Přirozená úcta nebo kult osobnosti? K „druhému životu“ biskupa sv. Gorazda II. v pravoslavné církvi
Natural Respect or a Cult of Personality? On the “Second Lifeˮ of Bishop St. Gorazd II. in the Orthodox Church

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses the question whether the Church᾽s posthumous respect for the founder of the Orthodox Church in the Czech lands, Matěj Pavlík (later Bishop Gorazd), in the second half of the 20th century has the features of natural esteem and gratitude for his merits, or whether the features of a cult of personality prevail. The manifestations of respect for Gorazd II and his life work have been apparent since 1945, when World War II ended. Their organizer was primarily the Orthodox Church itself. The Church presented the bishop in two ways: 1) as the founder and most important figure in the history of Czech Orthodoxy, and 2) as an Orthodox martyr, Czech patriot and a warrior against fascism who sacrificed his life for this idea. However, the second interpretation very soon prevailed. From February 1948, the cult of bishop Gorazd as a warrior against fascism took over, supported and enhanced by official communist propaganda. This was due to the fact that the leaders of the Orthodox Church fully supported the idea of socialism in Czechoslovakia. The above-mentioned cult of bishop Gorazd was linked to the myth of the Orthodox Church as a progressive, patriotic, and national church, which, in the years of war, sacrificed the most for the Czech nation and its future. Our research has confirmed the efforts to create a cult of a warrior against fascism and to forcibly update his life work so that it would appear to be conforming to the goals of a socialist political regime, which was, outside the public space, complemented with highlighting the features legitimizing his sacralisation.

• Details
• Contents