Jan Milic
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Jan Milíč z Kroměříže (Jan Milíč of Kroměříž) (d. June 29, 1374, in Avignon) was a pre-Hussite reform preacher from Kroměříž in Moravia.
[edit] Life
Not much is known of Milíč's early life. From 1358 to 1360, he served as registrar and from 1360 to 1362 corrector at the Imperial Chancery of Charles IV. In 1363, he was a priest and canon, as well as probably an archdeacon, at Prague; however, he renounced all these positions at the end of that year. From then on he lived a life of extreme austerity and fearlessly denounced the vices of clergy and laity alike. At least once each day he preached at St. Nicholas's, later at St. Egid's in Prague, both in Latin for ecclesiastics and in Czech for the laity. After the death of Conrad of Waldhausen in 1369, Milíč also preached daily in German at the cathedral.
He went to Rome in the Spring of 1367 and was imprisoned there by the Inquisition for telling people that the Antichrist had arrived. During his imprisonment he wrote Libellus de Antichristo, which he submitted to Pope Urban V, who released Milíč upon his return from Avignon to Rome on October 16, 1367. In 1372, Milíč founded a home for fallen women in Prague, which he called "Jerusalem". Next year, the mendicants and city clergy of Prague lodged twelve accusations against him with the Pope Gregory XI in Avignon, so Milíč went to Avignon were he was completely justified by the Pope and even allowed to preach before the cardinals.
[edit] Works
Besides Libellus de Antichristo, there exist are two manuscript collections of Milic's Latin sermons: Gratia Dei and Abortivus.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
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