Mihajlo Bučić was a Catholic priest who converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and became its propagandist.

Career

The date and place of Bučić's birth and death are unknown. Bučić was a vicar in Belica and in Međimurje. Until 1565 he was a vicar in Stenjevac but had to move to estate of Juraj IV Zrinski in

Nedelišće Nedelišće (; Kajkavian language, Kajkavian: ''Nedelišče'') is a village in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia, and the seat of the Municipalities of Croatia, Municipality of Nedelišće, which also includes 10 other villages in the south-w ...

because of the conflict with Franjo Tahi. In 1574

Juraj Drašković Juraj II Drašković (, , ; 5 February 1525 – 31 January 1587) was a Croatian nobleman, statesman and Catholic bishop and cardinal, very powerful and influential in the Croatian Kingdom. He was a member of the House of Drašković and elected ...

, the bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Zagreb (; ) is the central Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, and the present archbishop is Dražen Kutleša. It ...

, strictly followed recommendations of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

and expelled Bučić from Catholic church under accusations that his book was heretic propaganda of

. Drašković also ordered burning of Bučićs books and publishing of new books to dispute writings of Bučić. It is possible that ''Postilla'' authored by

Antun Vramec Antun (or Anton, also spelled Antol) Vramec (1538–1587/8) was a Croatian priest and writer. He wrote the first historical book in Slovene. As it was the second book written in the Kajkavian dialect, he was also a founder of the Kajkavian lit ...

is published in 1586 in Varaždin to follow the orders of Drašković. Bučić significantly contributed to spreading of Protentantism in the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia. Because Bučić enjoyed protection of the lord of Međimurje, Juraj IV Zrinski, thanks to whom (and later to his sons) this area was the only significant stronghold of Protestantism in Croatia for 50 years.

Bibliography

Bučić was the forerunner of the

Varaždin literary circle The Varaždin literary circle or Croatian-Kajkavian literary circle () was a literary group which emerged at the end of the 16th century in Varaždin. The framework of the Varaždin literary circle had four members. One of them was Roman Catholic v ...

and one of the first writers on

Kajkavian dialect Kajkavian is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia and Gorski Kotar. It is part of the South Slavic dialect continuum, being transitional to the supradialects of Čakavian, Štokavian ...

. Two books he wrote were banned and burned during period of the counter reformation movement so there is no evidence about the language or script he used in them. Still, it is assumed that he wrote his works on Kajkavian dialect and also on

Latin language Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. According to some sources Bučić published three of his works in Nedelišće. There are disputes if he wrote only on Latin language, or probably on Kajkavian or even Čakavian dialect.BIBL. M. K.: 133 varijacije na razne teme, Republika, 1959, 7-8; Illyricum sacrum, Kolo, 1963, 7. The

title of his book he published probably between 6 February 1573 and 6 March 1574 was ''Contra realem praesentiam Corporis et Sanguinis Christi in sacramento Eucharistiae''.

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Career

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