Tradizione Cirillo-Metodiana come dispositivo culturale per la riunifi cazione delle chiese
The Cyrillo-Methodian Tradition in Strossmayer’s Efforts for Church Reunificatio

Summary/Abstract: The article shows the importance of the Cyrillo-Methodian Tradition in Strossmayer’s work and presents his personal efforts in achieving a cultural-religious unity of the South Slav populations. The Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer (1815-1905) was one of the main discoverer and supporter of the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition in XIXth century. In his view that tradition was a paradigmatic model meant to rediscover the roots of the ancient unity among Slav populations of Catholic and Orthodox Churches living in the Balkan peninsula. In order to reconnect the two communities he prepared a project for the use of glagolitic paleoslavic language in Roman Catholic liturgy. In Strossmayer’s ecclesiology the liturgy had a central role as an element meant to overcome confessional differencies. The achievement of a cultural-religious unity of Slav populations, primarily of South Balkans populations (“Jugoslavism”), had in Strossmayer’s view the “divine mission” of starting the restoration of the complete unity of christianity. The Austro-Hungarian’ government was the principal opposer and enemy of Strossmayer’s cultural policy, considered dangerous for the stability of the Empire as well as pro-Russia oriented (“panslavism”).

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