Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
Gorazd of Prague, given name Matěj Pavlík (26 May 1879 – 4 September 1942), was the
hierarch of the revived
Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia after World War I. During World War II, having provided refuge for the assassins of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust.
He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
, called ''The Hangman of Prague'', in the
cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague, Gorazd took full responsibility for protecting the patriots after the
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...
found them in the crypt of the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
, hoping to minimize Nazi reprisals on his congregation. This act guaranteed his execution, thus his
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
dom, during the reprisals that followed. His
feast day is celebrated on 22 August
(OC) or 4 September (NC).
Life
Matěj Pavlík was born on 26 May 1879, in the Moravian village of
Hrubá Vrbka in what would later be the Czech Republic. Born into the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
society of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Matthias entered the
Faculty of Theology in
Olomouc
Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019).
Located on t ...
after finishing his earlier education. He was subsequently
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
. During his studies, he was interested in the mission of Saints
Cyril and Methodius
Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
They are credited wit ...
and of
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
.
Establishment of Czechoslovakia in the aftermath of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
brought complete religious freedom. In this environment, many people left the Catholic Church. While many left the religion completely, some looked either to
old Czech Protestant churches or, as Pavlík, to Eastern Orthodoxy. The
Serbian Orthodox Church provided a shelter for those looking to Orthodoxy. As a leader in Moravia, the Serbian Orthodox Church agreed to
consecrate Fr. Pavlík to the episcopate for his homeland. On 24 September 1921, he was consecrated
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
with the name of Gorazd.
Historically, his
monastic
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
name of Gorazd was significant as it was the name of the bishop who succeeded
St. Methodius as Bishop of Moravia after he died in 885. Subsequently,
Pope Stephen V
Pope Stephen V ( la, Stephanus V; died 14 September 891) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from September 885 to his death. In his dealings with Photius I of Constantinople, as in his relations with the young Slavic Orthodox ...
drove the
disciples of
St Methodius from
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
as the Latin rite was imposed. Thus, by the choice of his monastic name of Gorazd, the continuity of the Orthodox Church in Moravia from some 1,100 years before was recognized.
Archimandrite
The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...
Gorazd was named Bishop of Moravia and Silesia on 24 September 1921, and consecrated bishop on the next day at the Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, by
Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije.
Over the next decade or so, Bp. Gorazd and his faithful followers organized
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
es and built churches in Bohemia. In all they built eleven churches and two chapels. He had the essential service books translated and published in
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
, which was the language used in the church services. With
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
part of Czechoslovakia, he assisted many who had returned to their ancestral Eastern Orthodox faith, thus helping the creation of the
Eparchy of Mukačevo and Prešov
The Eparchy of Mukachevo and Prešov ( sr, Епархија мукачевско-прешовска) was an Eastern Orthodox diocese (eparchy) of the Serbian Orthodox Church, that existed from 1931 to 1945. It had jurisdiction over regions of Sl ...
in 1931.
With the conquest of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
by the Nazis in 1938, the church was placed under the Metropolitan in Berlin, Germany.
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust.
He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
was appointed as ruler of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. On 27 May 1942, a group of Czech resistance fighters
assassinated Heydrich. In making their escape, the group found refuge in the crypt of the Cathedral. When Bp. Gorazd found out a few days later, he recognized the serious burden this placed on the Czech Orthodox Church. Before he left for the consecration to the episcopate of Fr John (Gardner) in Berlin, he asked that the resistance fighters move elsewhere as soon as possible. However, on June 18, the Nazis found the hiding places after a betrayal by two members of the resistance group, and all the members of the group were killed.
Reprisals came quickly. The two priests and the senior
lay church officials were arrested. Bp. Gorazd, wishing to help his fellow believers and the Czech Church itself, took the blame for the actions in the Cathedral on himself, even writing letters to the Nazi authorities. On 27 June 1942, he was arrested and tortured. On 4 September 1942, Bp. Gorazd, the Cathedral priests and the lay officials were executed by firing squad at
Kobylisy Shooting Range. His body was disposed of at
Strašnice Crematorium.
[Riskoval život, tajně zapisoval jména obětí nacistů. Teď o tom promluvil]
/ref>
The reprisals went much further as the Nazis conducted widespread roundups of Czechs, including the whole village of Lidice
Lidice (, german: Liditz) is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants.
Lidice is built near the site of the previous village of the same name, which was co ...
, then summarily killed the men and children, while they placed the women in concentration camps. The Orthodox churches in Moravia and Bohemia were closed and the Church forbidden to operate. Metropolitan Seraphim courageously refused to issue any statement condemning Bishop Gorazd. It was not until the end of the war that the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia would function again.
Glorification
By these actions the Orthodox Faithful, led by their bishop, proved the qualities of their little church in bravery and devotion to matters of justice and showed how firmly it was connected to the Czech nation. On 4 May 1961, the Serbian Orthodox Church recognized Bp. Gorazd as a new martyr
The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr ( el, νεο-, ''neo''-, the prefix for "new"; and μάρτυς, ''martys'', "witness") is conferred in some denominations of Christianity to distinguish more recent martyrs and confessors from the old martyr ...
, and on 24 August 1987, he was glorified in the Olomouc Orthodox Church in Moravia.
References
Sources
Original source Orthodox Wiki Article
External links
at the Orthodox Research Institute
Martyr Gorazd of Prague, Bohemia and Moravo-Cilezsk
( OCA)
* by Monk Gorazd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorazd
1879 births
1942 deaths
People from Hodonín District
People from the Margraviate of Moravia
20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops
20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs
20th-century Christian saints
Bishops of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
Czech saints
Czech people executed by Nazi Germany
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism
Eastern Orthodox Christians from the Czech Republic
Eastern Orthodox Christians opposed to Nazi Germany
Eastern Orthodox saints
Executed Czech people
Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians
Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad
People executed at Kobylisy shooting range
Palacký University Olomouc alumni
New Martyrs
Hieromartyrs