My first wedding of 2012

Myself with Kristin & Petr following their wedding service © Sybille Yates

On Saturday 3rd March, I conducted my first wedding of 2012 when Petr, a Czech, married Kristin, an American. The wedding took place at St. Clement’s Church with a congregation made up of Petr’s Czech relatives, a small number of Kristin’s American relatives, together with numerous mutual friends.

This wedding presented all the usual problems that arise when I conduct a Czech to English-speaker marriage. Petr’s parents and older relatives do not understand or speak English. None of Kristin’s family speaks Czech except for Kristin herself who has lived in Prague for twenty years and has her own business here. How was I to conduct a service that would be understood and appreciated by everyone present?

As with previous Czech to English-speaker weddings, I got Petr and Kristin to produce a completely bilingual order of . . . → Read More: My first wedding of 2012

Ecumenical Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

From l. to r; Mgr Joel Ruml, Archbishop Dominik Duka, Bishop Dušan Hejbal leading the Ecumenical Service © Aleš Cejka and used with his permission

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place each year in the northern hemisphere, between 18th -25th January. On the evening of Monday 23rd January, Sybille and I, along with three other members of the St. Clement’s Anglican congregation, attended the main service held in Prague to mark this important week.

This Ecumenical Service was held in Kostel sv. Vojtecha, a large modern Church attached the Roman Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University. It was led by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Prague, Dominik Duka and the preacher was Mgr. Joel Ruml, the Moderator of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, (by far the largest Protestant Church in the Czech Republic), who is also the Chair of the Czech Ecumenical . . . → Read More: Ecumenical Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

A Concert, a Chrism Eucharist and a Feature Article

 

Naši pevci and Nsango Malamu in Kostel Salvátor © Sybille Yates

Holy Week 2011 proved to be very eventful and, to be chronologically correct, I really should have written and posted this article before writing and posting about the Royal Wedding. Therefore, before we get too much further into the fifty days of the Easter season, here is a short illustrated résumé.

On Monday 18th April, Sybille & I attended an evening concert given by the ecumenical choir Naši pevci who were the choir that participated in our service entitled ‘On the Feast of Stephen’, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 26th December 2010. The concert took place in Kostel Salvátor, which like the Church building in which the St. Clement’s Anglican congregation worship, also belongs to the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren.

The concert celebrated the life and . . . → Read More: A Concert, a Chrism Eucharist and a Feature Article

Czech bureaucracy again

Povolení k prechodnému pobytu v CR – Temporary residence in the Czech Republic that is neomezený – unlimited or forever but NOT permanent! © Ricky Yates

This week, my blog is two years old. But having written two posts last month, about all the reasons why I like living here in Prague, balanced by one dealing with my small number of dislikes, my experience earlier this week has forced me to return to a subject that I thought I had overcome and dealt with.

Back in March 2009, I wrote a post entitled ‘Dealing with Czech bureaucracy’. In it, I described our battle to obtain residency permits from the Czech Foreign Police to prove where we live, together with what I referred to as a social security number – rodné císlo – family number, both of which are essential . . . → Read More: Czech bureaucracy again

Two Moravian Churches and a brief visit to Poland

Wooden Church in Bílá, Moravia © Ricky Yates

The modern-day state of the Czech Republic is made up of what was historically known as Bohemia and Moravia, together with a small part of Silesia. Bohemia forms the western part of the country with Prague at its centre, whilst Moravia forms the eastern part where the country’s second city Brno, is located. The bulk of Silesia now lies in Poland with only a very small part being contained within the borders of the Czech Republic, in the far north-eastern corner of the country.

On the afternoon of Thursday 30th September, we drove from Litomyšl, which is in East Bohemia, further eastwards into South Moravia, to the little town of Vizovice. The main claim to fame of Vizovice is that the very best variety of Slivovice (Czech plum brandy) is distilled within the town, a fact that we were . . . → Read More: Two Moravian Churches and a brief visit to Poland