Since the early Middle Ages, collegiate bodies of clerics – canons – were established at cathedrals, whose task was to ensure continuous prayers in the cathedral choir, to take care of the solemn form of worship, and to support the bishop in the administration of the diocese. This role was soon taken over by the Olomouc Chapter, which is one of the oldest ecclesiastical institutions in Moravia. It was probably founded immediately after the restoration of the Moravian bishopric in 1063, but its truly verifiable beginnings are associated with the person of Bishop Jindřich Zdík and with the relocation of the episcopal seat and the chapter's seat in 1141 to the newly built Church of St. Wenceslas. Zdík's goal was a reformed chapter of twelve canons, who, like the twelve apostles of Christ, were to practice vita communis, or common life. However, this ideal did not outlive its founder. Under Bishop Robert, the chapter also acquired the right of free election of the bishop, which it was last able to exercise (albeit in a limited form) in 1916.
As an independent institution, the Chapter was governed by its own statutes, which were based on general chapter rules, but were amended and supplemented several times throughout history. The statutes were also considered an internal matter of the chapter and, as such, were strictly guarded. Only the canons themselves were entitled to know them.
Exhibition Information
EXHIBITION: Nobility and Priesthood. 200 years since the establishment of noble exclusivity for the canons of the Olomouc Metropolitan Chapter
VENUE: St. Wenceslas Cathedral, crypt
DATE: 29 05 2026 – 13 09 2026
AUTHORS AND CURATORS: Jitka Jonová, Helena Zápalková
RESTORATION PREPARATION: Ondřej Žák
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Martin Fišr
TECHNICAL COOPERATION: Antonín Kučera
Opening hours
JUNE
Saturday, 10:00—13:00 and 14:00—17:00
Sunday, 14:00—17:00
JULY AND AUGUST
Tuesday—Saturday, 10:00—13:00 and 14:00—17:00
Sunday and public holiday, 14:00—17:00
SEPTEMBER
Saturday, 10:00—13:00 and 14:00—17:00
Sunday, 14:00—17:00
From the end of the 17th century, the Olomouc canons were almost exclusively members of the nobility, even though the inkolát, i.e., membership in the provincial nobility, first appeared in the statutes approved by Maria Theresa in 1772. As members of the nobility, they primarily presented themselves – even though they were priests – also in their oaths: sub fide nobili et sacerdotali (as a nobleman and priest). Although in most chapters the requirement of noble origin was gradually abandoned from the end of the 18th century, in Olomouc noble exclusivity (without inkolát) was enshrined in the chapter statutes confirmed by the Olomouc Archbishop, Archduke and Cardinal Rudolf Jan in 1826. This condition was partially relaxed only by a decree from 1880, and definitively only after 1918.
Whether the Olomouc canons were noble by birth, or their nobility was manifested primarily in spiritual activities – or both – they represented an important part of the functioning of the diocese and the cathedral. They were often among the most generous donors, but also important drivers of cultural, social, and national life. The exhibition organized to commemorate the anniversary of the issuance of the chapter statutes establishing noble exclusivity reminds selected personalities from among the Olomouc canons of the 19th and first half of the 20th century, primarily through liturgical art and craft works from the collections of St. Wenceslas Cathedral.
The exhibition is organized by the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Wenceslas Olomouc in cooperation with the Saints Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology of Palacký University in Olomouc and Olomouc Museum of Art.
Nobility and Priesthood
May 29 – Sep 13, 2026
