Jan MilÃÄ
John Milicius ( Czech Jan Milíč z Kroměříže; German Johann Militsch of Kremsier; * to 1320-1325 in Kremsier, Moravia, † June 29, 1374 in Avignon ) was a Bohemian preacher reform in the late Middle Ages.
Life
Originally from the North Moravian Milicius studied probably in Olomouc. Studying in Prague can be excluded because he had already completed his studies of the founding date of the university and therefore not held the title of Master. He began working as a clerk at nobles and was probably around 1350 employment in the Chancellery of Prague, which was headed by John of Neumarkt, who was ordained by Leitomischl 1353 bishop and chancellor appointed Charles IV. In the ten -year joint action time of the two men they employed probably especially with ancient rhetoric, as it was revived as of Cola di Rienzo, who was staying in Bohemia from 1350 to 1352. From this took Milicius probably the idea of a better world, who come to the overcoming of the Antichrist and in which the church would reflect the principles of their primeval itself. Similar effects also had Vojtěch Bludův John.
Milicius won in the firm quickly a prestigious position and was promoted from Skriptor to the notary. End of the 1350s he was entrusted by Charles IV with various diplomatic assignments. From this he received the commission to a canonry in the cathedral chapter of St. Veit. On January 21, 1361, John of Neumarkt sat with Pope Innocent VI. for a higher benefice for a John, then archdeacon of Prague cathedral chapter was established in October of the following year.
The Prague Archbishop Ernest of Pardubice hoped to have found an ally in Micius for a moderate reform of the Church and therefore entrusted him with the perception of one or even two Erzdiakonaten, which Milicius had to perform immediate supervision of the clergy of his diocese. In February 1363 he was awarded the position of sacristan in the cathedral chapter. During this time, presumably Milicius recognized several shortcomings in the Prague clergy, such as the provost of the chapter of a whore's door could be create in his palace.
Preacher
Around this time Milicius met in Prague on Conrad of Waldhausen, after which he retired almost simultaneously with Nicholas of Kremsier, who also worked to date as Pronotar in the Bohemian Chancellery from office. He retired for half a year after Bischofteinitz in the Bohemian Forest, to prepare for his ministry. In the fall of 1364 he then joined together with Konrad of Waldhausen in St. Nicholas and St. Giles in the Old Town as a preacher of repentance and reform on. While Konrad held his sermons in Latin and German, Milicius preached in Czech. He refrained from now on any material basis of life, even the donated by his followers means he shared with the poor. As well as professors and students of the University of Prague were among his audience, he preached soon also in Latin, which his ideas were well known throughout Bohemia addition. Also likely Geert Groote Milicius have heard his thoughts, he then sought to realize years later in the Netherlands. His sermons, which he delivered in the Tyn Church, were much visited in the audience were the highest representatives. Emperor Charles IV had Milicius thrown into prison, after the preacher spoke to the rulers incognito present with his name and brought in connection with the Antichrist. In 1366 he published under the name abortivus his first sermon collection. Core of these sermons was the announcement of the appearance of the Antichrist.
1367 he traveled to Rome to the benefits anticipated from Avignon Pope present his thoughts where he experienced even more serious abuses. He therefore announced that in Rome the struggle against the " Antichrist " recording, which is why he was arrested after a prayer by the Inquisition and imprisoned in the monastery of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. When the Pope arrived in Rome in the autumn, to his brother, Cardinal Angelico de Grimoard of the case accepted and dismissed Milicius after interrogations from prison. In October 1367 Milicius could audition with the Pope, with Urban V was looking for him to slow down in his zeal and promised him support.
Thereupon John went back to Prague to begin his preaching activity again. However, after he discovered that the Pope caused no changes, he taught in 1368 a letter to the head of the church in 1369 and traveled again to Rome, there to support Conrad of Waldhausen in his trial. This Rome, however, had already left and had died so that Milicius again returned late in 1369 to Prague.
From now on, in addition Milicius preached in German and held three, instead of the previous two sermons a day. This enthusiasm was also evident advantage of the Archbishop and asked him to Synodalreden to the clergy. Milicius practiced open criticism of simoniacal abuses and the exploitation of poor and approved the laity, therefore, a more upscale position within the church. He was particularly anxious to reach a common communion of the laity, which they should be adjusted to the priesthood. To this end, he passed several prayers into the vernacular, of which, however, German and Latin texts are only preserved.
" New Jerusalem " and heretics process
As Conrad of Waldhausen was also Milicius trying a large student body to gather around, so also he founded his own school preacher. He also designed a model parish as a counterpoint to the existing church he programmatically as New Jerusalem towards the Old Babylon (the latter as a designation for the existing church) designated. He therefore endeavored to building in Prague's red light district, where he wanted to build this new parish. Through various grants and donations, including by Emperor Charles IV, he was so nearly a complete neighborhood of 29 buildings. When Archbishop he then put the creation of a new parish operations, the Church of Mary Magdalene should be ordained and in which he wanted to take over the office of parish priest and the patron himself. In this parish lay and clergy should without a confirmed by the Church generally and completely equal living side by side. These included around 200 prostitutes and his assistants in the office preacher. Probably Milicius ' preacher school was also open to lay people, because he also expressly conceded that the right to preach. The foundation stone of the parish church was laid on September 19, 1372, it was inaugurated on Ash Wednesday the following year.
Because many pastors and many mendicants saw this pattern parish as questioning their spiritual practice, they reached that Milicius again the patronage was withdrawn already on August 2, 1373 by the vicar general, which then went to the archiepiscopal consistory. He was also accused the Pope of heresy, partly because of the association of prostitutes to a religious community and its leveling of differences between laity and clergy, which provided the foundations of the hierarchical Church of the Middle Ages questioned. The 1372 operating in Avignon as papal penitentiary Augustinian hermit John Klenkok was entrusted with the case.
The first effect of the action met early in 1374 a Papal Bull in Prague, which was also sent to the bishops of Gniezno, Wrocław, Olomouc, Leitomischl and Krakow in copy and in particularly the Archbishop for the toleration of Milicius ' activities was blamed. In April 1374 Milicius had to go because of the accusations to Avignon, where he died in the summer of 1374. The process was then set inconclusive, the heresy was maintained.