CREEDE HINSHAW: In the overload of foreign churches, one stands out

I recently returned from a trip to Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; and Prague, Czech Republic. I must have explored every church in those cities, finally reaching a point of overload where I would walk past these ancient buildings without so much as taking a glance.

The churches seem to run together now. Was St. Nicholas Church in Prague or Budapest? Was that Basilica named St. Stephen? And which Saint Stephen was it named for? Was the church neo-renaissance, gothic, baroque or Romanesque? There were saints I’d never heard of … Vitus, Rupert, Matthias.

But there is one church that stood out and will ever remain in my memory. It is the Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius, off the beaten path in Prague and named for the two men who brought Christianity to that region. This relatively new church, quite small and built in the 1830s, was the site of a horrendous gun battle between the Nazis and the Czech Resistance fighters in 1942. I had read their story prior to our trip and resolved to see it in person. The Code Name given the assassination effort was Anthropoid. You can read the story in many places.

The Nazis were firmly in control in Prague in 1942, with the third-highest Nazi, Reinhard Heydrich, “The Hangman,” in command of that city. Heydrich was architect of the Final Solution. On May 27, 1942, the Czech resistance assassinated Heydrich in Prague. Church members and pastors, at great personal risk, hid the men in the crypt of the church. Eventually, however, by means of torture and a betrayal, the Nazis located the men. A ferocious battle ensued, the Nazis using machine guns and fire hoses to try and capture the brave Czechs, who held off the Nazis as long as possible. When it was obvious they would be captured, these men took their own lives.

The Nazis tortured and assassinated many of the church officials, sending them to death in concentration camps. Their reign of terror included the murder of hundreds of Czech citizens and included the complete destruction of an entire village.

Today, that Prague church has converted the crypt into a memorial. Machine gun bullets still desecrate the outside walls and crypt walls of the church. The stories of these ordinary men, all younger than 30, are movingly told. The memorial is free, with interpretive material also freely given to visitors. I wish I had brought a handkerchief, because I was in tears when I left.

This congregation itself is no museum. It is an active, Orthodox church. A priest was officiating a wedding right above the crypt as we toured; we watched him serve the couple communion.

Of all the churches I saw, Sts. Cyril and Methodius was the least visited; only a half-dozen other people were present. If you visit Prague, don’t miss this memorial. Give thanks to God for the brave Czech people and for the witness of a courageous, sacrificial church.