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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.
== Early history ==
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.
== Modern history ==
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.
From its consecration, the cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius has been linked by the Prague press to its Byzantine missionary past and to Ss. [[Cyril and Methodius|Cyril and Methodius]], noting that Methodius had been there, presiding over worship, and had baptized the first Czech Duke Borivoj and his wife, Ludmila, according to the Eastern Church rite. The press further noted that the Czech Orthodox Church considered the Duke and his wife to be members of their church just as the church does with Ss. Cyril and Methodius. The first priest assigned to the [[parish]] was Fr. Petr Kauer, with Fr. Vladimir Petrek as his assistant. On [[August 11]], 1937, Fr. Petr died and was succeeded by Fr. Vaclav Cikl on [[January 31]], 1938.
The cathedral was the scene during World War II of the last stand of a number of Czech patriots who have had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi SS Obergruppenfuhrer and General of Police and the newly appointed Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia. After completion of the military operation by the Czech parachutists on [[May 27]], 1942, seven members of the group took refuge in the [[crypt]] of the cathedral with the assistance of Fr. Vladimir Petrek, layman Jan Sonnevend, Bp. Gorazd, and others. They had planned to stay a short time, but one of the parachutists betrayed them before they could make their escape. On [[June 18]], the cathedral was surrounded by 800 Gestapo soldiers, whose orders were to capture the group alive. Three of the Czech patriots died defending the nave of the cathedral, followed by the storming of the crypt by the Gestapo after it was discovered. There, the remaining four Czechs fought until their last four bullets that they used on themselves.
Bp. Gorazd took the path of self-sacrifice, with which we are familiar from biographies of the holy martyrs, in an attempt to end the Nazi terror that had begun. He wrote letters to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education, and the office of the Reichsprotektor taking full responsibility and was ready to undergo any punishment, even death. The only reply he received was his arrest on [[June 25]]. The reprisals continued as the population of the village of Lidice was decimated. The men were shot, the women sent to concentration camps, and children deported to Germany for adoption. After which the village was razed to the ground.
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.
== Source == * Jaraslav Suvarsky and Eva Suvarska, ''A National Memorial to the Heros of the Heydrich Terror - A Place of Reconciliation'', Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Pragus, Prague, 2002
== External link ==*[http://pravoslavnacirkev.cz Official church website] (Czech)
