In 1528 the parish revenues which Bishop Bonomo secured for Trubar allowed the twenty-year old to continue his studies in Vienna (University of Wien), but he did not finish his courses there. In 1529 lectures were discontinued due to the invasion by the great Turkish army, which had advanced as far as Vienna.

In 1530 Trubar returned to Trieste. He was ordained into priesthood by the bishop Bonomo, who granted him the post of vicar of his parish in Laško. In 1535 Trubar was appointed to the post of cathedral preacher in Ljubljana, but once again had to seek refuge in Trieste. His reformation inspired sermons, and particularly his stand against pilgrimages and construction of new churches had provoked a fierce reaction. Trubar remained in Trieste for two years, making for himself a name as a Slovene preacher. Under the guidance of Bishop Bonomo, and as a member of his circle he was broadening his education and refined his thinking on reformation. Trubar participated in discussions of the bishop’s circle, who read and discussed the works of Erasmus of Rotterdam and other humanists.

Due to the intrigues of Pier Paolo Vergerio, bishop of Koper (Capodistria), Trubar eventually had to move to Celje, to the benefice awarded him by Bishop Bonomo. Because his patron had considerable influence at the Vienna court and with the consent of the liberal bishop of the time Ivan Kacijanar, he was able to return to Ljubljana in 1542 and gained his appoinment as canon.

By 1547 Trubar was again in exile. Urban Tekstor, the next bishop of Ljubljana and staunch catholic, strongly disapproved of his reformationist tendencies. This time Trubar was excommunicated by the ecclesiastical court, and his property, together with a substantial library, confiscated. This was a turning point in his life. Except for shorter periods of time, Primož Trubar was to spend the rest of his life in exile in Germany, where he also married. However, he would not give up his mission for the Slovenian people which was to publish and print books in the Slovenian language, and this occupied the rest of his life.

In 1550 he completed his first Slovenian book - Cathechismus. It was printed in Tuebingen and was available in Ljubljana in the spring 1551, simultaneously with Abecedarium (Primer). He dedicated it to all Slovenes: “Vsem Slovenzom Gnado, Myr, Mylhost inu prauu Sposnaneboshye skusi Jesusa Christusa prossim” (To all Slovenes mercy, peace, grace and true faith through Jesus Christ, I pray).

Above: Abecedarium Right: Cathechismus

Trubar’s aim was to offer God’s word to the Slovenian people in the language in which they communicated and thought. However, the feeling that comes across from all his dedications and introductions is that of great love for his people and his native language. He meant all Slovenes, whatever their regional name, and whatever their local dialect.

It was an enormous undertaking, requiring decision about an appropriate script (his first two books were in the Gothic (or Glagolitic?), the following publications in the Latin script), codes for Slovenian sounds, and most importantly about the choice of dialect, that would be most accessible to all the speakers of the great range of Slovenian dialects.

In 1553 Trubar commenced his posting as preacher in Kempten and began translating the New Testament into Slovenian language. He began with The gospel of St.Mathew (1555), then published the second revised edition of Cathechism and Abecedarium with the help and advice of the Istrian Pier Paolo Vergerio (the younger),  this time using Latin letters, in the Bohorič writing, which became the starting point for the further development of the Slovenian written tradition. He also published the work Ta Evangeli Svetiga Matevža and the translation of Vergerio's Italian work Ena molitev tih krščenikov. He then ended his collaboration with Vergerio.

In 1557 he completed one of his most important works Ta pervi deil tiga noviga testamenta (“The first part of the New Testament”) which had more than a thousand page and a long foreword on Martin Luther's doctrine. Then came Hishna postilla (House Postila) and a Slovenian calendar. St. Paul’s letters to Romans was published in 1560, and St.Paul’s letters to Corynthians and Galatians in 1561.

In 1561 Trubar returned to Ljubljana and became the Head of Slovenian Protestant Church until 1565. During this period he published books in glagolitic and cyrillic scripts for Croatian and Serbian public. In 1562 he arranged Artikule ali dele prave stare vere (Articles or parts of the true old faith), and in these gathered three protestant creeds.

His major work and most significant reformationist work was Cerkovna Ordnunga (Church Canon), published in 1564. Trubar above all argued for Slovenian language in church worship. He urged the government to establish a Slovenian education system, with the recommendation that each parish employ a teacher.

In 1565 Trubar he was exiled again. For a time he was a parish priest in Lauffen and then in Derendingen where he worked until his death. He continued writing and publishing, completing the second part of the New Testament which was prepared during the zears 1581-2, and several Slovenian hymn-books. Just before his death he translated Luther’s House Postille (collection of sermons and meditations).

Primož Trubar died on June 28, 1586 in Derendingen, Germany (now part of the city of Tübingen), where he is also buried.

Trubar’ s Achievements

In his life Trubar wrote altogether more than 20 Slovenian books, 2 German books, 10 German forewords, and dedications for Croatian books published in Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts. His works reflect his religious reforming spirit and pedagogic educational zeal for his people, whom he wanted to see enlightened and spiritually enriched. He preached the return to the true Christian faith and opposed building the hilltop churches. Since the only true faith is contained in the Bible everyone should learn to read and worship God in their own mother tongue. From the beginning he saw the need for schoolbooks, translations of the Bible, and hymn books and did his best till the end of his life to rectify that lack.

Significantly Trubar also resisted tendencies, repeated in the following centuries, to amalgamate Slovenian speech with the other south Slavic languages, creating one single central literary language. Like the great Slovenian poet France Prešeren in the first half of the 19th century, he saw Slovenian people as linguistically and culturally separate, having clearly defined the borders of their ethnic territory, which have remained unchanged till today.

Trubar’s influence and significance in the evolution of Slovenian literature is extraordinary. He was an exceptional man of his time. Priest and disciple of Martin Luther, he was one of the leading circle of Europe’s reformationists, revered within his own country and respected beyond its borders. It has been said of him that his work and influence has been of a columbian significance and impact. At the birth of modern Europe he had established Slovenes as an entity within the western European culture and civilization. With the codification of the literary language he made possible the development of Slovenian national integration, and the same time provided a foundation for Slovenian culture and Slovenian literature, which ultimately shaped the Slovenian national identity. His greatness exists in the fact that he firstly recognized a favourable historical point of time, and secondly that he provided suitable pathways, making possible the development and broadening of Slovenian spiritual identity, which has continued till the present day.

Significant works:

• 1550 - Catechismus (with hymns), Abecedarium
• 1555 - Ta evangeli sv. Matevža – The Gospel of St. Mathew
• 1557 - Ta prvi dejl tiga noviga testamenta - The New Testament Part I
• 1567 - Ta slovenski koledar – Slovenian Calendar
• 1558 -  En regišter….ena kratka postila
• 1560 - Ta drugi dejl tiga noviga testamenta- The New Testament Part 2
• 1561 - Sv.Pavla ta dva listi – Two letters of St.Paul
• 1564 - Cerkovna Ordninga – Church Canon
• 1566 - Ta celi psalter Davidov
• 1567 - Ta celi Katekismus, sv Pavla listuvi – Complete Cathechism, Letters of St.Paul
• 1575 - Tri duhovske pejsni – Three church songs
• 1577 - Noviga testamenta posledni dejl – New Testament Part 3
• 1579 - Ta prvi psalm ž nega trijemi izlagami – The first psalm with interpretations
• 1582 - Ta celi novi testament – The complete New Testament

In 1909, a statue of Trubar by France Berneker was erected beside a path in Ljubljana's Tivoli Park. On the 400th anniversary of his death in 1986, his birthplace in Rašica (25 km from Ljubljana, approx. 35 km. NE of Postojna) was renovated as a cultural monument and has since become a popular tourist attraction. Another monument honouring him as the founder of the Biblical Institute was erected in Bad Urach, and several monuments have been erected in Tübingen where he died. Almost every larger town in Slovenia has a street named after him.

In 1986, Slovenian television produced a TV mini-series, directed by Andrej Strojan with the screen play written by Drago Jančar, in which Trubar was played by the Slovenian actor Polde Bibič.

Slovenian 1 euro coin with the inscription "Stati inu obstati" (to stand and withstand)	Commemorative €2 coin
Front of Slovenian 10 Tolar bank note.

Trubar was commemorated on the 10 tolar banknote [1] in 1992, and on the Slovenian 1 euro coin in 2007. The 500th anniversary of his birth will be marked in June 2008 by the issue of a commemorative €2 coin.

An exhibition dedicated to the life and work of Primož Trubar, and the achievements of the Slovenian Reformation Movement is on display at the National Museum of Slovenia from March 6 through December 31, 2008.

Sources:

• Main text - Aleksandra Ceferin, Primož Trubar, Reformer, © All rights reserved  -  http://www.thezaurus.com/webzine/primoz_trubar_reformer/
• Posta Slovenije d.o.o., Stamp Land, text by Bojan Bračič, M.Sc. - January 29, 2008
• http://www.stjohnswindish.org/tolar_front_and_back.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primo%C5%BE_Trubar

See also:

• Storia della Diocesi di Trieste