Ignatius Aurelianus Fessler (Ignaz Aurelius Fessler, 1756-1839)

Ignatius Aurelianus Fessler (Ignaz Aurelius Fessler, 1756-1839) OFMCap. Hungarian friar who left the order. He was born in the village of Zurndorf and entered the Capuchin order in 1773, under the influence of his pious mother. He studied classical languages and philology and was ordained priest in 1779. Quite quickly, his liberal religious views and intellectual pursuits caused conflicts with his superiors, and in 1684, when he worked and lived in the Mödling friary near Vienna, he addressed the Austrian Emperor Joseph II with suggestions for a better education of the clergy and reform proposals for monasteries. In the aftermath of this initiative, his position in the order became very difficult. He left the monastery, obtained a doctorate in theology and was appointed Professor of Oriental languages and hermeneutics at Lemberg University. Sometime between 1786-1788, he was released from his monastic vows, thanks to an intervention of the Austrian Emperor. In 1788, his tragedy Sidney , which dealt with the tyranny of King Charles II of England and Catholic fanaticism, caused such an outcry that Fessler had to leave Lemberg and fled to Silesia. He subsequently converted to Lutheranism and went to Berlin. From then onward, he had a peculiar career in Germany, and Russia, interspersed with intellectual conflicts (for instance with Fichte) and several opportunistic religious conversions. He ended his life in St. Petersburg as chief superintendent of Lutheran communities and as corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. For more information, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Aurelius_Fessler

Works

• Fessler was a productive author of somewhat fictional historical works, as well as more autobiographical texts. All of these were written after he had left the order.

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Literature