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A Study of Peter Chelčický's Life and a Translation From A STUDY OF PETER CHEL ČICKÝ’S LIFE AND A TRANSLATION FROM CZECH OF PART ONE OF HIS NET OF FAITH —————————— A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Church History Pacific School of Religion —————————— In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Divinity —————————— by Enrico C. S. Molnár Berkeley, California, February 1947 Transcribed, formatted, and edited by WWW.NONRESISTANCE.ORG Oberlin, Ohio, June 2006 ii INTRODUCTION The two-fold aim of the following thesis is defined by its title: it presents a translation, from the Czech language, of a religio-political treatise called The Net of Faith , written sometime between 1440- 1443 by Peter Chel čický, 1 a yeoman from southern Bohemia, and a contemporary of the Hussite Revolution. Chel čický was the most original thinker of the Bohemian Reformation; today there are preserved over fifty 2 writings of different lengths that came from his pen. His most mature and most representative work is The Net of Faith . I consider this translation of The Net as the core of my thesis; to it I have prefaced several chapters in which I have endeavored to evaluate the significance of Peter Chelčický, to show his unique position in the Czech reformation, and to underscore his characteristic contribution to European Protestant religious thought. In choosing this subject for my thesis I am conscious that I am also paying back a debt that I owe Chel čický; the reading of his book led me to the choice of my vocation. I am also aware that he and his work are literally unknown in what is loosely termed the West. (For that matter, and it is sad to admit, the whole ideological content of Czechoslovak Protestantism as well as the ecclesiastical history of the Slavic peoples remain, for the great part, an uncharted map to Anglo-American Protestantism, which is still often compelled to inscribe the blank spaces with the legend hic sunt leones .) The Net of Faith consists of two parts: in the first part, composed of ninety-five chapters, Chel čický presents his basic philosophy; the second part, divided into fifty-one chapters, contains ‘illustrative material’ in elaboration of Part I. Even though this section is – from the literary point of view – by far most interesting in that it vividly portrays the different facets of medieval life, it is omitted in the present thesis. In translating I used the critical edition of Peter Chel čický’s Net of Faith made by Dr. Emil Smetánka, Professor of Czech Language at Charles University, Prague 3; this I often compared with the facsimile reprint of the first printed edition of 1521, a copy of which is available in the Library of the University of California. 4 I am indebted to Professor George H. Williams of Starr King School for the Ministry, Berkeley, who read parts of the translation while it was in the process of growth, and who has made many helpful suggestions; to the editors of The Moravian for permission to use large portions of my article, “The Prehistory of Moravianism,” which appeared in that magazine, and especially to my brother, Rev. Amedeo Molnár of Prague, who supplied me with much needed critical literature about Chelcický published in Bohemia during the war years, beside contributing many constructive suggestions. And finally, I owe many thanks to my wife who learned that helping with a thesis in many practical ways is essential in making marriage a success. 1 See the key to Czech pronunciation on p. vi. 2 Please see the bibliography. Molnár’s original list of 32 works has been replaced by Murray Wagner’s list of 56 works. 3 Petr Chel čický, Sí ť víry , revised new edition, Emil Smetánka, ed., Prague: Melantrich, 1929. 4 Petr z Chelcžicz, Siet Wiery , Bohemiae Monumenta Typographica. Facsimile Reprint of the Vilémov Edition of 1521, ed. by Zden ěk Tobolka. Prague: Taussig, 1925. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction................................................................................................................................................iii Table of contents........................................................................................................................................ iv List of Illustrations...................................................................................................................................... v Abbreviations.............................................................................................................................................. v Czech Pronunciation .................................................................................................................................. vi Notes About the Translation ..................................................................................................................... vii Notes About the Transcription.................................................................................................................. vii Notable Quotations ..................................................................................................................................viii PART I A HISTORICAL STUDY OF PETER CHEL ČICKÝ: HIS LIFE, WORK, AND PHILOSOPHY Chapter 1 − What is the Net of Faith? ...................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2 − Peter Chel čický, The Setting In Time................................................................................... 6 Chapter 3 − Peter Chel čický, His Life...................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 4 − Peter Chel čický and the Hussite Reformation, the Parting of the Ways............................. 21 The Estrangement from the Táborites................................................................................................. 21 The Estrangement from the Utraquists ............................................................................................... 23 Chapter 5 − Peter Chel čický, His Philosophy......................................................................................... 25 The Donation of Constantine.............................................................................................................. 27 The State ............................................................................................................................................. 30 The Church.......................................................................................................................................... 33 Christian Socialism and Communism................................................................................................. 35 Pacifism............................................................................................................................................... 38 Chel čický’s Style ................................................................................................................................ 40 PART II TRANSLATION OF THE NET OF FAITH , BOOK ONE: THE CORRUPTION OF THE CHURCH, CAUSED BY ITS FUSION AND CONFUSION WITH TEMPORAL POWER Foreword – Prefaced to the Vilémov Edition of 1521.............................................................................. 45 Section 1, The Allegory of the Miraculous Fishing, Chapters 1 to 5 ....................................................... 49 Section 2, The Perfect and Exemplary Apostolic Church, Chapters 6 to 12 ............................................ 57 Section 3, Refutation of the Claims of the Council of Basel, Chapters 13 to 23...................................... 69 The Donation of Constantine (14) ...................................................................................................... 72 The Pope's Guilt in the Donation (15-18)........................................................................................... 77 The Emperor's Guilt in the Donation, with Wyclif's Arguments (19-23)........................................... 83 Section 4, The Church and State Ought to Be Separated, Chapters 24 to 26 ........................................... 90 Section 5, The Origins of State and Christian Sovereignty, Chapters 27 to 29........................................ 92 Section 6, The Spiritual and Secular Powers, Chapters 30 to 39.............................................................. 96 The Evils of Secular Power, with Wyclf's Arguments (32-38) .......................................................... 98 iv The Evils of Spiritual Power (39) ..................................................................................................... 106 Section 7, Refutation of Augustine's Arguments on Warfare, Chapters 40 to 41 .................................. 106 Section 8, Commentary on Romans 13:1-2, Chapters 42 to 55.............................................................. 108 Section 9, Commentary on Romans 13:3-4, Chapters 56 to 67.............................................................. 117 Section 10, Refutation of the Arguments of Giles Charlier, Chapters 68 to 72 ..................................... 124 Section 11, Refutation of the Arguments of Albertus Magnus, Chapters 73 to 76 ................................ 128 Section 12, Return to the Arguments of Giles Charlier, Chapters 77 to 80............................................ 130 Section 13, Military Service and War Contrary to the Law of Christ, Chapters 81 to 85...................... 134 Section 14, Commentary on Romans 13:5-8, Chapters 86 to 91...........................................................
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