Nikolaj Velimirović

[[File:Nikolaj-Velimirović.jpg|thumb|165px]]
{{fascism|1}}
'''Nikolaj Velimirović''' {{lived|1881|1956}} was a Serbian [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] bishop, [[Conservatism|ultraconservative]] [[antisemitism|anti-Semite]], and [[Communism|anti-Communist]] from 
[[Yugoslavia]]
 [[Serbia]], canonized as [[saint]] by the Serbian Orthodox Church. He was one of the masterminds behind the so-called Saint Sava-nationalist movement, a mixture of Serbian [[nationalism]] and Orthodox clericalism.

==Biography==
Prior to [[World War Two]], Velimirović spoke positively about [[Hitler]], praising his union of [[Nazism|German nationalism]] and [[Positive Christianity|Christianity]]. Velimirović was also a close supporter of Dimitrije Ljotić, another [[Antisemitism|anti-Semite]] and [[Fascism|clerical-fascist]], who would go on to collaborate with the [[Nazis]]. Nevertheless, after the [[Nazis]] occupied [[Yugoslavia]] in 1941, they put Velimirović under house arrest for reasons unknown until September 1944. He spent the next three months in the [[Concentration camp|Dachau concentration camp]], again for reasons unknown. He was released and brought to [[Slovenia]] at the beginning of 1945 in attempt to rally [[Communism|anti-communist]] forces in [[Yugoslavia]] to fight alongside the [[Nazis]] against [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] partisans and the [[Soviet Union|Red Army]]. Velimirović was 
taken prisoner
 liberated by the US 36th Infantry Division in [[Austria]]. As [[Communists]] took power in [[Yugoslavia]], Velimirović couldn't go home. He found refuge in Libertyville, [[Illinois]], where he died in 1956.

==Anti-semitism==
Velimirović was an [[Conservatism|ultra-conservative]] and viewed [[scientific]] and technical progress as a [[International Jewish conspiracy|Jewish plot]] against [[Jesus]]. According to him, [[Europe]] was 
{{quotebox|the main battlefield of the [[Jew]] and his father, the [[devil]], against the [[God|heavenly Father]] and [[Jesus|his only begotten Son]]. […] [[Jews|[Jews]]] first need to become legally equal with [[Christians]] in order to repress [[Christianity]] next, turn [[Christians]] into [[Atheism|faithless]], and step on their necks. All the modern [[European]] slogans have been made up by [[Jews]], the crucifiers of [[Christ]]: [[democracy]], strikes, [[socialism]], [[atheism]], [[Secularism|tolerance of all faiths]], [[pacifism]], universal revolution, [[capitalism]] and [[communism]]... All of these are invention of the [[Jews]] and their father, the [[Devil]].}}

Items listed by Velimirović as "Jewish tools against Jesus" are:<ref>[https://vreme.com/vreme/sporno-slovo-u-crkvenom-kalendaru/ Sporno slovo u crkvenom kalendaru]. vreme.com, 29 maj 2003.</ref>
{{collist|2|
* [[Aircraft|Airplanes]]
* Aqueducts
* [[Germ theory denialism|"Mania for cleanliness"}}
* Microscopes
* [[Rail transportation|Rails]]
* Sewerage
* Steam engines
* Submarines
* Telescopes
}}

== Canonization ==
In [[Communist]] [[Yugoslavia]], Velimirović was a [[taboo]] theme; he was seen as traitor and collaborator<ref group=note>And that is not far from truth.</ref> and stripped of his civil rights. However, during the wave of liberalization during the '80s, a pamphlet written during his captivity in Dachau and collected and printed by his cousin, a former bishop, begun to circulate. A new generation of Velimirović disciples emerged (two of them are still high officials of [[Serbian]] [[Orthodox Church]]) and sought for his political rehabilitation. His [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic views]] were put aside or relativized. One of his apologists said that Velimirović's [[Antisemitism|negative views on Jews]] were "[[Faith|expressions of tremendous God's love]]" and that Velimirović's "[[Lie|condemns, because he loves them]]".

Velimirović's remains were shipped back to [[Serbia]] in 1991. Concurrently with rehabilitation, a campaign for his canonization was waged, but there was a problem - no miracle had ever been attributed to Velimirović. Pavle (Paul), the new patriarch of the SOC rejected demands for Velimirović's canonisation, reasoning that canonization should not be done as an act of vengeance against [[Communist]] mistreatment of Nikolaj. Furthermore, the patriarch also pointed that Velimirović [[smoking|smoked]], and true saints are free of all sins.

In order to find a "miracle" that will unlock canonisation process, disciples turned to a [[Russian]] nun from the [[USA]], who testified that Velimirović [[bullshit|told]] her that he had been face-to-face with the [[Lord]] while he was in captivity in Dachau.<ref group=note>Nobody asked why God didn't speak with German sentries and force them to release prisoners.</ref> In 2003, they finally succeeded in making Velimirović as one of the saints of the SOC.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velimmirovic, Nikolaj}}
[[Category:Antisemites]]
[[Category:Christian clergy]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
[[Category:Serbia]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Racists]]

Categories: Antisemites, Christian clergy, Fascists, Serbia, Saints, Racists