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The '''Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral''' in Prague, Czech Republic, is the principal [[church]] in the Metropolitan Council of the Czech Republic. The existing structure had its origins as a [[Roman Catholic]] church built in the eighteenth century. During World War II, the [[cathedral]] was the scene of the last stand of a number of Czech patriots who had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi SS Obergruppenfuhrer and General of Police.

According to oral tradition, the site where Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral stands was the site of a small church built by Duke Borivoj I and dedicated by St. [[Methodius of Moravia|Methodius]] himself. This link is based historically upon early and continuing reference to the name "Na Zderaze" for the existing church building. In 1091, the Czech lord Zderad was killed during the siege of Brno and was buried in the earlier church which was near Prague. Zderad's name was then immortalized in the name of the street "Na Zderaze" which is adjacent to the cathedral, thus establishing a connection to this site that was hallowed by St. Methodius.

From 1115, the church of Ss. Peter and Paul stood on the site of the present church, around which the Knights of the Cross built the Zderazsky [[monastery]]. During the Hussite wars the church was largely destroyed, leaving only a part of the choir standing. In 1705, the Roman Catholic [[archbishop]] of Prague, Brener, established a retirement home for priests on the site of the monastery next to which a church was later built.

Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral was originally built as the St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church during the years of 1730 to 1740. Construction was started under the direction of Pavel Ignac Bayer, but in 1733 Kristian Spannbruker and Kilian Ignac Dienzenhofer assumed direction of the construction and completed the project in 1740. The dedication was of St. Charles Borromoro, who had been [[archbishop]] of Milan (1538-1584). The church was part of a home for retired Roman Catholic [[priest]]s and contained a crypt with alcoves for the priests' tombs.

Since then, the cathedral has been restored further, including new iconography and painting. Through the years since World War II, memorial services have been held annually on [[June 18]] in remembrance of the victims of "Heydrich’s Terror". The annual remembrance has culminated in the establishment of the Orthodox Cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius as ''A National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror - A Place of Reconciliation''. This took place on the 60th anniversary, [[September 28]], 1995, of its original consecration as the first Czech Orthodox cathedral.

[[Category:Churches]]