Johann Lohelius (1549 – November 2, 1622), better known as Johann Lohel, was the archbishop of Prague from September 18, 1612, until his death.

Early life

Born in 1549 in a poor family, Johann was piously brought up. At fifteen he was engaged as a domestic in the Norbertine Teplá Abbey (), but was allowed to follow the classes in the abbey school; he soon surpassed his fellow students, and in 1573 received the

Norbertine The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Church ...

habit. After a two-years

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, Lohelius went to study

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He was ordained in 1576 and was recalled to the abbey. He gave a course of sermons at Tepl, with whom he reconverted many

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

back to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1579 he became

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of Mount Sion Abbey, at Strahov. The abbot and he strove, with some success, to lift the abbey out of the unfortunate state into which it had fallen. Lohelius was soon called back to Tepl. However, he was in 1583 allowed to resume the office of prior of Strahov.

Archbishop of Prague

Lohelius was elected

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of the Strahov Monastery of

in 1586. With him a new era of progress and prosperity began on the Abbey of Strahov, which was in decline when he became its abbot. The emperor and the magnates of Bohemia generously assisted him in restoring the church and abbey buildings. The abbot-general, John Despruets, named him his vicar-general and visitor of the circles of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Bohemia,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1604 he was consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Sebaste in partibus, as auxiliary to the archbishop of Prague. During the illness of archbishop Karel Graf von Lamberk,

Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

appointed Lohelius coadjutor in May 1612. At the death of von Lamberg on 18 September 1612, Lohelius became archbishop of Prague. He crowned Ferdinand II (future Emperor) as King of Bohemia (29 June 1617),

Exile, return and death

In 1609 the

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

of Bohemia were granted freedom of religion by the ''Letter of Majesty'' issued by

Emperor Rudolph II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Ho ...

. This strengthened them and, after having gained the upper hand in Prague, they began persecuting the clergy and expelled many priests, regular and secular. The cathedral, property of the Crown (as part of the Royal Castle ) and not of the Church, was altered to suit the

Calvinistic Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

worship; the altars were demolished, and the paintings and statues destroyed in December 1619. Lohelius had to take refuge in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he remained until November 1620. After the

battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

, the archbishop and his chapter, as well as the Jesuits and other religious, returned to Prague. The cathedral, cleansed and refurnished, was again consecrated on 28 February 1621. Lohelius died soon after, of a slow fever on November 2, 1622; he was buried in the church of Strahov.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lohelius, Johann 1549 births 1622 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Prague 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire