Photo: Prague archbishopric
Paradoxically for an atheist country, it is Baby Jesus, not Santa, who brings the Christmas presents in Czechia. And very many people attend Christmas mass. So how is it with Czechs and religion? Why are so few Czechs believers? What are the challenges ahead of the Catholic Church and has it managed to overcome the years of communist oppression? Those are some of the questions I discussed with Roman Catholic priest Vojtěch Eliáš. Sitting in the parish house in the Prague district of Chvaly where he now serves, I began by asking how he found his calling.
“It was during communist times, and at that time it was very risky because to be a priest you did not only need to be accepted by the Church but by the government and the public authorities as well. In those days, many priests were only accepted by the Church, but they did not have permission to serve from the government. So, possibly, that inspired me as well, the fact that I might have to serve the people clandestinely.”
See the rest here.
Author: Daniela Lazarová