Roman Catholic Church

Contrasts between the Czech Republic and Poland

You would think that with Poland and the Czech Republic being next-door to each other, and with Polish and Czech both belonging to the West Slavic group of languages, the two countries and their respective populations, would have much in common. Surprisingly, they don’t! Whilst what follows is based on seven years of living in the Czech Republic, and only the past five days travelling through Poland, I hope it still has some validity 🙂

Some contrasts are indisputable. The area of Poland is four times greater than that of the Czech Republic. Driving across Poland these last few days has forcibly brought this home to me. It is a big country! Likewise, the population of Poland is nearly four times greater than that of the Czech Republic – 38.5 million against 10.5 million.

But even with the languages of two countries both being West Slavic, this does not bring about much commonality. Whilst an adult Czech can fairly easily understand an adult Slovak and vice versa, when both speak in their respective languages, the same does not apply to Czechs and Poles. I’ve been told this several times, by citizens of both countries. Interestingly, a Polish hotel receptionist told me a couple of days ago, that she and many other Poles, find it easier to understand a Slovak, rather than a Czech.

There are similarities between Czech and Polish – both have seven cases 🙁 , and some vocabulary is also identical, or only slightly different. For example ‘beer’, which in Czech is ‘pivo‘, in Polish it is ‘piwo‘. But there are also many significant differences and various false friends. Quite commonly, when a Czech and a Pole want to speak to each other, they will resort to using second language English!

One major area of contrast is with regard to the Christian faith. Whilst Roman Catholics are the majority Church in both countries, the level of adherence and practice is vastly higher in Poland than it is in the Czech Republic. In both countries under communism, the Christian Church suffered – Protestant and Roman Catholic alike. But whilst in Poland, it was the Roman Catholic Church that was at the forefront of opposition to totalitarianism, in the Czech Republic it was predominantly artists and writers.

Over the past twenty-five years, since the collapse of the communist regimes in both countries, considerable sums of money have been spent on restoring historic Churches. However, in the Czech Republic, this has mainly been done to preserve what is seen as the country’s cultural heritage, as well as to attract tourists. In Poland, whilst both these motives also apply, the main reason is to provide and enhance, well-used places of worship.

As we have driven through Poland these last few days, one thing that has frequently struck us, are the considerable number of large new Roman Catholic Churches we have seen. These clearly have all been built since 1989. You do not see this in the Czech Republic.

Post 1989, both countries rapidly embraced capitalism with state owned industries being privatised and Western European investment being actively encouraged. This has resulted in many Czech and Polish businesses coming under foreign ownership. In the Czech Republic, these are often German – Škoda is now owned by Volkswagen, and two major supermarket chains, Kaufland and Billa, are also German.

However in Poland, the French are the major player. We’ve seen large hypermarkets belonging to Auchan and Carrefour. And in the banking arena, Credit Agricole and BNP Parisbas appear to have a considerable market share, judging by the number of branches both have in Polish towns and cities.

One observation Sybille has made since we’ve been in Poland, is that there are far fewer dogs to be seen. In the Czech Republic, the commonly quoted statistic is that 40% of households have at least one dog. Judging by the number of dogs we meet when walking in Prague, each one of which Sybille likes to say ‘Hello’ to 🙂 , that could be an under estimate. We have seen, and Sybille has said ‘Hello’ to, several Polish dogs. But to many fewer than would be the case in the Czech Republic.

The only area where I have observed any similarities between Poles and Czechs, is in their fashion sense. As I wrote under point three of my most famous post, ‘How to be Czech in ten easy steps‘, one popular male look is having long hair and tying it back in a pony tail. Since writing this, I’ve been told that this was a way, post 1968, of showing your opposition to the communist regime. This may well explain why you can often see men in their fifties and sixties, sporting this look. The look is is also alive and well in Poland, presumably with similar origins.

Likewise, the habit of Czech ladies wearing either very short skirts or spray-on jeans, can also be frequently observed in Poland. But even here, there is a difference between the two countries. In the Czech Republic, many new grandmothers, dress little differently from their daughters, often competing with them as to who has the shorter hemline! Here in Poland, the difference between the generations is rarely blurred.

Quite honestly, there is very little love lost between Czechs and Poles. Sybille and I have chosen to take advantage of living in Central Europe, by currently spending a two week holiday, exploring Poland. But several Czechs have expressed considerable surprise that we should want to do so! Most Czechs do not visit Poland. Since passing through the border area just north of Ostrava, we haven’t seen a single Czech registered car!

Anglican worship in Brno

The rear of Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie with the entrance to 'The Upper Room' on the bottom right © Ricky Yates — The rear of Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie with the entrance to ‘The Upper Room’ on the bottom right © Ricky Yates

On 18^th December 2011, aided by several members of the Prague Anglican congregation, we held the first ever English-language Anglican service in Brno – a Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas. Since the beginning of 2012, I have conducted a regular monthly service in Brno, usually on the second Sunday evening of each month, along with an additional service each year, on the evening of Easter Day.

As I explained in my post entitled ‘Holy Week and Easter Day 2014 in Prague and Brno‘, in March 2014, we suddenly lost the use of our previous Brno worship venue. Fortunately, the Roman Catholic Jesuits came to our rescue, offering us the use of the most appropriately named ‘Upper Room’. This is my long-promised post about our new Brno worship venue.

‘The Upper Room’, is part of Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie. Access to it is through the door seen here at the bottom right of this photograph, on the corner of Jezuitská and Mozartova, Brno. There then follows the only slight drawback to our new worship venue – having to climb up two floors via a stone spiral staircase. This does mean that it is wheelchair unfriendly and somewhat difficult for toddlers in buggies.

However, once up the stairs, everything else is ideal. ‘The Upper Room’ has a fairly low ceiling, together with excellent heating, meaning that it is warm in winter! It is not overly large, so that the current relatively small congregation doesn’t rattle in it but gives us the right amount of room into which to grow. Then there is an excellent electronic keyboard, seen on the left of the photograph below, which Ailsa our keyboard player, says is better than the one in our previous venue! At the back of the room, there are simple kitchen facilities, allowing us to share refreshments together following worship. And at the top of the stairs, just outside the room, is a most useful toilet.

The interior of 'The Upper Room' © Ricky Yates — The interior of ‘The Upper Room’ © Ricky Yates

As you can see, it being a Roman Catholic Chapel belonging to the Jesuits, we are overlooked by statues of St Francis Xavier & St Ignatius Loyola, whilst behind the altar is a painting depicting the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, a doctrine without Biblical foundation. But beggars can’t be choosers and the Brno Jesuits have been wonderfully hospitable towards us.

Anglicans often describe themselves as the Via media, the middle way and as a bridge between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. By borrowing Kostel sv Kliment from the main Czech Protestant Church in Prague and ‘The Upper Room’ from the Roman Catholic Jesuits in Brno, I believe we are a very practical expression of being that Via media. And because we do not own our own places of worship, we can concentrate on being what ‘the Church’ should be – the worshipping people of God.

Since May 2014, monthly Brno services have moved to being held at 17.00 on the first Sunday of each month. Full details, including a map, can be found on the Brno page of our Church website.

An interesting encounter and conversation at the end of a Christmas party

Our Christmas Party invite — Our Christmas Party invitation

On the evening of Wednesday 10^th December, Sybille and I attended the British Ambassador’s Christmas Party held at the Embassy in Mala Strana, one the nice little perks of being the Anglican Chaplain in Prague. Just as we were leaving the main reception room to go downstairs to collect our coats and head home, Sybille stopped to say ‘Hello’ and stroke Maya, one of the Ambassador’s two adopted Czech cats. Maya was occupying a vintage chair by the door, which had a rope stretched across between the two arms, to prevent humans sitting in it. But clearly such regulations do not apply to cats!

Standing nearby were two couples, with one of the couples speaking to each other in German. The German-speaking lady turned to watch Sybille speaking with the cat so I asked her whether she was German, (rather than Austrian or Swiss), and what was she doing in Prague? “My husband is the German Ambassador”, she said. Therefore as Sybille got up from speaking with Maya the cat, I said, “Sybille – meet your Ambassador!” Thus we met the newly arrived German Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Dr. Arndt Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven, and his wife, Barbara.

This encounter, and the conversation that followed, touched on several issues I’ve written about previously in this blog. It also offered a most interesting insight as to how two Germans, and almost certainly how the government they represent, think about these issues.

Having discovered that Barbara was the wife of the German Ambassador, I duly explained who I was, not least because I was wearing my clerical shirt and collar. Most interestingly, she immediately said that, as a Roman Catholic, she was appalled by the treatment of Jan Hus at the Council of Konstanz . I was pleased that for someone who had only been in the Czech Republic for just under three months, she was very aware that next year would mark the 600^th anniversary of the martyrdom of Jan Hus and that major events were planned to mark the anniversary.

Having collected our coats, the four of us walked down through the narrow streets, from the British Embassy, to Malostranské námestí. Here we said, “Auf wiedersehn”, as Sybille and I stepped aboard Tram 12 and the ambassadorial couple continued their walk to the German Embassy and residence, a few streets away.

Earlier this year, I wrote a post entitled ‘Is Prague safe?’. In recent months, that post has become a frequent landing page for new arrivals to my blog, no doubt because it appears on the first page of Google for any enquiry about safety in Prague. If anyone wants further evidence as to how safe Prague is, please note that here was the Ambassador and his wife of a major European country, walking without any associated security entourage, through the streets of Prague, relatively late at night.

The bust of Sir Winston Churchill, along with my sister, brother-in-law & me © June Taylor

At bottom of the short driveway from the gates of the British Embassy to Thunovská, there is this bust of Sir Winston Churchill. My apologies to my sister June and brother-in-law Garry, that this is the only photo I have of the bust, taken with June’s camera by Sybille, during June and Garry’s visit to Prague in August 2012. Upon seeing the bust, probably for the first time ever that evening, Barbara the Ambassador’s wife said to me, “Why would they, (meaning the Czech people), celebrate Churchill. Surely he was responsible at the Yalta Conference in 1945, which divided Europe between East and West”.

After taking a deep breath, I replied by saying, “Because he led the United Kingdom during World War Two and defeated Hitler and his Nazi regime”. I, together with most Czechs, can clearly distinguish between the Third Reich and the current Bundesrepublik Deutschland – a distinction I’m sure the current German Ambassador would also want to make. Please forgive the aside, but I do wish that the British tabloid press could also make that same distinction, whenever England are playing football against Germany 🙁

I could have made the point that the bust was actually erected by the British, though I suspect it needed Czech approval. But the Czechs do admire and respect Churchill. There is a statue of him in námestí Winstona Churchilla (the joys of Czech grammar 🙂 ), in the suburb of Žižkov, on the other side of the Vltava.

Statue of Soviet Marshall Ivan Konev with floral tributes © Ricky Yates

But Barbara’s question, does raise the ongoing issue of what achievements of a certain person do you recognise and celebrate, and what other less attractive aspects do you therefore ignore. I have previously written about how the statue of Marshall Ivan Stepanovich Konev of the Soviet Red Army, still remains standing in Námestí Interbrigády, a large square on one side of Jugoslávských partyzánu, the main thoroughfare leading from our nearest Metro station at Dejvická, to Podbaba where we live. It is because he led the troops that liberated Prague from Nazi occupation, finally entering the city early on 9th May 1945, just a few hours after the unconditional surrender of all Nazi troops across Europe, had come into force. One could however, also point out that he also led the Soviet troops who crushed the Hungarian uprising in 1956!

Not everybody agrees with these distinctions, especially with the current actions of the Putin led government of Russia, who most Czechs regard as little different to the communist led Soviet Union which was responsible for the crushing of the 1968 Prague Spring. On the morning of 17^th November, ‘Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day’, which this year marked the 25^th anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution that toppled the Soviet supported communist regime in Czechoslovakia, someone sprayed the statue of Marshall Konev with pink paint 😉 Unfortunately, before I could get a photo, the local authority got the paint removed.

This then brings me to the final point about our most enjoyable encounter and conversation that night. The next day, Sybille and I duly researched a little more about the new German Ambassador. He comes from German nobility – the name being a giveaway 🙂 He has also done two stints in Moscow which both he and his wife told us in conversation. But most interestingly, Sybille discovered through reading the German Wikipedia article about him, that between 2007-2010, he was Vice President of the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the German Federal Intelligence Service.

Both of us feel that with all this experience, the appointment of Dr. Arndt Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven as German Ambassador to the Czech Republic, reflects the concern of the current German government about the intentions of Putin led Russia, towards the former Warsaw pact states of Central and Eastern Europe. I outlined these concerns in my post entitled, ‘The Ukraine crisis as seen from the Czech Republic’. Sadly, nine months on, those concerns remain and have become ever stronger.

Neratov

Neratov is a small village located on the eastern side of the Orlické hory, in the valley of the Divorká Orlice – ‘Wild Eagle River’, which forms the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. Between 1723-33, a large baroque Church was built here, to house a statue of the Virgin Mary that had been previously donated by the parish priest of Rokynice v Orlických horách, situated on the other side of mountain range. Thus Neratov became a place of pilgrimage and Marian devotion.

The Church, built on a rocky promontory overlooking the village, is most unusual in one particular aspect. It has a north-south, rather than the traditional east-west, axis. The only other Church I know built in this manner, is the new Coventry Cathedral, which is at right-angles to the old ruined Cathedral.

On 10th May 1945, two days after the Second World War was supposed to have come to an end, the Church was hit by a Soviet Red Army anti-tank rocket and was gutted by fire. The roof and interior fittings were completely destroyed, just leaving the exterior walls standing. Then in 1957, some supporting arches collapsed. In 1973, an order was issued for the demolition of the ruined remains and the only reason the building survived, was because the local communist authorities, lacked the finances to put the demolition order into effect 🙂

Neratov 2 — The new glass roof of Neratov Church © Ricky Yates

Following the Velvet Revolution of 1989, moves began to be made to preserve and then restore the Church. In 1992, it was declared the equivalent of a British ‘listed building’. Then in 2006-2007, it was completely re-roofed. This has been done in the most imaginative way with timber framing supporting clear glass, allowing a remarkable amount of light into the interior of the Church. The money to carry out the restoration came from a variety of sources including Germany. This website in German, is maintained by supporters of the project. It uses the name Bärnwald, which is how the village is known in German.

The interior of Neratov Church © Ricky Yates

Both Sybille and I very much enjoyed our ‘pilgrimage’ to Neratov – we did walk around 15 km from Rícky v Orlických horách to get there! Unlike so many Czech Churches, Neratov Church is kept open during daylight hours. Also, because of the 1945 fire, unlike so many baroque Churches in Prague and elsewhere in the Czech Republic, the interior walls are plain with just a large crucifix on the north wall behind the altar, and a small new statue of the Virgin Mary in the north-west corner. It is very hard to find the right words to articulate the real sense of peace and holiness that I felt whilst being there.

The village itself has also been brought to life by the Neratov Association, which has provided sheltered housing and employment, for people with light to medium mental handicaps. As explained in a small colour leaflet that I picked up in the Church, ‘the aim is to help these people to live a free, independent, and responsible life with the support of a team of assistants in a friendly family-like environment’.

Neratov 4 — Jesus asking questions of his twelve disciples © Ricky Yates

I suspect that these figures, sitting in front of the lectern in the sanctuary of the Church, are the work of some of those in the care of the Neratov Association. The text in Czech, of Luke 9. 18-20, was on display alongside them. Jesus is asking first, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’ And then more pointedly, ‘Who do you say I am?’

Our visit to Neratov was the first of several days of fascinating discoveries, as we explored the Orlické hory. I hope to write and post more about our experiences in the coming days.

I do not have a criminal record in the Czech Republic

My certified 'Extract from the Criminal Records of individuals' which declares that 'there is no information about convictions regarding this person'. — My certified ‘Extract from the Criminal Records of individuals’ which declares that ‘there is no information about convictions regarding this person’.

This is what this two page official document, which I successfully obtained today, declares. In the nearly five years I have now lived in the Czech Republic, I have thankfully, done nothing to officially trouble the Czech Police or judicial authorities.

Whilst I can, and have 🙂 , made jokes about having evidence of my lack of criminality, the reason behind my obtaining this certified ‘Extract from the Criminal Records of individuals’ today, is quite serious. It is part of fulfilling the requirements of the ‘Safeguarding of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults Policy’ of the Diocese in Europe and the wider Church of England.

When I was offered the post of being the Anglican Chaplain in the Czech Republic, back in May 2008, it was subject to a ‘UK Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure’ being obtained. This was despite already holding such a document, applied for by the Diocese of Oxford, some four years previously. Only when the new ‘Enhanced Disclosure Certificate’ came through, showing I had no criminal record of any description, could my appointment be officially confirmed and publicly announced.

The policy of the Diocese in Europe, in line with the rest of the Church of England, is that every person exercising a licensed ministry in the diocese, should be re-checked not less than once every five years. It was because my current UK CRB clearance dates from July 2008, that the Diocesan Safeguarding Administrator wrote to me some weeks ago, asking me to complete a fresh ‘Self Declaration Form’, but also to obtain the equivalent of a UK CRB clearance from the Czech authorities.

I was greatly helped in obtaining my Czech certified ‘Extract from the Criminal Records of individuals’, declaring that, ‘there is no information about convictions regarding this person’, by my good friend and colleague, Rev’d Dr Karen Moritz. She was previously required to obtain a similar document, before being licensed to help in the ministry of the Anglican Chaplaincy in the Czech Republic, under the Ecumenical Canons of the Church of England. However, whilst her certificate came out of the system within a couple of hours, mine ended up taking the full twenty working days that are officially allowed.

The reason for this discrepancy became clear today. For along with the official Czech documentation, there was a further two pages in English, declaring what the Diocese in Europe and I already know – that there is no record of any convictions against my name, recorded in the UK.

As a result of the EU Council of Ministers Decision 2009/315/JHA, each EU member state, shares with each other, evidence of criminality recorded within their jurisdiction. Therefore, although I had not requested it, I also effectively received, an updated CRB clearance from the UK. Actually, it is from the ‘Disclosing and Barring Service (DBS), which is what the CRB was renamed in September 2012, for reasons that are beyond my comprehension!

Whilst fulfilling all the requirements of the ‘Safeguarding of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults Policy’ of my diocese, can at times, feel excessive and burdensome, I completely understand the reasons for them. For it has been the failure of the Roman Catholic Church to have a similar policy in place until recently, or even when belatedly put in place, the policy being bypassed or ignored, that has caused it so much adverse publicity in recent years, not forgetting the lives of the many innocent victims who have suffered at the hands of those who should have been caring for them.

Finally, on a lighter note, I could not help but notice the contrast in costs between the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. To obtain my Czech certified ‘Extract from the Criminal Records of individuals’ today, cost me CZK 100 / £3.33 at current exchange rates. A new CRB (now DBS 😉 ) enhanced disclosure, currently costs £44.00 to obtain!