Autor analizira djela domaćih i inozemnih povjesničara, teologa, politologa i publicista posvećena položaju Srpske pravoslavne crkve u BiH tijekom austrougarske vladavine, koja su objavljena od početka devedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća do danas, uključujući i sinteze povijesti BiH čiji su autori opisivali vjersku politiku austrougarskih vlasti i njihov odnos prema najvažnijim konfesijama i njihovim institucijama. Naglašava da su u spomenutim djelima očita razmimoilaženja u ocjeni austrougarske vjerske politike i djelovanju Katoličke i Pravoslavne crkve, bilo da je riječ o vjersko-prosvjetnoj autonomiji, karakteru bosanskohercegovačkog ustanka, značenju vjerskih institucija za proces nacionalnih integracija ili položaju vjerskih zajednica i njihovih institucija pod austrougarskom
vlašću. Zbog nedostatne defi nicije pojmova etnička, vjerska i nacionalna zajednica u nekim djelima zamjetno je poistovjećivanje etničke s vjerskom zajednicom tijekom 17. i 18. stoljeća, odnosno
etničke i nacionalne zajednice u 19. stoljeću, a gotovo svi spomenuti autori postanak srpske nacije u BiH povezali su uz pripadnost pravoslavlju i jurisdikcijsku podređenost pravoslavnih kršćana u
BiH Pećkoj patrijaršiji. Međutim, nisu objasnili zašto je koncept moderne nacionalne države razvijen među srpskom višom socijalnom klasom i pravoslavnim crkvenim krugovima u južnoj Ugarskoj,
izvan Osmanskog Carstva, iako su ustvrdili da je Pećka patrijaršija širila srpski nacionalni osjećaj među pravoslavcima pod osmanskom vlašću. Autor je naglasio da su u sintezama povijesti BiH
povjesničari, sociolozi i politolozi koji su analizirali austrougarsku vladavinu ponavljali uobičajene zaključke o katoličkom prozelitizmu, negativnom djelovanju sarajevskog nadbiskupa Josipa Stadlera
i međusobnim odnosima pripadnika triju vjerskih zajednica, ali da nisu spomenuli rezultate istraživanja o katoličko-pravoslavnim odnosima i odnosu religije i politike do kojih su došli T. Vukšić, P.
Vrankić i Z. Grijak. Zaključio je da se bolje razumijevanje ovog razdoblja bosanskohercegovačke povijesti bez uvažavanja rezultata istraživanja trojice spomenutih autora ne može očekivati bez obzira
na razloge zbog kojih njihovi zaključci nisu privukli pozornost stručne javnostiIn this article author analyses work of many historians, theologians, publicists, and other researchers who had investigated position of the Serbian Orthodox Church during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whose work was published in the period from the 90s of the twentieth century until today. In his research author included syntheses of BH history in which one can find descriptions of Austro-Hungarian attitude towards religious matters and religious institutions of all confessional communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Author emphasizes that in these works one can find a considerable
diversity of estimations regarding this policy towards Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Moreover, the same situation is visible regarding the valuation of the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina, influence of the religious institutions on the national integrations and education, or towards confessional communities in general. Furthermore, author finds out that since terms like ethnic, religious and national community are not successfully determined many researchers did not use these notions properly; especially mixing ethnic and confessional aspect during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, and jumbling religious and national identities during the nineteenth century. By the same token, author stresses that in all the examined works foundation of the Serbian nationality was connected with
Orthodoxy and jurisdictional subordination of Orthodox believers in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Patriarchy in Peć (Pécs). However, these authors did not explain why this concept of modern Serbian national state was developed and constructed among Serbian
higher class members and Orthodox circles in the southern Hungary, i.e. outside the Ottoman Empire, though all these works state that the Patriarchy of Peć had spread national ideas among Orthodox Christians under the Ottoman rule. On the other hand, author of
this article emphasizes that in the historical syntheses historians, sociologists and others, who had investigated Austro-Hungarian rule, repeated usual conclusions regarding the Catholic proselytism, negative influence of Josip Stadler archbishop of Sarajevo, as well
as the obsolete conclusions regarding the relations among the members of three confessional communities, not taking into account recent investigations of Catholic-Orthodox relations by T. Vukušić, P. Vrankić and Z. Grijak. At the end, author concludes that without
including these recent investigations any progress in our understanding of this period and Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina is simply impossible
