Procopius Of Sázava
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Saint Procopius of Sázava (, ; died 25 March 1053) was a Czech Christian
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and
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
, who is
venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...
as a
saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic church.


Life

Little about his life is known with certainty. According to hagiographical tradition, he was born in 970, in a Central Bohemian village of Chotouň near
Kouřim Kouřim (; ) is a town in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Kouřim ...
. He studied 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 ...
and was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
there. He was married and had a son, called Jimram (Emmeram), but later entered the Benedictine order, presumably at
Břevnov Monastery Břevnov Monastery (, ) is a Benedictine archabbey in the Břevnov district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was founded by Saint Adalbert, the second Bishop of Prague, in AD 993 with the support of Bohemian Duke Boleslaus II. The first Bened ...
, and eventually retired to the wilderness as a hermit, living in a cave on the banks of Sázava River, where over time he attracted a group of fellow hermits. The community of hermits was incorporated as a
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monastery by the
duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...
in 1032/3, now known as
Sázava Monastery Sázava Monastery () is a former Benedictine abbey and a monastery in Bohemia (Czech Republic), established by Bretislaus I, Duke of Bohemia around 1032. It is situated some 30 km southeast of Prague, on the right bank of the eponymous Sáz ...
, or St Procopius Monastery, where he served as the first abbot for the span of twenty years until his death.


Veneration

Local veneration of Procopius as a saint is recorded for the 12th century when the first biography ''Vita minor'' has been written. He was first canonized by the Roman Catholic church in 1204; however, there is still much debate on how his canonization was performed. It is stated that
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
canonized him in 1204 or that during a liturgical elevation and translation of his body to the altar in Sázava his canonization took place. This was at that time the equivalent to canonization After his canonization, he became greatly venerated throughout Bohemia, to the point of his being considered the national saint of the
Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...
. His life and wonders were described by the ''Vita antiqua'' from the second half of the 13th century, and ''Vita maior'' from the 14th century. His remains were transferred to All Saints Church in
Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...
in 1588. The Cyrillic portion of the Reims Gospel manuscript (since 1554 kept in Reims, France) were attributed to Procopius in the 14th century, and Charles IV commissioned an extension of the manuscript in
Glagolitic script The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saint Cyril, a monk fro ...
. Sázava Monastery had been destroyed in the Hussite Wars, but the church was re-established in the 17th century, as well as the monastery buildings changed in a castle. The Baroque-era frescos "The Meeting of Hermit Procopius with Prince Oldřich" and "Abbot Procopius Giving Alms" besides other frescos depicting scenes the saint's life and the history of the monastery, were discovered there (under layers of 19th-century paint) in the 2000s. Hugo Fabricius, a monk at Sázava, wrote a new life of St. Procopius in the 18th century, ''Požehnaná Památka Welikého Swěta Diwotworce Swatýho Prokopa'' ("The Blessed Legacy of the Great
Miracle Worker Thaumaturgy () is the practical application of magic to effect change in the physical world. Historically, thaumaturgy has been associated with the manipulation of natural forces, the creation of wonders, and the performance of magical feats t ...
of the World, St. Procopius"). Numerous churches in Bohemia are dedicated to him, and many Baroque-era statues and paintings of the saint are extant. Among these is the early 18th century Procopius statue on
Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( , ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The bridge replaced ...
by
Ferdinand Brokoff Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff (; 12 September 1688 – 8 March 1731) was a Czech sculptor and carver of the Baroque era. Life and career Brokoff was born in Červený Hrádek in the Kingdom of Bohemia (today part of Jirkov in the Czech Republic), ...
. Modern retellings of the saint's life were published by Czech poets
Jaroslav Vrchlický Jaroslav Vrchlický (; 17 February 1853 – 9 September 1912) was a Czech people, Czech lyrical poet. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel prize in literature eight times. Life He was born Emilius Jakob Frida in Louny ...
and
Vítězslav Nezval Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czechs, Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealism, Surrealist ...
. The "Cave of St. Procopius", the supposed site of his original hermitage, was discovered by Method Klement OSB in the 1940s. On 9 March 2017, by the decision of the
Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church () serves by Church statute as the supreme administrative governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the periods between Bishops' Councils. Members Chairman * Kirill – Patriarch of ...
, the name of "Venerable Procopius, Abbot of Sázava" was added to the
menologium A menologium (, pl. menologia), also known by other names, is any collection of information arranged according to the days of a month, usually a set of such collections for all the months of the year. In particular, it is used for ancient Roman ...
of the
Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
.


See also

* Devil's Furrow – Czech landform legendarily created by St. Procopius


References

*Hugo Fabricius,
Požehnaná Památka Welikého Swěta Diwotworce Swatýho Prokopa
', Kutná Hora (1780). * OS LG 2023-08-18.


External links


Saints of July 14: Procopius of Sázava

San Procopio di SazavaHistory (klaster-sazava.cz)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Procopius of Sazava Eastern Orthodox saints Eastern Christianity in the Czech Republic 1053 deaths Old Church Slavonic writers Czech hermits Czech Roman Catholic saints 11th-century Christian saints 10th-century births Miracle workers