Institute of History
Topic
The Renewal of Religious Institutions and Religious Life in the Kingdom of Hungary after the Death of Joseph II (until the Signing of the Concordat between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Holy See in 1855)
PhD. program
World History
Year of admission
2026
Name of the supervisor
Ingrid Kušniráková, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Faculty of Arts, Comenius University Bratislava
Annotation
The reforms of Joseph II represented a fundamental turning point for religious orders in his monarchy, and their consequences persisted long after his death. Even more than the suppression of certain orders or individual monasteries (convents), his decrees affected religious life through measures that weakened monastic discipline - such as the interruption of contacts with order superiors abroad, the compulsory study of theology in general seminaries, and interventions in the internal hierarchy of orders and monasteries.
This topic offers several research possibilities. At the level of the kingdom, one may examine the attitude of the state and church authorities to the restoration of suppressed orders and monasteries, the establishment of new religious houses, and the employment of members of suppressed orders in pastoral care or education. The candidate may also examine the ways in which religious orders came to terms with Josephinist reforms and renewal of religious life through a case study of a selected order (or a larger monastic house), or within the framework of a specific archdiocese or diocese. Geographically, the research is delimited to the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary; chronologically, it covers the period from the death of Joseph II to the signing of the concordat with the Holy See in 1855.
Applicants are expected to have a basic overview of the political, religious, and social development of the Kingdom of Hungary in the “long” nineteenth century, as well as appropriate language skills, with an emphasis on Slovak, Latin, and German.
This topic offers several research possibilities. At the level of the kingdom, one may examine the attitude of the state and church authorities to the restoration of suppressed orders and monasteries, the establishment of new religious houses, and the employment of members of suppressed orders in pastoral care or education. The candidate may also examine the ways in which religious orders came to terms with Josephinist reforms and renewal of religious life through a case study of a selected order (or a larger monastic house), or within the framework of a specific archdiocese or diocese. Geographically, the research is delimited to the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary; chronologically, it covers the period from the death of Joseph II to the signing of the concordat with the Holy See in 1855.
Applicants are expected to have a basic overview of the political, religious, and social development of the Kingdom of Hungary in the “long” nineteenth century, as well as appropriate language skills, with an emphasis on Slovak, Latin, and German.