1942: Bishop Gorazd of Prague
September 4th, 2009 Headsman
On this date in 1942, the Orthodox Bishop Gorazd — Matej Pavlík is what his parents named him — was shot in Prague along with priests of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral for sheltering the Czechoslovakian resistance fighters who had lately assassinated Nazi Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich.
After icing Heydrich, the assassins had taken shelter in the Cathedral basement … only to be betrayed by a onetime compatriot.
The Nazis besieged the church — fiercely, but hopelessly defended.
With the Germans already visiting unspeakable collective punishment for the murder, the act of sheltering the assassins had trouble written all over it.
The Serbian-consecrated first bishop of the Czech Orthodox Church, Gorazd sought to limit the potential scope of reprisals by writing the German authorities, directly claiming responsibility — even though, in fact, he hadn’t found out who his sanctuary was concealing until several days after they had already been installed by sympathetic priests.
He enjoyed the characteristic hospitality of the Gestapo, and was shot at Kobylisy along with priests Vaclav Cikl and Jan Sonnevend; theologian Vladimir Petrek followed them the next day.
From left to right (not counting the guards, of course): Jan Sonnevend, Vaclav Cikl, Vladimir Petrek, and the bearded Bishop Gorazd, at their public show trial September 3. From the Czech Ministry of Defense’s slick and well-illustrated publication (pdf) on Operation Anthropoid.
The Czech Orthodox Church was suppressed while the Germans held Czechoslovakia. Bishop Gorazd is recognized in the Orthodox martyrology on August 22nd (the date of his death per the Julian calendar).
Also on this date
- 1778: Patrick McMullen, repeat deserter
- 1953: Miss Earle Dennison, the first white woman electrocuted in Alabama
- 1896: Chief Chingaira Makoni, Rhodesian rebel
- 1638: Three (of four) English colonists for murdering a Native American
Entry Filed under: 20th Century,Capital Punishment,Cycle of Violence,Czechoslovakia,Death Penalty,Execution,Famous,Germany,History,Martyrs,Murder,Notable for their Victims,Occupation and Colonialism,Power,Religious Figures,Shot,Torture,Treason,Wartime Executions
Tags: 1940s, 1942, bishop gorazd, jan sonnevend, kobylisy, matej pavlik, operation anthropoid, prague, reinhard heydrich, september 4, sts. cyril and methodius cathedral, vaclav cikl, vladimir petrek, world war ii
September 4th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Icing Heydrich was such a good thing, but oh, the ramifications!
September 4th, 2009 at 9:35 am
I know! If anyone deserved it, Heydrich did, but it didn’t have a Hollywood ending, sadly.
September 4th, 2009 at 9:59 am
So true, Fiz, so true!
Say, did you notice, my book went down again? (I guess we should be making these comments on the Bundy site, lol!)
September 4th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I did – nice for us, but not for you!
September 4th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
You’re too funny, Fiz!
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
[...] presents 1942: Bishop Gorazd of Prague posted at Executed Today, saying, “A bit of the history of Saints Cyril and Methodius [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 1:27 am
[...] the Nazis mercilessly hunted down and slaughtered those with any connection to the [...]