TheCarthusian martyrs are those members of theCarthusian monastic orderwho have been persecuted and killed because of their Christian faith and their adherence to the Catholic religion. As an enclosed order the Carthusians do not, on principle, put forwardcauses for their members, though causes have been promoted by others on their behalf.
The Carthusian order was founded in 1084 by SaintBruno of Cologne, and is aneremitic order, holding to the principle of withdrawal from the world to a life of silentcontemplation andprayer. They are often viewed as hermits that live in common, having no active apostolate outside their Charterhouse. Carthusian life is dramatically different as compared to Benedictine Monasticism, the most prevalent form in the west. Today the Carthusians are a small order comprising 25 houses worldwide with just 350 male and 75 female members.
During theHussite Revolution inBohemia in the 15th century Carthusian houses, as with other Catholic institutions, came under attack. In 1419 the charterhouse inPrague was burned down.[1]
Dom Andreas, prior ofŽiče Charterhouse, was captured during an Ottoman raid and martyred on March 3, 1529.[2] TheMauerbach Charterhouse on the outskirts ofVienna,Austria, was plundered and set on fire byOttoman troops during the 1529Siege of Vienna, and was again targeted by the Ottomans during the 1683Battle of Vienna, though there seems no precise record of the names of monks killed in either assault.
In 1537 during theEnglish Reformation theLondon Charterhouse was dissolved and its members imprisoned and later executed. Eighteen of these, theCarthusian Martyrs of London, were beatified in 1886 byPope Leo XIII;[3] three of these (Augustine Webster,John Houghton andRobert Lawrence) were canonized in 1970 byPope Paul VI with other English martyrs as theForty Martyrs of England and Wales.
In 1572 during theDutch Revolt the Charterhouses ofDelft andRoermond were attacked, resulting in the deaths of Dom Justus van Schoonhoven and at least two others.[4]
During theFrench Revolution numerous Carthusians were persecuted with other Catholic religious and lay persons. Claude Beguignot and Lazarus Tiersot were ordained Carthusians. As priests, they were required to take the anti-Papal oath of the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy". At their refusal they were imprisoned along with eight other Carthusians in former slave ships anchored in the Charente River atRochefort. Like most of 800 priests and clergy confined there, they died in 1794 due to the inhumane conditions.[5] They were beatified byPope John Paul II in 1995.[6]
In 1936, during theSpanish Civil War, Carthusians were affected by the widespread anti-clericalism; two of these, from the Charterhouse ofMontalegre, have so far been recognized.
In September 1944, monks from the charterhouse atCertosa di Farneta opened their doors to troops from the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division, who said they came bearing gifts for the abbey. They broke into the monastery to arrest 32 partisans and Jews being sheltered in the monastery. Some of the refugees were able to escape. Of the more than sixty killed, twelve were Carthusians.[7] Among the twelve Carthusians killed were two Germans, one Swiss, one Venezuelan, and one Spaniard. The remaining monks were also from diverse countries. Those killed were:
