Vekoslav Grmič (4 June 1923 – 21 March 2005) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, known for his sympathy towards

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

ideas.

Biography

He was born in the

Lower Styria Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy o ...

n village of Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici in what was then the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. He studied at a

priest seminary in Maribor. Already as a young man, he became influenced by the social thought of

Janez Evangelist Krek Janez Evangelist Krek (27 November 1865 – 8 October 1917) was a Slovene Christian Socialist politician, priest, journalist, and author. Life and career He was born and baptized ''Johann Krek'' in a peasant family in the village of Sveti Greg ...

Edvard Kocbek Edvard Kocbek () (27 September 1904 – 3 November 1981) was a Slovenian poet, writer, essayist, translator, member of Christian Socialists in the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation and Slovene Partisans. He is considered one of the best au ...

and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

philosopher

Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was a German Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the 20th century. Life and work Guardini was born in Verona, I ...

. After the invasion of Yugoslavia and the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupation of northern

in April 1941, Grmič started collaborating with the Communist-led

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation ( sl, Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene ...

. In 1950, he was ordained priest and between 1952 and 1958 he worked as a parish priest of

Vransko Vransko (; german: Franz) is a small town in central Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Vransko. It lies on the western edge of the Savinja Valley. This area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The municipality is now par ...

. In 1961 he graduated from the Theological Faculty in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

with a thesis on the theological elements in the

existentialist Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...

concept of ''

angst Angst is fear or anxiety ('' anguish'' is its Latinate equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin). The dictionary definition for angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity. Etymology The word ...

''. From 1962 until his retirement in 1991 he taught

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...

at the same faculty. In 1968 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Maribor by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

. He became known as the "red bishop" for his strong

leanings. In 1980, he was removed from office by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, although he nominally maintained the title of bishop and continued to teach at the Theological Faculty in Ljubljana. Grmič was a strong supporter of the

Liberation Theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...

and of the political-religious thought of the Swiss reformist theologian

Hans Küng Hans Küng (; 19 March 1928 – 6 April 2021) was a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author. From 1995 he was president of the Foundation for a Global Ethic (Stiftung Weltethos). Küng was ordained a priest in 1954, joined the faculty o ...

. Together with the fellow Slovene Roman Catholic theologian Janez Janžekovič, he became one of the supporters of a closer collaboration between Roman Catholics and Marxist in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. During his lifetime, Grmič published more than 40 books and several translation from

. In the last decade of his life, he often voiced his opinion in public, thus becoming a somewhat controversial figure. He often held very different views from other members of the local Roman Catholic hierarchy on several issues of social and political matters. He died in Maribor at the age of 82.

Main works

* ''O Bogu'' (''On God'', Ljubljana, 1966) * ''Vprašanja našega časa v luči teologije: sodobna evangelizacija'' (''The Issues of Our Time in the Light of Theology: Modern Evangelization''. Tinje/Tainach, Carinthia], 1978) * ''Med vero in nevero'' (''Between Faith and Infidelity'', Celje, 1969) * ''Resnica iz ljubezni'' (''Truth from Love'', Ljubljana, 1979) * ''Teologija v službi človeka'' (''Theology in the Service of Man'', Tinje/Tainach, 1975) * ''Življenje iz upanja'' (''Life from Hope'', Ljubljana, 1981) * ''Humanizem problem našega časa'' (''Humanism and the Problem of Our Time'',

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, 1983) * ''V duhu dialoga: za človeka gre'' (''In the Spirit of Dialogue: It's about Man'', Ljubljana, 1986) * ''Kocbekova odločitev za OF in (njegov) krščanski etos'' ('' Kocbek's Decision for the Liberation Front and (His) Christian Ethos'', Ljubljana, 1994) * ''Ušeničnikovo razumevanje umetnosti in literature'' ('' Ušeničnik's Conception of Art and Literature'', Ljubljana, 1994) * ''Izzivi in odgovori'' (''Challenges and Answers'', Ljubljana, 2000) * ''Poslednji spisi: misli o sodobnosti'' (''Last Writings: Thoughts on Modernity'', Ljubljana, 2005)

External links

Obituary in the daily newspaper Delo (in Slovenian, with picture)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grmic, Vjekoslav 1923 births 2005 deaths People from Maribor People from Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici Slovenian Christian socialists 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Slovenia 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Slovenian theologians Slovene resistance members Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany Catholic socialists Christian socialist theologians Yugoslav Catholics 20th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests

Biography

Main works

See also

External links