Haggaeus

Haggaeus redivivus, to jest Křesťanských vrchností, kněží Páně a všeho pobožného lidu, z antikristského babylónského zajetí a rozptýlení navrátilých, k živé a vroucí pokáním svatým horlivosti a k horlivému vzdělání a znovu spořádání domu Božího (jenž jest církev) horlivé a vroucí jménem Božím napomenutí

Haggai redivivus, that is, to the Christian authorities, the priests of the Lord and all pious people, returned from their captivity in the Babylon of the Antichrist and diaspora, keenly and piously urging in the name of God a living and devout holy repentance, and ardent education and the re-establishment of the house of God (which is the Church)

Origin of the work:
  1632 Leszno

Editions:
  1893 Prague

1912 Brno, Veškeré spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. XVII

1921 Tábor

1952 Prague, under the title Obnova církve (the Restoration of the Church)

1971 Prague, J. A. Comenii Opera omnia, vol. 2

1972 Prague, Vybrané spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. VI

Contents:

This is a theological, irenical but above all reformational tract by Comenius. It came into being at the beginning of 1632, when the political situation after the capture of Prague by Saxon forces after the victorious advance of the Swedes gave the Czech exiles some hope of a return to their homeland. The synod of the Brethren held at Leszno in October 1632 considered whether the Unitas Fratrum should publish this work. Military reverses to the disadvantage of the anti-Habsburg coalition, however, thwarted this edition. The work preserves the reduced circumstances of the Czech Lands and of the evangelical party, and compares these to the situation in Israel during the return from the Babylonian captivity, when the prophet Haggai rebukes the Jewish priests, princes and people who are living in affluence but not taking care to build a new Temple.

In the treatise, Comenius sets out the decline in the Czech Lands, and through the mouth of the prophet Haggai calls secular authorities, the church and the people to unity, moral purity and a renewal of society. At the same time, he sets down the fundamentals that must also be established in so doing, As usual, Comenius does not speak directly and personally in the text, but allows himself to be represented, in this case by the Old Testament prophet.

For further study, see also:

J. A. Comenii Opera omnia, vol. 2. Prague 1971, pp369-371

Vybrané spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. VI.Prague 1972, pp85-87

Veškeré spisy J. A. Komenského, vol. XVII. Brno 1912, pp159-163

Jan Kumpera, J. A. Komenský, poutník na rozhraní věků. Prague & Ostrava 1992, pp241-242