10. - 11. století
Saint Procopius
Czech priest and hermit
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He was a priest and the founder of the monastery of Sazava. He became renowned as a legendary hermit and was canonized by Pope Innocent III in 1204.
He was born into a yeomanly family and received a good education at the Slavonic school in Vysehrad, which led him to becoming a priest. After the slaughtering of the Slavnik dynasty that he supported, he stepped away from public life and started to live as a hermit in a grotto near Jinonice. Legend has it that he put together
a gospel-book, which reached France after a bizarre journey, where it was used to swear in French kings at the Reims Cathedral. Procopius later lived in the Sazava region as a famous ascetic and enjoyed the support of Duke Oldrich. The monastery of Sazava was built on the place of settlement of the disciples of Procopius, who became its first abbot. It was one of the last places where Slavonic education was preserved and where liturgy was served in this same language.
