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Ecumenical Bulletin 31 - Easter 2014

Editorial

Dear Friends, dear Sisters and Brothers,

During this Easter season we send you another edition of our foreign language ecumentical bulletin. We remember the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity has already lived for more than two thousand years from this event. and is reflected in the life of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, the Diakonie, and the Protestant Theological Faculty.

The ecumenical bulletin, which we prepare for you our International friends in English and German, comes now at Easter. We are already preparing other issues for this summer and at Advent.

In the year 2014 Czech Protestants commemorated the 600th annivesary when Communion was served in both kinds, both bread and wine for the laity. The roots of the Czech Reformation are found in the article „What does the Czech Reformation say about the Czech person today?“ You can also read about the preparations for the Hus Jubilee in the year 2015, about the 60th anniversary of the ordination of women in the ECCB, about the visit of the Reformation envoy Margot Käßmann or a report from the Winter’s Pastor’s Course.

In the contributions from the diakonie you can read about how the Centre for Humanitarian and Development Aid assisted people in Ethiopia for the third year by helping them get up on their own two feet. You can also read about the shoeboxes in which children donated gifts to the children there.

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At the Protestant Theological Faculty the Estonian Docent Ain Riistan lectured about the start of theology. The second contribution is news about Americans from Columbia Theological Seminary visiting their partner school here in Prague.

We wish you a joyful Easter holiday and we hope that the news from the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren will engage and delight you.

On behalf of the Editorial Board, Daniela Ženatá

Daniela Ženatá

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EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF CZECH BRETHREN (ECCB)

P.O. Box 466, Jungmannova 9, CZ 111 21 Praha 1, Czech Republic Tel: (+ 420) 224 999 215(216); Fax: (+ 420) 224 999 219 E-mail: ekumena@e-cirkev.cz Web page: www.e-cirkev.cz

The ECCB originated in the year 1918 through the unification of the Protestant churches of the Lutheran and Reformed confessions, which were permitted only after the harsh anti-reformation movement (from 1620 until the issuing of the Edict of Toleration in 1781). But, the ECCB has deeper roots in the Czech reformation: in the Utraquist Hussite Church (1431-1620) and in the Unity of Brethren Church (1457-1620). The ECCB has about 100,000 members in 256 congregations which are broken down into 14 seniorates (presbyteries) throughout the Czech Republic. At the head of the church is the 6 member Synodal Council, elected for a six-year term of office and represented by the Synodal Senior and the Synodal Curator.

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What does the Czech Reformation have to say to today’s Czechs?

The Protestant Churches are experiencing a period of "big anniversaries": the publication of the Kralice Bible (1613), the first celebration of Holy Communion in both kinds (1414), the martyrdom of Master John Hus (1415) and Jerome of Prague (1416). What do these and other personalities and events of the Bohemian Reformation mean for people today?

The Bohemian Reformation began - in terms of their conceptual content - with Hus. Jan Hus started out, on one hand, from the thoughts of the English scholar John Wycliffe

(1320? -1384), and on the other hand, he drew on his native predecessors. He rejected the worship of persons and things, announced the superiority of the Bible as the revealed and recognizable truth above other authorities, and was willing to give his life for it. In the interpretation of Czech history, the Bohemian Reformation is usually associated with the Hussite movement, which is considered either as a highlight of Czech history or as destructive movement of vandals. The Hussite Wars, of course, were conducted primarily for the protection of freedom of conscience and the independence of the country against repeated Crusades. The Bohemian Reformation was not violent. Think about Peter Chelčický and his followers, and the later Unity of Brethren. The Hussite Wars were only a brief episode in comparison with the Bohemian Reformation as a conceptual movement. This

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movement unfolded over two hundred years until the Battle of White Mountain, and bore some remarkable fruit.

The program in the Four Articles of Prague

The Four Articles of Prague were the program of the Hussite movement, to which all Hussite parties agreed in 1419. From the free preaching of the Word of God (1. Article) can be derived the general freedom of speech. Holy Communion in both kinds (2. Article) eliminated the difference between privileged priesthood and the others. The principle that the Church should not have worldly property (3. Article) can be understood as a resistance against the abuse of power and accumulation of property. The punishment of all classes for their sins (4. Article) led to the equality of all citizens before the law. This equality was stressed by the Hussites, and later in the Unity of Brethren, through the use of the title "Brother/Sister" - without distinction of status. We can thus find elements that are directed towards a modern democratic society in the program of the Hussite movement.

Education for All

There is also a corresponding emphasis on education for all. Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, the later Pope Pius II, was an opponent of the Hussite movement. However, he noted that any Hussite woman knew the Scriptures better than some Roman priests. The desire for general Scripture knowledge led the Hussites, and later the Unity of Brethren, to the effort for a modern Bible translation into the national language, with explanations for laymen (six-volume Kralice Bible 1579-1593, last volume edition 1613) and to the remarkable development of an educational system. In addition to elementary schools, secondary schools also emerged during the Bohemian Reformation (for example, one school in Prague near the Salvator Church was financed, by Peter Wok von Rosenberg). One highlight of the intellectual aspirations of the Bohemian Reformation was Comenius. His comprehensive effort for a better organization of all human knowledge still demands respect even today.

Religious Tolerance

Unusual features of the Czech Reformation were their peace efforts and religious tolerance. Its precursor was already Peter Chelčický, who opposed violence in the midst of the Hussite wars. (From Chelčický goes an interesting way of nonviolent thought through history: Chelčický demonstrably influenced Tolstoy, Tolstoy influenced Gandhi, and Gandhi, in turn, M.L. King, Jr.). George of Poděbrady tried in 1462 to find a peaceful unification of Europe - a union that resolves its internal disputes by negotiation, not by war. At home, George urged the warring sides to peace and after his death came the conclusion that differences of faith cannot be solved by battle, the provincial law (Religious Peace of Kuttenberg, 1485). This law led, in this country, to equality between Catholics and Utraquists even before the Reformation in Europe, and thus the wars of religion began. Quite exceptional was also the

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common confession of two Church organizations: the Church in both kinds, and the Unity of Brethren created in 1575 a joint Bohemian Confession. The Letter of Majesty by Emperor Rudolph II from 1609 finally confirmed the freedom of religion also for subjects. This was something cataclysmic in a time when cuius regio, eius religio, which meant that the subjects had to adapt to the faith of their overlord, whichwas the principle everywhere.

The Bohemian Reformation was suppressed with violence after the Battle of White Mountain, but its influence remained strong. Brethren hymns, which had been adopted already in the 17th century by Catholic hymnbooks, continued to resound. Both the national rebirth and also the modern Czech society (especially TG Masaryk) felt a connection with the spiritual content of the Bohemian Reformation. But to what extent are these ideals still valid today? All visions of the Bohemian Reformation - emphasis on social equality, education, freedom of conscience, tolerance and the search for peace – have become, over centuries, within the Euro-American civilization, a given part of their intellectual world. Nevertheless, it must always be fought anew for its realization.

Truthfulness

In the Bohemian Reformation, there was still something else fundamental that we today, as it seems, gradually lose sight of. This is the emphasis on fidelity to the revealed truth which has become manifest (at its most expressive, witnessed by Hus – despite the council that silenced him and sentenced him to death). This truth was certainly not understood in the sense of present considerations, according to which "each one has his own truth." Hus had the truth of the Lord in mind, which we do not possess and that is above all, a higher principle which is binding on the conscience and wins in the end. This truth of the Lord we may recognize, or rather, the truth of the Lord reveals itself to us when we seek it humbly. And then we need to confess this truth, to live according to it, and to defend it to the death, even if it is "sometimes, for a time, defeated" (as George of Poděbrady allegedly stated).

The current Euro-American civilization is at risk, because it loses its unifying ideals. If a higher principle, which is above the individual, is absent, moral values will be relativized and goals blurred. An old wisdom, however, teaches that the one who waives higher goals, has also no success with smaller ones. The Bohemian Reformation, led by the ideal of a superior truth, could see far ahead. In an attempt to implement some of these ideals, a high price is usually paid, as the history of the Bohemian Reformation showed clearly. Nevertheless, it should not be abandoned because of the disintegration of common values or the abandonment of these will threaten the existence of society.

This text was written with the participation of members of the Advisory Committee on Social and International Issues: Miloš Calda, Jan Čapek, Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus, Jindřich Halama, Daniela Hamrová, Miloš Hübner, Ladislav Pokorný, Tomáš Růžička and Daniel Ženatý chaired by Zdeněk Susa.

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Sixty years of women's ordination within the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren

In November 2013, 60 years have passed since the introduction of the ordination of women by the XI. Synod of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. The first four women, Eva Peroutková (later Nechutová), Alena Srnková (born Štěrbová), Jarmila Jeschkeová (born Štěpánková) and Antonie Slámová were ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament on 13 December 1953.

The debate on the introduction of women to parish ministry was conducted, throughout Europe, since the 1930s. In 1933 the journal Český Bratr reported that President T.G. Masaryk asked,

in an audience, whether women would also study at the Hussite Faculty and took an interest in the position of the ECCB regarding the ordination of women. When he learned that the Synod had not endorsed the ordination of women, he said that women were generally considered to be inherently more pious, and asked why, therefore, they shouldn't be given the chance to work as a minister.

Those who opposed the ordination were concerned that the parish and the Church would lose prestige with the appointment of female ministers. The long-standing debate within the Church, which was not without its verbal battles, continued until the decisive Synod in 1953 where the ordination of women was adopted almost unanimously.

"In 1953, the first four women were ordained in the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in Poděbrady. Viktor Hájek ordained us and he used a text from the Book of Isaiah: 'I send you forth to proclaim the gospel to the silent ones and those who are contrite of heart, etc.' I remember that well. Also the parents were there." recalls Alena Šounová Srnková. At that time, ordained women found goodwill in their environment and enjoyed parish work. Inconvenience came more from the Church leadership or from the state administration.

The present experience of younger female ministers is the following: "... the people appreciate my open, human, loving nature towards them. You, a female minister, have given human warmth to our community in a beautiful way ... A pastor with a pram and talking with the people on the playground and in other places where young people come together, is an advantage."

Gabriela Fraňková Malinová

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Jan Hus shall unite us!

This was said by the Roman-Catholic bishop, František Radkovský, in St. Nicholas' Church in Prague's Old Town Square on December 3, 2013. The occasion for these groundbreaking words was the signing of an agreement between the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB) and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church regarding the joint preparation and implementation of various activities for the anniversary of the burning of Jan Hus, which will be marked for the 600th time on July 6, 2015. It is fascinating how Jan Hus, even 600 years after his death, sets people in motion, how new starts and beginnings, which have not been expected in this way, are possible.

Let's start with the two Churches. Those who do not know the Church scene in the Czech Republic, will find it rather normal that two Churches, both related to the Bohemian Reformation, work together towards such an important anniversary. If you look closely, you'll learn that these two Churches come from very different traditions and therefore have a different character. Common to both Churches is that they were created, in their present form, after the end of the 1st World War. The ECCB was constituted, in its present form, in December 1918, some six weeks after the creation of Czechoslovakia. At that time, the Reformed and Lutheran Czech-speaking parishes joined together, in the territory of today's Czech Republic, and gave themselves the name "Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren". That was an act of liberation! Since the Patent of Toleration, issued by Emperor Joseph II in 1781, Protestants were allowed to re-emerge from the underground, but they were not allowed to refer to the Bohemian Reformation. And now Czech Protestants were allowed to choose their own way and also their own name. This was a new start!

The Czechoslovak Hussite Church also has its beginning soon after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It was founded in January 1920 and developed out of the modernist "Away from Rome"-movement. In 1920 the Church’s founders gave the new Church the name "Czechoslovak Church" and perceived this new Church as a national Church, in which mass was now held in Czech, in which the priests were allowed to marry and also women were ordained. Since 1971 this Church has been called the "Czechoslovak Hussite Church". She has, in some theological and liturgical questions, further developed the Roman tradition. For example, there are seven Church sacraments and she sees herself as a liturgical, reformed Church.

Both Churches have gone different ways on many issues, but in some ways they also had points of tangency. And now Jan Hus brings these Churches closer to each other again. They have worked out, in the fall of 2013, an agreement in which both Churches express their will to celebrate together the 600th anniversary of the martyr death of Jan Hus.

The first joint steps led to the Prague city Hall and to the Ministry of Culture, which is, in the end, responsible for the churches in the Czech Republic. The Church's representatives found open doors at the Ministry of Culture as well as with the Mayor of Prague 1. An experience that is particularly pleasing for the Churches. Just 25 years lie between now and the time of totalitarianism, in which the Churches were, at best, tolerated, but only if they behaved

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quietly and unobtrusively. The relationship between the city hall and the rectory was then, in general, tense and separated by a nasty ditch. Then the "town halls" made life for the parishes generally difficult and often threw obstacles in the way of pastors. Something that has changed in these past 25 years! In many places Mayors and political representatives of all levels perceive the life and engagement of the Churches in a positive way, although there are still, to this day, all kinds of hindrances.

To these positive experiences belong unquestionably also the open doors of the town halls and ministries regarding the wish to make the commemoration of the martyrdom of Jan Hus a dignified event. It is particularly pleasing when the municipalities are interested, together with the Churches, to publicly remember the Rector of the University of Prague and Reformation preacher. Ing. Oldřich Lomecký. The Mayor of Prague 1 said, at the signing of the agreement by the ECCB and Czechoslovak Hussite Church on December 3, 2013 in the Church of St. Martin in the Wall, that the public has a great interest to commemorate Jan Hus in a dignified manner together with the Churches. Also Tomáš Hudeček, City Mayor of Prague, talking with church representatives, expressed similar feelings. He also expressed this by his acceptance of the patronage for the Hus Anniversary in Prague.

What can be said today about the events planned for the next year? Much is still on the way from idea to realization. Some plans need to undergo financial scrutiny, more still need some time. But even now we can say that the official Hus commemoration is set to begin on the eve of the big anniversary. For the anniversary itself, on 6 July 2015, many events are planned in the center of Prague, in Old Town Square, at the Fruit Market (Ovocní trh) and in a number of churches in the Old Town of Prague. Amongst the important places is certainly the church of St. Martin in the Wall, which already celebrated an important anniversary of the Bohemian Reformation this year, the renewal of the Last Supper in both kinds, which was celebrated October 1414 for the first time, after several centuries. This anniversary will be celebrated on October 12, 2014 with a festive Eucharist in Bethlehem Chapel, which will be planned and led by the Prague ECCB Presbytery and the Prague Diocese of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. After the service a celebration is planned with many events including lectures on the subject of the Lord's Supper.

For the celebrations on 5th and 6th July 2015 many guests from the Czech Republic and abroad are expected. Amongst the guests from Germany, we expect the President of the Council of the EKD, Nikolaus Schneider, and many other guests from Germany, Europe and the worldwide ecumenical community.

Will we be able to include some topics regarding Jan Hus in a way that enables today's people to feel that it's not just about 600 year old history? It is also about us, about our faith, about the necessity to return to the Bible and to the origins of faith. Will we be able to be inspired by Jan Hus’ struggle for truth, so that we, in a time of arbitrariness and a strong tendency towards a Fun Society, can ask ourselves about what sustains us today, what gives our world and our lives a perspective today that goes beyond daily life, beyond individual interests, to a new start into a living faith?

It is our hope that Bishop Radkovský is proved right: Hus unites us! The Protestants will be united with the Hussites and with the Roman Catholic Christians, the Churches with the municipalities. All those who set about this work will also experience that this is anything but

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easy. There are some stumbling blocks as well as many opportunities for misunderstandings and, of course, differences of opinion. But these experiences cannot discourage us if we stay strong and patient on the way! And let us be guided by the Spirit of Christ!

Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus

Blown Around Protestants - a five-part documentary on Czech Television

Already, for more than 13 years I have been driving, with Pastor Petr Brodský, through Eastern Europe to visit fellow countrymen. In the beginning he was with me, later I was with him, but we were always together. He has become a friend for me and a person who has helped me in many ways and has taught me a lot.

Therefore, a year ago I had the idea to make a film about his work, the work of the ECCB, and the work for fellow countrymen; simply a documentary about the Protestant parishes of our fellow countrymen abroad. At that time I did

not know what this would encompasses. Until then, I only had collaborated on a few documentaries on Afghanistan and Iran.

After all the permissions had been obtained, after writing a draft and a script, we were finally able to set off in March 2013, during Eastertide, to Veliko Središte (Serbia). Following this we then drove, during the rest of the year, to Bjeliševac (Croatia), Velký Pereg (Romania), Veselynivka, Bohemka and Pervomajsk in Ukraine and, most recently, in October, to Zelow (Poland). Thanks to the excellent staff and my friend Zdeněk Patočka, a five part series resulted that was named with the significant title “Blown Around Protestants”. Czech television broadcasted it on their second channel on five Sunday afternoons in January and February 2014.

I hope this series brings to you the life and fate of our fellow countrymen in these communities and the work of our "itinerant" preacher closer.

Allow me to thank the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren for their contribution to the filming, since without them this little work would not have been realized.

Petr Kolinský, employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Thoughts on the occasion of the anniversary of the synagogue fires during the Kristallnacht

In November last year the world commemorated, for the 75th time, the Kristallnacht, which derives its name from the shards of shattered windows of Jewish businesses and synagogues. From 9th to 10th November an organized attack on the Jews took place in Germany, in Austria and in the Sudeten areas that were then already annexed to the Reich. Dozens of synagogues were destroyed and went up in flames, hundreds of shops were looted. Nearly a hundred people died and in the following days thirty thousand Jews were deported to concentration camps. The pretext for this pogrom was the assassination of the Secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, Ernst von Rath, by the Jew Herschel

Grynszpan.

A church service and a reverent funeral

We commemorated this sad event in Česká Lípa with a joint service which included the participation of representatives of Christian Churches and of the Jewish communities of Dečín and Liberec. The assembly was held at a nearby church where we heard, amongst other things, words about bullying. The minister pointed out, that the way from harmless bullying to pogroms does not have to be long and concerns each individual and the whole nation. The reverent obsequies, where once the synagogue stood, were led by cantor Ivan Kohout and the Chairman of the Jewish community, Mr. Vladimír Poskočil from Děčín, who also gave the speech. I was pleased, that one of the organizers of a similar event in nearby Zittau, where all that remains of the synagogue is a plaque and a vacant lot, also came, following our invitation, to Česká Lípa.

A twice burnt synagogue and a rescued one

Today, probably nobody in Česká Lípa confesses the Jewish faith and the community, which numbered about 400 members before the war, no longer exist. Most did not survive the Holocaust and after the war several dozen returnees have gone to Israel or to other parts of the world. That they didn't find a welcome here is also connected to the fact that they spoke mostly German and that the Communist regime didn't look kindly on "Zionists". The only reminder of the monumental synagogue from the 19th century is a small plaque on a large parking lot and a street name in a former Jewish quarter, which has, however, also perished in the years of socialist reconstruction. The historian Ladislav Šmejkal was also reminded of the absurdity of the events when he pointed out that the synagogue was set on fire twice. The first fire was extinguished by uninformed firefighters. The second time they received instructions and only protected the surrounding buildings. Hardly a synagogue in Northern Bohemia escaped destruction. The only exception is in the city of Děčín. Here the synagogue

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is situated near the Protestant church in a relatively densely built-up area and on a hard to reach hillside. This has probably - thanks to the intervention of the German mayor of the city - contributed to the rescue of the object. The mayor fearfully argued that a fire could spread to the surrounding buildings.

A visit to nearby Děčín

The synagogue, built in oriental style, is really very beautiful. Its dome is reminiscent of the only surviving building by a Czech architect in Hiroshima. In the city there is also a Jewish community and the synagogue is used both for worship as well as a cultural center. We were able to personally experience the kindness of the local community during two visits - first when it came to the preparations for the event in Česká Lípa, later at a Hanukkah celebration to which we were invited by the people of Děčín after the memorial service in Česká Lípa. The Hanukkah candles and the temporal proximity to the Christian Advent are the only things that connect these two festivals (except, of course, the belief in the common God, the LORD). Also the service, preceded by the rehearsal of traditional dances, was very different from a Christian service, it was somewhat oriental and emotional. However, it only took about half an hour, which can be inspirational :-) Then came the hospitality. Whether or not it was "kosher", I do not know. The community in Děčín is known for its liberalism and the participation of Christians didn't bother anyone. I hope that it was not our last visit.

A different House of Worship

The word synagogue comes from the Greek 'synagogein' - Assembly. Hebrew uses the words 'Bejt ha-kneset' (meeting house, also an expression for the Parliament). I think that "assembly" does not only have to be a term for a vibrant community. Religious buildings are built both for worship and for mutual encounter. Both are unfinished - both the human effort to celebrate the Lord with beautiful architecture and to bring something of this other dimension into being, as well as the assembly of the congregation in which there are often difficult relationships between imperfect human beings. Cemeteries were created around medieval churches and so created a gathering of the living and the dead. Today’s synagogues often only remember the dead. If they have survived, they rarely function today like the lively community in Děčín. Some serve Christians as a meeting place, others as a museum or another purpose. Probably the only modern synagogue in our country - also in Northern Bohemia - is located in Liberec. However, this is a new building which is part of the bustling county library center. In Česká Lípa, or in other smaller towns, a new synagogue will probably never again be built. But, it is meaningful to remember the gathering of the living and the dead. The ways to do this can be different.

Jan Kirschner, Photo: Author and reproduction by the Museum Česká Lípa

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Guest at the Rhine Synod

It is a valuable tradition that churches visit each other. One of the offered opportunities for this is visiting synod meetings. During these meetings Churches discuss matters that concern them at the moment. Those responsible for leading the Church meet together. The breaks are a good opportunity to maintain contacts, to network and to make

plans. This year Moderator Joel Ruml and the head of the Ecumenical Department, Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus, had the opportunity to participate in the Synod of the Protestant Church in the Rhineland. It is a great synod, which had an extensive program and a good and fraternal climate, despite of all the sober businesslike discussions regarding austerity measures. It was a good experience! Moderator Ruml gave thanks in his address for the good long-standing partnership between the Protestant Church in the Rhineland and the ECCB. He also spoke of the fatigue that he notices in European Christianity and placed next to it the experience in the Czech Republic where people, although they come from a secular society, find Christian faith and have great joy in this discovery of faith. This can sometimes be experienced at the baptism of adults, for whom this can truly begin a new way of life. The Moderator then invited the new Rhenish Church President, Manfred Rekowski, to an inaugural visit to the Czech Republic, which Church President Rekowski would like to accept. In addition to the Synod program and encounters in a festive setting, the guests from abroad were also included on an excursion which led us to Castle Rheinfels, where we were carried off by a minstrel into the past of the castle. Further venues were the Collegiate Church of St. Goar and the Archives in Boppard, where we could admire archival tidbits such as the entry of the baptism of Karl Marx in the baptismal register. To visit each other’s Synods is indeed a good contribution to the maintenance of the partnership between Churches.

Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus

"Quo vadis ECCB?" Was the theme of this year's minister’s retreat

In January the Protestant Association of Ministers organized a ministerial training which took place in Prague at the premises of the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University. The theme of the course was "Quo vadis ECCB?". The program included lectures, plenary discussions, the showing of a documentary about Protestants in Eastern Europe, workshops, a cultural evening and the annual

general meeting of the association.

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The course is a place of encounter, dialogue and exchanges which is something that the normal working year cannot provide ministers because of obligations in the parish.

"There are regularly guests from abroad and retired clergy among the participants of the course. This cross-border and cross-generational encounter is something that we believe can contribute to the development of pastors and deacons and, as a consequence, can bring a lot of valuable impact to the life of the ecclesial community" said Synodal Curator Lia Valková.

"Traditionallythe course is a place to meet with colleagues who work as chaplains in other services - in the army, in prisons, in health facilities - and who often do not see each other all year. Not to mention the meeting with the younger generation of vicars and curates, or even with students of theology who participate according to their interests in some program points" added the ECCB Moderator, Joel Ruml.

E-cirkev.cz

Traveling in matters Reformation: Margot Käßmann’s visit to Prague

The Ambassador for the Reformation anniversary 2017 of the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany, Prof. Dr. Margot Käßmann, visited Prague from 22nd to 25th March – and, therefore, also the native country of one of the spiritual fathers of Martin Luther. With Jan Hus and others the Reformation movement started in the early 15th Century and became, in the 16th century with Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin and many others, an event of European

and ultimately global significance.

The visit of the Reformation ambassador from Germany was, therefore, also a bridge from the German to the Czech Reformation commemorations that will take place next year and will reach its peak with the events for the 600 years anniversary of the burning of Jan Hus.

To start off her visit, Dr. Käßmann preached on Sunday, 23rd March, at the service of the German Protestant Church in St. Martin in the Wall, which she celebrated together with Rev. Andrea Pfeifer. Many people from the parish came - and some traveled even from Saxony especially for the service. The sermon was based on the story of Elijah at Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19) - and was centered around, amongst other points, today's faith fatigue and the gift of Reformation renewal that not only are just events of the past, but, happen over and over again.

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Monday began with ecumenical discussions - with the Synodal Council of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren and with the leadership of the Czechoslovak-Hussite Church. Then in the evening, Dr. Käßmann, gave a public lecture at the German Embassy entitled "Reformation and Tolerance" as a part of the series "Talking about Religion" sponsored by the German-speaking Protestant Parish. First she addressed the "dark side" of the Reformation - for example the attitude of Martin Luther to the so-called "Anabaptists" and towards the Jews. In a second part she then outlined the contribution of the Reformation to the modern history of freedom. Ambassador Detlef Lingemann welcomed the large audience in attendance and invited them to a reception after the lecture.

On Tuesday, her last day in Prague, Dr. Käßmann learned a bit about parish life as she was a guest at the Women's Breakfast in the parish hall in Stodůlky. Then the conclusion of her visit was another lecture, "What is there to celebrate? On the way to the Reformation Anniversary in 2017", at the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University.

The visit of the Reformation Ambassador and former EKD Council Chair was for the German-speaking Protestant congregation in Prague certainly a highlight of the year 2014. And for those who participated in worship as well as in the lectures, conversations and encounters, it was an important and beautiful contribution to the Reformation Commemorations in Germany and in the Czech Republic. A special thanks goes to Rev. Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus, Head of the Ecumenical Department, and the employees of the ECCB Church Office for their support in the planning and organization of the visit.

Frank Leßmann Piper, Pastor of the German Protestant-speaking Parish, Prague

Day for Cuba - White Umbrellas and Balloons on Charles Bridge

The Cuba committee of the ECCB Synodal Council held on 18th March the “Day for Cuba” to support the democratically minded opposition there. This event took place for the fourth time - after Brno, Olomouc and Hradec Kralove now also in Prague. Other participants of the program were the non-profit organization “People in Need” and the parish of St. Thomas in Malastrana (Lesser Town).

The organizers, Cubans living in the Czech Republic, and many guests came together at Křižovniské náměstí (Knights of the Cross Square) near Charles Bridge. Moderator Joel Ruml madea short speech and the theologian Tomáš Halík contributed an introductory message.

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Words about the significance of the events in the Crimea could be heard. Bishop Václav Malý blessed the then forming procession which went across Charles Bridge to St. Thomas Church in the Lesser Town. The procession, with white balloons and white umbrellas symbolized support for the "Damas de Blanco", the Ladies in White. This is an association of women, mothers, sisters and daughters of political prisoners in Cuba, who meets regularly in Havana. They draw attention to their difficult situation through peaceful demonstrations, they dress in white and carry white flowers. Vice moderator, Pavel Kašpar, preached at the ecumenical service. The intercessions for Christians and non-Christians in Cuba and for peace around the world were symbolized by the lighting of candles. At the end of the service a collection was taken to support the work with children in Cuba.

The last part of the program was a panel discussion moderated by Ondřej Juřík (“People in Need”) at which Francis Sánches (Cuba), Bishop Václav Malý and Milan Jakobec (former Charge d'Affaires of the Czech Republic in Cuba), spoke. They also debated with those who were interested in the topic. An enjoyable part of the program was Latin American music performed by the trio Los Cumbancheros.

Whether "something changes or not" will not necessarily show immediately. However, every instance of financial or moral support, every prayer and every occasion of public outspoken solidarity can influence the perception of Czech society so that it does not diminish in its support for the development of Democracy and the abolishment of the Socialist system in Cuba.

Daniela Ženatá

Zittau - Refuge for Religious Refugees

Zittau became, in the time of the violent counter-reformation (after 1621), a haven for Czech and German Protestants from the areas of the Bohemian Crown that wanted to preserve freedom of conscience for themselves and their descendants. On 18th January 1623 the Elector of Saxony issued a decree to accept Czech religious refugees, who asked for asylum, in his country. Zittau was already crowded with refugees in April 1623. The city with 6,000 inhabitants had to cope with the arrival of thousands of refugees, which was not without problems. After Roman-Catholicism became the only allowed Christian denomination in Bohemia and Moravia (1627-1628) more and more waves of religious refugees resulted. In 1630, the Czech refugees

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established in the “Demuth House” (now Neustadt Nr.10) a separate prayer room in which they met for over sixty years. Later, the Czech prayer room was in the “Heffterbau” (now a part of the Zittau Museum).

Many of the exiles from the Czech lands and their descendants contributed to the cultural and economic development of the city (Christian Weise, Andreas Hammerschmiedt, Christian Pescheck, Christian Adolph Pescheck, Karl Gottlob Moráwek and others). For the persecuted Protestants in Bohemia Zittau was, until the publication of the Patent of Toleration (1781), a place of spiritual assistance. The preachers and editors of Czech books (Václav Trojan, Daniel Stránský, Kašpar Motěšický, Václav Kleych and others) brought to them from there - often risking their own lives - strength and hope.

The association Exulant ('Religious Refugee') and the town of Zittau have decided, with the support of the “Small Projects Fund” of the Euro Region Nisa, to remember these historical ties in the field for the struggle for freedom and human dignity between Czechs and Germans with a plaque on the house where the first prayer hall of the Czech refugees in Zittau was. The new monument, whose creator is the painter Jan Měšťan, was unveiled on Saturday 03.08.2014 by Moderator Joel Ruml and the Mayor of Zittau, Arnd Voigt. It was nice that on this occasion a large community of members and non-members of the association Exulant came together - from the Czech side came Bohemian Brethren, Baptists, members of the Moravian Church Presbytery, from the German side Lutherans from Zittau and members of the Moravian Church in Herrnhut and also from both sides people who don't fit into any of the above boxes. There were lectures by the historian Edit Štěříková and the Head of the Zittau Museum, Marius Winzeler, about the eventful history of the refugees in Zittau and about their contribution to the city and the Lausitz region. Choirs from the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren and the Baptist Unity of Brethren in Liberec sang and a brass ensemble of the Zittau Lutherans played.

Karl Gottlob Moráwek, a descendant of Czech refugees, said in the 19th century that the Czech language was almost gone from Zittau and soon there would come a time when the citizens of Zittau would know nothing anymore about the religious refugees. Now, in the 21st century, we can say that this time has not yet come.

Jan Bistranin

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110th Anniversary Celebration of the old German church in Herlíkovice

The beautiful Art Nouveau church in Herlíkovice (Giant Mountains), completed in 1904, is a contemporary witness to the turbulent history of the 20th Century. The German inhabitants, who built the church, were replaced by Czech Protestants.

The church in 2013 (photo: J. Kirschner)

We want to invite you to a project of the civic association Přátelé Herlíkovic (Friends of Herlíkovice), in collaboration with the Protestant Parish Vrchlabí and Horský domov (Protestant Mountain Retreat Center in Strážné-Herlíkovice). All fans of Herlíkovice and the Giant Mountains, especially former German residents and their descendants, are welcome to attend the anniversary celebration and the subsequent Czech-German Encounter (28.6.-5.7). (More information, in German, can be found here: http://pratele-

herlikovic.evangnet.cz/sites/pratele-herlikovic.evangnet.cz/files/Riesengebirge2014.pdf and we thank you in advance for forwarding it to any interested parties). We want to combine the anniversary celebration of the church consecration with a little “pilgrimage”, a concert and an amateur theatre performance. It would also be wonderful if we could spot a traditional folk costume of Sudeten German or Giant Mountain origin during these events...

We want to return, during the seminar part of the project, not only to the sad chapters of German-Czech history, but also consider how we can present this theme in a more up to date and exciting manner. For example, we would like to invite connoisseurs of the architecture of the Art Nouveau period and those interested in the currently idealized time of the 1900s, when the church in Herlikovice was built and before the horrors of the 20th century Word Wars followed. Children can color in a church window, a poster by Alfons Mucha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Mucha) or Gustav Klimt (whose father was, incidentally, also from the Czech border area). If the weather is fine, the adults can also enjoy a bit of fresh air. The time in the mountains shouldn't be too strenuous, however, we also want people to experience a bit of an active holiday.

Cleaning windows in 1986 (photo: P. Kielar)

We are pleased that the project 'Restoration of an Art Nouveau church window' that we submitted, together with the association 'Heimatkreis Hohenelbe Giant Mountains', to the Czech-German Future Funds was successful. We have received the promise of funding for the amount of 60,000 CZK. It's great to see the variety of projects supported by the Future Funds. The window restoration, done by a specialist company, will cost around 100,000 CZK.

We want to finish the restoration of the window before the celebration in June. Some of the more simple work can be done by participants during the

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subsequent work camps as our own contribution. Voluntary work assignments have a tradition in Herlíkovice since the post-war period (http://kirschner.rajce.idnes.cz/Herlikovicke_epopeje/). The delight of working together brings people together. However, this year the work camp time is limited to a maximum of 3 hours per day, so that enough time remains for other program activities: walks, talks, debates. However, the work is not a compulsory part of the Czech-German week, so you can just come as a tourist.

Czech-German relations in the Giant Mountains

In the beautiful mountain village Herlíkovice we become aware of historical contexts: we are confronted with the history of the Sudeten Germans. In the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938), the Germans represented, with over three million people, significantly more than a quarter of the total population. Mostly settled by Germans were the border areas, the so-called "Sudetenland" - including the highest Czech mountain range, the Giant Mountains.

German-speaking residents came to the Giant Mountains later than to the foothills and populated mainly the Central and Eastern Giant Mountains. The western mountains were mostly settled by Czechs. The first settlers in the 16th Century were miners and mountain farmers. Witnesses to this mining past are the hammers in the coats of arms of Herlíkovice and the nearby village of Strážné. Tourism started to develop from the end of the 19th century.

Following the First World War and the founding of Czechoslovakia, there also emerged in Herlíkovice, in the wake of the Church Movement "Away from Rome", a Protestant minority of 15%. A leader among the local Protestants was the mayor Franz Erben, owner of the inn 'Zur Sonne'. The inn stood on the site of the present-day mountain home / Horský domov (recreation / retreat facility of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren). The new Protestants decided to build their own church. The project was developed by the Saxon architects Schilling and Gräbner. The church was solemnly inaugurated on 2nd June 1904. However, without the help of the Gustav-Adolf-Werk Fund this would not have been possible. The German Lutheran Church in Czechoslovakia perished in 1945-1946 with the expulsion and deportation of the German population. Together with the guilty, the innocent also had to leave the country. Hardly any distinction was made. The newly arrived Czech population was unable to replace numerically the original German population. Herlíkovice was therefore abolished as an independent municipality in 1951 and incorporated into Strážné. The weaving industry disappeared and agriculture has been reduced. Strážné, together with Herlíkovice, became a tourist and winter sports center.

Mountain Retreat Herlíkovice - Its significance for the Church in the time of the socialist regime

After the expulsion of the Germans, the mountain church was taken over by the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, who also bought the nearby houses from the managers of confiscated German property. Since then, a complex of four houses served as a church recreation center under the name Horský domov (Mountain Retreat). With the surrounding land and barn it served, at the same time, as an agricultural enterprise and was obliged to

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cultivate the soil and to give a portion of the products to the state. Work assignments of vacationers were, at the time, quite common, the evenings were then used for spiritual programs and lectures (something which was otherwise persecuted by the regime). After the Velvet Revolution the burned down main building was rebuilt - as a mountain hotel. Today, the retreat center is used for both commercial as well as for religious purposes.

(More information here: www.horskydomov.cz.And more information regarding the church anniversary and the history of the Giant Mountains here: www.pratele-herlikovic.evangnet.cz)

Jan Kirschner, Hana Jüptnerová (for the civic association SEM Friends of Herlíkovice)

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DIACONIA OF THE ECCB

Belgická 22, CZ 120 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic Tel: (+ 420) 242 487 811 (812) ; Fax: (+420) 242 487 834 E-mail: info@diakonie.cz Web page: www.diakonie.cz

The Diaconia of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (DECCB) is a Christian non-profit-organization offering help and support for living a dignified and valuable life despite age, illness, disability, isolation, difficult social situations and other life crisis. Services of Diaconia ECCB are based on Gospel tidings of God‘s Love and on the example of Jesus Christ’s service

We are one of the biggest organizations in the Czech Republic providing social services. Every day we help our clients in direct care. In 33 centres and 8 special schools we offer social, medical, educational and pastoral care.

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From life at the castle to life in Prague

An interview with the new head of Diakonia, Petr Haška, on the future of Diakonia, working with the Church, future tasks and the fact that a dead end road can also lead to new beginnings.

Diakonia has a new director. Since April 1, 2014, it is Petr Haška (48). Born in Ostrava and originally an agricultural technician, he has been working for over 20 years at Diakonia. His professional career is connected to a retirement home, which is located in the listed premises of a Baroque castle in Myslibořice. He started there as a senior economist in business administration, later became the deputy director, and since 2001, director of the center itself. He was from 2011-2014 a member of the Diakonia Board and, most recently, he worked as a manager for ethical issues for Diakonia. He earned a bachelor's degree from the program 'Theology of the Christian Traditions' at the PTF in Prague and he is now completing

the Master's program 'Ecumenical Theology' at the same faculty. He is married and has, together with his wife Libuše, six children.

Petr Haška succeeds David Šourek, who led Diakonia from 2008 to the end of 2013. The new director will be formally introduced into office at the opening service of this year’s Synod.

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Petr, before taking over the management of the entire Diakonia, you were, for many years, the head of a large diaconal center. How does this previous experience influence your new role? Or does it seem to you a bit as if you were now on a 'completely different ship'?

Managing a large center is comparable to managing a large organization. The work of a manager consists of close cooperation with the staff, distribution of tasks, and delegation of work. That was the case in the center and, I think, that this will be similar here. But one difference is, that there are a lot of things in the Diakonia headquarter that I do not know in every detail. I became director in Myslibořice after ten years of working there, during which I got to know the center well and gained close insights. I came to Prague once a month, as a member of the Board, and that is not enough to learn to know properly the functioning of an organization. So, I will have to look around more closely.

You succeed the six-year mandate of the previous director, David Šourek, who advanced the Diakonia a major step. What do you think is his success, what do you want to continue?

David led the Diakonia to greater professionalism, to a higher prestige. This is great. And, of course, there is always something to improve. Some things are off to a good start, but they are not finished or have stalled. Here I would like to build on. I do not consider myself a great revolutionary who wants to tear down something. On the contrary, I would like to continue with many of the things that had been started with the other team members of the Board.

What are they?

A very current question for the Diakonia is the form of management and its organization in general. If the Diakonia should be a big, centrally managed organization, it is not possible - as I said repeatedly - for two people to manage thirty centers and nine schools. Then we must either accept the compromise that this is not about management, but about administration and coordination, or come up with a new form of management, but under other conditions. This is one thing that is awaiting us. Maybe this is a challenge or maybe we are heading down a dead end road. But I also believe that the way down a dead end road can be constructive. If you realize that you have run up against a wall, it is good to be able to turn around and take a new path.

Do you have the mergers of centers in mind, the formation of larger regional units?

Yes. Some centers are really small, with a few employees, others have, for example, a hundred. This is a great imbalance. For the smaller ones it is necessary to consider an appropriate merger. I cannot imagine otherwise. For medium-sized and larger ones, some

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are convinced that there is no way to avoid a merger, others are more cautious and look at their centers as gold that would lose its value with a merger. Around this topic exists at the moment a large and important discussion, which started in the Diakonia Assembly and will be continued at the Synod.

Should Diakonia in the future expand more expressively, establish new centers, extend their services?

To remain a certain amount of time in one condition can be good, but with time effectiveness and productivity can get lost, the people focus on themselves, do not look around. So in this perspective, I am certainly for an expansion, taking advantage of what we might soon be offered by Church and communities. They will need the cooperation with Diakonia for economic reasons. But it is also about the motivation of both sides. Diakonia cannot simply go somewhere only with the enthusiastic determination that "now we will help you to achieve this". The willingness to be open to new things must also come from the people of this or that community. There also exist, in this country, small non-profit organizations that would probably welcome a stronger partner who takes them under their wing. Again, this is another area of development.

You have addressed the relationship between Diakonia and the Church and the future question of the use of property or of human potential. How does the question of the restitution between state and Church play in here? Has Diakonia a chance to obtain funds that go to the Church?

I am very glad that we, as the Board of Diakonia, have found a way to communicate openly with the Synodal Council and the supervisory board of Diakonia. Recently, we had a meeting with the Synodal Council. It was a pleasant conversation, our considerations are very close and go in a similar direction. One of the many questions was: What would Diakonia do with the money? We have responded with exaggeration, that we would have no problems with that, even if we would get it all. In case Diakonia receives something, the funds will go towards a development project and investments with the goal that Diakonia goes to where it isn't already but should be. We are expecting lengthy discussions. We are only just at the beginning.

Do you have a favorite character from the Bible, a story or a personality from Church history that motivates and inspires you in your work?

Certainly I could find something, but I'm thinking more of a person like my grandmother who became widowed at 55 and decided to render voluntary Christian service. She went to hospitals, households of lonely people, the weak and the sick. This was the first inspiration. The second was my mother who brought me to Sunday School and Youth Community.

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Has the Haška family announced a big move from life in a castle to life in Prague?

Life at the castle is a bit idyllic, living in Prague will probably be quite different. For this reason alone I do not want to move permanently to Prague. A daily commute from Myslibořice to Prague is not feasable, of course, so I'll be in Prague during the week and we will continue to live in Myslibořice.

That is, you will continue to live with your big family at the castle?

Meanwhile, at the castle, but this is temporary, because this is the official residence of the center director. As you know, so far I don't own a castle ... (laughter).

Questions by Pavel Hanych

Christmas in a Shoebox

Fifteen hundred parcels with Christmas gifts were distributed amongst children from poor families and/or socially excluded minorities in the Czech Republic. These Christmas surprises, packaged in shoe boxes, were also prepared by children - from different places in the Czech Republic and with the help of parents and teachers. Kindergartens, schools, clubs and family centers participated. The third year of this project "Shoebox or

children giving gifts to children" took place under the auspices of the ECCB and Diakonia and brought a spark of joy to places where there is little of it.

"Get yourself an empty shoe box, consider the recipient, fill it with beautiful things that you would enjoy yourself and bring it wrapped up to one of the collection sites. Your parcel goes to a poor child and certainly will bring great joy. Perhaps it is the only gift they will receive ... " was the recommendation for children who were willing to participate in the project. The parcels were then collected at seven collection points across the country, from where they were then distributed, before Christmas, by the organizers to children who had been selected, with the help of social workers, earlier in the year. Overall, the organizers counted nearly 1,500 parcels.

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"The children who are preparing the parcels learn through such a project to think socially. They learn that there are children in the world who would also love to play, but are much poorer than them, and that they can help them." said the main organizer, the Protestant minister Mikuláš Vymětal. "In turn, the receiving children learn that there are, somewhere in the world perhaps not so far away, children who think of them. This is important, especially in a time of growing tensions within the society towards certain groups of the population." he added.

Pavel Hanych

The Lenten Appeal of Diakonia puts people back on their feet

Once again this year, the chance to build a small business and to stand on their own two feet was given to Ethiopian women thanks to the Diakonia Lenten Appeal. The supported women, who have to pay for their own living costs, can give their children and orphans regular meals and can send them to school. This year’s Lenten collection, from which the proceeds have supported nearly 200 families living at the border of survival, was, as is the tradition, announced during Lent from March 5 to April 17.

29 million people live in Ethopia below the poverty line, they have less than 25 crowns per day. The very widespread HIV virus leaves

behind many incomplete families and many parents are very weak due to AIDS. A number of men have perished during the Ethiopian-Eritrean war, leaving behind their families without financial income. Often both parents die of HIV/AIDS and the orphans are then being taken care of by their aunts, grandmothers or other relatives. For the sixth year, The Centre for Humanitarian Aid and Development Assistance of the ECCB Diaconia has already given these families the possibility of a long-term income. "Thanks to the project, we have something to eat. But that's not all. It is important that I work. I got my dignity back and did not lose hope" says Zerthun Wube, one of the supported women.

From this support, in the amount of about 240 EUR per woman, the first 40 EUR are for a course on how to develop entrepreneurial skills. The rest can be used as an investment for the building up of a trade. Usually it is the breeding of sheep and goats, the operation of a cafe or a bakery, or for selling fruits, vegetables and smaller goods on the market.

Pavel Hanych

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PROTESTANT THEOLOGICAL FACULTY OF CHARLES UNIVERSITY (PTF CU)

P.O. Box 529, Černá 9, CZ 115 55 Praha 1, Czech Republic Tel: (+ 420) 221 988 211; Fax: (+ 420) 221 988 215 E-mail: intl@etf.cuni.cz Web page: http://web.etf.cuni.cz/ETFENG-1.html

The Faculty is the successor of the Hussite Faculty (1919-1950, with an interruption between the years 1939-45) and the Comenius Faculty (1950-90). In the year 1990 it was incorporated into Charles University. The administration of the Faculty is directed by a Dean and four Vice-Deans, elected for a four-year term of office. The Faculty offers study programmes at Bachelor's and Master's level in Protestant Theology, Diaconia (Pastoral and Social Work), and Ecumenical Studies, and at doctoral level in various theological fields. In the school year 2011-2012 the Faculty had approximately 720 students. The faculty is ecumenically open to all. Pastors of the ECCB receive their theological education here.

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Visiting Professor from Estonia Teaches for a Semester in Prague

The Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague (PTF) has a wide range of contacts with partner institutions in a number of different countries. This was demonstrated again recently when for the first time a visiting professor from Estonia came to Prague and taught courses at the PTF in the winter semester of 2013-14.

Associate Professor Ain Riistan teaches New Testament Studies and Systematic Theology at the University of Tartu and Tartu Theological Seminary. The idea of him spending this sabbatical semester in Prague, funded through the Mobility Fund of Charles University, arose out of his personal contacts with PTF teachers. In addition to carrying out research in the PTF library, Dr. Riistan offered two courses, taught in English: "Religion in Action: Fundamentalism", and "Science and Religion in the Historical Jesus Research". The courses were a valuable addition to the range of courses offered in English at the PTF each year. They were attended not only by international exchange students, but also by Czech students who were attracted by the subjects dealt with in the courses.

It is hoped that Dr. Riistan's stay in Prague will lead to further contacts between the PTF and Tartu in the future.

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Joint Czech-American theological seminar Students from Columbia Theological Seminary visit Prague and take part in seminar with Czech students

The Protestant Theological Seminary in Prague (PTF) has a relationship with Columbia Theological Seminary (CTS) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, going back nearly 20 years. During that time a number of students and teaching staff from both sides have spent a year or a semester at the partner institution. A tradition of the relationship is a visit by a small group of students from CTS to the Czech Republic and Hungary each year. The trip is part of their studies and

during it they explore the life of the church in a different context to their own.

The programme organised by the PTF for their visitors in January 2014 was mostly similar to previous years, including visits to the PTF and the headquarters and congregations of the ECCB, sightseeing in Prague, attending a church service, a trip to the former concentration camp in Terezín, and a trip to Southern Bohemia to see the historical town of Telč and Protestant churches from the Toleration period of Czech history. In addition, however, this year's programme featured a new element. As part of the preparation for the trip, the CTS students read the book "The End of Memory", by the Croatian-American theologian Miroslav Volf. In Prague they then met a group of Czech students and teachers from the PTF who had also read the book in advance. The resulting seminar gave them all an opportunity to present and exchange their ideas about the book and thus added an extra, specifically theological dimension to the trip. Everyone agreed that the seminar had been a success and it is hoped to repeat it when the next group from CTS comes to Prague in May 2015.