Martin Stredonius

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Martin Stredonius

Martin Stredonius SJ ( Latin Martinus Stredonius , Czech Martin Středa , also Martin Středovský , Polish Marcin Strzoda ; born November 11, 1587 in Gliwice , Duchy of Opole ; † August 26, 1649 in Brno , Margraviate of Moravia ) was one of the leading Jesuits of the Bohemian order province . 1627–1629 and 1641–1647 he was rector of the Brno Jesuit College and 1629–1638 rector of Charles University in Prague . 1638–1641 and 1648 until his death in 1649 he held the office of Provincial of Bohemia. During the Thirty Years' War in 1645 he made great contributions to the defense of the city of Brno.

Life

Memorial plaque in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in Brno
Unveiling of the monument to Martin Stredonius in Brno

Martin Stredonius came from a Czech family. He was the eldest of three sons of the Gliwice City Council of the same name. His mother Barbara was the sister of Georg Polenta von Sudetis ( Jiří Polenta ze Sudetu ), who held the post of rector of Charles University from 1561–1562 . Martin first attended the parish school in Gleiwitz and then in Oberglogau . He spoke excellent Czech, which was the official language in the Duchy of Opole at the time, as well as German and Polish. From 1604 he studied at the Jesuit College Clementinum in Prague . Four years later he began the two-year novitiate in Brno , which he concluded in September 1610 with the prescribed vows . The order then sent him to Graz for further studies , where he studied German, Latin and philosophy at the Jesuit university at the time . From 1615 he taught rhetoric at religious schools in Prague and also studied theology. After the uprising of the estates of 1618 , he fled with the Prague Jesuits to Graz, where he was ordained a priest in 1620. After the Battle of White Mountain , he returned to Prague in 1621, obtained a doctorate in philosophy and became a professor of rhetoric. After further theological studies, he took the fourth religious vow in 1624, with which he undertook to carry out missions wherever he would be sent by the Pope. In 1625 he received his doctorate in theology, from 1626 to 1627 he taught at the Neiss Jesuit College and from 1627 to 1629 he held the post of Rector at the Brno Jesuit College. There he campaigned for the completion of the college as well as the repair of the college estates devastated by the Turkish wars . a. the construction of three fish ponds and an aqueduct that led from Řečkovice ( Retschkowitz ) to the college and its surroundings. In addition to caring for the poor and the sick, he set up scholarships for poor students. As early as 1628 he was commissioned by Prague Archbishop Franz Anton von Harrach to send the Jesuits to Klattau , where a Jesuit college with a grammar school was to be established. The first rector of the Klattau College was Martin's brother Andreas Stredonius ( Ondřej Středa ) from 1636 to 1644 .

In 1629 Martin Stredonius became rector of the Jesuit Academy Clementinum . Subsequently, he campaigned, among other things, to consolidate discipline and set up a student defense corps to ward off the threats posed by the Thirty Years' War . Because of the Saxon incursion, he left Prague. After returning in 1632, he campaigned for the renewal of the school system and for the repair of war damage. In 1638 he became Provincial of the Bohemian Order Province, with which he held the highest Jesuit order. During the next three years he campaigned for social and health care and negotiated about this with Emperor Ferdinand III. During the Thirty Years' War during the Swedish occupation of Prague, he successfully campaigned for the release of the captured Jesuits by offering himself up as a hostage.

In 1641 Martin Středa gave up the post of provincial and was again rector of the Brno Jesuit College. When Brno was besieged by the Swedes in September 1643, he again tried to mitigate the consequences of the war. B. Granted refugees refuge in the college. He made special contributions to Brno in 1645 after the battle of Jankau , from which the Swedes emerged victorious. Martin Středa prepared his subordinates and Brno citizens for the defense of the city. The military defender of the city, Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches , General of the Imperial Army , is said to have received advice and encouragement from Martin Středa. Because of his dedication and bravery in the defense of Brno, Martin Středa was holy by the residents. Legend has it that the Swedish siege ended on August 15, 1645, the Feast of the Assumption , when the last bullet fired by the Swedes landed at Středa's feet without further damage. Martin Středa later returned to Prague, where he became the clementine spiritual director and wrote several theological and ascetic writings, which, however, have not yet been printed. In 1648 he was again appointed Provincial of the Bohemian Order Province. After a trip through Silesia , he was brought to Brno in poor health, where he died on August 26, 1649. His body was buried in a glass coffin in the crypt of the Assumption Church.

Appreciation

  • After his death, text excerpts from his work Excerpta Ex Ore RP Martini Stredonii, Anno 1647, appeared. Cum fama Sanctitatis, mortui Brunae, Aug. 24, 1649 Digitized
  • Streets in his hometown Gliwice and Brno were named in his honor.
  • In 2009, a 471 kg church bell was cast for the Brno Church of the Assumption , which bears his name.
  • A monument by Martin Stredonius was unveiled in front of the Church of the Assumption on August 15, 2020.

literature

  • Josef Koláček : Martin Středa SJ: obránce Brna , Olomouc 2009, ISBN 978-80-74120-22-0 (curriculum vitae pp. 112–115).
  • Jiří Novotný: Události ze života P. Martina Středy SJ . Olomouc 2007, ISBN 978-80-86715-91-9 .
  • Berthold Bretholz : The defensive battle of the city of Brno against the Swedes in 1645 , Brno in 1895.
  • Wenceslao Schwertfer: Vita Reverendi Patri Martini Stredonii Soc. Jesu: per provinciam Bohemiae praepositi provincialis conscripta , Pragae 1673 digitized

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.herder-institut.de/zentrales-habenregister/detailansicht/zpr/view/hpid/100025698.html
  2. ↑ CV (Czech)
  3. ↑ Theol. Dr. Martin Středa (Stredonius). In: encyklopedie.brna.cz. Retrieved April 19, 2020 (Czech).
  4. ^ Rector of the Jesuit College in Klattau
  5. ↑ p. 20
  6. ↑ Bertold Bretholz : The defense battle of the city of Brno against the Swedes, 1645. Published by the municipal council of the state capital Brno, Rudolf M. Rohrer, Brünn 1895, p. 30 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  7. ↑ Středova. In: encyklopedie.brna.cz. Retrieved on August 14, 2020 (Czech, Stredoniusgasse).
  8. ^ Zvon Martina Středy. In: encyklopedie.brna.cz. Retrieved August 14, 2020 (Czech).
personal data
SURNAME Stredonius, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stredonius, Martinus; Středa, Martin; Středovský, Martin; Strzoda, Marcin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Religious chaplain, Jesuit of the Bohemian religious province
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1587
PLACE OF BIRTH Gliwice , Duchy of Opole
DATE OF DEATH August 26, 1649
Place of death Brno , Margraviate of Bohemia