The Josef L. Hromadka Manuscript Collection

Collection

Identifier: SCM 050

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This is a constructed collection of material by or about Josef Hromadka . Included in the collection are student lecture notes of his courses at Princeton, published writings, papers from a Hromadka symposium, items regarding the Christian church in Czechoslovakia, a Czech-English dictionary, bibliography, obituaries and biographical items, photographs, Christian peace movement literature, and various other materials.

Dates

1929-1989

Language of Materials

English, Czechoslovakian

Access:

There are no special restrictions placed on the use of this collection. It is available to library patrons under the normal rules and conditions of Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

The following is the acceptable citation for publication: The Josef L. Hromadka Manuscript Collection. Special Collections, Princeton Theological Seminary Library.

Chronology

1889 June 8
: Born, Hodslavice, Moravia
1912
: Ordained, Lutheran Church
1918
: Chaplain, Austrian army, Eastern front
1920-1927
: Professor extraordinarius, Protestant Theological Faculty of the Charles University in Prague
1927-1966
: Professor ordinarius, Protestant Theological Faculty of the Charles University in Prague
1938-1946
: Visiting professor, Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
1948
: Elected to the Central Commitee, World Council of Churches
1954-1961
: Served on Executive Committee, World Council of Churches
1969
: Died

Biographical Information

Josef Lukl (J.L.) Hromadka was born on June 8, 1889, in the village of Hodslavice, Moravia, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He conducted his theological studies in Vienna, Basel, Heidelberg, and Aberdeen (under D.S. Cairns). He was deeply influenced by the growing Socialist movement of the day and by the historical school of Ernst Troeltsch. Dr. Hromadka served as a pastor in the Czech Lutheran Church and a military chaplain in the First World War before beginning a teaching career at the Protestant Theological Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia. From 1939 to 1947, he was a visiting professor of theology and ethics at Princeton Seminary. Dr. Hromadka also held various posts in the World Council of Churches, was the founding father of the Christian-Marxist European dialogues in the early 1960s, and founded the Christian Peace Conference. Dr. Hromadka , who died in 1969, was the subject of a special conference at Princeton Seminary, October 27-28, 1989.

Extent

1.8 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Additional Description

Related Material

Processing Information:

These items were gathered from a variety of sources. The student lecture notes (1942-45) of the Reverend Bokko Tsuchiyana were given to the Seminary through the agency of Dr. Charles West in July of 1989. The student lecture notes (1939-40, 1945-46) of the Reverend William O. Ragsdale were given to the Seminary Archives in October of 1990. In 1974 Allan Joseph Mesko, Princeton Seminary Th.M. 1964 and a native of Czechoslovakia, donated various materials to the Seminary which he had collected in the 1960s. Dr. Charles West contributed some items relating to the Christian peace movement in Europe and Marxist-Christian dialogue. These items were organized as a manuscript collection by Raymond D. Cannata, under the direction of William O. Harris, Archivist, in January of 1997. The finding aid was edited in January of 2009 by Sarah A. Seraphin.