The 1937 concordat crisis in Yugoslavia: culmination of the conflict between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the state

The article focuses on the relationship between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia led by Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović, during the period of regulating of the legal status of the Roman Catholic Church before the so-called Concordat Crisis of 1937 came to an end. The crisis resulted in the halting of the Concordat ratification process with the Vatican. The central issue of the article is the resistance to the ratification of the Concordat with the Vatican on the part of the hierarchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church led by the influential figures such as Patriarch Varnava and Bishop Nikolai (Velimirović) of Žiča, the head the Orthodox movement of devout believers who greatly contributed to the increase in protest activity against the Concordat among the Serbian Orthodox population. Significant attention is paid to reconstructing the chronological sequence of the key event of the Concordat Crisis - the “Bloody Cross Procession” on July 19, 1937. Analyzed are the coordination of government actions throughout the crisis and the contribution to the escalation of interethnic and interreligious conflicts provided by the opposition political parties and external forces represented by the Holy See in the context of the topic discussed.