Desecularization of Serbian Society and the Study of Monastery Bricks (1981 -1998)

Abstract

Changes in religiosity that took place in Serbia in the 1980s and 1990s have been a subject of sociological studies, but they can also be reviewed by having insight into paradigmatic research literature and scientific projects of the time. In the period of scarce publications about Orthodox heritage, and the rise of religious-theological publications, researchers from the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies of the University of Belgrade (CMS) and SASA investigated the composition and structure of Serbian monastery bricks. From 1981 to 1998, several publications on the topic of monastery bricks appeared, in which the academician and head of the CMS materials science group Momčilo Ristić had a prominent role. The work of the researchers gathered around the joint venture was motivated by their desire to explore national culture, tradition and history, and inspired by the durability of building materials and their aesthetic value. Realized at the time of desecularization, this project contributed to the promotion of Orthodox heritage in Serbia. The first phase involved medieval Serbian monasteries, while the second included the monasteries of Fruška Gora. The project whose conception and context are studied in this paper, is a connection of methods and techniques used by materials science on one side, with medieval studies, archaeology and history of art, architecture, science and technology studies on the other. For the CMS researchers, it was not a one-off initiative finished at the end of the last century, as this type of research continued throughout the first and the second decade of the 21st century.

Promene u religioznosti koje su se odigrale u Srbiji tokom 1980-ih i 1990-ih godina bile su predmet socioloških studija, ali se one mogu sagledati i uvidom u paradigmatičnu stručnu literaturu i naučne projekte tog vremena. U periodu nedostatka publikacija o pravoslavnom nasleđu i porasta broja religijsko-teoloških publikacija, istraživači Centra za multidisciplinarne studije Univerziteta u Beogradu (CMS) i SANU istraživali su sastav i strukturu manastirskih opeka. Od 1981. do 1998. godine publikovano je više izdanja koja za temu imaju opeke srpskih manastira, u čemu je istaknutu ulogu imao akademik i šef Odseka za nauku o materijalima CMS-a Momčilo Ristić. Rad istraživača okupljenih oko zajedničkog poduhvata bio je motivisan interesovanjem za nacionalnu kulturu, tradiciju i istoriju kao i estetikom, te dugovečnošću materijala upotrebljenih za gradnju. Realizovan u vremenu desekularizacije, ovaj projekat je doprineo prezentaciji i promociji srpske kulturno-istorijske baštine. Prvu fazu projekta karakteriše istraživanje srpskih srednjovekovnih manastira, dok su drugom fazom obuhvaćeni fruškogorski manastiri. Projekat čiji se koncepcija i kontekst proučavaju u ovom radu, predstavlja vezu metoda i tehnika koje se koriste u nauci o materijalima sa jedne strane, sa medievistikom, arheologijom i istorijom umetnosti, arhitekture, nauke i tehnologije sa druge strane. Za istraživače CMS-a to nije bila jednokratna inicijativa završena krajem prošlog veka, jer se ova vrsta istraživanja nastavila tokom prve i druge decenije 21. veka.