Ján Kellner (December 26, 1912–July 7, 1941) was a Slovak.týždeň,Weekly magazine, July 10, 2016.
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Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest,

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, executed during

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

in 1941.

Early life and studies

Ján Kellner was born in Hradisko (Kisvár),

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, today

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 ...

in 1912, near the town of

Levoča Levoča (; ; ) is the principal town of Levoča District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia, with a population of 14,256. The town has a historic center with a well-preserved town wall, a Gothic architecture, Gothic church with the talle ...

, where his family subsequently moved in 1922. He started attending the Catholic boys' elementary school and a year later the Gymnasium in Levoča, from which he graduated in 1931.Časopis Slovo, Spolok Sv. Vojtecha v Trnave, June 1993, Special Issue, 16 pages. p. 15. http://www.casopisslovo.sk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/1993_12_mimoriadne.pdf In 1931, he left for

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to study at

Collegium Russicum The Collegium Russicum (; ; ') is a Catholic college in Rome, originally founded by Pope Pius XI and dedicated to training priests for the newly organized Russian Greek Catholic Church. It is located near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, se ...

. After two years of study of Philosophy and four years of study of Theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

he was ordained priest on December 25, 1937 (according to other sources, on January 1, 1937). For two more years he studied at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had bee ...

and in 1939, he relocated to the Augustinian monastery in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

to serve at a Russian/Ruthenian Catholic parish, with the prospect of passage to Russia. At the beginning of WWII, on demand of the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and under the threat of forceful deportation, he left for Slovakia, where he worked in a paper factory in

Ružomberok Ružomberok (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of approximately 27,000. Etymology The name of the initial settlement located on today's Makovický street was ''Revúca'' ( Slovak "roaring ...

Passage to Soviet Union, captivity and death

In November 1940, Ján Kellner received a letter from the Jesuit Superior Wlodimir Ledóchowski to bishop

Michal Buzalka Michal (; ; ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Judah, then of all Israel, making ...

stating that the passage to USSR for Ján Kellner was prepared. Subsequently, Ján Kellner was issued a false passport under the name 'Relovský'.

Theodore Romzha Theodore George Romzha (; ; 14 April 1911 – 31 October 1947) was a Rusyn prelate who served as Bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo from 1944 to 1947. Assassinated by the NKVD, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II ...

, later bishop and martyr, dissuaded him from clandestine passage for the great dangers it posed; despite his advice, on December 6, 1940, he crossed the border into USSR. In spite of the spiritual and pastoral nature of their mission, the secret service of the Soviet Union considered Catholic missionaries to the USSR educated in the

to be spies of the Vatican, and treated them as such.Russicum - Le spie del vaticano. Movie, Rai. http://www.lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it/puntate/russicum/721/default.aspx Ján Kellner was arrested on December 9, 1940, after being handed to the authorities by a peasant he had approached for help.Osipova Irina, Hide me within thy wounds: the persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR, from material in criminal investigation and labor camp files, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, 1 Dec. 2002, 217 pages. P. 144. His initial interrogation lasted three days and three nights (December 17–19, 1940). He stated in detail that he had been preparing for a long time for his mission into the USSR, and that he planned to "cross the border in the region of Sambor, and then secretly make his way to

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

. From there he would go to Moscow and get a job at some factory, and then he planned to attend meetings of militant atheists and speak out against atheism." He would do this with the intention of "preaching the teaching of Christ among young people, in order to foster the work of unifying the Churches." He was subsequently transferred to the special

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

prison in Kiev, where he was subjected to a total of thirteen interrogation sessions. Following the attack of Nazi Germany on USSR on June 22, 1941 and triggered by an internal command from Moscow to review the lists of those arrested by the

to identify those suitable for execution, he was sentenced to capital punishment as "an enemy of the people" on July 7, 1941, and shot dead the same day. By the decision of the Attorney of the Ukrainian SSR no. 1067/1989 from June 16, 1989, the case of Ján Kellner (arch. #64851) was made subject of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of USSR from January 16, 1989, regarding the victims of persecution in 1930's, 1940's and the beginning of 1950's, hence rehabilitating Ján Kellner.

Veneration

A plaque commemorating the life and death of Ján Kellner has been installed in the ante-hall of the church in his native village of Hradisko.

References

External links

Russicum - Le spie del vaticano. Document about missionaries to USSR educated in Collegium RussicumJezuiti - Evanjelizačné výzvy medzivojnového obdobia a formácia kléru pre Rusko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellner, Ján 1912 births 1941 deaths People from Levoča Slovak Greek Catholics Victims of anti-Catholic violence People executed by the Soviet Union by firearm 20th-century Eastern Catholic clergy 20th-century Eastern Catholic martyrs People from Kežmarok District