Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz

Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz.

Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz (b. Moritzburg, 9 October 1666 - d. Regensburg, 23 August 1725), was a German prince of the House of Wettin.

Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz was a Teutonic Knight, the Primas of Hungary and finally a cardinal. On May 22, 1712 he crowned Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor as the King of Hungary and on October 18, 1714 also his wife Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in St. Martin's Cathedral.

Life

He was the third (but second surviving) son of Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz, and his second wife, Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Weimar.

A Teutonic Knight, he converted to Catholicism in 1696 and became Provost of Köln (1696-1725), Bishop of Raab (1696-1725) and, on 17 May 1706, a cardinal by creation of Pope Clement XI.

He was chosen to convert his kinsman, the King-Elector August the Strong of Poland to the Catholic faith. Christian August instructed him secretly and on 1 June 1697 baptized him secretly in the Court Chapel (Hofkapelle) in Baden bei Wien, then publicly and solemnly in the German Piekar in Oppeln. When the conversion was finally formalized, Christian August issued a certificate to the king, which was authenticated by the Papal nunzio.

In 1707 Christian August was elected Archbishop of Esztergom (Gran) and consequently, Primate of Hungary. He used the office of a deputy of the Emperor as Principal Commissioner (Prinzipalkommissar) in the Perpetual Imperial Diet (Reichstag) of Regensburg.

On the occasion of the victory over the Turks in Belgrade in 1717 Christian August, as representative of the Emperor Charles VI, organized a magnificent celebration in the Imperial Diet realm. During the festivities, the Order of St. Emmeram was created in the knight's hall on October 26.

The death of his brother Maurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz, on 15 November 1718 without surviving male issue, made him heir to the duchy of Saxe-Zeitz, but because he took the monastic vows (and the next in line to the inheritance, Christian August's nephew Maurice Adolf, was also a priest), Zeitz was merged into the Electorate of Saxony in accordance with the will of Elector Johann Georg I.

Death

Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz died on 23 August 23, 1725 in Regensburg. He is buried in the crypts of St. Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava the capital of present-day Slovakia.

References

Preceded by Leopold Karl Graf von Kollonitsch Lipót

Archbishop of Esztergom 1707 – 1725

Succeeded by Imre Esterházy