The Church of the Holy Trinity or commonly known as the Premonstratensian Church (), or initially the Jesuit Church (Slovak: ''Jezuitský kostol''), is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It is an example of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

in the city and was the site of the martyrdom of three saints in 1619.Slovak Travel
retrieved 13 June 2013

History

Origin

It the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the Royal House (a seat of the Royal Chamber), stood on the site of the present

. In 1618, at the beginning of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

and the start of the

Thirty Year War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

, The captain of the city established there a dwelling and a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

for

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in the

Protestant 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 ...

town. Two Jesuits

Melchior Grodziecki Melchior Grodziecki (c. 1582 – 7 September 1619) was a Silesian Jesuit priest. He is considered a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church. He was canonized in 1995 and is liturgically commemorated on 19 January. Biography He was born in Těš� ...

Stephen Pongracz Stephen Pongracz (; 1584–1619) was a Hungarian Jesuit priest, martyr and saint of the Catholic Church. Biography Stephen Pongracz was born in Alvincz Castle in Principality of Transylvania, entered the Society of Jesus in 1602, and studied in ...

were sent there, to work with a canon Marek Križin. On 7 September 1619, the forces of

George I Rákóczi George I Rákóczi (8 June 1593 – 11 October 1648) was Prince of Transylvania from 1630 until his death in 1648. Prior to that, he was a leader of the Protestant faction in Hungary and a faithful supporter of Gabriel Bethlen, his predecessor ...

, the father of the Prince of Transylvania

George II Rákóczi George II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I and Zsuzsanna Lorántffy. Early life He was elected Prince of Transylvania during his father' ...

, stormed the castle and arrested the priests. They gave them a death sentence on charges of treason; accusing them of inviting the Polish army into Kassa. They were tortured and then beheaded that day. The execution of the priests shocked the local population, Catholics and Protestants alike.

Construction

In 1657, the

Bishop of Eger The Archdiocese of Eger () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Hungary, its centre is the city of Eger. History * 1000: Established as Diocese of Eger * August 9, 1804: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Eger w ...

Benedict Kishdy Benedict Kisdy (, ) (c. 1598 – 22 June 1660) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic bishop in the 17th century. He was the founder of the Royal University (Universitas Cassoviensis) in present-day Košice and the Bishop of Eger.

, founded the first Košice University (Universitas Cassoviensis) close to the site. Later, the daughter-in-law of

, Sofia Bathory, wife of

, bought the ruins of the former Royal House with intention of building a church for the Jesuits there to make amends for the events of the Thirty Years' War. In 1681, construction on the church finished and it was opened.

Post-suppression

On 21 July 1773, the Jesuits were expelled from the city as part of the

suppression of the Society of Jesus The suppression of the Society of Jesus was the removal of all members of the Jesuits from most of Western Europe and their respective colonies beginning in 1759 along with the abolition of the order by the Holy See in 1773; the papacy acceded ...

. So in 1811, the church was given to

Premonstratensians The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in United Kingdom, Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their religious habit, habit), is a religious order of cano ...

who currently administer the church.Kosice
from ''Polloc.eu'' retrieved 10 June 2013
retrieved 9 June 2013

Gallery

File:Church of the Holy Trinity, Košice -.jpg, Upper part of the Church of the Holy Trinity File:Jezuitský.jpg, The Premonstratensian Church of Košice in 2006 File:Universitas Cassoviensis.jpg, Seal of the Royal Košice University built near the site

References