Source:
https://www.stolac.co/stolac/stolac-vij ... -u-zagrebuTranslation from Croatian is courtesy of Google...
Michaelmas Day, the day of the thousand-year-old Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan, celebrated in Zagreb
On October 21 and 22, the Community of Croats of Eastern Herzegovina in Zagreb celebrated Michaelmas, the patron saint of the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrka, St. Michael, with a rich two-day cultural program. With this gathering, the Community of Croats of Eastern Herzegovina in Zagreb once again pointed out the geostrategic importance of the area from which its members come, which is little known and talked about in the Croatian public, although the remains of medieval churches and written monuments and reality (Croats are mostly still in the municipalities Ravno, Neum and Stolac and in the eastern parts of the municipalities of Čapljina and Mostar, which geographically belong to eastern Herzegovina, and until recently were a large minority in Nevesinje and Trebinje) point to the continuity and vibrancy of the area of the oldest diocese in Bosnia and Herzegovina established after the Croatian settlement, the Archdiocese of Trebinje-Mrkan, which this year celebrates the thousandth anniversary of its first mention.
On the first day, a commemorative gathering dedicated to the Croatian politician, lawyer and publicist Željko Raguž (1959 - 2022) was held in the premises of HVIDRA. After the welcoming speech of the President of the Community of Croats of Eastern Herzegovina, Branko Mustapić, and the blessing sent by the Stolac parish priest, Don Ljubo Planinić, the president of the Stolac branch of Matica Hrvatska and the vice-chairman of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mladen Bošković, spoke about Raguž's political activities, outlining Raguž's path from the president of the Stolac municipality through work on political and after the military organization of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina until his work in the government of the Herzegovina-Neretva County and the establishment of the Croatian Documentation Center of the Homeland War in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Mostar (of which he was the director) and representative mandates in the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian State parliament, in which his contribution to the work of the committees for war veterans and Croats outside the Republic of Croatia is particularly highlighted.
Journalist, literary critic and publicist Mate Kovačević particularly touched on Raguž's journalistic work, especially the book "Već viđeno", in which Raguž dissected the reality of Bosnia and Herzegovina, always finding some parallel from the past and emphasizing its modernity because history repeats itself. Linguist Domagoj Vidović recalled his collaboration with Željko Raguž during fieldwork in eastern Herzegovina and his collaboration in the magazine of the local branch of Matica Hrvatska "Stolačko kulturno proljeće", whose editor Raguž was for many years. At the end, Mladen Bošković announced that the next issue of "Stolačko Cultural Spring" will be dedicated to Željko Raguž.
On the second day, in the premises of the Church of the Holy Mother of God on Jarun, after the introductory speech by Don Ljubo Planinić, in which he very vividly described how the Croats in eastern Herzegovina are still fighting for survival on every inch of the area in which they have survived to this day, a three-volume book about To the Croats in the Nevesinje, Foča and Čajniče areas of Don Ante Luburić and Anton Šarac, publications of the Stolac branch of Matica hrvatska and the literary work of Ljubo Krmek. During the presentation, Mladen Bošković, Mate Kovačević and Domagoj Vidović referred to the continuity of the Croatian cultural presence in that area, which today is almost completely abandoned by the Croats, where toponyms and anthroponyms containing Croatian names have been preserved (in Nevesinje and Foča) and where we find the remains of a Catholic church from XII. century (in Foča) and valuable written documents (such as the Čajniče Gospel written in Croatian Cyrillic and Glagolitic script and the Kunovsko writing written in Croatian and Latin). Mladen Bošković presented the rich publishing activity of the Stolac branch of Matica Hrvatska, which, in addition to the Stolac Cultural Spring annual, can also boast of various literary and linguistic publications. At the end, Mate Kovačević and Domagoj Vidović presented the literary work of one of the most original Croatian writers (primarily a poet, but also a novelist, essayist and anthologist and organizer of various literary events), Ljubo Krmek, who personally addressed the audience and whose verses were read by the actor Niko Pavlović , until recently the director of the "Komedija" theater. During the second day, the program was led by the secretary of the Community of Croats of Eastern Herzegovina, Josip Šijaković. Stjepan Bošković, the mayor of Stolac, graced the meeting with his presence, among others. The gathering was celebrated with a holy mass and an appropriate gathering in the premises of the Church of the Holy Mother of Freedom.
With this gathering, the Community of Croats of Eastern Herzegovina in Zagreb once again pointed out the geostrategic importance of the area from which its members come, which is little known and talked about in the Croatian public, although the remains of medieval churches and written monuments and reality (Croats are mostly still in the municipalities Ravno, Neum and Stolac and in the eastern parts of the municipalities of Čapljina and Mostar, which geographically belong to eastern Herzegovina, and until recently were a large minority in Nevesinje and Trebinje) point to the continuity and vibrancy of the area of the oldest diocese in Bosnia and Herzegovina established after the Croatian settlement, the Archdiocese of Trebinje-Mrkan, which celebrates the 1000th anniversary of its first mention this year.
