The Orthodox Cathedral in Prague, dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius, celebrated its 90th anniversary of consecration on Saturday, in the presence of representatives of sister Churches in the Czech capital. Father Andrei Danciu, the Romanian parish priest in Prague, reported on the liturgical event and the history of the holy place.
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Michael Dandar of Prague and the Czech Lands, with the participation of Bishop Dositej of Lipljansk, vicar of the Serbian Patriarchate, representatives of other confessions, local civil authorities, and many faithful of various nationalities.
The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia traces its roots back to the missionary work of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
History
“But its more recent history begins with the struggles for national identity after the First World War, when a former Catholic priest, Matěj Pavlík — later Martyr Bishop Gorazd II — together with other supporters, chose the path of Orthodoxy,” explained Father Andrei Danciu.
Following the ordination of Bishop Gorazd II in Belgrade in 1933, the newly established Czechoslovak Orthodox Church, backed by the Prague authorities, acquired the use of a former Catholic church that had been abandoned. This church was consecrated in 1935 by Bishop Gorazd II, along with Bishop Dositej, a representative of the Serbian Patriarchate.
For a time, the young Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia was under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Today, after the Catholic Church, Orthodoxy holds second place in the Czech Republic in terms of the number of believers.
Photo: Pr. Andrei Danciu
