A Sample of the Activities of the Prague Archbishopric Under Archbishop Zbyněk Berka of Dubá and Lipá

Abstract

The paper is a probe into the ecclesiastical and religious conditions at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries from the perspective of the Prague archbishopric through the person of the tenth archbishop of Prague, Zbyněk Berka of Dubá and Lipá (1551–1606). The archbishop’s family background, the positions of power of his closest relatives and his journey towards ecclesiastical benefices, which ends in 1592 and the acquisition of the See of St. John, are presented. The subsequent key passage deals with Berke’s recatholization activities and the associated nuncio at the imperial court in Prague. The article outlines the complex religious situation of the time and the methods of recatholization applied, which it tries to interpret on the basis of an analysis of the archbishop’s correspondence.