a child, I attended the funeral, that is, the send-off of Vlasta's mother from Banja to Drenova. I well remember that relatively young, prominent and handsome priest Hranislav Đorić, who had such a beautiful voice that the whole church in Vrnjac was singing when he served God. Actually, the church in Vrnjač had two parish priests, the older Milan Ržaničanin, who was already the dean at the time, and the much younger Hranislav, who was also the parish priest of Novo Selo, which did not have its own church at the time.

A lot of time has passed and now, due to circumstances, we met again - I as a representative of the Serbian state, and Mr. Hranislav Đorić, or as we Vrn residents fondly called him "pop Hrana", now as the patriarch of Serbian German. The first meeting in the Executive Council lasted almost three hours. It took a lot of time to refresh our memories of past events, to mention the people we knew in Banja and to ask each other about many things. And then we moved on to all those issues in which the Church had an interest. Both then and in all subsequent meetings, the first request of the patriarch was to allow the continuation of the construction of the temple of Saint Sava in Vračar. After that came other questions, demands, problems, the willfulness of local authorities, individual mayors, abuse of power in relation to the Church, and the like.

Mr. German knew how to talk with representatives of the state and authorities, showing great persistence but also tolerance. He knew how to judge whether and how much an issue should be insisted on at what time or left for a better opportunity, showing a great sense of priority. But he never wavered on some issues or wanted to make compromises. Such issues certainly include the continuation of the construction of the temple of St. Sava and the recognition of the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in the way that Macedonia thought it should be done. The positions from before that I, as the president of the Executive Council of Serbia, inherited from my predecessors, which consisted in building a house of Saint Sava instead of the Church of Saint Sava and within it the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchal Library and the Museum of Frescoes, the patriarch energetically refused with the words: "As far as the Serbian Orthodox Church is concerned, it is only interested in continuing the construction of the temple, and the SPC does not accept any replacement or change of purpose."

I think that all this should be known, and that's why I'm talking about it, if only now, when Mr. German is no longer among the living. Mr. German was a man full of human and folk wisdom and for every situation he had a short story or an example from ordinary life as a lesson. With his personal involvement, he contributed a lot to the relations between the Church and the state taking place without major crises and upheavals, and with significant help from the Serbian state to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which was nevertheless minor compared to everything that was taken from the SPC after the war. His wisdom and patience were more useful and penetrating than strong words and forced anger. In conditions of high ideolization of society by the party in power, Mr. German managed to open every door and, at least as far as Serbia is concerned, to contribute with full force to good mutual cooperation. I am a witness and a participant of that time, and I believe that I can speak reliably about all of this. In those conditions, Mr. German steered the ship of the Serbian Orthodox Church virtuosoly, without betraying any vital and long-term interests of the Church he headed. There are occasions when some people, I would not say that it is well-intentioned, call Patriarch German the "red" patriarch, probably because of his engagement with the then government when he fought for the interests of the Serbian Orthodox Church in a very difficult time for it. There is no doubt that Mr. German managed the SPC under much more difficult general conditions than today or those before World War II. He never glorified the regime, but within it he looked for ways to secure the vital interests of the Serbian Orthodox Church, just as the current patriarch does in other times and when other ideological options are in power in the state.

It was an honor and a pleasure for me to collaborate with Mr. German and with the archbishops of that era. Of course, all this refers to a time that was in many ways different from today.

Perhaps after the liberation of the country and the establishment of a new government, the continuation of the construction of the temple of St. Sava in Vračar was not the most important issue of the Church when it had very big problems with the change in the character of the government in Yugoslavia, materially impoverished and almost completely devastated. But there is no doubt that she stood on the principled point of view that the construction of this temple, the idea of ​​which dates back to the 19th century and the construction itself from the 1930s, should be continued and that it is of capital importance for the Church, its survival and reputation in the country and the diaspora. The political decision not to continue construction troubled both the Serbian Orthodox Church and the believers, whose feelings the government at the time cared little about. Thus, there was a ruin in Vračar that did not serve the honor of the new government, which did not demolish churches and change their purpose like the Bolsheviks did (at least as far as I know), but it was very difficult and restrictive to grant permits for the construction of new churches. Local authorities have almost competed in who will be more restrictive in issuing permits for new construction. Years passed in such a politically cramped environment. There were meetings, usually after the sessions of the Holy Assembly of Bishops, where the bishops submit reports on the situation and problems in their dioceses, as well as numerous complaints that in some cities, the SPC has a very difficult time obtaining sites for the construction of new churches from the city authorities, so when it does get them, then as a rule, these places are very far from urban settlements. Commenting on these phenomena, Mr. German would tell me: "They don't understand that the SPC is a people's church and that it has a place in the neighborhoods where life takes place." We don't live today under the Turks, so we build our places of worship and monasteries in the backwaters to protect them from the barbarians."

I knew very well that the prohibition to continue the construction of the temple of St. Sava, passed after the war, was in fact a political decision of an ideological nature, passed in the political top of Serbia, not in the Parliament, and that it has no legitimacy. It was maintained and passed on for years to newly elected bodies and leading people, with the strength of a political attitude, without ever being adopted or confirmed by any competent state body of the Republic, nor was it printed as an official decision in the "Official Gazette" or "Official Gazette". So with time, by force of circumstances, like my predecessors, I followed these attitudes and gave negative answers to the demands of Patriarch Mr. Germano and the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church to allow the continuation of the construction of the Saint Sava temple. However, when I was elected president of the Presidency of Serbia in May 1984, I estimated that it was possible to significantly influence the change of the long-held position against the continuation of the construction of this temple. I must say that, as the President of the Presidency of Serbia, I obtained the consent of other responsible people in the Republic to change this political decision without difficulty. At that time, no one in the Presidency of Serbia was against it.

In June 1985, I proposed to the Patriarch Mr. German and the then members of the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church to come to the villa of the Executive Council of Serbia in Botićeva Street in Dedinje for a discussion, and in the meeting with them I told them that they could continue the construction of the St. Sava Temple. That was immediately after the regular session of the Holy Synod of Bishops.

Serbian Patriarch Mr. German first spoke about the session of the Parliament and the problems faced by the dioceses, noting that the embargo on the continuation of the construction of the Temple represents a deep wound in the heart of the Serbian Orthodox Church and that everything else is almost marginal in comparison. I must say that listening to all that, I was deeply shaken because after his presentation I should have told him that we were lifting that embargo. It was with some excitement that I informed Mr. German and the members of the Synod that the Serbian Orthodox Church can continue building the temple with the necessary compliance with the republic's building regulations. The then president of the Executive Council of Serbia, Branislav Ikonić, and the president of the Republic Commission for Religious Affairs, Živomir Stanković, also attended this conversation. Even though this news seemed shocking, the dignitaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church, without hiding their joy and satisfaction, kept some of their dignified calm, which was probably the result of decades of patience and undisturbed hope.

I am proud of this without any false modesty because it was done at a time when there was still a lot of resistance to the Serbian Orthodox Church in our society, countless prejudices and obstacles to the democratic transformation of Serbia. After that, on behalf of the Presidency and the Government of Serbia, I organized a lunch for all participants in the conversation, which took place in an extraordinary mood. There was also a joke. Starting from our great investment difficulties in the construction of the Smederevo ironworks and from the fact that its construction was extended indefinitely at that time, I jokingly say: now SPC will also have its own trouble and its own ironworks, which, of course, caused laughter. However, Mr. German answered me very wisely with the following words: "Mr. President, we will build according to our guber," adding the following: "SPC has been building and renovating its monasteries and places of worship for hundreds of years." For all of us and for our church, this is a big day."

As I once became more familiar with the pre-war competition for the architectural design of the Saint Sava temple, when two works were shortlisted, one of which was by prof. Nestorović and Deroko and another whose authors I no longer remember, it was decided to adopt the Nestorović-Deroko project, but to enrich it with some solutions from this other project. The height of the temple was never discussed, except only in the context of the possible change of purpose of the building to the home of Saint Sava, which soon dropped as a topic of conversation. Somewhere it was recorded or remembered, and even an attempt was made, of course maliciously, to misuse this conversation. I think that prof. arch. Branko Pešić, as the chief designer and proto-master, gave the final look to the temple, the construction of which continued, and no one from the then government or politicians interfered in his work. He is alive, thank God, and he can confirm this claim of mine himself.

We parted in the evening in a pleasant mood. It was as if they were relieved then in the Church, but also for us in the government. The next day, I wrote a letter to the President of the Municipal Assembly, Vračar Radovanović, asking them to be on hand in everything necessary and help the Patriarchate with all the formalities, from the construction permit onwards, while respecting the laws and regulations in order to continue the construction of the temple.

For the sake of truth, it should also be said that senior Serbian political officials who previously held high positions in Serbia, even some of them who at one time participated in making the decision to ban the continuation of the construction of the St. Sava temple, did not cause any difficulties, manifesting on that a way of a kind of tacit solidarity with the younger people, but as if they were redeeming themselves for a long-ago political decision that insulted the Serbian people for years. I am grateful to them for not bothering me, and they could, and for letting me take full responsibility for that decision, as a younger person. So I practically lifted the ban and enabled the further construction of the Saint Sava temple, without waiting for the changes in the political system that happened later. If it can be said without sounding immodest, it at least somewhat saved the honor of my generation, which found the strength and courage to cancel a political decision of its predecessors, a decision that was essentially uncivilizational and which for years pressed the Serbian being, its honor and national consciousness.

During construction, at the invitation of protomaster prof. arch. I visited Branko Pešić several times at the temple construction site. The last time was in April 1989. A huge central concrete dome was being raised hydraulically. From a construction and engineering point of view, it was a very interesting undertaking of European importance. I asked Prof. Pešić that the visit will be completely private and without publicity. At that time I was a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the SKJ. I considered, considering my position in the Party, that it is not very advisable to do so, which is what Arch. Pešić promised, because there are always ill-intentioned people or those who will abuse my visit. I toured the construction site which really looked impressive. After that, we entered the administrative building of the construction site - barracks - at prof. Pesic. At that moment, Nj. St. patriarch Mr. German. It was quite clear to me that Pešić informed him that I was at the construction site. We sat there and talked. Mr. German did not hide his mood and satisfaction with the dynamics of construction and especially with the response of donors from the diaspora. A young man asked me if he could take a photo of us, I told him that he could. The next day, there is a joint photo of the patriarch, protomaster arch. Pešić and my little things appeared in "Politica". That was, unfortunately, my last meeting and conversation with Patriarch Mr. German. Immediately after Vidovdan, he fell ill and never got out of bed.

At the beginning of May 1989, in the federal assembly, a delegate (MP) from Sandzak asked a question, but more in the form of objection and criticism, how it is possible for a high-ranking party official to go around and take care of the construction of sacred buildings. There was no doubt that he was bothered by my visit to the temple construction site and the meeting with the patriarch. I knew that there would always be some small soul with us.

The continuation of the construction of the temple of St. Sava was an unavoidable topic of our many conversations, but there were also other important issues. The Serbian Orthodox Church emerged from the Second World War impoverished, deprived of large monastery properties, endowments and legacies, and in Croatia robbed by the Ustasha and almost destroyed materially and humanly. The Faculty of Theology was expelled from Belgrade University. The entire school infrastructure of the Serbian Orthodox Church fell on the weak back of such an impoverished Church. I don't know how the SPC managed in the second post-war period, but I know well about the period from 1974, when I was elected president of the Executive Council (now the Government) and later the Assembly of Serbia. I can freely say that, as far as the financial position of the Serbian Orthodox Church is concerned, I tried and engaged in accordance with my constitutional powers.

First of all, it is about the construction of the Faculty of Theology. The location, construction permit and material aid were what Serbia as a country provided at that time. I started from the fact that for the future of the Serbian Orthodox Church it is a key thing, no less important than the temple of St. Sava, because the faculty allows the SPC to be rooted in the Serbian people in a quality way in terms of personnel and intellectually through educated people. While the continuation of the construction of the temple of St. Sava, begun long before the Second World War, gave the Church satisfaction and prestige in the Orthodox world and especially in the Serbian diaspora, the Faculty of Theology also gave it an intellectual dimension. Even though we ran into serious economic difficulties over time, we tried to realize the promised help, as can best be witnessed by the Bishop of Žič, Mr. Stefan Boca, who was also the president of the Committee for the Construction of the Faculty, and now the Bishop of Bačka, Mr. Irinej Bulović, who was then was at the Faculty of Theology.

Much has been done to improve the material position of priests and to ensure their rights in the domain of health and pension insurance. The restoration of monasteries as historical monuments of the Serbian people and direct assistance to Hilandar were a constant state concern. Serbia did this directly because, except for the time when the ambassador in Athens was Milovan Marković, in the entire post-war period, it did not find the necessary support and understanding in the Federation. But it seems that the Hilandar brotherhood was also a little shy of the public because of the help provided by the socialist regime at that time. We didn't particularly brag about that help, just realizing the delicacy of their position. There were fewer difficulties in maintaining churches and monasteries then in Kosmet, but more so in Vojvodina. Unfortunately, the leadership of Vojvodina behaved indolently for a long time towards the restoration of the Fruška Gora monasteries, and by abolishing the municipality in Sremski Karlovci, they reduced this important place of Serbian culture and spirituality to a local community and thereby condemned it to decay.

On one occasion, during the conversation, Mr. German complained that the need to establish new dioceses is growing every day, and that the Serbian Orthodox Church does not have the financial means to do so. I ask what is needed to establish the diocese of Vranj. Necessary are: the episcopal seat (courtyard), a building for the ecclesiastical court and premises for various other diocesan affairs. I say to Mr. German: "Okay, I will propose to the Executive Council that through the Assembly, funds are approved for the SPC for the necessary construction." Mr. German left satisfied.

The diocesan home was built, slightly larger than originally agreed, and the diocese of Vranje was established. It is just one of many examples of good cooperation with Mr. German and the SPC Synod.

Even at the time of strong one-party ideology, there was an opportunity to do a lot. As always, it all depended on the people, their political latitude and personal culture. Today, when insults are not spared for the past time and the government of that time, in addition to those who are militant and blinded, there will be, as always, those other, objective, honest and impartial people who will tell the truth and who will not follow hatred, but will objectively evaluate both those of us who have borne the burden of the responsibility of state work and our recent past. The truth can wait.

(Text shortened and edited by "Vremena" editors)