List of the secret bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia
In 1945, Czechoslovakia was liberated from the Red Army . After the February revolution , communists took power. On February 25, 1948, the government under Klement Gottwald was sworn in. In May 1948 Gottwald proclaimed the new socialist republic (ČSR, from 1960 ČSSR); The first president was the First Secretary of the Communist Party, Klement Gottwald. He followed a strictly anti-church course. Bishops and priests were hindered, persecuted and arrested in their official acts. Contact with the Vatican was broken off, and official bishop appointments were hardly possible. The Church in Czechoslovakia worked underground; priests and bishops were consecrated there in secret.
Roman Catholic Church in the Czech Republic - Oppressed Church under communist rule
Due to the escalation of the situation and the uncertainty of the future in the country, the Holy See granted the bishops in Czechoslovakia secret powers. Among other things, there were also episcopal ordinations that the Czech bishops carried out in secret (Kajetán Matoušek, František Tomášek, Ladislav Hlad, Karel Otčenášek). By transferring competencies to the secret bishops and deans, preparations were made for an underground church.
After the fall of the “ Iron Curtain ”, these ordinations were not or only partially recognized (published) by the Holy See.
The following people were ordained bishops (secret bishops) of the Roman Catholic Church in the Roman and Byzantine rites :
| Surname | image | Born | function | consecration | Consecrator | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kajetán Matoušek | August 7, 1910 |
Auxiliary Bishop in Prague and Titular Bishop of Serigene (publication: 1949) |
September 17, 1949 | Antonin Eltschkner auxiliary bishop in Prague | October 21, 1994 | |
| František Tomášek |
|
June 30, 1899 | Auxiliary Bishop in Olomouc and Titular Bishop of Butus (Publication: 1949) |
October 13, 1949 | Josef Karel Matocha Bishop of Olomouc | 4th August 1992 |
| Štefan Barnaš | January 19, 1900 | Auxiliary Bishop of Spiš and Titular Bishop of Conana (Publication: 1949) |
November 5, 1949 | Ján Vojtaššák Bishop of Spiš | April 16, 1964 | |
| Ladislav Hlad | February 3, 1908 | Titular Bishop of Cediae (Publication: 1950) |
March 26, 1950 | Štěpán Trochta Bishop of Leitmeritz | December 16, 1979 | |
| Antonin Richter | June 13, 1899 | Bishop in Bratislava (not published) |
June 29, 1950 | Michal Buzalka , auxiliary bishop in Trnava | June 20, 1975 | |
| Karel Otčenášek |
|
April 13, 1920 | Apostolic Administrator of Hradec Králové and Titular Bishop of Chersonesus in Creta (publication: 1957) |
April 30, 1950 | Mořic Pícha Bishop of Hradec Králové | May 23, 2011 |
| Pavel Mária Hnilica |
|
March 30, 1921 | Bishop of the Czech underground church and titular bishop of Rusadus in 1964 (publication: 1964) |
January 2, 1951 | Robert Pobožný , Apostolic Administrator of Rožňava | October 8, 2006 |
| Ján Chryzostom Korec SJ |
|
January 22, 1924 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (Publication: 1990) Bishop of Nitra (1990-2005) |
August 24, 1951 | Pavol Hnilica, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | October 24, 2015 |
| Dominik Kalata SJ |
|
May 19, 1925 | Bishop of the Czech underground church and titular bishop of Semta in 1985 (publication: 1985) |
September 9, 1955 | Ján Chryzostom Korec, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | August 24, 2018 |
| Peter Dubovský SJ | June 28, 1921 | Bishop of the Czech underground church and 1991 auxiliary bishop in Banská Bystrica and titular bishop of Carcabia (publication: 1991) |
May 18, 1961 | Dominik Kalata, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | April 10, 2008 | |
| Jan Blaha SJ | March 12, 1938 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
October 28, 1967 | Peter Dubovský, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | December 13, 2012 | |
| Felix Maria Davídek |
|
January 21, 1921 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
October 29, 1967 | Jan Blaha, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | August 18, 1988 |
| Ján Eugen Kočiš | June 25, 1926 | Bishop of the Czech underground church (not published) 2004 titular bishop of Abrittum |
December 3, 1967, consecrated May 15, 2004 |
Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church Miroslav Stefan Marusyn , Apostolic Exarch of Serbia and Montenegro |
4th December 2019 | |
| Ivan Ljavinec | April 18, 1923 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) 2004 Titular Bishop of Acalissus |
March 23, 1968 consecrated March 30, 1996 |
Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church Archbishop Miroslav Stefan Marusyn , Secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches |
December 9, 2012 | |
| Jirí Jan Pojer | 1934 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
22nd August 1968 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | 2006 | |
| Dobroslav M. Kabelka | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
August 27, 1968 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | |||
| Stanislav Krátký | November 11, 1920 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
August 27, 1968 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | November 13, 2010 | |
| Josef Dvorák OPraem | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
August 1968 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | |||
| Josef Blahnik | 1918 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
1970 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | 1989 | |
| Fridolin Zahradník | September 16, 1935 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
October 24, 1970 | Bedrich Provazník, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | 19th November 2015 | |
| Martin Hrbca | September 11, 1924 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
November 28, 1970 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | August 29, 2002 | |
| Jindrich Pešek, SDB | April 22, 1908 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
15th August 1971 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | November 21, 1980 | |
| Oskar Formánek, SI | August 7, 1915 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
August 1972 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | July 21, 1991 | |
| Marián Potáš, OSBM | March 2, 1918 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
August 1972 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | February 24, 2006 | |
| Jirí Krpálek | September 6, 1931 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
March 2nd 1973 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | ||
| Siard Ivan Klement, OPraem | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
March 15, 1973 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | |||
| Nikodém Mikulaš Krett , OSBM |
|
October 3, 1912 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
1975 | Fridolin Zahradník, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | April 29, 1983 |
| Bartolomej Urbanec | August 17, 1937 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
June 14, 1975 | Nikodém Mikulaš Krett, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | ||
| Dušan Spiridon Špiner | February 7, 1950 | Bishop of the Czech underground church | October 6, 1979 | Julius Gábriš , Apostolic Administrator of Trnava | ||
| Ondrej Fogaš | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
1981 | Nikodém Mikulaš Krett, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | |||
| Anton Novobilský | February 9, 1936 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
1981 | Nikodém Mikulaš Krett, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | February 4, 2007 | |
| Jan Konzal | May 5, 1935 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
May 29, 1982 | Fridolin Zahradník, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | ||
| Pavel Hajek | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
May 29, 1982 | Fridolin Zahradník, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | |||
| Josef Hinterhölzl | May 16, 1915 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
4th December 1984 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | 3rd August 2013 | |
| Karel Chytil | September 15, 1920 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
18th December 1987 | Felix Maria Davídek, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | September 15, 2002 | |
| Bedrich Provazník | May 31, 1936 | Bishop of the Czech Underground Church (not published) |
18th December 1987 | Ján Eugen Kočiš, Bishop of the Czech Underground Church | February 4, 2007 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Czechoslovakia. The Apostolic Succession
- ↑ Vatican Radio Czech Republic: Secret bishop dies Jan Blaha, bishop of the Czech underground church in the time of communism, “died after a serious illness on December 13th in the St. Elisabeth hospice in Brno”. This was announced by the Czech Bishops' Conference. After the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989, Blaha tried in vain in the Vatican to integrate the structures of the underground church into the official church. Unmarried himself, he changed to the official clergy of his home diocese of Brno / Brünn and abstained from public statements. On special occasions such as Archbishop Karel Otcenasek's funeral in Königgrätz in 2011, however, he also appeared in the circle of Czech bishops. The requiem for the person who died at the age of 75 will take place on Thursday in Brno Cathedral. (Kap16.12.2012sk)
- ↑ Le Petit Episcopologe, Issue 128, Number 11,533
- ↑ Le Petit Episcopologe, Issue 155, Number 13.534
