Mihajlo Bučić was a 16th-century Catholic priest who converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

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 Juraj IV Zrinski ( hu, Zrínyi IV. György) (13 April 1549 – Vép by Szombathely, 4 May 1603) was a Croatian count, a member of the Zrinski noble family, and royal Master of the treasury from 1567 until his death in 1603. Life He was the son ...

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

because of the conflict with Franjo Tahi. In 1574

Juraj Drašković Juraj II Drašković ( en, George II Drashkovich, hr, Juraj II. Drašković, hu, Draskovics II. György; 5 February 1525 – 31 January 1587) was a Croatian nobleman, statesman and Catholic bishop and cardinal, very powerful and influential in ...

, the bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, an ...

, strictly followed recommendations of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

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 litera ...

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 Kingdom of Croatia may refer to: * Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), an independent medieval kingdom * Croatia in personal union with Hungary (1102–1526), a kingdom in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary * Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) (152 ...

. Because Bučić enjoyed protection of the lord of Međimurje,

, 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 and one of the first writers on

Kajkavian dialect Kajkavian (Kajkavian noun: ''kajkavščina''; Shtokavian adjective: ''kajkavski'' , noun: ''kajkavica'' or ''kajkavština'' ) is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia, Gorski Kotar and nort ...

. 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 a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

. 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

Bibliography

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Further reading