DESECULARIZATION OF SERBIAN SOCIETY AND THE STUDY OF MONASTERY BRICKS (1981-1998)
DESECULARIZATION OF SERBIAN SOCIETY AND THE STUDY OF MONASTERY BRICKS (1981-1998)

Summary/Abstract: Changes in religiosity that took place in Serbia in the 1980s and 1990s have been a subject of sociological studies, but they can also be reviewed by having insight into paradigmatic research literature and scientific projects of the time. In the period of scarce publications about Orthodox heritage, and the rise of religious-theological publications, researchers from the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies of the University of Belgrade (CMS) and SASA investigated the composition and structure of Serbian monastery bricks. From 1981 to 1998, several publications on the topic of monastery bricks appeared, in which the academician and head of the CMS materials science group Momčilo Ristić had a prominent role. The work of the researchers gathered around the joint venture was motivated by their desire to explore national culture, tradition and history, and inspired by the durability of building materials and their aesthetic value. Realized at the time of desecularization, this project contributed to the promotion of Orthodox heritage in Serbia. The first phase involved medieval Serbian monasteries, while the second included the monasteries of Fruška Gora. The project whose conception and context are studied in this paper, is a connection of methods and techniques used by materials science on one side, with medieval studies, archaeology and history of art, architecture, science and technology studies on the other. For the CMS researchers, it was not a one-off initiative finished at the end of the last century, as this type of research continued throughout the first and the second decade of the 21st century.

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