Johann von Jenstein

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johann's bust in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague .

Johann von Jenstein (according to the list of bishops of Meißen: Johann II. Von Jenstein ; according to the list of bishops of Prague: Johannes VI. Von Jenstein ; sometimes also: Johann von Jenzenstein; Johann von Genzenstein ; Czech: Jan z Jenštejna ; * December 27 between 1347 and 1350 in Prague ; † June 17, 1400 in Rome ) was Bishop of Meissen , Archbishop of Prague and Patriarch of Alexandria . He was also Chancellor of the Bohemian King Wenceslas IV and author of religious writings.

Origin and career

Johann von Jenstein came from the von Wlašim family, whose members held important positions in royal services. Johann's father Paul von Wlašim called himself von Jenstein after he had bought the castle of the same name in Jenstein near Prague. He was a notary in the chancellery of Charles IV. John's sister Katharina was the mother of the future Archbishop of Prague Olbram von Škvorec . The Prague Archbishop Johann Očko von Wlašim was a brother of John's father.

After studying Artes in Prague, Johann studied canon law and theology at the universities of Padua and Bologna from 1371. In 1374 he moved to the University of Montpellier and also stayed for some time at the Avignon Curia . He then graduated from Paris University with a Bachelor of Canon Law in 1376 .

Bishop of Meissen

Before completing his studies, Johann von Jenstein was subdeacon and provost of Wetzlar . At the instigation of Emperor Charles IV, Pope Gregory XI appointed him . on July 4, 1376 to the bishop of Meissen. The Wettins , who feared an expansion of the Bohemian power politics, were opposed to the appointment . And John's relationship with the cathedral chapter was also difficult, whose right to vote was overlooked during the appointment. During his short term in office in Meissen, Johann promoted, among other things, the veneration of St. Wenceslas of Bohemia .

Archbishop of Prague and Chancellor Wenceslas IV.

After the resignation of Archbishop Johann Očko von Wlašim, Pope Urban VI transferred. on October 20, 1378 Johann von Jenstein as his successor to Prague. In November of that year, Emperor Charles IV appointed the new archbishop chancellor of his son, the Bohemian King Wenceslas IV. In addition, Johann became papal legate in the dioceses of Regensburg , Bamberg and Meissen . With these influential positions, he campaigned for the recognition of Pope Urban VI. and his Roman successors and cracked down on the supporters of antipope Clement VII , who was supported by members of the Prague and Vyšehrad chapters. With this, Johann absorbed the displeasure of the royal environment, which ultimately led to his falling out of favor with King Wenceslaus IV and losing the office of chancellor in 1384.

The loss of the Chancellery meant that Johann, in his position as Archbishop, got into disputes with secular power that would last the rest of his term of office. The reason for this was the efforts of the king and his surroundings to curtail archbishopric rights and to gain more influence in church affairs. Since the clashes also led to violence, Johann had the archbishop's castles and cities fortified.

Johann devoted himself to his episcopal duties with full energy. He ordered the church administration and also made high moral demands on the clergy . He arranged for a visit to the parish priests and convened synods , which led to various church reforms. Probably because of a Marian vision that he is said to have had on October 14, 1378, he led a pious and ascetic life and in 1386 introduced the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary for his archbishopric . In his conviction of the equality of all people, he demanded the expansion of lay communion in 1391. He hoped that the schism could be overcome through the participation of many people in the Eucharist .

In 1392, Johann gave the king a letter of complaint with which he wanted to clarify the canonical situation and which primarily concerned the suppression of the church and the clergy. Since the king refused to answer, the earlier dispute escalated again. At the end of the year Johann accused the royal chamberlain Sigismund Huler of heresy and summoned him to his court. After Huler did not appear in court, he was excommunicated by Johann .

In the power-political dispute with Johann von Jenstein, the king intended to reduce his ecclesiastical and economic influence. To this end, he planned to reduce the area of ​​the Archdiocese of Prague by establishing a West Bohemian diocese of Kladrau . To endow the diocese, he planned the rich Benedictine monastery of Kladrau , to which 87 villages were subordinate. After the death of the Kladrau abbot Racek, the royal candidate Wenzel Gerard von Burenitz was to be appointed his successor and at the same time the first bishop of the diocese of Kladrau to be established. These plans thwarted Johann's vicars general Nikolaus Puchník von Černice and Johannes von Nepomuk , when they filled the position of Kladrau abbot on the instructions of the archbishop with another candidate in early 1393. For fear of the king's reaction, Johann fled to his episcopal Raudnitz castle in good time . Vicar General John of Nepomuk fell victim to royal vengeance. He was interrogated and tortured to death on March 20, 1393.

In April 1393 Johann went to Rome. Since he received little attention there with his complaint, he returned to Prague and joined a noble revolt against the king. He then confiscated the episcopal property. Johann went back to Rome and resigned from his office there at the end of January 1394. He was succeeded by his nephew Olbram von Škvorec, who gave him the episcopal castle of Helfenburk as his residence and had to pay a pension.

Patriarch of Alexandria

In 1399 Johann von Jenstein returned to Rome to get permission from the Pope to do missionary work. On April 2, 1399, the Pope appointed him Patriarch of Alexandria. Then Johann retired to the monastery of Santa Prassede , where he died fourteen months later.

Literary activity

Johann von Jenstein was also active in literature. He left an extensive work in Latin. It often has autobiographical features and consists of writings on ecclesiastical issues and polemical treatises. The poetic hymns in honor of St. Mary are also extensive . Five collections of sermons and eight ascetic writings are also known. In the pamphlet “Acta in curia Romana” from 1393 he describes the dispute with the king and describes the reasons for his resignation in the pamphlet “Libellus apologorum”. Johann's letters from his episcopal activity are summarized in a collection of epistles.

Works

  • Tractatus de potestate clavium
  • De veritate Urbani
  • Liber considerationis
  • Liber dialogorum (1380)
  • Contra Adalbertum (1388)
  • Miracula beatae Mariae visitationis (after 1388)
  • De bono mortis (after 1390)
  • Acta in curia Romana (1393)
  • Libellus quod nemo laeditur nisi a se ipso
  • Libellus de fuga saeculi (after 1395)
  • Libellus apologorum (after 1396)

Post fame

Johann Jenstein's body was transferred from Rome to Prague in June 1400. The Prague professor of theology, Magister Matthias von Liegnitz , gave a funeral sermon at John's funeral in the presence of Archbishop Olbram von Škvorec. It is interspersed with allusions to incidents from Jenstein's life. The manuscript of the funeral sermon is said to have been preserved in the Jagiellonian Library under the title “Sermo magistri Mathie de Legnicz factus coram archiepiscopo Pragensi in exequiis” .

In the years 1400–1402 the legendary biography "Vita Johannis de Jenczenstein" was written. It is believed that it was written by Johann's confessor Petrus Clarificator, the prior of the Augustinian canons in Raudnitz.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In contrast, in Gatz: Bischöfe it is stated that Jenstein was buried in the monastery of Santa Prassede in Rome
predecessor Office successor
Konrad II of Kirchberg-Wallhausen Bishop of Meissen
1375–1379 		Nicholas I billy goat
Johann Očko of Wlašim Archbishop of Prague
1379-1396 		Olbram from Škvorec
personal data
SURNAME Johann von Jenstein
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johann II of Jenstein; John VI from Jenstein; Johann von Jenzenstein; Johann von Genzenstein; Jan z Jenštejna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Meissen, Archbishop of Prague, Patriarch of Alexandria, Chancellor of King Wenceslaus IV.
DATE OF BIRTH December 27 between 1347 and 1350
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 1400
Place of death Rome