Author: Jan Malura
University of Ostrava
Translation from Czech by Ivanka Romova
Published in Slavyanski dialozi, XIII, 17, 2016
Abstract: Drawing on certain literary texts of various genres, this paper traces the cult of Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Baroque Culture. The focus of the cult’s development was in the province of Moravia and it didn’t start until the end of the 16th century; its traces in the other Czech provinces of Bohemia and Silesia were considerably weaker. At the beginning of the Baroque period, the cult of Cyril and Methodius as practiced in Moravia was closely linked with the cultural milieu of the Olomouc Bishopric. It became part of the re-Catholicization strategies pursued during the time of the Counter-Reformation. In the 18th century Vienna became another major center of the cult; between 1708 and 1782 the Church of St. Michael in Vienna hosted an annual celebration of the saint brothers as the national holiday of Moravia. In Baroque writings, the brothers from Thessaloniki represented also a supranational idea of Slavic unity, often known as Baroque Slavism. They were honored not only by Czech (Moravian) writers, but also by Polish, Slovak and Slovene authors.
Key words: Cyril and Methodius, Czech Baroque, Baroque Slavism