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Vukašin Mandrapa

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Saint

Vukašin of Klepci
Fresco of Saint Vukašin in the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade
Fresco of Saint Vukašin in the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade
New Martyr
Died1942/1943
Jasenovac, Independent State of Croatia
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
Canonized1998 by the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Feast29 May [O.S. 16 May]
13 October [O.S. 31 August] (Synaxis of the Holy Martyrs of Jasenovac)
Attributesdepicted as an old layman, wearing traditional Serbian clothing and a Montenegrin cap, holding a scroll, martyr's cross or his own head; missing his limbs and appendages during his martyrdom

Vukašin Mandrapa[1] (Serbian Cyrillic: Вукашин Мандрапа; died 1942 or 1943), also known as Vukašin of Klepci[2] (Serbian: Вукашин Клепачки, romanized: Vukašin Klepački) and Vukašin of Jasenovac[3] (Serbian: Вукашин Јасеновачки, romanized: Vukašin Jasenovački) is a Serbian Orthodox layman who was alleged to have been murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Serbian Orthodox Church, His historical existence is disputed due to a lack of evidence. The sole source for his existence is the account of Nedo Zec, a neurologist who was a prisoner at the camp.

Alleged life and martyrdom

A fresco depicting the martyrdom of Saint Vukašin

The sole account of his life and martyrdom originates from Nedo Zec, a neuropsychiatrist who was a "free prisoner" in the Jasenovac concentration camp. Zec recounted a testimony an Ustaša executioner made to him in January 1943, claiming that he had murdered Mandrapa.[4]

According to one version of events, Mandrapa was a farmer and merchant from Klepci, living in Sarajevo.[5][6] Other sources claim his surname was Toholj and that he was from Lokve. The year of his death is also disputed, with sources citing either 1942 or 1943.[7]

Historian Ivo Rendić-Miočević [hr] argues that there is no historical evidence for Mandrapa's existence.[8][9]

A fresco of Saint Vukašin depicted as a cephalophore

According to Zec's testimony from 1970, Mandrapa was singled out by an Ustaša executioner, allegedly named Friganović (Josip or Mile), due to his stoic behavior during forced labour and mass executions. Friganović allegedly attempted to compel Mandrapa to bless the Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić. Mandrapa refused to do so, even after Friganović had allegedly cut off both his ears and nose after each refusal.[10] After ordering him to shout "Long live Pavelić!" for a fourth time and threatening to take his heart out with a knife, Mandrapa looked at Friganović and calmly stated "Do your job child". Friganović then allegedly cut out Mandrapa's eyes, tore out his heart, and slit his throat.[6]

Friganović told Zec that this was in the context of a killing contest he waged with Petar Brzica and other camp commanders, and boasted that by then he had slaughtered some 1,100 inmates.[6] According to Zec, this act caused Friganović to break down psychologically, leading to his inability to continue killing that night and requiring psychiatric treatment.[7]

The philosopher Slobodan Pražić argues that Zec's account is fictional.[11][page needed]

Mandrapa was listed among the victims of Jasenovac in 2007 by the Serbian Fund for the Research of Genocide in Jasenovac.[citation needed]

He was canonized as a saint and neomartyr by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1998, as Saint Vukašin of Klepci (Serbian: Свети Вукашин Клепачки, romanized: Sveti Vukašin Klepački).[12] His feast day is commemorated on 29 May [O.S. 16 May],[2] also being commemorated with the New Martyrs of Jasenovac on 13 October [O.S. 31 August].[3]

References

  1. ^ Informer.rs. "Vukašin Mandrapa - Informer.rs". INFORMER (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  2. ^ a b "New Martyr Vukasin of Klepci, Serbia". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  3. ^ a b "Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Jasenovac. Commemoration: August 31/September 13". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  4. ^ Bulajić, Milan (1994). The Role of the Vatican in the Break-up of the Yugoslav State. Stručna Kniga. pp. 156–157.
  5. ^ Mata, Santiago (2022). Mártires cristianos bajo el nazismo: La persecución de Hitler y la resistencia de los cristianos (in Spanish). Sekotia. p. 176. ISBN 9788411310833.
  6. ^ a b c Miletić, Antun. "Zver umorna od klanja!". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  7. ^ a b Logos, Aleksandar A. "Jasenovac in Croatia or a short story about a war and mass killing in it". pp. 38–40. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  8. ^ Rendić, Ivo (13 August 2015). "Osvrt na kanonizaciju Svetoga Novomučenika Vukašina Jasenovačkoga i blaženoga Alojzija Stepinca". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  9. ^ Šarac, Damir (27 February 2017). "Srbi se protive kanonizaciji Stepinca, a svecima proglašavaju likove iz bajki: pročitajte poremećenu priču o pravoslavnom svecu koji je zaustavio hrvatskog koljača Žilu". Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  10. ^ Manhattan, Avro (1986). The Vatican's Holocaust: The Sensational Account of the Most Horrifying Religious Massacre of the 20th Century. Ozark Books. p. 48.
  11. ^ Pražić, Aleksandar (2009). Nacionalno samoubistvo [National suicide] (in Serbian).
  12. ^ "Martyr Vukašin from Klepac". spc.org.yu. Serbian Orthodox Church. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005.
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