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

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, known for his sympathy towards

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

ideas.

Biography

He was born in the

Lower Styria Styria (, ), also known as Slovenian Styria (; ) or Lower Styria (; ) to differentiate it from Austrian Styria, is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of St ...

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

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

. He studied at a

priest seminary in

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

. 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 and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

philosopher

Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was an Italian, naturalized German Catholic priest, philosopher and theologian. Life Romano Michele Antonio Maria Guardini was born in Verona in 1885 and was baptized in the Church of San ...

. After the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

and the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupation of northern

in April 1941, Grmič started collaborating with the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

-led

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation (), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene anti-fascist political party. The Anti-Imp ...

. In 1950, he was ordained priest and between 1952 and 1958 he worked as a parish priest of Vransko. In 1961 he graduated from the Theological Faculty in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

with a thesis on the theological elements in the

existentialist Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

concept of ''

angst Angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity. ''Anguish'' is its Romance languages, Latinate cognate, equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin. Etymology The word ''angst'' was introduced in ...

''. 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 Chu ...

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

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. In 1980, he was removed from office by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, 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 and of the political-religious thought of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

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 ...

. 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 , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. 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

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 Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

, 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 ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, 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)

References

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 Roman Catholics 20th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests

Biography

Main works

See also

References

External links