By Ricky, on July 22nd, 2015 The temperature in Prague today © Ricky Yates
My sincere apologies for the absence of a fresh blog post for over three weeks. It isn’t as though there is a lack of things to write about – quite the reverse. July 2015 has been far busier than than my previous Julys in Prague and I’ve got at least four prospective posts to compile. But the real problem has been the weather. In the words of Cole Porter and best known for being sung by Ella Fitzgerald, ‘It’s too darn hot!’
Sybille frequently describes the summer weather pattern in Prague as being pleasantly warm, followed by getting hotter, then much hotter, before there is a major heavy thundery downpour and the temperature returns to being pleasantly warm. After that, the same cycle resumes. But this year, especially since the beginning of July, the weather has . . . → Read More: It’s too darn hot!
By Ricky, on June 28th, 2015 Renewing my ordination vows with Jack Noonan & Rev’d Dr Karen Moritz © Sybille Yates
On Sunday 1st July 1990, in the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St. Alban, (to give what is commonly known as ‘St. Alban’s Cathedral’ its correct, full name), I was ordained priest by the then Bishop of St. Albans, Rt Rev’d John B. Taylor. Therefore this coming Wednesday will be the twenty-fifth anniversary of that significant day. So with today being the nearest Sunday to the anniversary, within our Eucharist at St. Clement’s this morning, I renewed my ordination promises or vows.
In the absence of a bishop, I arranged for Licensed Reader Jack Noonan & American Presbyterian Minister Karen Moritz, to once more ask the questions that were put to me within that Ordination Service twenty-five years ago. I found it both moving and challenging even when putting . . . → Read More: On the Twenty-fifth anniversary of my Ordination as Priest
By Ricky, on June 23rd, 2015 In a ‘purple sandwich’ between my Czech Old Catholic Bishop Dušan Hejbal and my Anglican Diocesan Bishop Robert Innes © Sybille Yates
The Prague and Brno Anglican congregations of which I am Chaplain or Priest-in-Charge, are two of just over three hundred congregations that together form the Church of England’s Diocese in Europe. However for both legal and ecumenical reasons, my two congregations also function as as the English-speaking parish of the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, or Farní obec Starokatolické církve pro verící anglického jazyka v Praze.
The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht were formed in the late 19th century by Roman Catholics who could not accept the doctrine of papal infallibility and other teachings that came out of the First Vatican Council of 1870. The Church in the Netherlands has a slightly earlier history. As . . . → Read More: A somewhat purple week!
By Ricky, on June 10th, 2015 Lee and Petra © Ricky Yates
On Saturday 30th May, I officiated at my first wedding of 2015, between Lee, an Englishman, and Petra, his Czech bride. The wedding took place at Letohrádek svatý Vojtech, Pocátky, in the Vysocina/Highlands, close to from where Petra originates.
The happy couple met whilst both working for the Irish budget airline, Ryanair. As they acknowledged when I first met them, theirs was the classic romance – dashing airline pilot falls in love with tall, beautiful air stewardess 🙂 They now live in Dubai, where Lee flies with the Emirates airline.
Lee and Petra first contacted me about their wedding in September last year. Lee was very keen to have a Church of England wedding whilst Petra wanted the wedding to take place near her Czech home. Therefore, when through a little bit of . . . → Read More: My first wedding of 2015
By Ricky, on May 18th, 2015 Here Germany & Europe were divided until 08.00, 12th November 1989 © Ricky Yates
Observant readers of this blog may have noticed that my wife Sybille, has not had a mention in any of my recent posts. This is because on Maundy Thursday 2nd April, Sybille travelled by train from Prague to Görlitz, a town lying in the south-eastern corner of the former East Germany on the border with Poland. Then on Good Friday morning, she set out to walk from Görlitz, 470 km along Der Ökumenische Pilgerweg, to the small town of Vacha, which lies on the former Inner German Border.
Der Ökumenische Pilgerweg was established in 2002-3, almost solely by the efforts of one lady, Esther Zeiher. It follows the line of the ancient Via Regia passing through Leipzig, Erfurt and . . . → Read More: The Ökumenische Pilgerweg, Vacha and the Inner German Border
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