Nobility and priesthood

Since the early Middle Ages, choirs of clerics – canons – were established at cathedral churches, whose task was to ensure continuous prayers in the choir of cathedrals, to take care of the solemn form of religious services and to support the bishop in the administration of the diocese. This role was soon taken over by the Olomouc Chapter, which is one of the oldest church institutions in Moravia. It was probably founded immediately after the restoration of the Moravian bishopric in 1063, but its truly documented beginnings are associated with the personality of Bishop Jindřich Zdík and with the transfer of the episcopal seat and the seat of the chapter in 1141 to the newly built church of St. Wenceslas. Zdík’s goal was a reformed chapter of twelve canons who, like the twelve apostles of Christ, were to practice vita communis, i.e. a common life. However, this ideal did not survive its founder. Under Bishop Robert, the chapter also gained the right to freely elect a bishop, which it could last do (albeit in a limited form) in 1916. As an independent institution, the chapter followed its own statutes, the so-called statutes, which were based on general chapter rules, but were amended and supplemented several times throughout history. The statutes were also considered an internal matter of the chapter, and as such were strictly guarded. Only the canons themselves had the right to know them. Information about the exhibition EXHIBITION: Nobility and priesthood. 200 years since the establishment of the noble exclusivity of the canons of the Olomouc Metropolitan Chapter VENUE: St. Václava, crypt DATES 29 05 2026 – 13 09 2026 AUTHORS AND CURATORS: Jitka Jonová, Helena Zápalková RESTORATION PREPARATION: Ondřej Žák GRAPHIC DESIGN: Martin Fišr TECHNICAL COOPERATION: Antonín Kučera Since the end of the 17th century, Olomouc canons have been almost exclusively members of the nobility, despite the fact that incolation, i.e. belonging to the provincial nobility, first appeared in the statutes approved by Maria Theresa in 1772. Although they were priests, the canons themselves also primarily acted as members of the nobility in their oaths: sub fide nobili et sacerdotali (as a nobleman and a priest). Although the requirement of noble origin was gradually abandoned in most chapters from the end of the 18th century, in Olomouc the exclusiveness of nobility (without incolate) was only enshrined in the chapter statutes confirmed by the Olomouc Archbishop, Archduke and Cardinal Rudolf Jan in 1826. This condition was only partially relaxed by a decree from 1880, and finally only after 1918. Whether the Olomouc canons were nobles by birth or their nobility manifested itself primarily in spiritual activities – or both – they represented an important part of the functioning of the diocese and the cathedral. They were often among the most generous donors, but also significant movers of cultural, social and national life. The exhibition, organized on the anniversary of the publication of the chapter statutes establishing noble exclusivity, commemorates selected personalities from the ranks of Olomouc canons of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, primarily through works of art and crafts of a liturgical nature from the collection of St. Wenceslas Cathedral. The exhibition is organized by the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Wenceslas Olomouc in cooperation with the Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology of Palacký University in Olomouc and the Olomouc Museum of Art.