Palinodia

Palinodia … apostasiae. Příklad odvolání odpadlství a navrácení se od Antikrista k čisté pravdě učení Božího z Písem sv. sebraný a v způsob rozmlouvání pěti osob uvedený

Palinodia apostasiae An example of the recanting of apostasy and the turning away from the Antichrist to the pure truth of God’s teaching, drawn from Scripture and presented in the form of a conversation between five people.

Origin of the work:
  1620s

Editions:
The work was not originally issued in print, but circulated in copy form.

Well known copies: Pre-1696, Liptovský sv. Mikuláš, Tranosci library

18^th century, Prague, the Hus House library (Nosislav transcript)

1805 Prague, the Hus House library (the Slezák transcript)

Prague, in the possession of the family of F. Hrejsa (trasncript with notes by J. Koupil)

Contents:

This treatise resolved the problem of apostasy from the Unitas Fratrum and evangelism to Catholicism, in the period of the strengthening Counter-Reformation.

Under the increasingly severe Counter-Reformation, which also used expressions of political compulsion, members of the Unitas Fratrum and the evangelical churches turned to the Catholic Church either from weak-naturedness or seeking to benefit from doing so. Some came to their senses and returned to their original church. This treatise, in the form of a conversation between five people (one of whom is a personification of Truth) attempts to act on co-religionists so that they remain loyal to their faith.

Comenius’ authorship is disputed.

For further study, see also:

V. T. Miškovská, Z pobělohorské literatury pastorační: Palinodia apostasiae. In: Theologická příloha Křesťanské revue, 1952, no.1, pp12-16

Jan Kumpera, Jan Amos Komenský, poutník na rozhraní věků. Prague & Ostrava 1992, p280