Historian: Croats have right to Croatian Cyrillic; Coat of Arms with white field not inherently controversial

Tomislav Galović, a university professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, appeared on the Večernji TV podcast 'Historical Dialogues' to discuss the early history of Croats and Christianity in their lands. He placed the arrival of Croats in the 8th century, emphasizing that the territory was not empty but already had established church organizations from Roman provinces.

Galović explained that the Christianization process was initiated from the West by the Carolingian Empire and Benedictine missionaries. He noted that historiography previously gave more credit to Byzantium, but this view has shifted. The conversion was not immediate; it was a lengthy process that first involved the elite, followed by the general population. Urban areas with existing early Christian heritage adopted Christianity more quickly than rural regions.

The discussion touched upon early Christianization artifacts, including liturgical objects from Vrlika and Višeslav's Baptistery, dated to the late 8th or early 9th century. This baptistery, likely from Nin where the first Croatian bishopric was established, was temporarily housed in Venice and returned to Croatia after World War II. Galović also pointed out a recent Serbian historiographical interest in claiming the baptistery.

Furthermore, Galović addressed the historical use of Cyrillic script in Croatia from the 12th to the 19th centuries. He argued that Croats have a right to their own "Croatian Cyrillic" script, which was used in areas like the Poljica Republic and by Glagolitic priests, distinct from Eastern Cyrillic or Bosančica. He also mentioned the historical connection between the Pope and Croats, exemplified by King Dmitar Zvonimir's coronation oath to the Pope in 1076.

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Hrvati imaju pravo na svoju hrvatsku ćirilicu koja se koristila na hrvatskom povijesnom prostoru i ispod koje se nalazi hrvatski jezik i čakavština.