BISHOP JOVAN: EPISCOPAL LIBRARY – SECOND IN WORLD FOR EARLY SOUTH SLAVIC PRINTED BOOKS

PAKRAC, SEPTEMBER 28 /SRNA/ – His Grace Bishop Jovan of Pakrac-Slavonia told SRNA that the Episcopal Library in Pakrac has withstood centuries of attacks and destruction attempts over its 250-year history and is now one of the most important libraries at the crossroads of Central Europe and the Balkans — ranking second in the world by number of early South Slavic printed books.

Bishop Jovan said the library was named the Episcopal Library of Pakrac in the 19th century by Bishop Nikanor (Grujić), who spent much of his life in the area around Karlovci and was one of the most prominent figures in the national movement and spiritual life of the Serbian Church and people within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. "This library was the central library of the Serbian Metropolitanate in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It gathered everything our people brought from Kosovo, Metohija, and other Serbian regions before and during the Great Migration, as well as items saved from Bosnia ahead of the Ottoman advance," Bishop Jovan said. All of this, he noted, was collected by Bishop Kirilo Živković (1786–1807), a former Athonite monk, who turned the book collection into a formal library. "This is one of the most important libraries at the junction of Central Europe and the Balkans. It is the second most significant in the world when it comes to early South Slavic printed books — and it also houses a famous manuscript collection," he emphasized. LIBRARY HOLDS MASTERWORKS OF EUROPEAN HERITAGE SINCE THE 18th CENTURY The bishop pointed out that the library is rich in cultural and spiritual heritage, housing key works of European intellectual history from the 18th to the 21st centuries. "All the bishops of this Diocese were intellectuals — evident in the books they collected. Here you’ll find liturgical, theological, and historical works, including the first History of the Serbs by Jovan Rajić, the collected works of Lukijan Mušicki, the first edition of Friedrich Nietzsche’s collected works in German (bearing Bishop Miron’s stamp), the first edition of Jules Verne’s works in French, and the first edition of Alexander von Humboldt’s Cosmos," said Bishop Jovan. For Serbs, he added, enlightenment through Christ’s light has always gone hand in hand with intellectual enlightenment through books. "There’s no conflict between spiritual knowledge and intellectual knowledge — they both stem from the same light that shone at the creation of the world," Bishop Jovan stated. Among his favorite books that intellectually define the library is a German edition of the Monograph on the Churches of Constantinople from 1854. "This edition is held only by the world’s most important academic institutions — and by our Episcopal Library in Pakrac. We also own one of five surviving copies of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić’s translation of the Bible, and ours is the only one with a handwritten dedication," Bishop Jovan revealed. The library also preserves unique items — including Ethiopian and Jewish manuscripts, and even books from the personal library of German WWII General Edmund Glaise von Horstenau, who was stationed in Zagreb. VISITORS INCLUDE SCHOLARS LIKE COLUMBA STEWART Bishop Jovan noted that the Episcopal Library functions as a research institution — books cannot be removed but can be studied in the reading room. "We are able to host researchers, and many have already come from different countries. We had guests from Bulgaria, and at the grand opening of the Library during the consecration of the restored Cathedral, we were visited by Columba Stewart — director of the world’s leading institution for the digitization of Christian manuscripts, based in the USA. This was his fourth or fifth visit here," he said. According to the bishop, this highlights the global importance of the library — not only for Pakrac, where it is located, but for the entire region. "It is also precious to Banja Luka, because we built it together. We know that the two sides of the Sava River have always lived together — this is one people, one Church, and this library today equally belongs to Banja Luka, Krajina, and to Western Slavonia and the people of Slavonia," Bishop Jovan said. You can watch the full report on SRNA’s YouTube channel.