Studia z Prawa Wyznaniowego (Dec 2023)
Professor Ignác Antonín Hrdina (1953–2022): Life and work
Abstract
This article is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Ignác Antonín Hrdina, who passed away on 22 April 2022. During the communist period in Czechoslovakia, when he was not permitted to complete his theological studies, he worked a civilian job as a lawyer. At the same time, however, he secretly entered the Premonstratensian Order and was covertly ordained as a priest in Krakow, Poland. What he was prevented from doing in the first part of his life, however, was fully developed after 1989, when he emerged from the underground to continue his spiritual work. He was involved in the renewal of monastic life at Strahov Monastery in Prague, where he served for many years as a parish priest and rector of the basilica. At the same time, he developed his academic career at the Faculty of Theology of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, the Faculty of Law of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague. With his passing, the Church in Czech republic and the academic community have lost their leading expert on canon law; however, he did leave behind him a number of specialised publications that will continue to benefit future generations.
Keywords
