Milíč, John

Milíč, John

▪ Bohemian theologian
Czech  Jan Milíč Z Kroměříže 
born c. 1305, , Kroměříž, Bohemia [now in Czech Republic]
died June 29, 1374, Avignon, France

      theologian, orator, and reformer, considered to be the founder of the national Bohemian religious-reform movement.

      Milíč was educated at Prague and ordained about 1350, entering the imperial chancery of Charles IV in 1358. Later, he received a clerical benefice from Pope Innocent VI and was made a minor prelate and treasurer of St. Vitus' Cathedral in Prague. Inspired by the spirit of reform and repelled by clerical corruption, Milíč resigned his office in 1363 and went into seclusion.

      When he emerged, he devoted himself to preaching the tenets of church reform, asceticism, and ecclesiastic and secular poverty. He attacked the secularization of the Roman Catholic church and emphasized the Scriptures as a rule for life, preaching in Czech and German rather than the traditional Latin. His use of the vernacular and his reforming zeal soon gained him wide popularity among the laity.

      Convinced that the degenerate state of the church and society portended an imminent end of the world and the coming of the Antichrist, Milíč traveled to Rome in the spring of 1367 and preached penance and moral conversion before the papal court. For his efforts, he was imprisoned by the inquisition on suspicion of heresy but was released by Pope Urban V when the latter returned from Avignon in October. Late in 1367 he presented Urban with his pamphlet Libellus de Antichristo (“Booklet on Antichrist”), in which he urged the pope to convene a general council to reform the church.

      Milíč then returned to Prague, where he began preaching daily sermons at the cathedral, in Latin for the clergy and in Czech for the people. His sermons were widely distributed throughout central Europe and spurred demands for Christian reform. At several centres he established at Prague, Milíč introduced the devotio moderna, a reform of prayer developed in Holland that emphasized a method of devotion centred on Christ (Christocentric) and intended to involve the emotions—as opposed to the academic and abstract forms of medieval scholastic theology.

      When new charges of heresy were drawn up against him, Milíč, supported by the Holy Roman emperor and by Archbishop John of Jenstein, submitted his case to Pope Gregory XI at Avignon in 1373. Absolved of all charges, he was invited by the pope to preach to the College of Cardinals. He became ill and died the following year before he could return to Prague. Although Milíč remained within the Roman Catholic church, he is considered the forerunner of the Bohemian Reformation because of his attempted clerical reforms, his support for a vernacular Bible and vernacular preaching, and his doctrinal influence on Jan Hus.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Milič Čapek — Full name Milič Čapek Born 26 January 1909(1909 01 26) Třebechovice, Bohemia, Austria Hungary Died 17 November 1997(1997 11 17) (aged 88) Little Rock, Arkansas, United States …   Wikipedia

  • John Mbiti — John Samuel Mbiti (* 30. November 1931 in Kenia) ist anglikanischer Priester und Religionsphilosoph mit Lehrtätigkeiten an verschiedenen Universitäten weltweit, einer umfangreicher Publikationstätigkeit und emeritierter Professor der Universität… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Thomas (basket-ball) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir John Thomas. John Thomas …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Marko Milič — Milič redirects here. Not to be confused with Milić or Milic. Marko Milič Position Power forward Height 6 ft 6.75 in (2.00 m) Weight 280 lb (130 kg) League Lega Basket Serie A Team …   Wikipedia

  • Jan Milíč — Milíč redirects here. Not to be confused with Milić, Milic, or Milič. Jan Milíč z Kroměříže (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmɪliːtʃ]; Latin: Ioannes Milicius; German: Johann Militsch) (died June 29, 1374), Czech divine, was the most influential… …   Wikipedia

  • Marko Milič — Fiche d’identité Naissance 7 mai 1977 (1977 05 07) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Germany — /jerr meuh nee/, n. a republic in central Europe: after World War II divided into four zones, British, French, U.S., and Soviet, and in 1949 into East Germany and West Germany; East and West Germany were reunited in 1990. 84,068,216; 137,852 sq.… …   Universalium

  • Czechoslovak history — Introduction       history of the region comprising the historical lands of Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia from prehistoric times through their federation, under the name Czechoslovakia, during 1918–92. With the dissolution of the Czechoslovak… …   Universalium

  • Liste der Biografien/Mil–Min — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nine News — Logo Division of: Nine Entertainment Co. Founded: 1956 Headquarters: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”