Message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša on Reformation Day
SLOVENIA, October 31 - First, we got a book in Slovenian. Centuries later, we won ourselves a Slovenian state. Between these two historical milestones stretches the long journey of a nation which, despite all trials, has preserved its language and its identity. The Reformation was one of the first great steps towards fulfilling a centuries-long yearning for freedom, while independence was the glorious fulfilment of a historic dream.
At a time when new ideas about humanity, human freedom and responsibility were emerging across Europe, we Slovenians were given not only the first book in our own language, but also a Slovenian grammar book and, soon afterwards, a complete translation of the Holy Bible. The Slovenian language found a permanent home in the written word, while the nation gained a firmer foundation for its existence. In this respect, the Reformation placed us on the European map of cultural and spiritual creativity. We were no longer mere observers of the great changes that were reshaping our continent, but co-creators of those changes. We became the fourteenth nation in Europe to have a complete translation of the Bible, and the eighth to have a modern grammar. Many other European nations had not yet achieved comparable milestones in the development of their standard languages. This was not merely a cultural achievement, but proof that the Slovenian language was capable of expressing the highest ideas of its time and that the Slovenian nation belongs to the great European family of nations. The works of Trubar, Dalmatin, Bohorič and other reformers thus laid the foundations of national consciousness, which, centuries later, matured into the decision for an independent Slovenia.
The Slovenian nation has stood and withstood. Over the centuries, it has preserved its language, its culture and its national consciousness, and stepped onto the stage of history as the sovereign master of its own destiny. From the language our ancestors recorded in the first books written in Slovenian grew a national consciousness; from that consciousness emerged an unwavering will for freedom; and from that will came a state of our own, fulfilling the dreams of generations who believed in Slovenia even before it existed as a state. The Reformation lit a flame that has never gone out and still burns today.
Heartfelt congratulations on Reformation Day. Let us remain proud of our history, our language and our Slovenia. God bless Slovenia and the Slovenian nation.
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