Juraj Cvečić, (also ''Cvecich'', ''Cuetschisch'', ''Cvetic'', ''Zwetzitsch''), (ca. 1520 - 1585) was an Istrian Croatian translator, preacher and editor of Protestant books. He was born in

Pazin Pazin ( it, Pisino, german: Mitterburg) is a town in western Croatia, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is known for the medieval Pazin Castle, the former residence of the Istrian margraves. Geography The town had a population of 8,6 ...

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

, around 1502. At the urging of Matija Vlačić Ilirik (Flacius) her moved to Wittenberg to study theology. He was ordained a priest, and after his ordination served in his native Istria. He was a supporter of Protestantism. He started to seek associates for a printing press in Urach. After he married in 1561, he was dismissed from the priesthood. He traveled to

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...

, stayed briefly in

Metlika Metlika (; german: Möttling''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 10.) is a town in southeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municip ...

and

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, where at the urging of Matija Klombner and Francesco (Franjo) Barbo he started to translate theological texts into Croatian. He was twice a resident in Urach (1561 and 1562) and worked in Ungnad's printing house, where books in Croatian were printed. At this time he translated into Croatian the

Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...

and

Spangenberg Spangenberg is a small town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. Geography Spangenberg lies in the Schwalm-Eder district some southeast of Kassel, west of the Stölzinger Gebirge, a low mountain range. Spangenberg is the demographic centrepoint o ...

's Postil. Cvečić, like Konzul Istrianin and

Antun Dalmatin Antun Aleksandrović Dalmatin ( lat, Antonius Dalmata ab Alexandro) was 16th century translator and publisher of Protestant liturgical books. Name and early life Antun's surname is an exonym which means "of Dalmatia". Dalmatin was probably from ...

(who like nearly all Croatian Protestants were originally from Istria and the Kvarner), wrote in the

Chakavian dialect Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , sh-Latn, čakavski proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmat ...

of Istria and the Croatian littoral. He moved to Carniola with

Stjepan Konzul Istranin Stipan/Stjepan Konzul Istranin, or Stephanus Consul (1521 — after 1568) was a 16th century Protestant reformator who authored and translated religious books to Čakavian dialect. Istranin was the most important Croatian language Protestant write ...

, and thence to Istria and

Cres Cres (; dlm, Crepsa, vec, Cherso, it, Cherso, la, Crepsa, Greek language, Greek: Χέρσος, ''Chersos'') is an Adriatic island in Croatia. It is one of the northern islands in the Kvarner Gulf and can be reached via ferry from Rijeka, ...

, where he created a network of collaborators, translators and preachers ready to distribute the Croatian bibles. He traveled throughout Croatia and Carniola, and for some time remained in Istria, where he translated the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

into Croatian. Sources from the archives in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

relating to Ungnad's printing house in Urach give enough information about his work. After the closure of the printing house in Urach in 1565, Cvečić was a Protestant preacher in several places in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

(

Senožeče Senožeče (; it, Senosecchia, german: Senosetsch) is a settlement in the Municipality of Divača in the Slovenian Littoral, Littoral region of Slovenia. Name Senožeče was attested in historical sources as ''Sehenossecsch'' in 1217, ''Senosensa ...

near

Sežana Sežana (; it, Sesana) is a town in the Slovenian Littoral region of Slovenia, near the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Sežana. Sežana is located on the Karst Plateau, from Trieste, Italy, and from Ljubljana, the cap ...

;

Idrija Idrija (, in older sources ''Zgornja Idrija''; german: (Ober)idria, it, Idria) is a town in western Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Idrija. It is located in the traditional region of Inner Carniola and is in the Gorizia Statistic ...

). The exact place and date of death are unknown. He was buried in Ljubljana. Cvečić and his work have "remained in the shadow of Konzul Istrianin's and

Primož Trubar Primož Trubar or Primus Truber () (1508 – 28 June 1586) was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Prote ...

's," so he is far less known.

External links

Juraj Cvečić at Istrapedia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cvecic, Juraj 1520 births 1585 deaths People from Labin People from Istria Croatian Protestants