Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community
Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community
Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community
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concept of a contract between a ruler and <strong>the</strong> leaders of <strong>the</strong> Estates he ruledover. Komensky met David Pareus (1548-1622) at Heidelberg and came under<strong>the</strong> influence of his ecumenical spirit. Pareus hoped <strong>the</strong> <strong>Unity</strong> of Protestantscould be brought about by holding a sort of Protestant Council of Trent.In Bohemia things came to a head politically when a crowd of Protestantsstormed <strong>the</strong> Hradčany Palace in May 1618 and threw two Hapsburg governorsout of a window. <strong>The</strong> mob was protesting against violations of <strong>the</strong> RoyalCharter of Toleration of 1609, and that <strong>the</strong> Hapsburg Ferdinand II, aiming tobecome Emperor, was also assuming <strong>the</strong> throne of Bohemia.As <strong>the</strong>y threw <strong>the</strong> governors out of <strong>the</strong> window (still pointed out to touriststoday) <strong>the</strong>y cried out, ‘Shout to Mary to help you.’ <strong>The</strong>y fell on a dung heapbelow <strong>the</strong> window and survived.When Ferdinand did become Emperor <strong>the</strong> next year Bohemian Protestantsdeposed him as <strong>the</strong>ir king and put Frederick V of <strong>the</strong> Palatinate in his place. Helasted only a few months, as <strong>the</strong> ‘Winter King’, because again warfare followed(1620) and at <strong>the</strong> Battle of Bila Hora (White Mountain), near Prague, <strong>the</strong>Bohemian rebels were crushed by Imperialist forces. Some rebels wereexecuted in Old Town Square. <strong>The</strong>ir lands were confiscated and Frederick fled,his lands invaded from <strong>the</strong> Spanish Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands.In 1621 Imperial troops sacked Fulnek, where Komensky, now ordained as aminister of <strong>the</strong> Brethren, was headmaster of <strong>the</strong>ir school. His library wasburned by <strong>the</strong> troops and his <strong>book</strong>s burned publicly in <strong>the</strong> town square. Withabout a hundred of <strong>the</strong> Brethren, Komensky had to flee from Moravia. Hiswife and two sons had died in <strong>the</strong> plague and he was going to be in exile for<strong>the</strong> last 50 years of his life. In 1624 he remarried, marrying Marie Dorita, <strong>the</strong>daughter of a <strong>Unity</strong> Bishop, Jan Cyrill, who five years before had hopefullycrowned Frederick V as King of Bohemia.Komensky now travelled widely in Europe trying to raise support for <strong>the</strong>Brethren. He finally settled in 1628 at Leszno in Poland, where <strong>the</strong> ruler andlandowner was a member of <strong>the</strong> Brethren and had made his town a refuge forreligious refugees. Komensky wrote at this time:‘Brutal and bloodstained sword destroys my beloved country – my poorpeople are being oppressed, tortured, murdered and imprisoned. God’sPage 92