Sacred Crossroads - Bosnia & Herzegovina's Religious Heritage
In few places has history created, out of a single geopolitical unit, such an unusual society tying centuries long contacts of different peoples,cultures, religions, and customs together. In the Illyrian-classical, pre Slavic period, the cults of the East, Roman Pantheon and young Christianity met in a very creative way. The wealth of archeological remains, the shrine to the god of Mitras, and early Christian basilicas are evidence of this. The Middle Ages were in interesting and culturally prolific period in Bosnia.
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Elements of East and West met and intertwined. There was Catholicism and Orthodoxy versus the Bosnian Church; the Cyrillic, Latin, and Glagolithic writing versus the Bosnian Cyrillic writing (Bosančica). Byzantium Serbian fine arts, western European Romanesque and Gothicism brought by the Croatian coastal practice versus the native artistic traditions like the hand-carved tombstones that line the countryside (stecak). One of the most predominant spiritual characteristics of this time was the Bosnian Church. Research to date has not fully clarified the theology, doctrine, ritual, character and organization of this church. However, the transition initiated by the Franciscan order starting in 1291 illustrates with what influence and strength the Bosnian Church had instilled Christian doctrines into medieval Bosnia. After the fall of the Bosnian Kingdom and the inclusion of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Ottoman Empire, some far reaching structural changes occurred. The spread of Islam made the strongest mark.
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A completely new spiritual and cultural framework was created. In a small territory and among a small number of inhabitants, all speaking the same language and all of similar Slavic origin, the three great Mediterranean civilizations met: Western European in the form of Catholicism, Byzantine in the form of Orthodoxy, and Islam in the form of the Ottoman State.
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When the Jews were banished from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century, the Ottomans offered them asylum. They introduced a fourth cultural component to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Notwithstanding of all human, inter-religious and inter-ethnic temptations and conflicts, the diverse cultural systems inherited throughout the generations created a Bosnia and Herzegovina in which the people have maintained a Bosnian consciousness and pride regardless of creed or ethnic background. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s religious traditions are testament to a rich cultural, religious and historical heritage. It is here that you will find the mystical and quaint Orthodox monasteries in pristine natural surroundings, the Franciscan monks serving their communities in the same fashion as their medieval predecessors, the beautiful Ottoman style mosques and minarets that dot the skyline, and the small but significant influence of the Jewish settlers and their ancient trades. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a magical mix of the great Mediterranean civilizations. One that you can only experience here. One that will fascinate and inspire you! - (Source: www.bhtourism.ba, Photos: Alen Lepirica)
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