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{{church|
name=Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia[[Image:Czechslovakia logo.gif|center|Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]]|
founder=Ss. [[Cyril and Methodius]]|
independence=1951, 1998 |
recognition=1951 by [[Church of Russia|Moscow]], 1998 by [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]] |
primate=''see vacant''[[Christopher (Pulets) of Prague|Metr. Christopher]]|
hq=Prešov, Slovakia|
territory=Czech Republic and Slovakia|
}}
The '''Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia''' is a [[autocephaly|self-governing body]] of the Orthodox Christian church that territorially covers the countries of the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia. The ruling hierarch until his repose was [[primate]] is His Beatitude, Metropolitan Nicholas [[Christopher (Pulets) of PresovPrague|Christopher of Prague]] and the Czech Lands and Slovakia, who fell asleep in the Lord was elected on [[January 30May 2]], 2006.
==History==
As the Orthodox leader in the new nation of Czechoslovakia, Bp. Gorazd laid the foundations of the Orthodox Church throughout Bohemia, Moravia, and into Slovakia. In Bohemia, he oversaw the building of eleven churches and two chapels. He also published the essential books for the conduct of church services that were translated in the Czech language. He provided aid to those in Slovakia and Subcarpathian Russia which then were part of Czechoslovakia, and who wanted to return to their ancestral Orthodox faith from the [[Unia]]. Thus, in the interbellum period, Bp. Gorazd built the small Czech church that during World War II would show how firmly it was connected to the Czech nation.
[[Image:Pravoslavny katedralni chram sv. Cyrila a Metodeje Resslova Praha.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic]]
As Hitler and his Nazis swept through Europe, a harsh rule descended on each nation. Czechoslovakia was no different as it suffered under the rule of Hitler's heir apparent, Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich. After the [[May 27]], 1942, assassination attack on Heydrich's car near the [[Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral (Prague, Czech Republic)|Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral]] in Prague, Czech patriots took refuge in the [[crypt]] of the cathedral before continuing their escape. They were aided by senior church [[laity|laymen]], who kept Bp. Gorazd informed. However, their presence was discovered by the Nazis, and on [[June 18]] the Nazis attacked their hiding place in the cathedral, killing them. The Orthodox [[priest]]s, laymen, and Bp. Gorazd were arrested and killed by firing squads on [[September 4]], 1942.
After the Czech and Slovak Republics separated into independent republics in 1993, activity continued in each country as separate legal entities: in the Czech Republic as the '''Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands''' and in the Slovak Republic as the '''Orthodox Church in Slovakia''', but canonical unity was maintained as the '''Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia'''. The church is now organized into four [[eparchy|eparchies]] divided into two administrative centers: the Metropolitan Council for the Czech Republic resident in Prague and the Metropolitan Council for the Slovak Republic in Presov. Under the Council in Prague are the eparchies of Prague and Olomouc-Brno, while the eparchies of Presov, and Michalovce are under the Council for Slovakia.
After the repose of His Beatitude, [[Metropolitan]] [[Dorotheus (Filipp) of Prague|Dorotheus]] of Prague and All Czechoslovakia, [[Archbishop]] Nicholas of Presov was elected the new metropolitan, and the church's primatial see was moved from Prague to Presov. Metr. Nicholas reposed on [[January 30]], 2006, and was replaced by Archbishop Christopher of Prague and the Czech Lands (elected [[May 2]], 2006).
In the Czech Republic, there are 82 [[parish]]es, with 51 in Bohemia and 31 in Moravia and Silesia. In the Republic of Slovakia, there are 69 parishes in the [[eparchy]] of Presov and 21 in the eparchy of Michalovce. The Orthodox Theological Faculty of the University of Presov provides an education for future [[priest]]s of combined Church. The faculty maintains a detached branch in Olomouc.
The Monastery of St. Procopius of Sazava is located in Most, and that of the Dormition in Vilemov.
== External links ==* [http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.cz/ Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands]* [http://www.orthodox.sk/ Orthodox Church in Slovakia]* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=26&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: The Orthodox Church in Czech and Slovak Republics], a scholarly text by Ronald Roberson, CSP, a Roman Catholic priest and Eastern Christianity scholar
{{churches}}
[[Category:Czech and Slovakian Dioceses| ]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions|Czech Lands and Slovakia]]
[[es:Iglesia Ortodoxa de Chequia y Eslovaquia]]
[[fr:Église de Tchéquie et de Slovaquie]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă a Cehiei şi Slovaciei]]
[[ru:Чехословацкая православная церковь]]
