The Personality and Work of Jan Blahoslav in the View of Today's Scientific Disciplines

February 2023 marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Jan Blahoslav, one of the most important figures of the Unity of the Brethren. As a humanist scholar, an outstanding expert in the mother tongue, a historian, author of spiritual songs, theologian and a Brethren bishop, he not only greatly influenced the direction of his Church, but also influenced several scientific fields with his work. His importance was commemorated on the occasion of the round anniversary by the conference "The Personality and Work of Jan Blahoslav in the Perspective of Today's Scientific Disciplines", which took place on 16 May 2023 at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of Charles University. In four blocks, papers were presented in the fields of history, hymnology, history of printing, biblical studies, linguistics, practical theology and ethics.

In the first session, sociologist and historian Zdeněk Nešpor showed how the image of Jan Blahoslav has changed in Czech history and society. Historian Jiří Just, author of a monograph on the biblical humanism of Jan Blahoslav, recalled his historiographical work in the context of the writings of the Unity of the Brethren.

In the second session, hymnologist Eliška Baťová discussed Blahoslav's redaction of the dialogue On the Day of the Lord's Passion in the context of the fraternal use of performative liturgical genres. Veronika Sladká, a scholar researching the history of printing and typography, illustrated the issue of the relationship between the text and the decoration of religious hymns using the example of the Brethren canticles of 1564 and 1576.

The third block was devoted to Blahoslav's translation work. The New Testament scholar Jan Amos Dus and the linguist Robert Dittmann used concrete examples of biblical texts to give the audience an insight into the process of Blahoslav's translation of the New Testament into Czech, which became the basis of the King James Bible. Dittmann then gave a separate presentation on Blahoslav's importance for the development of the Czech language.

The last session focused on Blahoslav's work in the field of theology. Practicing theologian Tabita Landová spoke about Blahoslav's emphasis on training future preachers in biblical scholarship, theology, and rhetoric, a longer-term process that Blahoslav likened to "shaving a wooden spoon." Ethicist Jindřich Halama, with a wit all his own, presented Blahoslav's view of what the moral profile of ministers of the Church should be. He captured it with a quote from 1 Cor. 7:32: "An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord."

A recording of the conference contributions is available on the ETF CU youtube channel. The edited papers will be published in a forthcoming monograph on Jan Blahoslav.

Tabita Landová