The Methodist Church in Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1965: A Case Study of an Ecumenical Protestant Free Church in a Hostile Environment

Though in size resembling a sect, the Methodists of the former Yugoslavia functioned as a Protestant “Free Church” due to its international structural connection with a large worldwide Methodist Church. After disparate beginnings in the two locations, the Methodist of Vojvodina began to function in 1898 while in Macedonia, the former Congregationalist (called Evangelical) began their work in 1870 but were transferred to the Yugoslavia Methodist Mission Conference after World War I. In Vojvodina, most of the members were of German and Hungarian ethnicity who had already been Protestants before they joined the Methodists while in Macedonia, the members were ethnic Macedonians, formerly Orthodox Christians. In both localities, they sporadically experienced harassment and unequal legal status. When Yugoslavia became a communist country after World War II, ironically they obtained equal legal recognition as the other religious communities, but experienced various levels of persecution that were intense in the first decade after the war but gradually subsided with the liberalization of the society. In Vojvodina, the Methodists lost almost their entire German membership but these were replaced by the adherence of ethnic Slovaks in the late 1940s and early 1950s when their Blue Cross Society was banned. Theologically, the Methodists adopted the predominant view of nineteenth century pious Protestants that the large historical churches, especially the Catholic and Orthodox, have drifted away from the Gospel, but after World War II when the world-wide Methodist Church joined the World Council of Churches, a spirit of greater tolerance caused the Evangelical Methodists to cooperate with other churches. After the fall of Communism and the end of the wars following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, greater liberties were enjoyed. The greatest achievement was the election of one of its members, Boris Trajkovski, to the presidency of the Republic of Macedonia. Currently, the Evangelical or United Methodists are among the most dedicated proponents of dialogue and ecumenism in these lands

Theology through social and political action

This is the author's pdf of the book chapter.This book chapter discusses how social and political activism undertaken by Methodists can help to understand Methodist theology

Methodism in Macedonia Between the Two World Wars

After World War I ended, the part of Macedonia commonly called Vardar Macedonia was incorporated into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (subsequently renamed Yugoslavia). It was officially proclaimed to be a part of Serbia as the Serbian government did not recognize a separate Macedonian nationality. Some 10 stations of the American Board, including the Bitola Girls\u27 School, were in this area. The American Board attempted to maintain a semblance of unity in the Balkan Mission, but Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia were on such unfriendly terms that this was not feasible. For a while the American Board was planning to establish a strong mission in southern Yugoslavia, and the missionaries in Bulgaria made various recommendations in this direction, primarily suggesting sending out a competent missionary Serbian-speaking couple speaking, since the new government insisted that Serbian be the official language of Macedonia, and tried to obliterate the Macedonian or Bulgarian languages even though they were spoken by the majority

THE RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF METHODIST TICKETS, AND ASSOCIATED PRACTICES OF COLLECTING AND RECOLLECTING, 1741-2017

Among all the paper ephemera surviving from eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Britain, the humble Methodist ticket has attracted little attention from scholars and collectors. Issued quarterly to members as a testimonial to religious conduct, many still exist, reflecting the sheer quantity produced by 1850, and the significance of keeping practices, where Methodist habits were distinctive. This article explores first the origin and spread of tickets primarily within British Methodism, but also noting its trans-oceanic contexts. Apparently inconsequential objects, they shaped experience and knowledge, illuminating eighteenth-century religious life, female participation, and plebeian agency. Discussion then turns to patterns of saving and memorialization that from the 1740s preserved Methodists’ tickets. Such practices extended the life-cycle of the individual ticket and created the accidents of its survival, giving it new uses as an institutional resource. In recovering the dead, it acquired nostalgic value, but other capacities were lost and forgotten. The ticket’s origins, uses, and preservation intersect with major historical and historiographical currents to complicate established narratives of print, urban association, and commerce, and to present alternative understandings of collecting.Peer reviewe

Get on the Cart! Wesleyan Discipleship in an Age of Endemic (Chapter 15 of Thinking Theologically About Mass Incarceration)

Excerpt: Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said that the so,ul of society can be measured by its prisons. 1 If that is true, then the soul of society in the United States is sick. The statistics on mass incarceration provided elsewhere in this volume illustrate the endemic nature of the problem much like epidemiological data shows the occurrence of a disease, but the stories from prisoners and their families-which the three of us have heard and told-show even more poignantly the depth of the wounds caused by the tragedy of incarceration that defies Christian virtues in this country. We pray this chapter will be one of many applications of healing b\u3c~Jlm to address this societal disease

An Empirical Look at the Ecumenical Diaconate in the United States

The growth of interest in the escalating phenomenon of the diaconate in a number of denominations- predominantly in the North Atlantic region - has been well-documented in ecumenical dialogues, denominational reports, and scholarly publications. A number of articles have placed the diaconate in the larger context of ecclesiological reflection, but an accurate picture of the practical reality of individual deacons and their perceptions about their ministry has rarely been examined beyond anecdotal evidence? A better picture of the views and experiences of deacons is vital for at least two reasons. First, it is necessary to support ecumenical cooperation in the development of the diaconate as a movement for the renewal of the church\u27s mission and liturgy. Without an honest appraisal of the similarities and differences of deacons\u27 ministries, it is difficult to propose areas for ecumenical cooperation. Second, social scientific analysis of the modern diaconate can contribute valuable insights for ecclesiological reflection. Reflecting on his experience after Vatican II, Joseph A. Komonchak contends that social analysis must accompany theological reflection on the nature of the church

Religious Affiliation and Individual International-Policy Preferences in the United States

Empirical examination of individual-level survey data on national identity, in general, reveals a significant relationship between religious affiliation and an individual’s international-policy preferences and that this relationship varies across Protestant denominations. Specifically, we test attitudes toward import and immigration policies, the role of international institutions, and unilateral policy actions. The empirical results indicate that individuals affiliated with conservative Protestant denominations are more likely to support positions on international issues that can be regarded as consistent with the anti-globalist right. We also find evidence of a reinforcing regional effect among conservatives in the south, and differences in the preferences of Baptist and non-Baptist African Americans