MED CESARJEM IN KRALJEM: LAVANTINSKI KNEZOŠKOF MIHAEL NAPOTNIK V LETU 1918 IN PO NJEM. (Slovenian)

During the last year of the World War I, the Prince-bishop Mihael Napotnik of Lavant already entered his 30th year as leader of the Lower Styrian diocese with its seat in Maribor. Although he had justly been regarded one of the most active members of the Austrian episcopate during the last pre-war decades, his remarkable absence from the greater political stage was the most obvious feature of his tenure in 1918. This circumstance already puzzled bishop's contemporaries, particularly in comparison with Napotnik's Ljubljana counterpart, Anton Bonaventura Jeglič who played a pivotal role during the separation of Slovenes from Habsburg monarchy. On the other hand, Napotnik himself took virtually no part in this process, although he did nothing to prevent his diocesan clergy from assuming (or only consolidating) their lead in it. His priest, Anton Korošec, even served as the more or less undisputed leader of these efforts. It is indeed almost impossible to answer the question, whether Napotnik was only unable to prevent his priests in their political actions (or was not interested in doing so, due to his preoccupation with theological writing), or there was a deeper antagonism between his public appearance as a typical Austrian ecclesiastical prince and his personal opinions and desires. It is pretty clear that Napotnik indeed represented a rather common bishop by standards of the Habsburg Austrian church, still deeply permeated by a sense of the necessity of union between throne and altar. So, it couldn't be expected that the Prince-bishop of Lavant would take any public action in the direction of breaching the long preserved political framework. It is therefore characteristic that the Catholic newspaper of Styrian Slovenes, Slovenski gospodar, felt compelled to "mobilize" the bishop of Krk, Anton Mahnič, as a proponent of change in early August 1918, when it became clear that the old certainties were shaken beyond repair. Mahnič was known as staunch champion of legitimism himself, but was on the other hand strongly opposed to the Josephine foundations of Austrian church system. Such opposition can't be traced in Napotnik, who even at the end of 1918 published his collection of speeches and sermons, dedicated to late emperor Francis Joseph I and his wife empress Elisabeth. But he obviously found some form of modus vivendi with the new state framework, since he both sent his representatives to the king Peter I's funeral (what Jeglič didn't do) in 1921 and shortly before his own death in spring 1922 warmly accepted a state decoration awarded to him by the king Alexander I. Regarding the life of Napotnik's diocese in the year 1918, many aspects offered some appearance of normality. The Prince-bishop conferred rite of confirmation to more than 10.000 children. He also ordained eight new priests. But on the other hand, a major part of his flock endured ever increasing hardships due to war efforts of the ailing monarchy. Many priests and seminarians were part of this efforts on the battlefield. The bishop led many processions and prayers for peace. Particularly his sermon, delivered on the Laetare Sunday in the wake of the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty, gives us an insight in his thinking at the time. In the sermon Napotnik underlined a deep wish for peace, but also interpreted the Great war as a God's punishment for transgressions of humanity in the decades leading to it. Similarly, he singled out the emperor Charles I and the pope Benedict XV as great peacemakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nell'anno 1918 la caratteristica principale dell'operato dell'arcivescovo di Maribor Mihael Napotnik era la sua assenza dalla scena politica più ampia. Il Napotnik praticamente non aveva preso parte al processo di distacco degli sloveni dalla Monarchia asburgica. D'altra parte, non aveva cercato di impedire al suo clero di prenderne parte o semplicemente di consolidare il ruolo guida durante quegli eventi. Risulta abbastanza avidente che il Napotnik rappresentava una figura episcopale ordinaria per gli standard della Chiesa austriaca asburgica ancora fortemente intrisa dell'idea della necessità di una connessione tra il trono e l'altare. Già nel 1918 il vescovo pubblicò una raccolta dei suoi discorsi e sermoni dedicati al defunto imperatore Francesco Giuseppe I e all'imperatrice Elisabetta. Ma allo stesso tempo, sembra che dopo il 1918 sia riuscito a trovato una sorta di modus vivendi con le nuove strutture statali della monarchia dei Karađorđević. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Najvidnejša poteza delovanja lavantinskega knezoškofa Mihaela Napotnika v letu 1918 je njegova odsotnost s širšega političnega prizorišča. Napotnik se tako rekoč ni udeleževal procesa slovenskega poslavljanja od Habsburške monarhije. Po drugi strani svoji duhovščini ni poskušal preprečiti njenega prevzemanja ali zgolj utrjevanja vodilne vloge v tem dogajanju. Precej jasno je, da je Napotnik predstavljal običajno škofovsko figuro po standardih habsburške avstrijske Cerkve, ki je bila še vedno močno prežeta s predstavo o nujnosti zveze med prestolom in oltarjem. Škof je še leta 1918 objavil zbirko svojih govorov in pridig, posvečenih pokojnima cesarju Francu Jožefu I. in cesarici Elizabeti. Toda sočasno se zdi, da je nekak modus vivendi našel tudi z novim državnim okvirjem monarhije Karađorđevićev po letu 1918. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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