Cervené kostely – Red Churches

Cervený kostel, Litomerice © Ricky Yates

The first Toleranzpatent / Patent of toleration of 1781, whilst giving some religious freedom to protestants living within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was still quite restrictive, in particular insisting that any buildings should not look like churches and should not have an entrance directly onto the street. It was only after Emperor Franz Joseph 1 issued his Protestantenpatent / Protestant patent in 1861, that non-Roman Catholics were finally allowed to build and own places of worship which actually looked like churches, with towers or spires and bells, etc.

Therefore within the borders of what is now the Czech Republic, there are numerous church buildings similar to this one in Litomerice, that date from the second half of the nineteenth century, and the early years . . . → Read More: Cervené kostely – Red Churches

Progress with the House – Windows

Stará Oleška 44 in April 2017 © Ricky Yates

It has become quite clear to me since moving into my new home in Stará Oleška, that the previous elderly owners, had alterations and improvements done to the house, as and when they could afford it. This is reflected in the variety of windows that there are.

The photograph at the beginning of this post, shows the house as it was in April 2017, a few weeks before moving in on 15th May 2017. Please use it as a point of reference for what follows in the rest of this post.

The two windows in the upper floor of the house, directly under the apex of the roof, are quite old. They are . . . → Read More: Progress with the House – Windows

A Walk to Hinterhermsdorf

Me, above Malá Pravcická brána © Ricky Yates

Now that summer is here, I’ve been determined to get out and explore more of this beautiful area on foot. Being as close as I am to Germany, I’ve frequently looked at the map and thought that it would be fun to walk through the mountains and over the border into Germany, staying overnight, before walking back to the Czech Republic, a day or two later. So on Monday 24th June, that is what I set out to do.

I first took the bus from Stará Oleška where I live, to the end of the 436 bus route in Vysoká Lípa. As it was nearly midday when I arrived, I treated myself to an early lunch in Restaurace . . . → Read More: A Walk to Hinterhermsdorf

Meißen

The twin spires of the Meißner Dom/Meissen Cathedral © Ricky Yates

On Sunday 16th June, I once more officiated and preached at the monthly English-language Anglican Service of Evening Prayer in the Frauenkirche, Dresden. I was also invited by the Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden, to attend a sommerliches Grillbuffet, the following evening, an event laid on as a ‘Thank you’, for all the volunteers and staff who help at the Frauenkirche. Deciding it would be silly to return home on Sunday evening, only to drive back to Dresden the next day, I instead stayed overnight and spent several hours on Monday 17th June, exploring the city of Meißen.

Meißen lies about 25km north-west of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river. It didn’t take that long to drive there and, having found a . . . → Read More: Meißen

A wonderful Sunday at the Frauenkirche, Dresden

Frauenkirche, Dresden © Ricky Yates

As is explained here on the Frauenkirche website, the monthly English-language Anglican service of Evening Prayer for which I am responsible, is made possible because of the Meissen Agreement. This is an ecumenical agreement, made in 1988, between the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) – the main German Protestant Church, and the Church of England. The implementation of this agreement and seeking to take it to the ultimate goal of full communion between the two Churches, is overseen by a body called the Meissen Commission.

In August last year, having ascertained that Rt Rev’d Dr Jonathan Gibbs, Suffragan Bishop of Huddersfield, is the current Anglican Co-Chair of the Meissen Commission, I wrote to him asking whether there was any space in . . . → Read More: A wonderful Sunday at the Frauenkirche, Dresden