John of Rokycan
Encyclopedia
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
Jan Rokycana, Jan z Rokycana and Jan z Rokycan (c. 1396 in Rokycany
Rokycany
Rokycany , is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It lies to the East from the region capital of Pilsen on the confluence of the River Klabava and the Holoubkov Brook . Alternatively, the Holoubkovský potok is referred to as the Borecký potok and the section of the Klabava River down...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
- February 21, 1471 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) was a Hussite
Hussite
The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...
theologian, archbishop of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and a key figure in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n church history.
Life
In his youth, John of Rokycan entered the AugustinianAugustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
monastery in Rokycany. Later, he left the monastery to study in Prague, gaining his baccalaureate
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1415. He joined the movement against Jan Želivský
Jan Želivský
Jan Želivský was a Czech priest and a radical representative of the Hussite reformation.He was a very popular priest, and led the Hussite procession through the streets of Prague that ended in the First Defenestration of Prague, which was one of the events that triggered the Hussite Wars.For a...
, after which he had to flee from Prague. He also opposed the Taborites, most notably at Konopiště
Konopište
Konopiště is a four-winged three storey château located in the Czech Republic, about southeast of Prague, outside the city of Benešov. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne, whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered...
in 1423. Later in Prague he opposed Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha , Czech general and Hussite leader, follower of Jan Hus, was born at small village Trocnov in Bohemia, into a gentried family. He was nicknamed "One-eyed Žižka"...
, when he was blamed for the defeat of the Prague militia at Malešov
Malešov
Malešov is a market town in Kutná Hora District, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic. It has a population of 906 .- External links :...
.
In 1427 he became the vicar of Týn church. He even opposed Sigismund Korybut
Sigismund Korybut
Sigismund Korybut was a duke from the Gediminid dynasty, best known as a military commander of the Hussite army and a governor of Bohemia and Prague during the Hussite Wars....
. In 1429 he became the správcem duchovenstva podobojí, or the Vicar General of the Prague Archbishopric. In 1430 he earned his Master of Arts, and in 1435 became rector of Charles University.
On October 4, 1441 he convened an assembly at Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora is a city in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic in the Central Bohemian Region.-History:The town began in 1142 with the settlement of the first Cistercian Monastery in Bohemia, Kloster Sedlitz, brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey...
, where the fundamentals of Hussite belief were laid down for all. In the year 1442 he made his peace with Jan z Příbrami. In 1444, the courts found in favour of the Taborites, who still refused to comply with the unanimous policy and the Tabor doctrine was decried.
In 1449, he started to correspond regularly with Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...
, because he needed to carry out ordinations to the priesthood. In the end, he tried to come to see the Pope in person, but was unable to pass through Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. For this reason, in 1451 he started talks with Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
about the potential cooperation of the Hussite and Greek Churches, but had to give up in 1452, when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
.
King Ladislaus Posthumus (1440 - 1457) was unsure of Rokycan's agenda, so he avoided his sermons. In 1457, Rokycan started corresponding again directly with the Pope (now Pope Callixtus III
Pope Callixtus III
Pope Callixtus III , né Alfons de Borja, was Pope from April 8, 1455 to his death in 1458.-Biography:...
), though this was interrupted by Ladislaus's death.
The situation was somewhat improved by the rise of George of Podebrady
George of Podebrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...
, and although Podebrady tried to reduce the power of the church, Rokycan supported his election through his lectures. From the beginning, Rokycana endorsed Podebrady's politics and had all churches ring their bells to mark the reconciliation of the Vratislavskys. In return, Podebrady considered him to represent the church and alternated between attending Rokycan's masses and those in Saint Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral
Saint Vitus' Cathedral is as a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral...
.
In 1461, George of Podebrady began aspiring to the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, which would surely have meant renouncing the chalice of Hussitism. This led Rokycan to speak against Podebrady in his sermons. On February 7, 1465 he took part in a dispute over the king's ministry, after which the king requested greater cooperation from the church. A year later, in 1466, Rokycan suffered a stroke, after which he started to have trouble speaking. He was buried in Týn church
Church of Our Lady in front of Týn
The Church of Our Lady before Týn is a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic, and has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century...
.
For his seal, he used a horseshoe with a star, probably in memory of his father, who was a blacksmith.
Works
- Postilla - collected by his students on the basis of his lectures from 1453 to 1457, probably the most interesting Czech postilla, because it in no way discussed theological problems, but rather focused on the everyday problems of people living in those times.
- Latinská postilla
- Výklad zjevení svatého Jana - A Discussion of The Revelations of Saint JohnJohn the ApostleJohn the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
- Kázání u Kutné Hory - Sermons at Kutná HoraKutná HoraKutná Hora is a city in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic in the Central Bohemian Region.-History:The town began in 1142 with the settlement of the first Cistercian Monastery in Bohemia, Kloster Sedlitz, brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey...
- Řeči pronesené na koncilu Basilejském - Speeches Given at the Council of Basel
- Synodální řeči - Speeches of the SynodSynodA synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
- O sedmi vášních a vadách - Seven Passions And Problems, his greatest transgression
- Acta synodální - Acts of the SynodSynodA synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
- Latinský slovník - A Latin Dictionary
- Tractatus de eucharista
- Tractatus de septem sacramentis
- Contra sex propositiones trivolas doctorum apostatarum
He was also been credited by some sources with the composing of several songs.
-
- Vítaj milý Jezu Kriste - Welcome Dear Jesus Christ
- Zdrávas dievko
- Cierkev svatá v posledních dnech velmi neznamenitá - The Holy Church in Recent Days Very Unremarkable - here he is clearly wrote both not only the words but also the melody.
External links
- Hussites
- Hussite WarsHussite WarsThe Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
- Czech LiteratureCzech literatureCzech literature is the literature written by Czechs or other inhabitants of the Czech state, mostly in the Czech language, although other languages like Old Church Slavonic, Latin or German have been also used, especially in the past. Modern authors from the Czech territory who wrote in other...
- Czech lands: 1198-1526