Thanks to Darko Tišljar – an amazing middle school teacher, I fell in love with history pretty early in my life. While other kids weren’t even thinking about their future, I knew exactly what I want to do in my life! After high school, I enrolled at the Faculty of Croatian study where I got my bachelor’s degree in History and Croatology. During my sophomore year, early Christian history became the prime focus of my research interest. A bachelor’s thesis was on the historical existence of Jesus. After that, I pursued my Master’s degree at the same faculty. In 2016, I defended my Master’s thesis entitled “The Relationship between the Proto-Orthodoxy and Gnosticism in the 2nd and 3rd century: Between the Historical Reality and Contemporary Interpretations”. Afterward, I enrolled in postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2019 I defended the synopsis of my dissertation thesis "The Social and Religious Capital of Great Church and Valentinian Gnostic School in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries". In 2022 I successfully (summa cum laude) defended my dissertation thus earning my doctoral degree in history.
In 2019 I started to work as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Croatian Studies (department of history) where I teach several undergraduate and graduate classes related to the history of Christianity. During my postgraduate studies, I constantly expanded my knowledge (both on the theoretical and practical levels). Among the other things, I attended instructions in the ancient Greek language for several years, thus gaining the ability to read primary sources important in understanding the formation and the development of the Christian religion. During that time, I began with a concrete research activity that include numerous written articles and participation in conferences where I presented different topics related to early Christian history. Recently I began to study late antique monasticism with a special focus on the St. Pachomius and his followers!
Working experience/Appointments:
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Croatian Studies, Department of History
Junior research assistant2019 - Present
Research interests
Late antique monasticism, St. Pachomius, early Christianity, Gnosticism, Social world of the first Christians, Historical Jesus studies, Sociological approaches to the late antique and early medieval monasticism, Narratology.
Projects
“Enterprising Humility: Cultural Imprints of Religious Communities in Croatia and Europe” (University of Zagreb – Faculty of Croatian Studies). Position: associate
“Saints and shaping of religious identites” (University of Zagreb – Faculty of Croatian Studies, Dresden University of Technology – Research Center for Comparative History of Religious Orders). Position: associate (This project is pending approval by the Ministry of Science and Education)
Teaching experience
BA level courses
Contacts between civilizations in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages
Society and Religion: 13th – 15th Century
Catholic religious orders in Croatian culture
Roman History and Civilization
MA level courses
Cultural History and Latinity: The Middle and Early Modern Ages
Guest lectures
“Mary Magdalene and the Gnostics: views about the early Christianity in apocryphal Gospels” – Class: Modern myths about the medieval Christianity (Assoc. Prof. Trpimir Vedriš), Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Zagreb
“The Contribution of medieval religious communities in science and education” – Class: Catholic religious orders in Croatian culture (Prof. dr. Mijo Korade), Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb.
“Historical Jesus and the first Christians: Cultural Impact and the Transformation of Roman Society”, Renewing our Minds, Crikvenica (Croatia) 2021.
"The Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code", Guest Lecturer at the Summer School for Latin Language and Culture, Rijeka (Croatia), 2021.
"The Historical Origins of the Christian Belief in Heaven and Hell", Guest Lecturer at the Summer School for Latin Language and Culture, Zadar (Croatia), 2022.
Conferences (selection)
- international conference Negotiating Authority – Models of Governance in Medieval and Early Modern Times (Pécs, Hungary, April 7-8th 2022.): The Clash of Authorities: St. Pachomius and Episcopal Structures in the 4th Century Egypt.
- Conference VI. Congress of Croatian Historians (Rijeka, Croatia, October 1-3rd 2021): The Concepts of authority and charisma in the Rule of St. Pachomius.
- International conference „Authority and Consent in Medieval Religious Communities “, (Zagreb, Croatia, October, 28-29th 2021, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb), participant in discussion.
- XIV International Conference Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy (Split, Croatia, September 3-5th 2020.): The Case of Galileo Galilei: The Problem of the Relationship Between Science and Religion.
- XIII International Conference Mediterranean Roots of Philosophy (Split, Croatia, April 4-6th 2019.): Why This New Testament? The Process of Canonization.
Publications- articles (selection)
“The Egyptian Late Antique Monasticism: Between the Traditional Paradigm and the Contemporary Research", Historijski zbornik (forthcoming).
“The Cult of Martyrs and the Christianization of the Roman Empire: Apostasy in Early Christianity”, Historical Contributions (forthcoming).
“Charisma and Authority in the Early Church: coexistence or conflict”. In: Biography, hagiography and charisma, ed. Marko Jerković (forthcoming). "Historical Jesus and Mythicism: Critical Evaluation of Richard Carrier's Theory", Diacovensia (forthcoming).
Ἅιρεσις as a social phenomenon: the emergence of the Christian notion of ‘heresy’”, Journal of the Institute of Croatian History, vol. 51. (2019).
“Going to School in the Ancient World: Towards a Clearer Understanding of Education and Literacy in the 1st Century Palestine”, New Presence – Journal of Intellectual and Spiritual Issues, vol. 17 (2019).
“Between psychology and history: different approach in Historical Jesus Studies and critique of the Criteria of Authenticity” ( as co-author with dr. Ivan Karlić), New Presence – Journal of Intellectual and Spiritual Issues, vol. 16. (2018).