| dc.description.abstract | During the Great War the Faculty of Theology in Oxford received a group of about 55 theological refugees from a wounded Serbia. In this way the Serbian Church’s seminarian system of formation of theologians was preserved, including its clerical teachers and pupils. This gesture of the British authorities, in unison with the highest representatives of the Church of England, cannot be overestimated due to significant implications for the historical-social relations of the two Churches and nations. Among the first to arrive, in 1916, was Fr Justin Popović. He is regarded as one of the more influential Orthodox theologians in the twentieth century. In Oxford he was accepted to read for a B.Litt. degree. His thesis was entitled “The Religion of Dostoevsky”. It was the only thesis among those written by Serbians in Oxford during WWI not to receive the degree from the University’s Examiners. This chapter explores arguments for and against this result. Alongside, this chapter endeavors to demonstrate that next to a negative view of Western Christianity, Popović embraced a more positive understanding. This understanding is revealed in the web of positive references to British Christian minds. If this more inclusive side of Popović’s reflections on Western Christians is taken into consideration by a non-Orthodox (“Western”) Christian and is spiritually understood as a promising “contact-point”, then Popović’s uncompromising dogmatic-canonical strictures with regard to Western Christian denominations might not present a sufficient reason for the premature departure of some from his spiritual, theological and philosophical legacy. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. | en |
