Demeter Naprágyi (''Náprágyi'', ''Napragyi'', ''Napraghy'' or ''Napragi''; 1564 – before 5 March 1619)Markó 2006, p. 115. was a Hungarian prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, who served as bishop of several dioceses. He was the

Archbishop of Kalocsa In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

from 1608 to 1619. He also functioned as Chancellor of Transylvania between 1598 and 1600.

Life

Naprágyi was born into a noble family from Gömör County (since the 18th century: Gömör és Kis-Hont County) and raised in the court of

Bishop of Pécs A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Miklós Telegdi Miklós () is a given name or surname, the Hungarian form of the Greek (English ''Nicholas''), and may refer to: In Hungarian politics * Miklós Bánffy, Hungarian nobleman, politician, and novelist * Miklós Horthy, Regent of the Kingdom of Hu ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with the aid of the bishop. After ordination, he became director of the

Nagyszombat Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' (Trnava Region) and of an ''okres'' (Trnava ...

College (today: ''Trnava, Slovakia''). He was appointed Canon of

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Da ...

by bishop István Radéczy in 1586. Two years later, he served as Grand Provost of Eger. He was the Provost of Arad between 1593 and 1596. He became Bishop of Szerém (

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...

) in June 1596. He held the office of Bishop of Transylvania since May 1597. He often worked as envoy of his

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

, Rudolf. He visited

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar, N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and ...

in 1598. He had also good relationship with

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as v ...

. He was elected Chancellor of Transylvania in 1598, during the reign of

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

Andrew Báthory. He also held the position, when

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...

marched into

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

. He was a supporter of the Báthory family, as a result he was banished from Transylvania by the Diet of Gyulafehérvár (today: ''Alba Iulia, Romania'') in January 1601. He carried the

herma A herma ( grc, ἑρμῆς, pl. ''hermai''), commonly herm in English, is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height. Hermae we ...

of Saint Ladislaus and his valuable book collection when left the principality. His episcopal property was seized by the diet. From 1602, he was the Provost of

Pozsony Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

(''Pressburg''; today: ''Bratislava, Slovakia''). He functioned as Bishop of Veszprém since August 1605 and as Bishop of Győr since December 1606. He was elected

in 1608. After the death of Ferenc Forgách (1615), he applied for the position of

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, but failed to reach success:

Péter Pázmány Péter Pázmány de Panasz, S.J. ( hu, panaszi Pázmány Péter, ; la, Petrus Pazmanus; german: Peter Pazman; sk, Peter Pázmaň; 4 October 1570 – 19 March 1637), was a Hungarian Jesuit who was a noted philosopher, theologian, cardi ...

, the significant person of the Hungarian Counter-Reformation, was elected head of the Hungarian Roman Catholic Church.

References

Bibliography

* Jenei, Ferenc: ''Az utolsó magyar humanista főpap: Naprágyi Demeter''. Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények, 1965. * Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig - Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 115.'' ''(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days - A Biographical Encyclopedia)'' (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; . * Trócsányi, Zsolt: Erdély központi kormányzata 1540–1690. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980. ''p. 32.''. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Napragyi, Demeter 1564 births 1619 deaths Bishops of Győr Bishops of Veszprém Archbishops of Kalocsa Chancellors of Transylvania 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary Bishops of Transylvania