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JOHN AMOS COMENIUS (Jan Amos Komensky) was born in 1592 in Nivnice, Moravia, in the area that is now the Czech Republic. Known today as the 'Father of Modern Education,' he pioneered modern educational methods. A contemporary of Galileo, Descartes, Rembrandt, and Milton, Comenius contributed greatly to the Enlightenment. He was the first to use pictures in textbooks (The Visible World In Pictures, 1658), and believed in what might be called a holistic concept of education. He taught that education began in the earliest days of childhood, and continued throughout life. He advocated the formal education of women, an idea which was unheard of in his day. His philosophy of Pansophism (meaning 'all knowledge') attempted to incorporate theology, philosophy, and education into one. He believed that learning, spiritual, and emotional growth were all woven together. What Comenius referred to as the Via Lucis, or 'way of light,' was the pursuit of higher learning and spiritual enlightenment bound together. His educational thought was profoundly respected in Northern Europe. He was called upon to completely restructure the school system of Sweden, and there is some evidence he was asked to become the first President of Harvard, an honor he declined because of his leadership of the troubled Moravian Church.
Comenius was a Bishop of the Unitas Fratrum, commonly known as the Moravian Church during its darkest days. He became its President during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) which decimated the ranks of the Unity. At the close of the war, Bohemia and Moravian were ceded to Rome in the Peace of Westphalia. The few surviving members of the Unity had to either become Catholic or leave their homeland. Comenius led a small band to exile in Poland. Others simply went underground, feigning loyalty to Rome. This time, known as the 'Hidden Seed' period, continued until a small group resettled in Saxony on the estates of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, a Lutheran noble. There, the denomination was reorganized and entered a period of great missionary endeavor.
Comenius died in Amsterdam in 1670 without ever seeing the 'hidden seed' revived. His grandson Daniel Jablonsky, later elected as a Bishop, would pass on the unbroken line of ordination to the renewed Unity.
During his lifetime, Comenius published 154 books, mostly dealing with educational philosophy and theology. One example which is available online is The Labyrinth of the World, an allegorical novel which predated Bunyan's much better known Pilgrim's Progress. Comenius is buried in Naarden, Holland. Visit the web site of the Comenius Museum & Mausoleum.