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ABSTRACT

This Monograph is a scientific and an expert piece, predominantly written in an essayis-
tic style. Its subject is a parish community in the town of Prelog. The occasion for its release
is the 40th anniversary of the priesthood of a pastor named Antun Hoblaj. That anniversary
happily coincides with another two: 250 years since the consecration of the parish church
(1758 – 1761) and 750 years since the Chart of the town of Prelog (1264). Three anniversaries
have thus shaped the monograph title: In the Service to God and to People in the Occasion of the
40th Anniversary of Pastoral Service of Antun Hoblaj in the Parish of Saint Jacob of Prelog. The ini-
tiators of this publication have been pastor’s friends, which is why its title has been given an
additional dedication: Friends’ Book in Honour of Pastor Antun Hoblaj of the parish and the Town
of Prelog (Liber amicorum in honorem parochi Antonii Hoblaj necnon Parochiae et Urbis Prelog).

Monograph consists of four thematic parts:
- Historical and Cultural Framework of the Parish Community of St. Jacob. Hereby, estab-
lished Croatian scientists elaborate selected subjects that are of great importance for the par-
ish, for the region of Međimurje, Croatia and for Central Europe, throughout history as well
as at present.
- In the Service to God and to People. Two chapters are focused on a specifically personal
profile of a celebrating pastor. The first by means of a comprehensive/an elaborate curric-
ulum vitae, and secondly by means of its annex: where 22 authors quite distant in their ap-
proaches depict pastor’s figure, using short biographic notes and a free writing style. This is
where unbreakable bondage between pastor, the parish and the town of Prelog comes into
light.
- Parish Community in Retrospect and in Perspective. This prevalently theological and prac-
tical sting of thoughts, structured in five chapters, has put its emphasis on the parish commu-
nity. The essence of the main message is derived from here: Church is as a divinely-humanly
institution, which, starting with the parish community comprises, both the heritage of the
ancestry and the call for the changes in present, for the future. This is where pastor is irre-
placeable, with his communication virtues and skills.
- Appendixes exist in four chapters, supplementing the monograph. There is a movie on a
DVD that shows pastor the communicator; 22 texts written by pastor have been selected and
they in great deal support results of the first three thematic parts; a reference list is presented
of all the texts whose author has been the pastor; information on the state of the art of the
parish archive is given, as well as a list of the archive materials available for further research.
In addition to its scientific value, monograph as a whole based on its results, brings
forward a request of the present moment, which is of key importance for Croatian identity:
the request that the town of Prelog, the region of Međimurje and Croatia resolutely refuse
imposition of the model of belonging to the Western Balkans where a particularly refined
attempt to de-Croatize Croatia on all levels has been undergoing, because the region’s roots
have been Croatian and Christian/Catholic, and in relation with the Central European and
the Mediterranean framework.

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