Gradus summus et animus infimus: The contrast between ideas of the ideal priest and the real priest in Prague synodal sermons

ABSTRACT The article deals with the antithetical presentations of the good priest and the fallen priest in the sermons of pre-Hussite synodal preachers. Based on a study of the contents of these sermons, the biblical and non-biblical authorities they use, and the connections between individual texts (both edited texts and those preserved only in medieval manuscripts), it complements previous research on the concept of the ideal priest with findings acquired from unedited sermons. The paper also reveals special aspects of the priest’s fall and explores the stark criticism aimed at fallen priests – especially how Antichrist, as both term and concept, was used and how it evolved from a mere metaphor to a reformational phenomenon.