The lecture of dr. Matthias Riedl 'Thomas Müntzer’s “Prague Manifesto”: A Program for Global Revolution'
The department of Historical Sociology FHS UK cordially invites you to the lecture Thomas Müntzer’s “Prague Manifesto”: A Program for Global Revolution by dr. Matthias Riedl (Central European University, Budapest)
The lecture takes place within the regual lecture series "Historical sociological confrontations" on Tuesday, Apr. 3rd 2018 at 5pm in 2080 (bloc A, Charles University building in Jinonice).
Annotation:
In summer 1521, the German radical reformer Thomas Müntzer traveled to Prague, where he drafted his famed Prague Manifesto. In this text, Müntzer presents himself as a new Jan Hus and announces a coming universal renewal of Christianity, starting out from Bohemia. He evokes a scenario, in which Christ and Antichrist are gathering their troops for the final clash, before the elect of God will gain dominion over the world. Because of evident parallels, many scholars have speculated about possible links between the revolutionary theology of Müntzer and that of the Hussites. However, in my analysis of the Prague Manifesto I will show that Müntzer was much more interested in the thought of Jan Hus himself rather than in Hussite theology. In particular, he adopted the Czech reformer’s ecclesiology into his complex theological program, which presents itself as a curious blend of apocalyptic eschatology, mysticism, and Neo-Platonic cosmology.
Dr. Matthias Riedl is Associate Professor of History, Chair of Comparative Religious Studies, Director of the Center for Religious Studies, Head of the Department of History of the Central European University in Budapest. His main research interests cover intellectual history, political thought, church history, history of theology, religious dissent, reformation studies, religion and politics and religious violence. In all these fields he has published many books and numerous articles.
Most of dr. Mattias Riedl’s published work has been on religious and political thought in Latin Christianity, ranging from antiquity to reformation period. However, he also wrote articles and essays on most recent developments in theology and political philosophy. Dr. Riedl’s current research is on the emergence of revolutionary apocalypticsm in the Later Middle Ages and Early Modernity. Now he is working on a monograph on the German radical reformer Thomas Müntzer. The main objective is to explore how apocalyptic and mystical thinking may serve as inspiration and justification for violent action.
Time and date: Apr. 3rd, 5pm-7pm, 2080, Jinonice.
