Christian Cyclopedia

(Jugoslavia). Area: ca. 98, 766 sq. mi. For current information see CIA World Factbook. The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was founded 1918, after Allied victory in WW I. Name changed to Yugoslavia 1929. Proclaimed a communist republic 1945 and organized as a federated republic January 1946. Composed of 6 republics: Serbia,* Croatia,* Slovenia,* Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina,* and Macedonia. Const. adopted April 1963 gave the country the name Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Political parties limited to communists and the communist-dominated Socialist Alliance of Working People.

Ca. 42% of the people are Serbian Orthodox, 32% RC, 12% Muslim, ca. 12% unchurched; less than 1% are Prot., including ca. 30,000 Reformed; ca. 1% other religions, including perhaps ca. 2,000 Jews.

Yugoslavia dissolved into ethnic war 1991. Slovenia and Croatia seceded in June 1991, bosnia-Her-zegovina on February 29, 1992. Macedonia arrived at independence 1991–92. Serbia and Montenegro merged to form the Federal Rep. of Yugoslavia (pop. 10.4 million; area: ca. 45% of the old fed. territory) on Monday, April 27, 1992. bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia joined the UN May 22, 1992.

At time of Reformation P. Truber* became the “Slovenian Luther,” credited with creating the Slovenian literary language to bring the Gospel to his people. J. Ungnad* von Weissenwolf also espoused printing of Ev. literature. The Counter Reformation almost exterminated the Prot. movement.

After Emperor Joseph II of Austria granted religious tolerance 1781, many Ger. Luths. settled in lowland areas of what is now Yugoslavia. After WW I the Luth. people were largely neglected. In 1920 the Yugoslav government ordered all Luths. to unite. They formed the Ev. Ch. of the Augsburg Conf. in Yugoslavia. WW II and its aftermath brought expulsions and massacres. After WW II there were 4 Luth. chs. in Yugoslavia: 1. Ev. Christian Ch. of the Augsburg Conf. in the People's Republic of Slovenia-Yugoslavia (autonomous after WW II); 2. Ev. Ch. in the People's Republics of Croatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina and the Autonomous Province of Voivodina (remnant of 300,000 Ger. Luths.); 3. Ev. Ch. in the People's Republic of Serbia (Hungarian Luths.); 4. Slovak Ev. Christian Ch. of the Augsburg Conf. in Yugoslavia (formerly part of the Luth. Ch. of Hungary; autonomous since 1918).