Croatian History

A Croatian theologist, ecumenist, panslavist and musicologist Juraj Krizanic (1618-1683) was trying to initiate the dialog on the unification of the Russian Church with Rome. He dreamed about an open and peaceful dialog with Orthodox Christians. His major works are “Razgovory ob vladatelstvu” or “Politika” (written in panslavic Esperanto that he invented as a combination of his native Croatian, Russian and church-slavonic), written during his 15 year exile to Siberia and the panslavic grammatical book “Gramatično iskazanie ob ruskom jaziku”…

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A Croatian Jesuit Nikola Plantic (born in Zagreb, 1720-1777) studied in Zagreb, Graz, Vienna and Trnava in Slovakia. He was teaching logic and philosophy at the Jesuit University in Cordoba in Argentina. In some books we can read that Plantic allegedly had an important role in the formation of the unique Jesuit Kingdom in Paraguay, established for the wellbeing of native Guarani Indians. It is true that the Jesuits managed to organize prosperous economic and cultural life, including printing in…

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Ivan Pastric (Ioannes Pastritius, Givanni Pastrizio, 1636-1708), Croatian theologist and Hebraist in Rome, redactor of glagolitic books, was born in Poljica near the city of Split. He was cofounder of the Academy of Council in Rome (1671), and among the first members of the famous Accademia dell’Arcadia (since 1691, only six months after its foundation). Giulio Bartolocci, his professor, claimed for Pastric to be the greatest connoisseur of Hebrew language in Rome, and a fine interpreter of Talmud. Congregation de…

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Benedikt Rogacic (1649-1719), was esteemed Jesuit, writer and poet from Dubrovnik, who was writing in Latin and Italian. Among his ethical works we mention his poem Euthymia sive tranquilitate animi (Rome, 1690), in which he celebrates the peace of mind in verse. His most important prose work is L’Uno necessario (five folumes, Rome 1697-1708). Both these works had a great success, especially the first one, which had numerous reprints and several translations up to these days. See an article by…

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Josip Marinović (1741-1801). Portrait kept in Gospa od Škrpjela, Boka kotorska.Photo by Mijo Korade. Josip Marinovic (1741 – 1801), was a Jesuit born in Perast – Kotor (in Boka kotorska, annexed to Montenegro in 1945), professor of theology in Venice. His friendship with an Armenian banker Serpos resulted in his interest for the history of Armenians. His assiduous research resulted in the book “Compendio storico…della nazione armena”, published in Venice in 1783. The book had a great success. Though it…

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Vladimir Solovev (or Soloviev, Solovjov, correct reading: Solovyov, 1853-1900), outstanding Russian humanist, religious philosopher and poet, spent a part of his life in Croatia, with Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer and in Zagreb. In Zagreb Soloviev published his book Istoriya i budushchnost’ teokratii (The History and future of Theocracy) in 1886, the first volume of projected (but never completed) three volume work. Let us cite a part of a speech of Pope John Paul II (1 September 1996): For him…

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St Leopold Bogdan Mandic (1866-1942, memorial day 30th July)

Ivan Benigar was born in Zagreb in 1883, studied in Graz and Prague, and since 1908 lived Argentina, in Patagonia, among Mapuches or Araucanos Indians. He wrote a dictionary of Mapuche language and several other books. Since 1924 he was a member of the “Council of American history”, which is today “National history academy” in Buenos Aires. Married with Eufemia Scheypuquin, grand-daughter of Mapuches chieftain Catriel, he had 11 children. When she died, after 6 years he married again with…

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Aleksa Benigar (Alexius Benigar, 1893-1988), born in Zagreb, was a Croatian missionary in China for 25 years, since 1929 till 1954. He is an author of an extensive monograph about blessed Alojzije Stepinac. His Chinese name was Pen Lin Gan, and he taught theology for three generations of Chinese students in Hankow, several hundred of them. He wrote an extensive two volume work “Liturgia Romana”, in Beijing in 1947. He also wrote an extensive work “Theologia spiritualis” in the Latin language, dedicated…

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As many as thirty intellectuals from Croatia were members of the famous Accademia dell’Arcadia (Academy of Arcadia) in Rome, founded in 1690 as the literary and scientific circle around the Swedish queen Cristine (in 1925 it assumed the sub-title Accademia Letteraria Italiana). The members obtain the special names inside the Accademia (Inter Arcades). Some of outstanding Croatian members of Arcadia were Ivan Pastric (Inter Arcades Ergino Parorio), member of Arcadia only six months after its founding Gjuro Baglivi (Inter Arcades…

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