The Testimony of the Private and the Public in the Time of Socialism
The Testimony of the Private and the Public in the Time of Socialism

Summary/Abstract: Few days after the death of Joseph Broz Tito, communist leader of Yugoslavia, in May 1980, my father has been taken into custody, then questioned put on the trial and convicted for six years on the political accusations. His active service as an Orthodox priest terminated that May 1980. Being moved from one police station to another, from one city to another, he left behind two young children and a woman with no income. In such an awkward situation, the police offered him cooperation with the state and the party, i.e., to sign an already written confession. After the fall of communism, he became recognized as a martyr of the Church, like many similar cases. The problem with communism was that it paradoxically worked for the Church. By his brutality, communism produced saints and martyrs for the Church. In today’s world of political correctness, however, there are no martyrs and saints, and moral differences are less apparent. The article explores the historical situation during communism in Yugoslavia. Simultaneously, this paper tries to explain the Church mentality during those years and whether they still affect us today.

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