Теоријски заговорници класичног образовања у Српској Православној Цркви: Дионисије Новаковић и Никодим Милаш

Abstract

У испитивању доприноса који је Српска Православна Црква дала за развој српског класичног школства посебну истраживачку пажњу заслужују два теоријска текста у форми беседе: О похвалах и ползје наук свободних (1742) Дионисија Новаковића и Потреба класичног образовања за кандидате богословије (1887) Никодима Милаша. Ови текстови настали су у преломним тренуцима избора образовног модела: први, када је увођено модерно класично образовање у Срба, а други, када је ово образовање дошло под удар критике природњачко- научног правца у образовању. У раду су представљени, оцењени и упоређени аргументи и домети ових докумената узимајући у обзир историјски и перформативни контекст, као и ауторске специфичности.

One of the contributions of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the cultural and educational development of the Serbian nation is also in the organization and management of schools with a classical-humanistic orientation during the 18th–19th century. In addition to the practical aspect of this cultural and historical phenomenon two theoretical texts, both in form of speech, devoted to this issue deserve special attention: On the glory and usefulness of liberal arts (1742) by Dionisije Novaković, and The need for classical education for the seminarian candidates (1887) by Nikodim Milaš. These texts were created in crucial moments that marked the dilemmas and struggles over the issue of choice of an educational model — the first in a period when, not without an omnipresent resistance to cultural reorientation, a modern classical education was introduced to the Serbs, and the other when this education came under the criticism of the proponents of the natural-scientific direction in education. Both in the first and in the second case, the defense of classical scholarship (as a constant both of the Christian culture and the vital interests of Church education) was undertaken by the leading Serbian Church intellectuals of the time. Novaković delivered his commitment to classical education from the position of the professor of Petrovaradinski Šanac Spiritual Academy, and Milaš from the position of the rector of Belgrade Theological Seminary. Starting from the premise that we are dealing with documents of momentous significance, this paper presented, evaluated and compared their arguments and scope, taking into account the historical and performative context, as well as authorial specificity.