The Mystical in the Work of Saint Nicholas Velimirović

St. Nikolaj Velimirović, a major Serbian theologian of the twentieth century, combined spiritual depth with active involvement in church, politics, and culture. He used poetic language instead of academic theology to convey his mystical experiences. Fascinated by Indian ascetic and religious traditions, he developed the idea of Universal Man (Svečovek) to express a universal unity. Later, he turned to Eastern Orthodox theology, finding in the Christology of the Eastern Church Fathers a testimony of meeting Christ in love and truth.

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Abstract

Abstract St. Nikolaj Velimirović is known as one of the most influential Serbian theologians of the twentieth century. In his work he shows an admirable spiritual strength and contemplative depth that one would not expect from a thinker who was involved in all important ecclesiastical, political and cultural events of his era. He deliberately replaces the language and methods of academic theology with the language of poetry. This enables him to appropriately express the strength of his own mystical experience. He was fascinated by the ascetic and religious tradition of India and tried to explain his idea of a universal unity of all with the idea of Universal Man (Svečovek). Gradually he turns to the theological and ascetic tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy. There he finds, in the Christology of the Eastern Church Fathers, the testimony of the same experience of meeting Christ in love and truth.