Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz (9 October 1666 in Moritzburg – 23 August 1725 in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

), was a German prince of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

. Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz was a

Teutonic Knight The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

, the Primas of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and finally a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. On 22 May 1712 he crowned

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor , house = Habsburg , spouse = , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date ...

as the

King of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

and on 18 October 1714 also his wife

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (28 August 1691 – 21 December 1750) was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Empe ...

in St. Martin's Cathedral.

Life

He was the third (but second surviving) son of

Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (28 March 1619 – 4 December 1681) was a duke of Saxe-Zeitz and member of the House of Wettin. Born in Dresden, he was the youngest surviving son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Magdalene Sibylle of ...

, and his second wife, Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Weimar. A

, he converted to

Catholicism 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 ...

in 1696 and became Provost of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

(1696–1725), then Bishop of Raab (1696–1725) and finally on 17 May 1706 was created a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

. He was chosen to convert his kinsman, the King-Elector

August the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as K ...

of Poland to the Catholic faith. Christian August instructed him secretly and on 1 June 1697 baptized him secretly in the Court Chapel (''Hofkapelle'') in

Baden bei Wien Baden (German for " Baths"; Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden District in the state of Lower Austria. Loc ...

, then publicly and solemnly in the German ''Piekar'' in Oppeln. When the conversion was finally formalized, Christian August issued a certificate to the king, which was authenticated by the Papal nunzio. In 1707 Christian August was elected

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 archdioc ...

(Gran) and consequently, Primas of

. He used the office of a deputy of the Emperor as Principal Commissioner (''Prinzipalkommissar'') in the

Perpetual Imperial Diet The Perpetual Diet of Regensburg or the Eternal Diet of Regensburg, (german: Immerwährender Reichstag) also commonly called in English the perpetual Diet of Ratisbon,Jean Berenger, C.A. Simpson, ''The Habsburg Empire 1700-1918'' (2014), p. 134 fr ...

('' Reichstag'') of Regensburg. On the occasion of the victory over the Turks in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

in 1717 Christian August, as representative of the Emperor Charles VI, organized a magnificent celebration in the Imperial Diet realm. During the festivities, the Order of St. Emmeram was created in the knight's hall on 26 October. The death of his brother

Maurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz Moritz Wilhelm (English: Maurice William; 12 March 1664 – 15 November 1718), a member of the Saxon House of Wettin, was the second and last Duke of Saxe-Zeitz from 1681 until his death. Life He was born at Moritzburg Castle in the Wettin ...

, on 15 November 1718 without surviving male issue, made him heir to the duchy of Saxe-Zeitz, but because he took the monastic vows (and the next in line to the inheritance, Christian August's nephew Maurice Adolf, was also a priest), Zeitz was merged into the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

in accordance with the will of Elector Johann Georg I.

Death

Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz died on 23 August 1725 in

. He is buried in the crypts of St. Martin's Cathedral in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, 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 — approxim ...

the capital of present-day

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian August Of Saxe-Zeitz 17th-century German people 18th-century German people 17th-century Hungarian people 18th-century Hungarian people Bishops of Győr House of Wettin German Roman Catholics German expatriates in Hungary Archbishops of Esztergom People from Győr Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism People from Moritzburg 1666 births 1725 deaths Burials at St. Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava Albertine branch