Zdenko Sirka, Transformation in the Theology of Tradition.

A Study ofJ ustin Popovic and His

Hermeneutical Presuppositions, Ostkirchliche Studien. 2018, issue 1-2, vol. 67, pp. 325-344.

TRANSFORMATION IN THE THEOLOGY OF TRADITION:

A Study of Justin Popovic
and His Hermeneutical Presuppositions1
Zdenko S Sirka, Prague

When Aristotle Papanikolaou uses his illustrious parallel between tradi-

tion and dance classes to show that there is no tradition without institu-
tionalisation,2 implicitly he states that tradition develops not only within
the community, but also within time. This means, if we continue with the
parallel, that evolving one's dancing skills is not an isolated and local
practice, but is an interaction between communal (dancing techniques,
dance schools) and the individual aspects (me, learning to dance), be-
tween then and now. Namely, in the last decades tradition has received a
central position in ecumenical research, both as a concrete reality of the
life of the Churches and as a theological-scientific notion. This is for a
good reason, as it is not only a topic unto itself, but it also underlies dif-
ferent questions debated in the ongoing ecumenical dialogue, such as the
Scripture and its hermeneutics, ecclesiology and ministries, ethical and
societal questions. While in relations between the churches common
awareness of the importance of tradition is ever growing and has led to
convergences, its unavoidable transformation in our postmodern and
post-secular society has raised new conflicts and led to divergences. This
transformation of tradition is given by its double character. On one side
tradition is inclusive, open and universal, katholikos, converging one God,
one faith, one church; on the other side tradition is exclusive, closed, in-
terpreted and applied in a concrete time and place, receiving tangible
form and shape. But none of these is automatically authentic, various con-
textual readings may justify abuse, non-contextual attitudes may bring
violations. I assume that the authentic theology of tradition will have to
preserve the hermeneutical circle between inclusive and exclusive ap-
proaches, which is not attainable without keeping in mind its limits that
lead to its transformations. A hermeneutical circle is understood when a
whole is established by reference to the individual parts and understand-

1 This study is a result of the research project no. 17-009875 "Transformations of

Tradition: Implications for Contemporary Ecumenical Theology", funded by the
Czech Science Foundation.
2 "There is no such thing as a traditionless human being; tradition is constitutive of
being human; from the moment we are born we exist in and through tradition."
Aristotle Papanikolaou, Tradition as Reason and Practice Amplifying Contemporary
Orthodox Theology in Conversation with Alisdair Macintyre. St Vladimir's Theo-
logical Quarterly 59 (2015) no. 1, p. 100. See also responses by Katerina Bauerova
and Davor Dfalto in the same issue of this journal.
326 Zdenko S Sirka

ing of individual parts is established by reference to the whole, they can

be understood only by reference to one another.
In this matter, the contribution of Serbian Orthodox theologian Justin
Popovic (1894-1979), without any doubt one of the very eminent figures
in Orthodox theological thinking of the 20th ct., is insightfuJ.3 His work
consists of rich personal spiritual and intellectual experience, where he
managed to overcome academic scholasticism, pious spirituality, and the
nominalism of national-religious organisations by returning to the Fathers
and by recovering the Eucharistic foundation of ecclesiology.4 But then
more significant, his theology of tradition works with this double charac-
ter of tradition, as will be shown later.
It is not easy to consider the importance of his work, his sources, and
the level of his critical re-working of influences, because of differences in
the interpretation of his ideas. On one hand, he has been often criticised
for being too severe on modern Christianity, Europe and Western culture,
and has been considered a radical and conservative thinker,5 maybe even
nationalistic.6 On the other hand, Justin has been adored for his thoughts,
and his infallible character is undoubted, every critical comment has been
considered a mark of disrespect. This kind of adoration is actually inade-
quate, as Justin most of all was aware that even the greatest of Fathers was

3 Archimandrite Justin Popovic (1894-1979), since his glorification (2010) called St

Justin the New. One of the most influential theologians of Orthodoxy in the 20th
ct., his thought can be compared to those of Florovsky, Staniloae, and Schmemann.
With a certain mildness, one can talk about the change of the whole theological cul-
tural paradigm and a new theological era based on Justin. His influence in Serbia
has remained through his students, such as Atanasije Jevtic, Amfilohije Radovic,
Artemije Radosavljevic and Irinej Bulovic. Justin studied in Belgrade, Russia, Ox-
ford and Athens, and he spent his last 30 years in the monastery Celije. His most
famous books are 3 volumes of Dogmatics and 12 volumes Lives of the Saints. For
an overview of his life see Elisabeth Hill, Obituary: Justin PopoviC (1894-1979).
Sobomost 1980, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 73-79, or :>101rnje (life), by Atanasije Jevtic in: Justin
Popovic, Na bogofoveeanskom putu. 2nd ed. Manastir Celije, 2014, pp. 7-173.
4 Still, a healthier dialogue with the contemporary world and its challenges seems to
be absent. Says Maksim Vasiljevic, Susret i zajednicarenje u razlicitosti: Srpska te-
ologija u dialogu sa Zapadom, in: Bogoljub Sijakovic (ed.), Srpska teologija danas
2010. Beograd: Univerzitet u Beogradu, Pravoslavni bogoslovski fakultet, 2011,
p.646.
5 E>akovac, opposite to this, considers him an "avantgarde" thinker. Aleksandar
Dakovac, Dogmatika Justina Popoviea i njen znaeaj za savremenu (srpsku) bo-
goslovsku misao. Srpska teologija u dvadesetom veku: istraiivaCki problemi i
rezultati, 2009, vol. 4, p. 66.
6 Even theologian Aristotle Papanikolaou sees there a "rhetoric of anti-intellec-
tualism" and "extreme position". Aristotle Papanikolaou, Reasonable Faith and a
Trinitarian Logic, in: L.P. Hemming and S.F. Parsons (eds.), Restoring Faith in Rea-
son. London, 2002, 235ff. See Bogdan Lubardic, Justin Celijski i Rusija: putevi recep-
cije ruske filosofije i teologije, Novi Sad: Beseda, 2009, pp. 69-71 for a critique of
this position.
 Transformation in the Theology of Tradition 327

part of a cultural and historical context, and a human being as relational

being adopts ways of expressing and thinking of the era in which one
lives? Until recently Justin-research was in its pre-critical phase, without
serious studies freed of emotions. Nevertheless, the work of Bogdan
Lubardic from the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Belgrade (Serbia)
since 2009 has announced the start of a critical stage, as time has become
ready to overcome pious rhetoric that underestimated the seriousness and
depth of Justin's thoughts. 8 These circumstances lead us, even force us, to
ask questions about the theological criteria and hermeneutical presupposi-
tions Justin brings into being in his theology of tradition. Based on my ob-
servation, the central theological concept present here is the personhood
of God-man, which is developed in two main outlines of Justin's theology:
Serbia's Orthodox identity svetosavlje and a critique of European human-
ism. These will be subjected to a critical reading, and an attempt to explain
the methodology of Justin's theology of tradition will follow.

Serbia's Orthodox identity

The first element of Justin's theology of tradition is often denoted as sveto-
savlje (in English referred as St Savaism9), a neologism consisting of two
words: the name of Saint Sava (Sveti Sava) and Orthodoxy (Pravoslavlje).
The term Svetosavlje appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century10
among the students and young professors of the theological seminary in
Belgrade, and since then it has become very common. But then again, it is
Father Justin's book St Savaism as a Philosophy of Life (CseTOcasihe Kao
<l>11:Aoco<P11:ja )l(HBOTa) 11 that presented Svetosavlje as a compact philoso-
phy and became a term for the distinctive tradition of Orthodoxy in Ser-
bia. This book contains Justin's speeches to students and youth during the
Second World War, where he "elevated the spirit and national pride of the
Serbian youth as the heir and conveyer of the brightest and most vibrant

7 Agrees Dakovac, Dogmatika Justina Popovica i njen znacaj za savremenu (srpsku)

bogoslovsku misao, p. 65.
8 See especially Bogdan Lubardic, Justin Celijski i Rusija: putevi recepcije ruske
filosofije i teologije, Novi Sad: Beseda, 2009, p. 19. See my review in Parrezia: Ro-
cenka pro vjchodni ki'esfanstvi, 2016, vol. 9-10, pp. 571-575. His other works are
available at https://fvm.academia.edu/BogdanLubardic [cited: 19.08.2017).
9 Also "Saint-Savaism," or "St Sava-ism."
10 Djogo specifies that it was "during the thirties". See Darko Djogo, Serbian
Neopatristic Theology: Some Aspects of History, Reception and Currents. Theolo-
gia 2012, vol. 4, p. 14, note 5.
11 The book was originally published in 1953 in Milnchen. Now in: fustin Popovic,
Sabrana dela: Pravoslavna crkva i ekumenisam - Svetosavlje kao filozofija zivota.
Vol. 4. Belgrade: Naslednici oca Justina i manastir Celije kod Valjeva, 2001, pp.
175--266.
328 Zdenko S Sirka

philosophy of life in the whole world.''12 They were delivered in a specific

historical situation, when Serbia was under German occupation and was
articulated with a concrete intention: to encourage the young generation
and show them a perspective that surpassed their current suffering.
Though the nation was suffering, Justin gave them guideposts and an
umbrella to protect the soul of the nation from fear and desperation in the
time of trouble. In order to achieve this Justin focused on the core of the
Serbian medieval identity, which is much older, even timeless - sveto-
savlje.13
What is Svetosavlje exactly? Let me first say what it is not. It is not, as
Robert Thomas claims, a ''fusion of Orthodox theology with national val-
ues",14 Svetosavlje is also not "a common Serbian term for the peculiar
blend of church, state, and nation", as Croatian historian Anzulovic
claims.1 5 The most refined characterisation was given by Velimirovic in
the prologue to Justin's book, where he defines svetosavlje as the "Ortho-
doxy of Serbian experience and style."16 I would like to stop here for a
moment and compare this depiction with a more shared idiom, used both
in English and Serbian, the one of 'Serbian Orthodoxy' (cpncKo npaeo-
CAaBA>e).17 VelimiroviC's definition understands Orthodoxy as the subject
and points out that Orthodoxy has developed within the Serbian nation,
within Serbian history and within a certain geographical area, it is influ-
enced by these circumstances and results in the 'Serbian experience of Or-
thodoxy.' Hermeneutically this is correct, but this idiom (Serbian Ortho-
doxy) can be understood also exclusively if the emphasis is placed on the

l2 Nikolaj Velimirovic, Predgovor, in: Justin Popovic, Sabrana dela: Pravoslavna crkva i
ekumenisam - Sv~tosavlje kao filozofija zivota. Vol. 4. Belgrade: Naslednici oca
Justina i manastir Celije kod Valjeva, 1999, p. 177.
l3 Vladyka Velimirovic compares Justin's speeches to the ones of Gottlieb Ficl1te from
year 1808 (Reden an die deutschen Nation, Hamburg: Felix Meiner, 2008), when
the German nation had been suffering under Napoleon.
14 Robert Thomas, Serbia Under Milosevic: Politics in the 1990s. London: Hurst, 1999,
p. 37 (my italics).
15 Branimir Anzulovic, Heavenly Serbia: From Myth to Genocide. NYU Press, 1999, p.
30 (my italics]. See recent article by Vladimir Cvetkovic, who presents several stud-
ies from German universities (Stefan Rohdewald, Klaus Buchenau, Anna Julia Lis),
where Svetosavlje has been interpreted as the ideology of racial supremacy of the
Dinaric race that provided justification for the project of the Great Serbia and the
Serbian military expansionism. Vladimir Cvetkovic, The Reception of St Justin Pop-
ovic in the Recent German Scholarship. Sobomost: Incorporating Eastern Churches
Review 2014, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 36-55. On this see also Thomas Bremer, Ekklesiale
Struktur und Ekklesiologie in der Serbischen Orthodoxen Kirche im 19. und 20.
Jahrhundert. Wiirzburg: Augustinus-Verlag, 1992.
16 Velimirovic, Predgovor, p. 176.
l7 See also Rebecca Mueller, Serbian Orthodoxy: National Ideology or loved Religion?
Unpublished. Online: https://www.academia.edu/7868017/Serbian_Orthodoxy_
Review_Essay [cited 19.08.2017).
 Transformation in tlte Theology of Tradition 329

adjective 'Serbian'. In a sense, as if 'Serbian Orthodoxy' would be some-

thing different (better?) than Christianity in other countries and in other
times. Justin similarly uses the term 'Serbian Gospel' (cpncKo eBaH])eA>e),1 8
which, if understood literally, denies that there is only one true Gospel.
This is exactly the situation where the exclusive and inclusive character of
Tradition is visible, and where the exclusive use is justified only when
forming a hermeneutical circle with one Gospel. Every Sunday at worship
services all around the world one Gospel becomes many Gospels without
losing its wholeness, even though the process of transformation in local
contexts occurs.
Let us go one step backwards and answer the question concerning why
St Sava is important for Serbia's Orthodox identity. 19 The first is historical,
the second is theological. Historically, Serbia is a kingdom founded dur-
ing the second half of the 12th ct. and two sons of Stefan Nemanja became
the founders of the independent Serbian church and independent Serbian
Kingdom: Rastko (the youngest son, became the Orthodox Monk Sava)
and Stefan, remembered as Stefan the First-Crowned {IlpBoBeH'Iamt).
Since then, all of life in society has been marked by the unity of the church
and state, which unlike other similar models did not really show any dis-
agreements.20 In fact, in this sense it must be stated that the Serbian cul-
ture emerged out of the activities of St Sava, the first Archbishop of the
"Church in Serbian and Lithoral territories" (as they called then) with his
see in Ziea. His activities were not only oriented on the organisation of the
church, but also on spreading the ecclesial culture throughout the entire
Serbian population. Sava became present not only in church stories, but
also in the folk songs and legends. 21 This is the historical reason Ortho-
doxy in Serbia is called svetosavlje. Its uprising has been squared by a his-
tory of trying to preserve this identity and the old faith despite unfavour-
able circumstances. Namely, after the occupation by the Ottoman empire
(1389, the battle at Kosovo Polje), the national heritage was preserved
mostly in the monasteries as centres of liturgical, spiritual and cultural
life, which helped to preserve cultural and religious identity, not really
making differences between them.

18 Justin Popovic, Predgovor, in: Nikolaj Velimirovic, Ohridski prolog. Kragujevac: Du-
hovni lug, 2013, p. 5.
l9 As Andrew Louth writes in his recent book, it is hard to exaggerate the importance
of St Sava for Serbia's Orthodox identity. See Andrew Loutlz, Modern Orthodox
Theology: 2 St Justin Popovic, in: Ibid., Modern Orthodox Thinkers. Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015, p. 148.
20 Djogo calls it the "symphony" of state-church relation. See Djogo, Serbian
Neopatristic Theology, p. 13.
21 For work on St Sava see for example Milos Cmjanski, Sveti Sava. KnjiZevne novine,
1988.
330 Zdenko S Sirka

Although Father Justin keeps in mind this historical framework and

often mentions St Sava, mostly his civil name Rastko, his position is
dominantly theological. Svetosavlje in his understanding is not a historical
or nationalistic category, but a sacral category. Hence, for the sake of clari-
fication, whenever Father Justin mentions svetosavlje or Orthodoxy, we
can read it simply as 'Christianity'. When Justin returns to St Sava, there is
only one reason - to say that St Sava recovered for the Serbian nation an
understanding of the world centred around bogocovecanstvo (God-
manhood). Svetosavlje for Justin is a philosophy of the world with Logos in
its centre, everything in it has its meaning and goal only in and through
Logos.22 It is the world where the invisible is the basis of all visible things,
and the world, where mankind as the image of God is the most important
thing, "Behold, the great God framed his image, his icon in the muddy
human body. Hence each man is, a little god in the mud."23 This Logos is
not an abstract, transcendent Logos, but it is a historical real and eternal
Person. God Logos for Justin is the only creative and life-giving power
present in all beings and shapes, "everything radiates logos, because eve-
rything is logos-ed (11orocHo) and logical," 24 everything, except evil. Only
evil in this world is "logos-less (6e311orocaH), illogical, meaningless." Why
is God-man the fundamental truth? Because God Logos entered this world
to "logos-y (011ororn) it", to cast away sin out of it and to give it a mean-
ing. He answered all the questions that torture the human spirit, espe-
cially the question of the relationship between man and God. He brought
down all divine perfections from heaven to earth, he magnifies man, ele-
vates him to God, makes him a god by grace. Only in him does man, tor-
mented by all tragedies, find God who truly gives comfort in every mis-
fortune and sorrow.25
This is in short Justin's theory of the world, Logos and God-man. What
does St Sava have to do with this? He was the one who "felt the deepest,
was the most visionary in what he saw and most dramatically experi-
enced" this mystery of world and man. He saw that "the universe is a
magical temple in which God lives through his thoughts, and the man is a
priest in that temple."26 Rastko or St Sava was the first person who felt
this and "for the Serbian soul found and confirmed," he was the "first of
the Serbs"27 who understood this Evangelical feeling of the world. This is
St Sava's spirituality and with it he influenced the whole nation.

22 On Justin and renewal of logocentrism see Petar Milosavljevic, Justin Popovic i ob-
nova logocentrisma. Crkvene studije 2007, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 95-114.
23 Popovic, Svetosavlje kao filozofija zivota, 2001, p. 185.
24 Ibid, p. 188.
25 Justin Popovic, Man and the God-man. Alhambra, CA: Sebastian Press, 2009, p. 14.
26 Popovic, Svetosavlje kao filosofija zivota, 2001, p. 187.
27 Ibid., p. 188.
 Transformation in the Theology of Tradition 331

God-manhood is hence the central theological concept that connects

anthropology with Christology and soteriology.28 In its very essence, sve-
tosavlje is nothing other than the personality of the God-man, extended
across all ages, extended as the Church, as Justin writes: "All the truths of
Orthodoxy emerge from one truth and converge in one truth, infinite and
eternal. That truth is the God-man Christ (... ). Hence another name for
Orthodoxy is God-manhood" .29 There is an apparent similarity with the
definition of tradition used in the 'Faith and Order' document Scripture,
Tradition, and Traditions (Montreal, 1963),30 where the concept of tradition
is taken as a term meaning the Tradition of the Gospel testified. in Scrip-
ture and transmitted in and by the Church through the power of the Spirit
in history. Justin would call it svetosavlje. This understanding of tradition
as the "faith of the Church through ages" (Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry,
1982) allows discussion about limits, continuity, discontinuity, and above
all, about transformations of tradition.
This svetosavski (St Savaist) human being with its basic principle 'man
is true man only by God' is opposed to the basic principle of the European
humanistic progress, which underscores that the human is only flesh,
therefore mortal, and that death is the necessity. "Gentlemen, stupid is a
European man, disastrously stupid", writes Justin, "if he believes in pro-
gress without believing in God." 31 Justin warns especially about the ethi-
cal impact of this attitude, for the reason that if human actions are the re-
sult of his animal instincts and there is no immortality, then this leads to
hedonism (eat and drink, tomorrow we will die) and relativism in ethics
(if there is no God, then there is no sin and everything is allowed).32
Svetosavlje is therefore Justin's description of the world and Orthodox
identity, it is historically and therefore permanently connected with the
spirituality and faith of St Sava, but at the same time it is not an alterna-
tive way of Christianity, it is simply Orthodoxy developed within the Ser-

28 "There is no God without the God-man, nor is there man without the God-man".
Atanasije Jevtic in: Popovic, Man and the God-man, p. 7. On God-man as a true man
according to Justin see Milos /elic, Bogofovek kao istinski fovek po prepodobnom
Justinu Popovieu. Sabomost 2010, vol. 4, pp. 147-161.
29 Ibid., p. 13.
30 For an overview on ecumenical hermeneutical documents see Zdenko Sirka, Vyzvy
ekumenicke hermeneutiky v soueasnosti a okolnosti jejiho vzniku, in: Zdenko Sirka
(ed.), Domov jako most: Festschrift k padesatinam prof. Ivany Noble. Jihlava: Jan
Kerkovsky- Ml:Yn, 2016, pp. 99-119.
3l Popovic, Svetosavlje kao filosofija zivota, 2001, p. 207. Further: "Is there more hor-
ror, insult, and a laugh( ... ) Did a European man, drowned and thrashed in the mill
of death, lost the last pound of reason?" Popovic, Svetosavlje kao filosofija zivota,
2001, p. 205.
32 "Na vododelnici kultura", in: Justin Popovic, Sabrana dela: Put Bogop9znanja -
Filosofske urvine, vols. 8-9. Beograd, Naslednici oca Justina i manastir Celije kod
Valjeva, 1999, p. 440.
332 Zdenko .5 Sir/ca

bian nation, exclusive and inclusive at the same time. Svetosavski is con-
sidered to be with bogocovecanski (God-manhood). It is an exclusive under-
standing of Christian tradition (Serbian Orthodoxy, Serbian Gospel), but at
the same time its authenticity is proved by its strict Christological charac-
ter.

Critique of European humanism

The second element of Justin's theology of tradition is his critique of
European humanism. His starting position is his observation that Ortho-
dox Serbs live on a geographical and spiritual watershed between two
worlds, between two cultures, between East and West As he writes, their
national soul was sent to live on the blade of a sword.33 These two worlds
cannot function together, they are incompatible with the Orthodox soul.34
Arguing from a theological perspective, he made a sharp contrast or dis-
tinction between the 'spiritual' East, where a sense of community prevails
and which offers salvation, and the 'rationalised' and 'mechanised'
Europe, where a fragmented society had lost its humanity and offered
only death.35 Justin's opinions about Europe in opposition to Orthodoxy
were already present in his early capital works, such as his Oxford disser-
tation about Dostoyevsky,36 and his studies about Macarius of Egypt and
Isaac the Syrian, as well in his shorter essays that appeared in the period
between 1922 to 1940 (essays now included in the book Philosophical
Abysses).37 His approaches are in general uncompromising and critical,
and Justin supports his pessimistic view of the West by references to Mau-
rice Maeterlinck and Oswald Spengler.38 Where do the roots of Justin's

33 Ibid., p. 436.
34 On the basic question, which direction to go on the crossroad, Justin points out fol-
lowing St Sava, he led the Serbian soul toward the God-man Christ. See "Na vodo-
delnici kultura", in: Put Bogopoznanja -Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 437.
35 See Keith Hitchins, Interwar Southeastern Europe Confronts the West the New
Generation: Cioran, Yanev, Popovic. Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humani-
ties 2010, vol. 15, c. 3, pp.19-20.
36 <l>HAococpHja 111 Teo11ornja <l>.M. AocrojeacKora, especially the chapter 5 titled ,,Tajtta
Eapone 11 Pyrnje" (published in Xp111whattcK11 :>1ornoT, 1923, vol. 4, pp. 167-200).
For Justin's Oxford dissertation see Bogdan Lubardic, Justin Popovic u Oksfordu:
ismedu romantisovanih Cinjenica i Cinjenica romantisma. Srpska teologija u dvade-
setom veku: istr'!zivaCki problemi i rezultati, 2011, vol. 10, pp. 75-197. In the book
Lubardic, Justin Celijski i Rusija (pp. 74-77), the author showed that Justin formed
his opinion about Europe from Dostoyevsky, but also from V.V. Zenkovsky.
37 Originally published in 1957. /ustin Popovic, Sabrana dela: Put Bogopoznanja - Fi-
losofske urvine, vols. 8-9, Beograd, Naslednici oca Justina i manastir Celije kod
Valjeva, 1999.
38 For Spengler see "Na vododelnici kultura", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske
urvine, 1999, pp. 436-451; for Maeterlinck see "Meterlink pred veliko eutanje", in:
Put Bogopoznanja -Filosofske urvine, 1999, pp. 40~13.
 Transfonnation in the Theology of Tradition 333

critique lie? The roots and reasons stated for the situation of the current
society are very clear: "instructed by their hatred of the clergy and of the
Jews, Western people gradually rejected Christ, too, until they finally ex-
cluded him from all of the sectors of the life and institutions of the people
and the state and confined Him to only the churches."39 In other words, de-
velopment of Western Christianity is to be blamed for this. Its result is
that today's generation, which is totally earthly, without even a desire to
ascend to heaven, which does not know angels, does not know about the
other world, a new tower of Babel built by a new generation of Europe-
ans. These mistakes must be repaired, hence the stress on sobornost and
the divine-human character of the Church. Throughout all of history, the
human race has been trying to solve the problem of man, and this has re-
sulted in worshipping man and making him the high-most criterion and
measure of all things. Human beings have become the fundament of
European culture, the "supreme creator and value provider." 40 If there is
no God in the culture, then the humans inevitably become god. The prob-
lem of Europe is hence not atheism but polytheism, as too many gods ap-
peared as the result of losing the true God. This all-pervasive humanism,
according to Justin, has led to anarchy.41
The problem according to Justin is that by negating the existence of
God, humanism negates its own value. A model which does not include
any highest value inevitably contradicts itself, if all values are relative,
then this leads to the fight for setting one value as the highest. 42 Justin sees
that the only way this can happen is through total destruction. Therefore,
nihilism is the final consequence of European humanism. Without the
God-man, humans are always enslaved to death, slaves to evil and the
devil, human beings voluntarily reduce themselves to a devil-like state of
sin. 43 But, the problem of man was not solved, Justin observes, not only
because of ethical relativism. When Nietzsche says, 'I am flesh, only flesh',
the mystery of man is not exhausted.44 A human being is a product of the
'marriage' of substance and spirit, thereof the human is the symbol of in-
finity, "Man was created by the anthropic potential by God who loves

39 "Humanistic Ecumenism", in: Justin Popovic, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ.
Belmont, MA: Institute for Byzantine and Modem Greek Studies, 1994, p. 184.
40 "Na vododelnici kultura", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 438.
41 See "Zenica tragisma", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 289.
42 This is the logical consequence, the human cannot be the highest criterion and
value, as their value is much lower than the one of God-man. See "Vrhovna vred-
nost i nepogresivo merilo", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999,
pp. 322-323.
43 Through papacy, scholasticism, reformation and Nietzsche, the West has culmi-
nated in the dehumanisation of man who rejects God. ("Humanistic and Thean-
tropic Education", in: Popovic, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ, pp. 57-59).
44 "Zenica tragisma", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 280.
334 Zdenko S Sirka

mankind, so that he might voluntarily direct himself, through God, to-

ward becoming God-man, based on the divinity of his nature" .45 This po-
sition, that man is true man only by God is called theo-humanism.46 Justin
here, directly or indirectly, relays on Maximus Confessor, who writes that
all created things without a cause or centre of its existence, will become
strangers and enemies to themselves.47
Therefore, Christianity is the Christianity of the God-man, and the
church is church only by God-man and in God-man, to be a member of the
church means to "to become a God-man (o6oro'loBe'IHTH ce)."48 The ap-
pearance of God-man is so logical and necessary, because he is the first
who totally and absolutely solved the problem of life and death. Resolved
it not theoretically or in the abstract, but by an event, a historical fact. 49
There is no event in the history of humanity that has such importance as
the resurrection. By his resurrection Jesus broke the circle of death and
bridged the abyss between time and eternity, between man and God.50
This is the why only seven holy ecumenical councils are accepted, because
they all refer to the problems in the church as the problems of the person-
hood of Christ.51 Aleksandar Smanja discerns a difference between West-
ern and Eastern Byzantine humanism, and Byzantine is just another word
for theo-humanism, or better Bogoeovecanski humanism. The first searches
for freedom.from God, the latter freedom/or God.52 We can see that for Fa-
ther Justin the most essential point of his theology is Christology, or better
to say Christo-centrism. Even the church is Christ's body prolonged thor-
ough the centuries. Christ is the only criterion of European civilization.
Djogo says that Justin's words are sometimes insulting and politically in-

45 "Reflections on the Infallibility of European Man", in: Orthodox Faith and Life in
Christ, pp. 105-106.
46 "Na vododelnici kultura", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 446.
47 See Vladimir Cvetkovic, Sveti Justin Novi (Popovic) kao tumac misli svetog Maksima
Ispovednika, in: Aleksa11dar Petrovic and Mikonja Knezevic (eds.), Politika, identitet,
tradicija (medunarodni tematski zbomik). Kosovska Mitrovica: Filozofski fakultet
Univerziteta u Pristini, 2015, p. 484.
48 "Vrhovna vrednost i nepogresivo merilo", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske
urvine, 1999, p. 324.
49 Ibid., p. 321.
50 "Izmedju dve filosofije" in: Sabrana dela: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine,
p. 343. Justin calls sin an earthquake. Justin mentions several deaths, out of which
we need God-man to redeem us: despair, skepticism, relativism, positivism and
pessimism. "Predgovor", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 270.
51 Opposite to papist ecumenism, Justin states that unity is given and cannot be nego-
tiated and that it is the unity in repentance in the presence of God-man, Christ, this
is even the reason why all the early councils made Christology the key point of
their declarations.
52 Aleksa11dar Smanja, Kritika zapadnog humanisma Oca Justina (Popoviea). Vidoslov
2010, vol. 17, no. 49, p. 81.
 Transformation in the Theology of Tradition 335

correct, but more important is the content of his thoughts - the God-man
as the sole criterion.S3
The idea of man as the measure of all still reigns in the idolatrous and
polytheistic unchristian world, even today, even in the Christian Church.
All European humanisms, from the fetishist to papal are based on the be-
lief that man is alone amid his spiritual situation. This idea synthesised
the very spirit of Europe and all its goals, ideals and values.S4 This situa-
tion had several reasons, but the most important is the spirit of ancient
Rome detected in Roman Catholicism, no less even in Protestantism, that
was its faithful collaborator. Together they mechanised the human being,
creating out of it a self-proclaimed infallible being living in spiritual death
and without a sense of immortality. The whole of Europe has been trans-
formed into a giant grave.SS This tendency achieved its pinnacle at The
First Vatican Council (1869-1870) in the dogma of the infallibility of the
Pope, which became the central dogma of the papacy, as Justin under-
stands it.S6 This doctrine overwhelmed the fate of European civilization,
the European humanistic pantheon has established its Zeus, as Justin ob-
serves. This dogma is nothing else than the Nietzschean assertion ]a-
Sagung57 extended to the entire conception of Europe humanism. Justin
sees that Western Christianity turned into humanism, so even God-man is
reduced to a man, a man sitting in the Vatican. Western Christianity pro-
claimed an all present God as absent and set instead of him his deputy in
Rome. The pope usurped for himself the entire jurisdiction by and large
appropriated only to God-man, he proclaimed himself as church and ruler
of everything. In this regard Justin talks about three falls: of Adam, of Ju-
das, and of the pope.SB Thus, the essence of sin lies in arrogant self-
aggrandisement. Father Justin calls it satanically oriented humanism. Pa-
pal infallibility is the greatest heresy of all against the actual truth of the
Christ. Heresy of heresies, revolt without precedent against the God-man,
a new betrayal and new crucifixion of the Lord, this time not on the wood,
but on the golden cross. The Second Vatican council (1962-1965), consid-
ered as a rebirth of all European humanisms, persisted in maintaining the

S3 Djogo, Serbian Neopatristic Theology, p. 23. ,

s4 See Justin Popovic, Dostojevski o Evropi i slovenstvu. Belgrade: Manastir Celije kod
Valjeva, 1981, p. 276.
SS Ibid., pp. 340-341.
S6 See "Reflections on the Infallibility of European Man", in: Orthodox Faith and Life
in Christ, p. 102.
s7 See: "Reflections on the Infallibility of European Man", in: Orthodox Faith and Life
in Christ, pp. 103-105.
SB "Reflections on the Infallibility of European Man", in: Orthodox Faith and Life in
Christ, p. 105.
dogma of infallibility of the pope.59 Protestants are not different than
Catholics, as they accepted this papist dogma and applied it on the teach-
ing about the value of each man, where every human is infallible in un-
derstanding the Bible. It can be said that "Protestantism is vulgarised
papism, but deprived of mischief and authority in power."60 Justin con-
siders the Pope the father of Protestantism and Protestantism as the final
stage of papism. Rightly? Yes, but only when a critique of Western theol-
ogy is justified not only from the exclusive perspective (Western theology
is not good enough, because it is different than the Eastern one), but first
and all by referring to the inclusive theology of tradition.

Missing elements in the theology of tradition

After describing two main elements of Justin's theology of tradition, let us
now try to analyse them critically and ask the following questions: What
are the roots of Justin's anti-Western attitude? Who influenced him?
Which is his original contribution?
The direction of one way of interpretation justifies Father Justin and
points to the influence of Slavophiles. Andrew Louth is one of those, who
sees a familiar pattern in what, according to Justin and the Slavophiles,
threatens Orthodoxy and the way to defend it - it is modem Western so-
ciety. Slavophile thinkers, such as Aleksey Khomiakov and Ivan
Kireevsky, were concerned with the distinctiveness of the Russian experi-
ence in comparison with the new Western ideas that Peter the Great
brought into Russia.6 1 Slavophiles sought to truely rediscover this Russian
nature, for example Khomiakov idealised the village and the traditional
community, with the organs of self-organisation, and so developed the
ideal of sobornost. Vladyka Nikolaj Velimirovic, whom Justin met at the
very beginning of his theological career, most probably influenced Justin
with this pessimistic approach toward modem Western society as well.62
The question remains, how strong was Justin's appropriation of Slavophil-

59 See: "Reflections on the Infallibility of European Man", in: Orthodox Faith and Life
in Christ, p. 109.
60 "Vrhovna vrednost i nepogresivo merilo", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske
urvine, 1999, p. 332.
61 Peter the Great (1672-1725), tried to create modem Russia and to bring Russia into
the new Europe of Renaissance and Enlightenment. As a result, unique Russian
things were banned, for example in churches beards were forbidden, the church
accepted a Protestant model of organization, and the patriarchate was abolished.
62 Romie explicitly warns against understanding Justin's thoughts as a continuation
of VelimiroviC, simply because it is evident that Justin developed his thoughts
much earlier, before World War II, independently of Velimirovic and his attitude
t9ward Western society. See Ilija Romie, (Anti)kultura u bogoslovlju Sv. Justina
Celijskog, in: Bogoljub Sijakovic (ed.), Srpska teologija danas 2010. Beograd: Uni-
verzitet u Beogradu, Pravoslavni bogoslovski fakultet, 2011, pp. 674-665.
 Transformation in the Theology of Tradition 337

ism, since it is visible that terms such as integral knowledge and sobornost
can be frequently encountered in Justin's works.63 The short answer
would be that unlike Slavophiles, Justin did not draw on German idealist
philosophy, but he went the direction which was much more common for
the Paris school:64 to draw a remedy from the Church Fathers.65 The long
answer would show that reception does not mean simply the compilation
and reproduction of ideas, as in Justin's case reception meant a creative
approach and capability for creative development. But this is not so self-
obvious, and only thanks to the recent work of Bogdan Lubardic and
Vladimir Cvetkovic are paths of reception of Russian religious philosophy
much clearer. LubardiC's studies have a great importance for contempo-
rary Serbian theology as he provides an explanation of certain aspects of
thinking of Father Justin, which have been so far singled out in a populist
struggle for the purity of Serbian Orthodoxy and the Serbian state.
Lubardic defends Justin from the pietistic, ideological and other unilateral
interpretations he has been exposed over the last 40 years. Vladimir
Cvetkovic is also one of those who follows LubardiC' s argumentation,66
and emphasises as a distinct character of his theology the "caractere syn-
thetique"67 which should not be understood as a simply eclecticism, but as
a profound reflection about life and the world. According to Cvetkovic,
Father Justin is one of the great followers of the legacy of the Russian tra-
dition at the beginning of the 20th ct., but he shows with persuasion that
Justin created a successful synthesis of the thoughts from Russian reli-
gious philosophy and the teaching of the Fathers.
What is the downside of Justin's critique of European humanism? One
potential interpretation route tends to accept that there are cultural and
theological differences between East and West, which automatically create

63 Discussion of how Justin modified and received the term sobomost, see Vladimir
Cvetkovic, Sveti Justin o tajni lienosti, in: Teologikon: The Annual of the Center for
Systematic Theology. University of Veliko Tumovo, 2013, p. 17lf.
64 Paris School around the St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, founded in 1925
by leading Russian emigre theologians, Cyprian Kem, George Florovsky, Sergei
Bulgakov, and Nikolai Afanasyev, Vladimir Lossky, and many others, who taught
at this school over the years.
65 Recommended book on the Church Fathers in this regard: Ivana Noble et al., Wrest-
ling with the mind of the Fathers. Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press,
2015.
66 I have in mind especially his Vladimir Cvetkovic, Abba Justin Popovic: un theologien
de synthese. Istina, 2011, vol. LVI, pp. 47-62, but see also Vladimir Cvetkovic, Sveti
Justin o tajni lienosti, in: Teologikon: The Annual of the Center for Systematic The-
ology. University of Veliko Turnovo, 2013, p. 161-181; Vladimir Cvetkovic, The Gos-
pel according to Saint Justin the New: Justin Popovic on Scripture, in: Matthew
Baker and Mark Mourachian (eds.), What is the Bible: The Patristic Doctrine of Scrip-
ture. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015, p. 137-166.
67 Cvetkovic, Abba Justin Popovic: un theologien de synthese, p. 47.
338 Zdenko S Sirka

different perspectives, for example a different mentality and attitude to-

ward life, art, society, church organisation, etc. In other words, how le-
gitimate is to blame someone in the Czech Republic speaking Czech and
someone in the Germany speaking German, if their language is apriori to
their existence? To move it on to the theological level: how legitimate is it
to accuse the West of papism, if we know that it is the result of the West's
inclination toward institutionalisation, 68 or on the other hand, to blame
the East for lack of institutionalism, if it is obvious that East has always
been more interested with an eschatological and metaphysical view that
relativises history.
Another possible perspective would be to downplay Justin's originality
and to emphasise that he spent the last 30 years of his life (1948-1979) iso-
lated in the Celije monastery. 69 Although Justin studied in the West (Ox-
ford), it is questionable how much relevant information he had and read
since his sources were limited. 70 Current Serbian theologian Maxim Vasil-
jevic observes two things: a lack of thorough and documented reading of
Western theology in the work of Justin Popovic, and at the same time, the
reading he did was subordinated to confirm already formed Orthodox
theses, formed under the influence of the Russian critique of Western the-
ology .71 He sees this as a defect and shortcoming of Justin's synthesis and
suppositions. This is important, because if formed presuppositions pre-
ceded his reading of the Western thinkers, this is methodologically incor-
rect; if presuppositions would have been bracketed, his reading would
probably have led to different conclusions.72 At the same time, further
studies confirmed that Justin's information about the Western Christology
of the 18th and 19th ct. was based on atheistic and Marxist pamphlets that
presented the worst and not the best from European theology.73 Contem-

68 ~ee Vasiljevic, Susret i zajednicarenje u razlicitosti, pp. 648.

69 Celije, monastery near Valjevo founded by King Dragutin (1276-1316), there were
few nuns when Justin arrived. A school of iconography, renewing the Serbo-
Byzantine style, has been founded there, a new chapel dedicated to St. John Chry-
sostom as well as residential quarters which were constructed in 1970. ,
70 Still, we know that he had books and information while living in Celije, as his
friends ~muggled literature and news during the night. His library was also moved
to the Celije monastery in time. Thanks to Bogdan Lubardic for pointing me on
this.
71 See Vasiljevic, Susret i zajednicarenje u razlicitosti, p. 652.
72 Parallels would be visible, one of the parallels could have been between Justin and
Henri de Lubac (1896-1991).
73 See Vladan Tatalovic, Osvrt na problematiku istorijskog Isusa u srpskoj teoloskoj
sredini. Srpska teologija u XX veku. 2010, p. 18. It is worth mentioning a small
comment from A. Jevtic, when commenting on the genesis of the book about
Macarius the Egyptian, who writes that due to hard after-war circumstances Justin
did not have literature available that would evoke more independent and critical
 Transformation in the Tlteology of Tradition 339

porary theologian Vladan Perisic in his research shows that Justin re-
ceived European philosophy through Russian religious thinkers, 74 relying
on low-quality textbooks and this might have led to certain generalisa-
tions in Justin's conclusions. 75
In order to be comprehensive, Justin's analysis of the development of
Christianity in Western Europe should include also awareness of seculari-
sation and the inner critique of Western theology. Modem Serbia is a
secular state and the identity of the society based on the spirituality of a
medieval monk is questioned and doubted, especially as it is mostly pre-
sent in its caricatured form. When commenting on Justin's theological
reading, one must object that the dogma of infallibility of the Pope is cer-
tainly not the most important part of Roman Catholic theology, although
it is not unproblematic.76 Longer comments should be made about his
writing on Protestantism and Luther. I will not enter into the discussion
that Protestantism is not Lutheranism and that it is wrong to generalise
and to express the turbulent history of Christianity since 16th ct. with one
concept (or word, mostly 'Protestants' and 'Luther'), the concept that each
person has the right to think for themselves or as he defines it, each is a
pope to himself.77 This is just a part of the theory of universal priesthood,
according to which each believer is a theologian.78 However, this does not
mean that each human being can interpret Scripture as one wants and so
relativise one true meaning (Christological and Messianic in this case), but

research. Atanasije Jevtic, "CToroeop", in: npenOA06m-1 Jycnrn nonoBHh, Ca6paHa

AeAa, TOM 8, Eeorp3A 1999, p. 255.
74 See his two studies: Vladan Perisic, 0 bogopoznavanju kod sv. Makarija Egiptskog s
posebnim osvrtom na disertaciju Justina Popovica. Srpska teologija u dvadesetom
veku: istrazivacki problemi i rezultati, 2010, vol. 5, pp. 7-16; Vladan Perisic, 0 epis-
temologiji Isaka Sirina u interpretaciji Justina Popovica. Srpska teologija u dvade-
setom veku: istra.Zivacki problemi i rezultati, 2010, vol. 5, pp. 36--48.
75 At the same time, it is necessary to mention some critical remarks of Bogdan
Lubardic. Namely, Lubardic politely but strongly reacts against PerisiC's two
claims: that for Popovic analysis is not a necessary element in his philosophical ar-
gumentation, and that therefore he might not differ between a homily and a proper
analytical style of producing philosophy and theology. Bogdan Lubardic, Pavle
Florenski i patroloski radovi Justina Popoviea: istorija jedne recepcije - prilog ra-
zumevanja pocetka ,neopatristicke sinteze' u srpskoj teologiji. Srpska teologija u
dvadesetom veku: istrazivacki problemi i rezultati, 2009, vol. 9, pp. 66-165, starting
from p. 125.
76 Let me mention at least two events. Firstly, the founding of the Old Catholic
Church by groups which had separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the
1850s over certain doctrines, primarily concerned with papal authority. Events
around the life of Hans Kung following his book against papal ineffability are also
worth mentioning, see his book: Unfehlbar? Eine Anfrage. Benziger, Zurich 1970.
77 Atanasije Jevtic (ed.), Sveti Ava Justin: Zapisi o ekumenismu. Manastir Tvrdos,
2010, p. 8.
78 See Oswald Bayer, Martin Luthers Theologie. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004, pp. 15-
26.
340 Zdenko S Sirka

it points to a personal relation with Christ without mediators. Many

things proceed from this concept: I do not need a pope, I do not need in-
dulgences, as a sinner I can directly talk to and rely on Christ. It exceeds
the possibilities of this short study, but let me strongly confirm that there
are not so many differences between Luther and Justin as it seems, quite
the opposite, they are very similar in their attitude, in their terminology,
and in their theological accents. When one reads Justin's words against
the pope, even the harsh ones, it is almost the same as when one reads Lu-
ther's words against the pope, there is almost no difference. Even their
expressions, their political 'incorrectness' of 16th ct. Luther and 20th ct.
Justin makes them brothers-in-arms~ they are both prophets who fight for
the people, they criticise sinful society, battle against sin with their whole
body and soul and try to improve circumstances. It is undoubted that the
power that forces them to do this is the sincere care for others. This is
where everything starts and ends both for Luther and Justin - the soul of a
Christian. Both were great scholars, both were publicly active as pastors
and preachers, as shepherds of a flock, for each the central place remains
Church, liturgy and sacraments. Certainly, many differences exist,
whereas Justin moved to the Church Fathers as authority, Luther focused
on an individual's relation with Christ. Luther's equivalent to sobornost is
ad Jontes, return to the beginnings, to build the catholicity with the apos-
tolic tradition. Both stressed the importance of Christology: Sola Christus
and God-manhood, these two concepts are of the highest importance for
each of them, the core of their theology. If Father Justin would have stud-
ied Luther more carefully, he would not have muddled up the pope and
Luther. By doing so he could have gotten a very strong ally in the 'West'
against the 'West'.

Concluding evaluation of methodology

These critical remarks do not aim to downgrade Justin's authority or his
importance, at the same time, they are meant neither as critique nor as an
excuse. To understand Justin's reasons for his critique of European hu-
manism, one must keep in mind that his approach was consequently theo-
logical and pastoral, and he acted out of one main reason: responsibility
for the world.
However, to state my claim, irreconcilability between East and West
should not be understood in the sense of geopolitics or in strictly geo-
graphical terms, but as a contrast between the European man (way of
style developed in Christian Europe) and the svetosavski man, as two phi-
losophies and two possibilities concerning how to live the life of Christ.
What Justin has in mind is not opposition between European countries
and Serbia in a political or nationalistic manner, neither opposition be-
 Tra11sformation in the Theology of Tradition 341

tween Orthodoxy in Serbia and Roman Catholic or Protestant Churches.

Justin talks strictly in theological terms, he has in mind opposition be-
tween good and evil, God-man and sin. East and West are theological
categories. Due to historical reasons, he sees most of the 'theological' West
in the 'geographical' West, but he sees a lot of 'theological' West in the
'geographical' East as well. For Father Justin, there are two 'Wests': The
West of technocratic power and the West of live eucharistic communi-
ties.79 Rather than talking about there, about those who are sinful, Justin
talks about something which is here, about us, even he himself who is sin-
ful, who places himself as the sole criterion. 'European man' is not really a
man who lives in the continent of Europe (West of Eastern Europe), but
'European man' is a metaphor, synecdoche pars pro toto, for a sinful man.
Sin is something here and now, "There has never been less God in man,
dear brothers, than today,"80 writes Justin, today humanity condemned
God to death, today humanity crucified God, and today humanity sold
God for 30 pieces of silver.
The method that Father Justin uses lies in the intertwining of the onto-
logical-theological and historical layers of meaning, and his inspiration
comes from the Church Fathers, who used similar hermeneutics, as exam-
ples let me mention at least theoria and typology. One example, where
Europe is Europe, and is not Europe. In his book about ecumenism from
1974 he uses the words Europe, Pope and Luther as typoi. He clearly says
that Europe is desire for power and knowledge for all of which is human.
These two, desire and knowledge are personified by the Pope and Luther:
"Europe is the Pope and Luther, human desire to the extreme and human
knowledge to the extreme" .81 Pope is the desire for authority, "the Euro-
pean Luther" is the "obstinate decision of man that everything must be
explained by man". This is Europe in a nutshell, ontologically and histori-
cally. Both mean the same, separation of man from God, rejection of faith
and rejection of the Church of Christ. It is obvious that he still uses words
with primary geographical and historical meanings but gives them theo-
logical meaning.
Justin never preaches East or Orthodoxy, but he preaches God-man as
the sole content of Christianity. Being an Orthodox, svetosavski Christian
for Justin does not mean to be in opposition to something that is out there,
but to be in opposition to the sin inside us, "to constantly fight with
passions and sins in and around the world." 82 When he talks about sin or

79 Maksim Vasiljevic, Susret u ravni slobode i ljubavi: paradigma konkretnog predloga

Oca Justina Popovica. Vidoslov 2010, vol. 17, no. 50, pp. 90-91.
80 "Strasni sud nad Bogom", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 365.
81 Popovic, Sabrana dela: Pravoslavna crkva i ekumenisam - Svetosavlje kao filozofija
zivota, p. 182.
82 "Na vododelnici kultura", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske urvine, 1999, p. 448.
342 Zdenko S Sirka

sinful people, it is because he hates sin, but he does not hate sinful people.
He cares for them and calls for repentance. This is important to remember
when talking about Justin's attitude toward ecumenism and other
churches.83 Repentance is very often a forgotten aspect, it is the only way
out and medicine for all sins and heresies.84 For all of his sin of infallibil-
ity, European man still can be saved through wholehearted all transform-
ing repentance.BS
Justin was worried because atomisation of man, solipsism and egoism
exist not only in the society, but he noticed them also in the Church. All
during the last two centuries 'westernification' has had a bad undertone
in the East and has been equated with the loss of one's own identity.
PopoviC's solution to the crisis affecting European man and the Serbs
could only be spiritual. The opposite of European man is Slavic man. He
discerned the essence of Slavic man in Orthodoxy, which proclaimed the
God-man Christ and made Him the ultimate measure of all things. In
these strivings of Slavic man, Popovic was certain that he found the
means of salvation for Europe.86 For Justin, Orthodoxy had been the force
that moulded the national character of the Serbs and now served as the
main tool for a defense against secular and rationalist thinking. This was
especially as he saw a spiritual crisis in Western Europe and wanted to
protect Serbs from it. He had the same prescription for Serbs: they must
remain faithful to their Orthodox spiritual heritage, because Orthodoxy
was the soul of the Serbian people, and the Serbs are Serbs because they
are Orthodox.87 Orthodoxy was for him an answer to the agony of Europe
and the West, and this must be underlined, not Orthodoxy as an ideology,
but as a life attitude, ethos, as witness.
We can see that Justin's aim was not primarily dogmatic, but was spiri-
tual, pastoral, came out of the depth of his spirituality, and was theologi-
cally reflected. Therefore, in the last section of his essay Justin asks for
forgiveness for stammering words concerning the Second Vatican Coun-

83 qn Justin's ecumenism see Vladimir Cvetkovic, Cetiri pisma svetog Justina Novog
Celijskog o ekumenismu. Crkvene studije/Church Studies 2015, vol. 12, no. 12,
pp. 243-262, and Julia Vidovic, St. Nikolai Velimirovic and St. Justin on Ecumenism,
in: Pante/is Kalaitzidis et al. (eds.), Orthodox Handbook on Ecumenism. Resources
for Theological Education. Oxford: Regnum Books, 2014, pp. 263-272.
84 See ,,Reflections on the Infallibility of European Man", in: Orthodox Faith and Life
in Christ, pp. 113-114. See Grigorije Durie, 0 pokajanju po Justinu Popovieu i
Jovanu Zisjulasu. Vidoslov 2010, vol. 17, no. 50, pp. 29-57.
85 Cvetkovic, when talking about Dostoyevsky and his influence on Justin's attitude
toward Europe reminds us that the choice between these two is not ideological, but
"existential". Cvetkovic, Sveti Justino tajni lirnosti, p. 165.
86 Popovic, Dostojevski o Evropi i slovenstvu, 1981, p. 339. 349.
87 "O neprikosnovenom velicanstvu foveka", in: Put Bogopoznanja - Filosofske
urvine, 1999, p. 469.
 Transformation in tire Theology of Tradition 343

cil, as it was done in obedience.SS He relied on the Fathers and carried his
task in obedience. If someone felt that his words had injured him, he
begged for forgiveness, his sinfulness did not enable him to better express
the truth. If the world is once to be united in the orthodox faith of the first
millennium, that can happen only in cooperation and sincere dialogue
with Western Christianity and culture. Orthodoxy cannot run away from
its responsibility for Western culture but must be its integral part. The atti-
tudes of Justin that critically deal with ecumenism mainly deal with the
wrong tendencies in the ecumenical movement, he is not principally
against the idea of dialogue with non-orthodox churches. For Justin, dia-
logue with the non-orthodox is not a heresy, he rather criticises method
and themes, criticises the ideology of ecumenism as a sort of new Christi-
anity .89 Justin understands himself as European, part of Europe, nolens vo-
lens, so the critique is not coming from outside, but it is a critique of self-
alienation from its own roots, a worry that shows how Justin cares about
Europe. "Bishop Nikolai and Father Justin were from the beginning Euro-
pean people", "the question of their relationship with Europe is not a
mere rhetorical pose, but an essential concern", writes Vasiljevic.9° There-
fore, the critique of European humanism is not so much a critique of the
people living in Europe, but of the modern world, sin in the world and a
lifestyle without God.91
We saw that Justin's central theological concept developed in two main
frameworks of his theology: Serbia's Orthodox identity svetosavlje and a
critique of European humanism. These were subjected to a critical reading
without attempting to reduce Justin's authority or to find an excuse for his
ideas. Hermeneutical presuppositions of Justin's theology of tradition
showed a functioning hermeneutical concept between an inclusive and
exclusive notion of tradition, in this case between God-man and svetosav-
lje. Both were considered authentic: Serbian Orthodoxy, because it is faith-
ful to the incarnated God and considers Him the fundament of all living;
God-man is considered authentic because its contextual appropriation is
not destructive, and it does not lead to violations, quite the opposite. Dis-
cussion about transformation of tradition therefore should not be avoided

S8 "Reflections on the Infallibility of European Man", in: Orthodox Faith and Life in
Christ, p. 115.
89 This is clearly visible in his recently found and published notes on ecumenism
(2010), see: Atanasije Jevtic (ed.), Sveti Ava Justin: Zapisi o ekumenismu. Manastir
Tvrdos, 2010, Ger.~an transl~tion in: Vladimir Cvetkovic (ed.), Heiliger Justin (Popo-
vic) von Celije, Uber den Okumenismus. Wachtendonk: Edition Hagia Sophia,
forthcoming 2017.
90 Vasiljevic, Susret i zajednicarenje u razlicitosti, p. 661.
91 It is worth not forgetting, that Justin does not idealise neither the East or Russia,
"No more horrible hell than in the Russian soul". Vasiljevic, Susret u ravni slobode i
ljubavi, p. 90.
344 Zdenko S Sir/ca

or refused, but is essentially needed: firstly, it explains how one Gospel

can become many Gospels, one Christ many 'Christs', one cup of wine
promising forgiveness many cups of wine bringing forgiveness of sins,
secondly, it gives the criteria of authenticity, for not every sermon
preaches love, not every church serves Christ, not every Eucharist brings
consolation of the souls of believers.

Abstract
This article deals with the work of Orthodox theologian Justin Popovic.
The aim of this article is to offer detailed analysis of the presuppositions
that build his theology of tradition, at the same time to offer a way how to
interpret his opus, without criticizing him for being anti-ecumenical and
opposed to modernity, and without fundamental understanding of his
ideas in a sense of ineffability. The main hermeneutical key is beheld in
the notion of God-man, which appears in several frameworks, the first
one is notion of Serbian orthodox identity called St Savaism, the second
one is the critique of European humanism. By keeping in mind possible
transformations of tradition, this study will point how these elements
connected with the right hermeneutical key build the theology of tradi-
tion, but can also lead to divergences and conflicts, as the reception of
Justin's ideas shows.