On June 7, 879, Pope John VIII sent three letters to the Croats – to Prince Branimir, Bishop Teodosius of Nin, and to the entire Croatian people after Prince Branimir wrote to him that he and the entire nation were returning to communion with the Roman Catholic Church (which had been interrupted by his predecessor Zdeslav, relying on Byzantium and Constantinople).
These important letters in which Pope John VIII accepts the return of the Croats to communion with the Apostolic See of Peter are the first international recognition of the young Croatian state, which has brought it into the circle of Western Christian and civilized nations.
In 1979, under the title “Branimir’s Jubilee”, the entire Church in Croatia solemnly celebrated the 1,100th anniversary of this important historical event – the exchange of letters between Prince Branimir and Pope John VIII. The most important celebration was on April 30, 1979 in Rome, when Pope John Paul II, together with all Croatian bishops, celebrated the first mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and delivered a sermon in the Croatian language.
See the large photo monograph of Branimir’s Year 1979.
In memory of this first international recognition of Croatia, June 7th since the beginning of the restored Croatian state is celebrated as the Day of Croatian Diplomacy.
The letters of Pope John VIII were written in Latin, and here we present them in Croatian translation:
Letter of Pope John VIII to the Croatian prince Branimir
“Dear son Branimir! Reading the letters of your lordship, which you sent to us through the venerable priest Ivan, our trusted one, I discerned more clearly than the sun, how much faith and sincere reverence you have for the church of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and for us. And because with the will of God you humbly confess and wish, as a dear son, to be faithful and obedient in all things to holy Peter and to us, who by the grace of God are in his place: therefore we greatly thank your lordship with this apostolic letter of ours, and with fatherly love we receive you as our most beloved son and embrace you in spirit, where you return to the bosom of the holy Apostolic See, your mother, in which your ancestors were also watered from the clearest spring with the sweet drink of holy doctrine; and we will be inclined to you with apostolic kindness, so that grace and blessing from the apostolic heads of St. Peter and Paul may always hover over you, even today and so that you may always be whole and safe from visible and invisible enemies, who constantly lie in wait and stand in the way of human salvation, and that you may more easily gain the desired victory over your enemies.
As we celebrated mass on the altar of St. Peter on the day of the Ascension of the Lord, we raised our hands and blessed you and all your people and your entire country, so that you may always be saved in body and soul and happily and securely rule the earthly principality here, and after death rejoice with God in heaven and reign forever
For as you strive to humbly submit to God and listen to His holy teaching and as you show the honor due to God for the love of God to His priests and ministers, you will undoubtedly be victorious and master over all your enemies and rebellious opponents. And therefore I admonish your zeal, that in all your actions you always have the Lord before your eyes, that you fear Him and love Him with all your heart, for the Psalmist says: ‘Blessed is the man who fears God and whose commandments he delights in. his; his seed shall be great on the earth’; and he himself says in the Gospel: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.”
Since this is so, if by your good works, which now shine, you glorify God, you will undoubtedly be crowned with eternal glory one day, for he himself testifies through Moses that he does so, saying: ‘I will glorify those who glorify me.’ So as you have prayed three times through the already mentioned priest John from our supreme authority, that we would bless you with our apostolic word for your better salvation, we have done so very gladly.
With fatherly love we receive you as our most beloved son and embrace you in spirit, where you return to the bosom of the holy Apostolic See, your mother, in which your ancestors also drank from the clearest spring with the sweet drink of holy doctrine
For as on the day of the Ascension of the Lord we celebrated Mass at the altar of St. “Peter, we have raised our hands and blessed you and all your people and all your land, that you may always be saved in body and soul, happily and safely rule the earthly principality here, and after death, rejoice with God in heaven and reign forever. And since we have come to know that this same priest John is truly faithful to you and us in everything, we have given him our apostolic letter to deliver to the Bulgarian king. Therefore, we beg you, for your love, grant to Saint Peter and us that with your permission, he may carry out this mission without delay, and therefore we thank you very much for your love.”
Letter from Pope John VIII to Bishop Theodosius of Nin
On the same day, June 7, 879, Pope John VIII The second letter addressed to the Bishop of the Church of Nin, Theodosius, writes:
“Having received and read the letter of your benevolence, we have discerned more clearly than the sun the sincerity of your devotion and fidelity that you cherish for the Church of the blessed Peter the Apostle and our papacy. And since you have made the effort to seek our grace and blessing with a completely humble heart, we have greatly rejoiced in this. Namely, the venerable priest John, coming from you, brought us many beautiful words about your honesty and patience, which is to be highly appreciated in a priest of Christ.
But with all your heart and all your readiness return to the bosom of the Apostolic See, from where your predecessors received the sweet doctrine of God with the form of holy instruction and the honor of the supreme priesthood, so that you yourself, with the consent of Christ, may receive from the Apostolic See, which is the head and teacher of all the churches of God
Therefore, as a dear member of the body of Christ and a spiritual son, we embrace you with the outstretched hands of our apostleship and love you with a fatherly love With your love, we are always willing to support you with apostolic kindness. Therefore, we admonish your discernment not to turn to any other side and not to desire to receive the episcopal honor contrary to the holy principles of the venerable fathers – listening to that desired voice of the supreme Judge: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you have been faithful over a little, I will put you over much. Enter into the joy of your master!’ (Mt 25:21 and 23). Instead, return with all your heart and all your readiness to the bosom of the Apostolic See, from where your predecessors received the sweet doctrine of God in the form of holy instruction and the honor of the supreme priesthood, so that you yourself, with the consent of Christ, may receive from the Apostolic See, which is the head and teacher of all the churches of God, episcopal consecration by my ordination, and so that, according to the ancient custom of St. Peter, and always protected by our reputation and care, you may firmly and securely govern the people of the Lord entrusted to you and, coming before the eyes of To the Most High, ‘he came with a shout, carrying his sheaves’ (Ps 126:6) and could triumphantly say to the Lord: ‘Here I am and the children you have given me!’ (Is 8:18 – Heb, 2:13) and therefore deserved to rejoice forever with God.”
Letter of Pope John VIII to the clergy and the entire Croatian people
The third letter of Pope John VIII, written on the same day, was addressed to all the priests and the entire Croatian people:
“When we read the letter of your prince Branimir, which he personally sent to us through the venerable priest Ivan, we recognized not only his loyalty but also the sincerity of your faith and the love you have for St. Peter, the leader of the apostles and for us. Since you desire with all your soul and with all your readiness to return as beloved sons to the holy Roman Church, from which, as you know, your parents received the sweet teaching of the holy sermon, in a lively desire that you may have our apostolic grace and blessing, this has filled us with great joy.
Therefore, be faithful to God and St. Peter until death, as you have commanded, ‘and you will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him’ (James 1:12).
And therefore we extend our hands and embrace you and receive you back with paternal love, and we are always willing to support you apostolically with kindness, if you sincerely cherish and faithfully keep this readiness and promise of yours to the end. For the Lord says: ‘He who endures to the end will be saved.’ (Mt, 10,22; 24,13) And the apostle Paul says the same: ‘You have become partakers of Christ, if only you hold the faith you had at the beginning firm to the end.’ (Heb, 3,14).
Therefore, as you have commanded, be faithful to God and to St. Peter until death, ‘and you will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him’ (James 1,12). For we constantly remember you before the Lord in our holy prayers and, lifting up our hands to him, we commend you to Almighty God together with our beloved Son, who is your prince, and we bless you with every spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ our Lord, so that now and forever you may be blessed together with body and soul, and may rejoice with the Lord forever.”
