Gorazd (Pavlik) of Prague
Encyclopedia
Bishop
Gorazd of Prague, given name Matěj Pavlík (May 26, 1879 - September 4, 1942), was the hierarch of the revived Orthodox Church in Moravia
, the Church of Czechoslovakia
, after World War I. During World War II, having provided refuge for the assassins of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich
, called The Butcher of Prague, in the cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius
in Prague, Gorazd took full responsibility for protecting the patriots after the Nazi overlords found them in the crypt of the cathedral
. This act guaranteed his execution, thus his martyr
dom, during the reprisals that followed. His feast day is celebrated on August 22 (OC) or September 4 (NC).
in what would later be the Czech Republic. Born into the Roman Catholic
society of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Matthias entered the Faculty of Theology in Olomouc
after finishing his earlier education. He was subsequently ordained
a priest
. During his studies, he was interested in the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius and of Eastern Orthodoxy.
Establishment of Czechoslovakia in the aftermath of the first world war 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 Church of Serbia agreed to consecrate Fr. Pavlík to the episcopate for his homeland. On September 24, 1921, he was consecrated bishop
with the name of Gorazd.
Historically, his 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 drove the disciples
of St. Methodius from Moravia 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 eleven hundred years before was recognized.
Archimandrite
Gorazd was named Bishop of Moravia and Silesia on September 24, 1921, and consecrated bishop on the next day at the Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, by Patriarch
Dimitrije.
Over the next decade or so, Bp. Gorazd and his faithful followers organized parish
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 the Czech language, which was the language used in the church services. With Subcarpatho-Russia and Slovakia part of Czechoslovakia, he assisted many who had returned to their ancestral Orthodox faith.
With the conquest of Czechoslovakia by the Nazis in 1938, the church was placed under the Metropolitan in Berlin, Germany. Reinhard Heydrich was appointed as ruler of Czechoslovakia. On May 27, 1942, a group of Czech resistance fighters attacked and killed 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 out 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 June 27, 1942, he was arrested and tortured. On September 4, 1942, Bp. Gorazd, the Cathedral priests and the lay officials were executed by firing squad at Kobylisy Shooting Range
.
The reprisals went much further as the Nazis conducted widespread roundups of Czechs, including the whole village of Lidice, 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 wasn't until the end of the war that the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia would function again.
in the Cathedral of St. Gorazd in Olomouc in Moravia.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Gorazd of Prague, given name Matěj Pavlík (May 26, 1879 - September 4, 1942), was the hierarch of the revived Orthodox Church in Moravia
Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia is a self-governing body of the Eastern Orthodox Church that territorially covers the countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia...
, the Church of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovak Hussite Church
The Czechoslovak Hussite Church is a Christian Church which separated from the Roman Catholic Church after World War I in former Czechoslovakia. It traces its tradition back to the Hussite reformers and acknowledges Jan Hus as its predecessor...
, after World War I. During World War II, having provided refuge for the assassins of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
, called The Butcher of Prague, in the cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius
Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral
The Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Nové Město, Prague, Czech Republic, is the principal church in the Metropolitan Council of the Czech Republic...
in Prague, Gorazd took full responsibility for protecting the patriots after the Nazi overlords found them in the crypt of the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. This act guaranteed his execution, thus his martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
dom, during the reprisals that followed. His feast day is celebrated on August 22 (OC) or September 4 (NC).
Life
Matěj Pavlík was born on May 26, 1879, in the Moravian village of Hrubá VrbkaHrubá Vrbka
Hrubá Vrbka is a village and municipality in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 663 ....
in what would later be the Czech Republic. Born into the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
society of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Matthias entered the Faculty of Theology in Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
after finishing his earlier education. He was subsequently ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. During his studies, he was interested in the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius and of Eastern Orthodoxy.
Establishment of Czechoslovakia in the aftermath of the first world war 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
Unity of the Brethren
The Unity of the Brethren is a Christian denomination whose roots are in the pre-reformation work of priest and philosopher Jan Hus, who was martyred in 1415.-History in Bohemia:...
or, as Pavlík, to Eastern Orthodoxy. The Serbian Orthodox Church provided a shelter for those looking to Orthodoxy. As a leader in Moravia, the Church of Serbia agreed to consecrate Fr. Pavlík to the episcopate for his homeland. On September 24, 1921, he was consecrated bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
with the name of Gorazd.
Historically, his 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
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Stephen V drove the disciples
Disciple (Christianity)
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
of St. Methodius from Moravia 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 eleven hundred years before was recognized.
Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
Gorazd was named Bishop of Moravia and Silesia on September 24, 1921, and consecrated bishop on the next day at the Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, by Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
Dimitrije.
Over the next decade or so, Bp. Gorazd and his faithful followers organized parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
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 the Czech language, which was the language used in the church services. With Subcarpatho-Russia and Slovakia part of Czechoslovakia, he assisted many who had returned to their ancestral Orthodox faith.
With the conquest of Czechoslovakia by the Nazis in 1938, the church was placed under the Metropolitan in Berlin, Germany. Reinhard Heydrich was appointed as ruler of Czechoslovakia. On May 27, 1942, a group of Czech resistance fighters attacked and killed 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 out 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
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
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 June 27, 1942, he was arrested and tortured. On September 4, 1942, Bp. Gorazd, the Cathedral priests and the lay officials were executed by firing squad at Kobylisy Shooting Range
Kobylisy Shooting Range
Kobylisy Shooting Range is a former military shooting range located in Kobylisy, a northern suburb of Prague, Czech Republic....
.
The reprisals went much further as the Nazis conducted widespread roundups of Czechs, including the whole village of Lidice, 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 wasn't until the end of the war that the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia would function again.
Glorification
By these actions by the Orthodox Faithful, who, 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 May 4, 1961, the Serbian Orthodox Church recognized Bp. Gorazd as a new martyr, and on August 24, 1987, he was glorifiedGlorification
-Catholicism:For the process by which the Roman Catholic Church or Anglican Communion grants official recognition to someone as a saint, see canonization.-Eastern Orthodox Church:...
in the Cathedral of St. Gorazd in Olomouc in Moravia.
External links
- Listing at the Orthodox Research Institute
- Martyr Gorazd of Prague, Bohemia and Moravo-Cilezsk (OCAOrthodox Church in AmericaThe Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
) - "A Twentieth Century Western Orthodox Missionary" by Monk Gorazd