Nizbursky, Lorenz

Nizbursky, Lorenz a Roman Catholic priest who flourished in Bohemia near the opening of the 17th century as pastor of St. Albert, in the new town of Prague, made himself infamous by his traffic in false testimonials of churchmanship maintained with those poor Bohemians whom the government was likely to persecute because they had honestly forsaken Romanism during the Reformatory movement. Lorenz's double-dealing was discovered by the Jesuitic anti-Reformers, and he, together with upwards of one hundred citizens, was arrested, and both the priest and the citizens were accused of sacrilege and high-treason, and condemned to death. The citizens, however, saved their lives by paying a heavy fine and by a real transition to the Roman Church; but the false priest was deprived of his priesthood, and publicly beheaded on April 7,1631.