Famous Czech Spiritual & Religious Leaders

John Huss was a Czech philosopher and theologian. He is credited with inspiring a Proto-Protestant Christian movement called Hussitism, which started in the Kingdom of Bohemia before spreading across the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. He also inspired the Bohemian Reformation, which is regarded as one of the most important social, political, and religious movements of the early modern period.

Herman the Recluse was a 13th century Benedictine monk. He is credited with authoring the famous book Codex Gigas, the world's largest surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. However, the authorship of the book, which is also called the Devil's Bible, is often debated. Legend has it that Herman sold his soul to the devil and wrote the book in one night. 

Petr Chelčický was a Czech Christian author and spiritual leader. Counted among the most influential and important thinkers of the Bohemian Reformation, Chelčický is best remembered for proposing numerous Bible-based improvements for society. His practice of nonresistance would later influence humanitarians like Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. Petr Chelčický’s teachings formed the basis for the Moravian Church.

Josef Beran was a Roman Catholic prelate best remembered for his services as the Archbishop of Prague from 4 November 1946 until his death on 17 May 1969. Imprisoned by the Nazis and later by a communist regime, Josef Beran lived a life of challenges and uncertainties. He was the only Czech national to be buried in Saint Peter's Basilica.

Isaac ben Moses of Vienna was a Czech rabbi who is counted among the greatest rabbis of the medieval period. He is best remembered for his work, Or Zarua, which is immensely popular among Ashkenazic Jewry.

Frantisek Tomasek was a cardinal of the Catholic Church in Bohemia. A Roman Catholic theologian, Tomášek is best remembered for his service as the Archbishop of Prague from 1977 to 1991. Frantisek Tomasek played a major role in the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and helped bring an end to the Czechoslovak communist regime.  

Arnošt of Pardubice is best remembered for his service as the first Archbishop of Prague. An influential personality, Arnošt of Pardubice also served as a diplomat and advisor to Emperor Charles IV, the first Bohemian king to become Holy Roman Emperor. 

Jan Milíč was a Czech Roman Catholic priest who emerged as one of the most influential preachers of the then-emerging Bohemian Reformation during 14th century. Along with other Bohemian writers and preachers of that time, Jan Milíč paved the way for the activity of the philosopher and Church reformer, Jan Hus.