View source for Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia

{{Short description|Christian Orthodox-oriented jurisdiction in the Czech Republic and Slovakia}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
| icon               = 
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| name               = Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
| native_name        = {{Nobold|{{lang|cs|Pravoslavná církev v Českých zemích a na Slovensku}} <small>(Czech)</small>}}<br/> {{Nobold|{{lang|sk|Pravoslávna cirkev v českých krajinách a na Slovensku}} <small>(Slovak)</small>}}
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| abbreviation       = 
| type                = [[Autocephaly]]
| main_classification = [[Christianity|Christian]]
| orientation         = [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]]
| scripture          = 
| theology           = 
| polity             = 
| governance         = 
| structure          = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = Primate
| leader_name1       = [[Rastislav of Prešov]]
| leader_title2      = 
| leader_name2       = 
| leader_title3      = Bishops
| leader_name3       = 6
| fellowships_type   = 
| fellowships        = 
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| fellowships1       = 
| division_type      = Parishes
| division           = 172
| division_type1     = 
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| associations       = 
| area               = 
| language           = [[Church Slavonic]],<br>[[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]]
| liturgy            = 
| headquarters       = [[Prague]], [[Czech Republic]]<br>[[Prešov]], [[Slovakia]]
| territory          = {{CZE}}<br>{{SVK}}
| possessions        = —
| origin_link        = 
| founder            = Ss. [[Cyril and Methodius]] {{small|(as [[Christianization of the Slavs|mission]] to the Slavs)}}<br> [[Gorazd Pavlík]] {{small|(as [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian Orthodox]] Eparchy of [[Moravia]] and [[Silesia]])}}
| founded_date       = 1921
| founded_place      = 
| independence       = 1951 <br> 1998
| reunion            = 
| recognition        = [[Autocephaly]] recognised in 1951 by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and in 1998 by the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]].
| separated_from     = [[Czechoslovak Church]] (1924)
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| defunct            = 
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| members            = 75,000 (2021)<ref>[https://cnewa.org/eastern-christian-churches/orthodox-church/the-autocephalous-churches/the-orthodox-church-in-czech-and-slovak-republics/?highlight=Orthodox%20Church%20of%20the%20Czech%20Lands%20and%20Slovakia CNEWA - Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, retrieved 2023-08-28]</ref>
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| primary_schools    = 
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| tax_status         = 
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| other_names        = 
| publications       = 
| website            = [http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.info/ Czech official website]<br>[https://orthodox.sk/ Slovak official website]
| slogan             = 
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}}
{{Eastern Orthodox sidebar|expanded=jurisdictions}}
The '''Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia''' ({{langx|cs|Pravoslavná církev v Českých zemích a na Slovensku}}; {{langx|sk|Pravoslávna cirkev v českých krajinách a na Slovensku}}), sometimes abbreviated '''OCCLS''', is a [[autocephaly|self-governing body]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] that territorially covers the countries of the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]]. The current primate of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church is [[Rastislav (Gont)|Rastislav of Prešov]] (born Ondrej Gont), Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia since 2014.

== History ==
{{POV section|date=September 2023}}
[[File:CaM - chrám zvenku.JPG|left|thumb|180px|[[Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral]] in [[Prague]]]]
[[File:Koncert Philokallia (2).JPG|thumb|left|180px|Interior]]
[[File:Kostel Sv. Gorazda.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Olomouc Orthodox Church|Church of St Gorazd in Olomouc]]]]

=== Foundation ===
The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia presents both an ancient history as well as a very modern history. The present-day church occupies the land of [[Great Moravia]], where the brothers Ss. [[Cyril and Methodius]] began their mission to the Slavs, introducing the liturgical and canonical order of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], translated into [[Church Slavonic]], using mostly Greek [[calque]]s to explain concepts for which no Slavic term existed.<ref name="sailbyzant">{{cite book|title=Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World|last=Wells|first=Colin|date=2006|publisher=Bantam Dell|isbn=9780553382730|location=New York}}<!--|access-date=July 15, 2015--></ref>{{rp|192}} In doing this they developed the first Slavic alphabet, a mixture of Greek and Hebrew-based characters with a few invented characters of their own to represent unique Slavic sounds.<ref name="sailbyzant"/>{{rp|190}}{{rp|191}}

This was done at the express invitation of the powerful ruler [[Rastislav of Moravia]]. Yet within the Moravian state there was a Frankish party among the nobility who desired closer ties with [[East Francia]], whose ruler, [[Louis the German]], was Ratislav's nominal [[suzerain]], and a Frankish bishop had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over a small part of Ratislav's domain that had earlier converted to Christianity. Despite the [[Photian Schism]], the churches of Rome and Constantinople still preserved some semblance of unity, and [[Pope Nicholas I]] did not want to see the formation of a large independent Frankish church in Central Europe. When an appeal of the ecclesiastical issue was made to Rome, Nicholas summoned both Cyril and Methodius and the complaining Frankish parties to his court to hear them out. Nicholas died before their arrival, but the new Pope [[Adrian II]] reached a compromise after hearing both sides: Old Church Slavonic was confirmed as a liturgical language alongside Greek, Hebrew and Latin, and Methodius was confirmed as bishop with a Frankish co-adjutor, [[Wiching]]. Adrian was convinced by Cyril's impassioned defence of the Slavic liturgy in which he cited [[1 Corinthians]] 14:19 "Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." Cyril fell ill while the brothers were still at Rome, and on his deathbed he asked Methodius to swear to return to Moravia and complete the mission to the Slavs instead of returning to the monastic life on [[Mount Olympus]] as he had intended to do.<ref name="sailbyzant"/>{{rp|192–4}}

Methodius kept his word and returned, but his mission was interrupted by the death of Ratislav, as the new ruler, [[Svatopluk I of Moravia]] sided with the pro-Frankish party and had Methodius imprisoned for almost three years, until he was freed through the intercession of [[Pope John VIII]]. For the next ten years, Methodius continued his work, but the death of John VIII in 882 removed his papal protection, and Methodius died in 885. After this, [[Pope Stephen V]] of Rome confirmed his [[Swabia]]n co-adjutor Wiching as bishop.<ref>Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes, (HarperCollins, 2000), 144</ref> Methodius's disciples were imprisoned, expelled to [[Bulgaria]], like Gorazd and many others, or enslaved. The expelled, led by [[Clement of Ohrid]] and [[Saint Naum|Naum of Preslav]], were of great importance to the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox faith]] in the already Christian from year 864 [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]], after they were released from prison and escorted to the Danube.<ref name="sailbyzant" />{{rp|197}} In AD 870 the [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic)|Fourth Council of Constantinople]] granted the Bulgarians the right to have the oldest organized [[autocephalous]] Slavic Orthodox Church that little later, from autonomous Bulgarian archbishopric, became patriarchate. A major event that strengthened the process of Christianization was the development of the [[Cyrillic script]] in Bulgaria at the founding by Naum and Clement of the [[Preslav Literary School]] in the 9th century. The Cyrillic script and the liturgy in [[Old Church Slavonic]] were declared official in Bulgaria in 893.<ref>{{cite book | first=Francis | last=Dvornik |title=The Slavs: Their Early History and Civilization | url=https://archive.org/details/slavstheirearlyh00dvor | url-access=limited | quote = The Psalter and the Book of Prophets were adapted or "modernized" with special regard to their use in Bulgarian churches, and it was in this school that glagolitic writing was replaced by the so-called Cyrillic writing, which was more akin to the Greek uncial, simplified matters considerably and is still used by the Orthodox Slavs. | year=1956 |place=Boston | publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |page=[https://archive.org/details/slavstheirearlyh00dvor/page/n184 179]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt |url-access=registration |quote=Cyrillic preslav. |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250|series=Cambridge Medieval Textbooks|author= Florin Curta|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-521-81539-0|pages= [https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt/page/221 221]–222}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-H9BTVHKRMC&q=+preslav+eastern&pg=PR3-IA34|chapter= The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire|title=Oxford History of the Christian Church|author= J. M. Hussey, Andrew Louth|publisher= Oxford University Press|year= 2010|isbn=978-0-19-161488-0|pages= 100}}</ref>

=== Survival and revival ===
[[Image:Istenszülő templomi bevezetése görögkeleti szerb (Rác-) templom (1754-1756). Műemlék ID 401-304 1. - Szlovákia, Nyitrai kerület, Komárom, Nádor utca.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Komárno|Eastern Orthodox Church in Komárno]] (Slovakia), built in the middle of the 18th century under jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox [[Eparchy of Buda]]]]
[[File:Gorazd_(Matěj_Pavlík).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Eastern Orthodox Bishop [[Gorazd (Pavlík)|Gorazd of Prague]] (1921–1942)]]
[[Image:Czechoslovakia01.png|thumb|right|250px|Czechoslovakia, from 1920 to 1938]]
The Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical order survived in present-day eastern [[Slovakia]] and neighboring regions due to its nearness and influence to Kievan Rus', especially among the population of the Rusins, until the middle of the 17th century when the [[Union of Uzhhorod]] was brought about in the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. During the times of suppression, remaining Eastern Orthodox Christians from the region kept their ties with neighboring Eastern Orthodox [[Eparchy of Buda]] of the [[Serbian Patriarchate of Peć]] and later with the [[Metropolitanate of Karlovci]] (that became in 1848 the [[Patriarchate of Karlovci]]). One of the most northern parishes of the Serbian Orthodox Church existed in the Slovak city of [[Komárno]] with local church built in the 18th century still standing today.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CGh-BgAAQBAJ The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics (2015)], p. 430.</ref>

Between 1871 and 1916 Orthodox faithfuls in Prague had the magnificent 
[[St. Nicholas Church (Staré Město)|Saint Nicholas Church]], one of the largest churches of the city.

After the creation of [[History of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]] in 1918, legal restraints to Eastern Orthodoxy were removed. In the new state, Eastern Orthodox communities were mainly located in the eastern parts of the country, including Carpatho-Rus' that was incorporated into Czechoslovakia in 1919. In that region, the city of [[Mukachevo]] was located with its traditions going back to the old Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo, that existed before the Union of Uzhhorod. In the spirit of Eastern Orthodox revival, many people in the region left the Uniate (Greek Catholic) Church. Since there were no Eastern Orthodox bishops in Czechoslovakia, local leaders looked to the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] because the [[Serbs]] were historically and ethnically close to the [[Czechs]], [[Slovaks]] and Rusins. That view was also supported by state authorities of Czechoslovakia (1920). In order to regulate the ecclesiastical order, Bishop [[Dositej Vasić]] of [[Eparchy of Niš|Niš]] (Serbia) arrived in Prague and met with leaders of the Eastern Orthodox community, receiving them into full communion (1921).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dSomAQAAMAAJ The Czechoslovak Heresy and Schism: The Emergence of a National Czechoslovak Church (1975)], p. 43.</ref>

Among those seeking to restore ties with the Eastern Orthodox Church was Catholic priest Matěj Pavlík, who had been interested in Eastern Orthodoxy for years. The Serbian Orthodox Church thus consented to receive him in full communion and he became [[archimandrite]] with the name [[Gorazd (Pavlík)|Gorazd]], in honor of [[Saint Gorazd of Moravia]], disciple and successor of [[Saints Cyril and Methodius|Saint Methodius]], Archbishop of Moravia. On September 25, 1921, Archimandrite Gorazd was consecrated [[Bishop of Moravia and Silesia]] at the [[St. Michael's Cathedral (Belgrade)|Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael]] in Belgrade, [[Yugoslavia]], by [[Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije]]. Bishop Gorazd received jurisdiction over Czech Lands.<ref>[https://oca.org/saints/lives/2017/09/04/102375-martyr-gorazd-of-prague-bohemia-and-moravo-cilezsk Martyr Gorazd of Prague]</ref>

As the Orthodox leader in the new nation of [[History of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)|Czechoslovakia]], Bishop Gorazd laid the foundations of the Orthodox Church throughout [[Bohemia]], Moravia, and also 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 into Czech. He provided aid to those in Slovakia and Carpatho-Rus', which then was part of Czechoslovakia, and who wanted to return to Eastern Orthodox Faith from the Unia, [[Slovak Greek Catholic Church|Union with Rome]]. Thus, in the inter-war period, Bishop Gorazd built the small Czech church that during [[World War II]] would show how firmly it was connected to the Czech nation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.info/nase-cirkev/historie/481-historie-nasi-pravoslavne-cirkve |title=Historie naší pravoslavné církve |access-date=2017-04-16 |archive-date=2017-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417154323/http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.info/nase-cirkev/historie/481-historie-nasi-pravoslavne-cirkve |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By 1931, Eastern Orthodox renewal in eastern Slovakia and Carpatho-Rus' was progressing very well, allowing for the creation of the second diocese, the [[Eparchy of Mukačevo and Prešov]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=stUkAQAAIAAJ Eastern Churches Journal: A Journal of Eastern Christendom, vol. 4 (1997)], p. 61</ref> That diocese was also created under the auspices of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The first bishop of Mukachevo and Prešov was [[Damaskin Grdanički]].<ref>[http://www.eserbia.org/sa-people/prosopography/1022-bishop-damaskin-grdanicki Bishop Damaskin (Grdanički)]</ref> In 1938, he was succeeded by Bishop [[Vladimir Rajić]].

In 1938, [[Nazi Germany]] succeeded in annexing the [[Sudetenland]] from Czechoslovakia during the [[Munich Conference]]. In the same year, after the [[First Vienna Award]], southern parts of Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia were annexed by Hungary. Since the city of Mukačevo was taken by Hungary, bishop Vladimir had to move to the city of [[Khust]]. In 1939, Nazi Germany annexed the remainder of the Czech lands into the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]] and installed a pro-Nazi regime in [[Slovak State|Slovakia]]. At the same time, Hungary occupied the rest of Carpathian Ruthenia and in 1941 Hungarian authorities arrested bishop Vladimir Rajić and deported him back to [[Serbia]].

The years of [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|Nazi occupation]] (1938–1945) were marked by renewed restrictions and persecutions.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pTOQAAAAIAAJ Four fighting years (1943)], p. 69.</ref> By 1942, [[Reinhard Heydrich]], architect of the [[Final Solution]], had become governor of the Czech Protectorate. After the May 27, 1942 [[Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich|assassination]] attack on Heydrich's car in Prague, Czech and Slovak partisans took refuge in the [[crypt]] of the [[Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral|Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral]] before continuing their escape. They were aided by senior church [[laity|laymen]], who kept Bishop Gorazd informed. However, their presence was discovered by the Nazis, and on June 18 the Nazis attacked their hiding place in the cathedral, forcing them to commit suicide. The Orthodox priests, laymen, and Bishop Gorazd were arrested and killed by firing squad on September 4, 1942.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=n0PTAAAAMAAJ News Flashes from Czechoslovakia Under Nazi Domination (1942)], p. 151, 155.</ref>

In reprisal the Nazis forbade the church to operate in Bohemia and Moravia.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AtqfAAAAMAAJ Christian Churches in Czechoslovakia: History, Mission, Organization, Statistics, Addresses (1992)], p. 19-20.</ref> Churches and chapels were closed, and a rounding up of Czechs was conducted, including the whole village of [[Lidice]], whose inhabitants were either killed or sent to forced labor camps.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BVciAQAAIAAJ Memories of Lidice (2007), p. 71.]</ref> For the Orthodox, the whole church fell under Nazi persecution and was decimated. A total of 256 Orthodox priests and laymen were executed, and church life came to a stop.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DhrZAAAAMAAJ Eastern Christianity and politics in the twentieth century], p. 255-256.</ref>

===Post-War developments===

In 1945, after the incorporation of Carpatho-Rus' by the USSR as [[Zakarpattia Oblast]] of the Ukrainian SSR, eastern parts of the [[Eparchy of Mukačevo and Prešov]] were transferred from the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, and on that territory a new [[Eparchy of Mukačevo and Užgorod]] was formed, while the western part of the diocese remained in Czechoslovakia and was reorganized as the [[Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Prešov|Eparchy of Prešov]].

After World War II, the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia began its recovery without its bishop. On December 9, 1951, the [[Patriarch of Moscow]] granted [[autocephaly]] to the Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia, recognized by nearly all Orthodox local churches, though this action was not recognized by the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]], who made claims to jurisdiction, regarding the Czechoslovak church as being autonomous under its authority. The Patriarch of Constantinople later issued a ''tomos'', or official proclamation, of autocephaly in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oca.org/news/archived/metropolitan-herman-concludes-official-visit-to-the-orthodox-church-of-the- |title=Metropolitan Herman concludes Official Visit to the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 11, 2004 |website=Orthodox Church in America |access-date=August 25, 2014}}</ref>

When the Communists came to power in April 1950, the government convoked a synod of the [[Slovak Greek Catholic Church]] in [[Prešov]], where five priests and a large number of laymen signed a document declaring that the union with Rome was disbanded and asking to be received into the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, later the Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia. Greek Catholic faithful and clergy were presented with the choice of remaining in union with Rome and becoming [[Latin Church|Latin Church Catholics]] or keeping their [[Byzantine Rite|Byzantine rite]] and becoming Orthodox. The government transferred control of the Greek Catholic churches and other property to the Orthodox Church.

During the Prague Spring in 1968, the former Greek Catholic parishes were allowed to restore communion with Rome.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eastern-Orthodoxy|title=Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=English|accessdate=25 September 2022}}</ref> As a result of anti-Russian sentiment, of the 292 parishes involved, 205 voted in favor. This was one of the few reforms by Dubček that survived the Soviet invasion the same year. However, most church buildings remained in the hands of the Orthodox Church as they had originally been built as Orthodox churches, and/or their congregations had in large measure voted to have their parishes placed under the [[omophorion]] of the Orthodox Church in 1950. After communism was overthrown in the 1989 [[Velvet Revolution]], most of the Church property was returned to the Slovak Greek Catholic Church by 1993.

The [[martyr]]dom of Bishop Gorazd was recognized by the Serbian Orthodox Church on May 4, 1961, which canonized Gorazd as a [[New Martyr]]. Subsequently, on August 24, 1987, he was canonized at the [[Olomouc Orthodox Church|Cathedral of St. Gorazd]] in [[Olomouc]], Moravia.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gESOAgAAQBAJ Eastern Christianity and the Cold War, 1945–91 (2010)], p. 137-138, 143.</ref>

Archbishop [[Rastislav (Gont)|Rastislav of Prešov]] was elected by the Extraordinary Synod held on January 11, 2014, as the new [[Primate (bishop)|primate]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://orthochristian.com/67521.html|title=New head of Orthodox Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia elected|website=OrthoChristian.Com|access-date=2019-12-31}}</ref> On December 9, 2013, the Synod removed Archbishop [[Simeon (Jakovlevic)]] of Brno and Olomouc from his position as ''[[Locum Tenens]]'' (''ad interim'' administrator following the resignation of the previous primate, Archbishop Krystof, over allegations of sexual relations with women),<ref>[http://praguemonitor.com/2013/10/16/mfd-czech-orthodox-church-split-over-money-archbishop ''Prague Daily Monitor'', "Czech Orthodox Church split over money, archbishop"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201235857/http://praguemonitor.com/2013/10/16/mfd-czech-orthodox-church-split-over-money-archbishop |date=February 1, 2014 }}</ref> and appointed Archbishop Rastislav in his place,<ref>[http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.cz/texty/2013/synod9.12.2013angl.pdf Communiqué of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Land and in Slovakia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202195000/http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.cz/texty/2013/synod9.12.2013angl.pdf |date=February 2, 2014 }}</ref> an action against which Archbishop Simeon protested<ref>[http://pravoslavi.cz/church-in-schisma.htm Statement of Archbishop Simeon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103144606/http://pravoslavi.cz/church-in-schisma.htm |date=January 3, 2014 }}</ref> and which was deplored by [[Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople]], who had supported Krystof.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.info/aktuality/zpravodajstvi/740-patriarcha-bartolomej-je-zdesen-arcibiskup-simeon-byl-odvolan-nikoliv-kanonickym-postupem-ale-spise-nepruhlednymi-a-neprijatelnymi-zpusoby-synod-funguje-nezdrave-a-svevolne-usneseni-synodu-jsou-neplatna-arcibiskup-simeon-zustava-metropolitnim-spravcem|title=† Pravoslavná církev v českých zemích a na Slovensku {{!}} Patriarcha Bartoloměj je zděšen!!! Arcibiskup Simeon byl odvolán nikoliv kanonickým postupem, ale neprůhlednými a nepřijatelnými způsoby! Synod funguje nezdravě a svévolně! Usnesení Synodu jsou neplatná! Arcibiskup Simeon zůstává metropolitním správcem!|website=www.pravoslavnacirkev.info|access-date=2019-12-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211023207/http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.info/aktuality/zpravodajstvi/740-patriarcha-bartolomej-je-zdesen-arcibiskup-simeon-byl-odvolan-nikoliv-kanonickym-postupem-ale-spise-nepruhlednymi-a-neprijatelnymi-zpusoby-synod-funguje-nezdrave-a-svevolne-usneseni-synodu-jsou-neplatna-arcibiskup-simeon-zustava-metropolitnim-spravcem|archive-date=February 11, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Administration ==
After [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia separated]] in 1993, church activities continued in each new country as separate legal entities: in the [[Czech Republic]] as the '''Orthodox Church in the [[Czech Lands]]''' and in the [[Slovakia|Slovak Republic]] as the '''Orthodox Church in Slovakia''', with canonical unity 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 [[Prešov]]. Under the Council of the [[Czech Lands]] ([[Prague]]) are the eparchies of Prague and Olomouc-[[Brno]], while the eparchies of Prešov and [[Michalovce]] are under the Council of Slovakia (Prešov).

After the death of [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] [[Dorotheus (Filipp) of Prague|Dorotheus]] of Prague and All Czechoslovakia, [[Archbishop]] Nicholas of Prešov was elected the new metropolitan, and the church's [[Primate (bishop)|primatial see]] was moved from Prague to Prešov. Metr. Nicholas reposed (died) on January 30, 2006, and succeeded by Archbishop Christopher of Prague and the Czech Lands since May 2, 2006.

In the Czech Republic, there are 82 parishes: 51 in Bohemia and 31 in Moravia and Silesia. In Slovakia, there are 90 parishes: 69 in the eparchy of Prešov and 21 in the eparchy of [[Michalovce]]. The Orthodox Theological Faculty of the [[University of Prešov]] functions as a [[seminary]] for future priests of combined Church, with a [[satellite campus]] in Olomouc.<ref>[https://orthodox-world.org/ru/i/16594/czech-republic/olomouck%C3%BD/olomouc/%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0/orthodox-theological-faculty-of-pre%C5%A1ov Orthodox World website, ''Orthodox Theological Faculty Of Prešov, Olomouc, Czech Republic'']</ref>

The Monastery of Saint Procopius of Sazava is located in [[Most (city)|Most]], and the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos in [[Vilémov (Olomouc District)|Vilémov]].

The current primate of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church is {{Interlanguage link multi|Rastislav (Gont){{!}}Rastislav of Prešov|cs|3=Rastislav (arcibiskup)}} (born Ondrej Gont), Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia since 2014.

=== Archdioceses and archbishops ===
* [[Archdiocese]] of Prešov and Slovakia : Metropolitan [[Rastislav (Gont)]], Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia (since 2014)
* Archdiocese of Prague and the Czech Lands: [[Michal (Dandár)]] (since 2015)
* [[Diocese]] of [[Brno]] and [[Olomouc]]: [[Izaiáš (Slaninka)]] (since 2024)
* Diocese of [[Michalovce]] and [[Košice]]: [[Juraj (Stránský)]] (since 2007)

=== Vicar dioceses and bishops ===
* Diocese of [[Beroun]] : [[Jachým (Hrdý)]] (since 2015), vicar bishop of Prague
* Diocese of [[Šumperk]] : [[Izaiáš (Slaninka)]] (since 2015), vicar bishop of Brno and Olomouc

== Awards ==
The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia awards several awards. Among others, they are:

* Order of Saint [[Ludmila of Bohemia]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-09-30 |title=Литургия в память св. мц. Людмилы |url=https://podvorje-pcczs.ru/bozhestvennaya-liturgiya-v-den-pamyati-sv-mcz-lyudmily-knyagini-cheshskoj/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |language=ru-RU}}</ref>
* Order of Saint Equal to the Apostles Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia<ref name=":0" />
* Medal of Saints Equal-to-Apostles Cyril and Methodius{{cn|date=June 2024}}

[[File:Order of Saint Equal to the Apostles Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia.jpg|thumb|Order of Saint Equal to the Apostles Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia (III grade)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia}}
*[http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.info/ Official website in the Czech Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225023706/http://www.pravoslavnacirkev.info/ |date=2019-12-25 }}
*[https://archive.today/20121204190348/http://www.orthodox.sk/ Official website in Slovakia] (in Slovak)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140714155140/http://pravoslavnacirkev.cz/ Prague Eparchy of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands] (in Czech)
*[http://www.ikonapress.info/ Electronic edition of the magazine "Icon"]
*[http://www.orthodoxia.cz/ Pages about the orthodox Church in the Czech Republic] (in Czech)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050208153834/http://www.czech.cz/index.php?section=1&menu=154 Overview of the Church] (scroll down)
*[https://cnewa.org/eastern-christian-churches/toc/orthodox-church/the-autocephalous-churches/the-orthodox-church-in-czech-and-slovak-republics/ Article on the Orthodox Church in the Czech and Slovak Republics by Ronald Roberson on the CNEWA web site]

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[[Category:Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia| ]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodoxy in the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodoxy in Slovakia]]
[[Category:Czech Republic–Slovakia relations]]