Antonín Koniáš
Antonín Koniáš (born February 13, 1691 in Prague ; † October 27, 1760 there ) was a Czech Jesuit priest , missionary and religious writer. He is notorious for his ruthless seizure and burning of non-Catholic books.
Life
Koniáš was the son of a printer. He was educated in the Jesuit Church of the Cathedral of St. Clement and at the Prague University of Clementinum . In 1708 he joined the Jesuit order. After completing his theology studies, he appeared as a missionary in East, West and South Bohemia.
All his life he worked for the Catholic Church on the Counter Reformation in Bohemia . His fight against the Protestants led to the burning of about thirty thousand books, according to carefully kept records. In Hradec Králové he first wrote his index Clavis haeresim in claudens et aperiens in 1729 , in which heretical works selected by him were listed. Another issue followed in 1749. According to his recommendation, every “decent” Catholic should keep his own private collection of books available to the confessor to check for unsuitable writings. The titles of many books are only known from this list today. Koniáš is therefore also, slightly jokingly, referred to as the founder of the Czech bibliography .
person
Antonín Koniáš gave glowing sermons in German and Czech five times a day , which were well received by the population. Sometimes he got so excited that he had to be carried unconscious from the church. He is said to have depicted the torments of hell in such a way that many believers repentedly returned to the Catholic faith, while others went crazy after its sermons.
He lived modestly, did not drink alcohol, did not eat fruit, and while others slept, he read or revised books of sinful passages. He collected so-called sinful books . As a replacement, the donor often received a sin-free book free of charge or for a small contribution . On some books he blackened the offensive pages or simply tore off sheets, but many were burned.
Koniáš was also active as a religious writer and wrote texts that propagated Catholicism . The book Cytara Nového Zákona was supposed to replace the evangelical hymn books .
Works
- Cytara Nového Zákona (1727, 1729, 1746)
- Clavis haeresim claudens et aperiens - Klíč kacířské bludy k rozeznávání otvírající, k vykořenění zamykající ( Hradec Králové , 1729)
- Jediná choť Beránkova (1729)
- Pravá moudrost (1753)
- Zlatá neomylná římsko-katolické pravdy dennice (1754)
- Vejtažní naučení
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Koniass, Anton . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 12th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1864, p. 412 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Martin Svatoš: Karel Slavíček and Ignaz Kögler - Jesuit missionaries and scientists from Central Europe at the Chinese court, pages 303–308.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jaroslav Vrchotka: Libraries in Bohemia . In: Bernhard Fabian: Handbook of the historical book inventory in Germany, Austria and Europe (Fabian handbook). online edition of the University of Göttingen
- ^ Clavis haeresim claudens et aperiens. bibliographic entry in the joint union catalog (GVK)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Koniáš, Antonín |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech Jesuit priest, missionary and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 13, 1691 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Prague |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 27, 1760 |
| Place of death | Prague |