Golden calf or worship of god: About Nikolaj Velimirović's understanding of culture

This paper examines whether Nikolaj Velimirović (Nicholai Velimirovich) considered culture incompatible with Christian beliefs and Christian concepts in general. Some claims that Velimirović rejected culture can be found in literature. These allegations were primarily based on the reading of the book posthumously attributed to Velimirović, published 30 years after his death under the title Govori srpskom narodu kroz tamnički prozor (Words to the Serbian People Through the Dungeon Window), in which the author wrote unusually harshly and vehemently about culture. However, there are other works written by Velimirović, where his authorship is certain and in which the question of culture is approached differently. In this paper, we will focus our attention on Velimirović's original works and we will compare his original views with those that can be found in the above stated book. Interestingly, in his original works we will not find anti-cultural viewpoints but rather evaluation of culture by Christian standards, and consequently, the possibility of existence of a Christian culture. However, through tendentious readings of Velimirović's works and through uncritical reading of the works attributed to him posthumously, he became known as an opponent of culture. For example, although Velimirović, as a cultured man, spoke several world languages, defended two doctoral dissertations at the University of Berne, and published thousands of pages in several languages (not only in Serbian but also in German, English and Russian), it seems that such image of Velimirović has remained in the shadows. In the public discourse, a different image of Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović has prevailed, constructed with or without intention at the end of the last century. That is how Nikolaj, who was a village shepherd that guarded his flock with a flute in the vicinity of Valjevo, has overshadowed Nicholai who was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Columbia.