The end of the age of revisionism – 1945 in the journal Carkoven vestnik Cover Image

Koniec epoki rewizjonizmu – rok 1945 w publikacjach gazety „Църковен вестник”
The end of the age of revisionism – 1945 in the journal Carkoven vestnik

Author(s): Anna Rusewa
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Communication studies, Theology and Religion, Bulgarian Literature
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Carkoven vestnik; the II World War; the Orthodox Church; Tsar Boris III; the Great Bulgaria; Dobruja; Eric Voegelin

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to show a Bulgarian political and cultural memorial space from the perspective of the Orthodox Church, which is emblematic for the Second World War. In my work I analyse publications which appeared in the journal Carkoven vestnik between 1940 and 1944 concerning the religious, historical, political and social issues of the time. It is not my intention to deal with the religiosity of the Bulgarian people during this difficult period, even though the source material would suggest it. The idea is to reconstruct the attitudes of the Orthodox Church to the main contemporary ideologies and policies pursued by government of Tsar Boris III. I analyse the position of the Orthodox Church, which on the one hand stresses its role as the spiritual centre of Bulgarian society, and on the other as an institution serving national interests. I pay particular attention to the role of the „Great Bulgaria” myth and the age of revisionism, nurtured in the Church, in context of German assistance in regaining the territories lost after the First World War and Balkan wars. I present a detailed historical record of the annexation of Dobruja. All studies are placed in the broad social and cultural context of the age, as well as the context of local cultural texts. I base my analysis on the typology of Eric Voegelin, who showed Gnostic political influences in his works The New Science of Politics and Hitler und die Deutschen.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 14
  • Page Range: 421-442
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish