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Ordo Cisterciensis during the First Czechoslovak Republic. The transformations of Cistercian monasteries in Czechoslovakia in light of the reports for the General Chapter of the order
TALÍŘ, František
The thesis aims to depict the life of Cistercians during the First Czechoslovak Republic. To put it into context, the first chapter evaluates the situation of the Catholic Church as a whole, of which religious orders and congregations have been an inseparable part. During the First Czechoslovak Republic, Cistercian monasteries, which are discussed in the thesis, were united in the Congregation of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. The Congregation consisted of three abbeys in Czechoslovakia, two abbeys in Saxony, and a newly established priory in Denmark. The purpose of the thesis is to describe the material and personal conditions in the monasteries, the formation and structure of the congregation, and the daily life of monks. The thesis also seeks to answer the question if a male contemplative order, such as Cistercians, could have found its place in a democratic society of the First Republic. Reports written for chapters of the congregation as well as the whole order were used as the main source. In them, the superiors described not only the conditions and discipline in their monasteries, but also the activities of the monks and nuns among local inhabitants. The thesis is particularly focused on the Abbey of Vyšší Brod, which was located in an area inhabited predominantly by German-speaking population. The issue of coexistence of both nationalities and the role the monastery played in it is illustrated by drawing on the contemporaneous press.
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