Czech Prague Mission

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500 A.D. (?)	Avars invade area between Labe (Elbe ) and Dnieper rivers Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
625	Samo - thought to be a Frankish merchant - unified some of the Slavic tribes in response to this invasion. He established the empire of Samo. It lasted till he died in 658. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
796	Czech tribes in Moravia helped Charlemagne destroy the Avar Empire and were rewarded by receiving part of it as a fief. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
800 (?)	Mojmir - a Slavic Chief - formed the Moravian Kingdom (through his two successors it became the Great Moravian Kingdom). Mojmir and his fellow chiefs were baptized at Regensburg in modern-day Germany. The German monks and priests followed the Roman Church Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
850 (?)	Rostislav - Mojmir’s successor - feared German influence, so he requested that Emperor Michael of Byzantium dispatch two monks - Cyril and Methodius - to the Great Moravian Empire to introduce Eastern Christian rites and liturgy in the Slavic Language. This new script was named after Cyril and became the Cyrillic alphabet. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
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885	Rostislav died and Svatopluk took his place. He realigned the Empire back to the German clerics and once again became Roman Catholics, thus adopting the Latin, not the Cyrillic alphabet and the Eastern Orthodox religion as did other Slavs, like the Russians, Ukrainians, Serbs, etc. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
-894	Prince Borivoj, whom Methodius converted is the first documented Lord of Bohemia
907	The Magyars invade the Great Moravian Empire, and effectively ending the direct contact between Czechs and Slovaks for the next one thousand years. The Bohemian chiefs break from the Moravian tribes and swore allegiance to the Frankish emperor Arnulf and the political focus shifts forever westward towards modern day Prague. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
907-950	Premyslid chiefs - members of the Cechove tribe (from which the Czech got their name) - unify neighboring Czech tribes into the Bohemian Kingdom. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
950	Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor, and a Saxon., led an expedition to Bohemia demanding tribute. The Bohemian Kingdom did so, thus becoming a fief of the Holy Roman Empire and on of the seven electors of the emperor. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
973	The Bishopbric of Prague was established and made subordinate to the German archbishopric of Mainz. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1029	The Kingdom of Bohemia acquires Moravia after struggling with Poland and Hungary. (A younger son of the Bohemian king usually ruled Moravia, which continued as a separate margravate until the late 1700’s.) Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1198-1230	Premysl Otakar I ruled
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1212	King Premysl Otakar I (1198-1230) obtained a formal edict from the Holy Roman Emporer confirming the royal title on Otakar and his descendants. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1253-78	Premysl Otakar II ruled Premysl Otakar II married a German princess, Margaret of Babenberg and became duke of Austria. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1278	Premysl Otakar II died in battle against Rudolf, the Habsburg emperor, who took Otakar’s Austrian lands from him. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1200’s	The Premysl Otakar dynasty encourages German to settle in the Czech lands as a way to lessen the influence of their own Czech nobility. Several hundred years latter, this would have dire consequences when the German Chancellor, Adlof Hitler, demanded the Sudatendland from the Czech government.. Germans also populated and founded interor towns, such as Stribro, Kutna Hora and Havlikuv Brod. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1306	Vaclav III, last of the Premyslids, died
1310-1346	Jan Lucembursky, the first of the Luxembourg dynasty to rule Bohemia
1346-78	Charles IV reigned. By this time the Premyslid dynasty had died out, leading to a series of dynastic wars. A new Luxermurg dynasty won. Eliska, youngest daughter of Vaclav II was Charles’s mother and Charles, himself, was born in Prague. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1344	Two years after becoming king, Charles IV succeeded in elevating the bishop of Prague, making him an Archbishop, which freed the church from control from both German and the Holy Roman Empire. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
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1348	The black plague sweeps through Europe. Bohemia is relatively untouched. Charles IV founds Charles University in Prague Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1355	Charles IV crowned the Holy Roman Emperor. He made Prague his imperial city and founded Nove Mesto Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1378-1419	Vaclav IV, eldest son of Charles IV, and last of the Luxembourgs, reigns. He was 18 when he was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1403-12	Jan Hus became rector of Charles University. He espoused the antipapal and antihierarchiacal teachings of John Wyclif of England. Hussitism was distinguished by its rejection of wealth, and corruption. In 1409, Vaclav IV issued a decree backing Hus, which prompted the Germans, who were papal supporters, to leave en masse. However, due to Hus’s teaching against the sale of indulgences, he lost support of the king (the king received a percentage of the revenue). Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1415	The Council of Constance summoned Jan Hus to defend his views. He was condemned to be burnt at the stake. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1419	King Vaclav IV died. Sigismund, then king of Hungary, was next in line to inherit the Bohemian lands. He was pro-papal and fought many time to wrest control of the Kingdom out of the hands of the Hussites. Jan Zizka defeated Sigismund in battle. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1437	Sigismund died and the Czechs elected Albert of Austria to be his successor. He died shortly thereafter, and his young son, Ladislas, ruled under a regency. In 1457 Ladislas died of the plague. Jiri of Podebrady led the regency that ruled while he was a minor. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1458	The Bohemian Estates elected Jiri Podebrady as their king. However, since Jiri was the leader of the Utraquists, who favored reconciliation between the Roman Church and the Hussites, the Pope refused to acknowledge him as king. He died in 1471. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
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1471	Vladislav II, a Polish prince, was elected King of Bohemia. He was an absentee monarch, leaving much of the government to the nobles. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1485	Czech Catholics accept reconciliation between Utraquists and Catholics. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1526	Ladislav’s son King Louis died in battle with the Ottomans. The Bohemian Estates elect the Archduke Ferdinand as King. He was the first of the Hapsburg dynasty to rule in Bohemia. Emperor Franz Josef was the last, ending his rule with Czechoslovak independence in 1918. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1526-1650ish	Due to Hungarian defeat in 1526 to the Turks and loss of territory, Bratislava became the center of political, cultural and economic life for Hungary. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1526-1564	Under the reign of King Ferdinand, he undertook a policy of centralized power, which was strongly resisted by the native estates of Bohemia. The nobles were, however, divided along mostly religious lines, and so could not effectively counterbalance the King. (Ferdiand was also the Holy Roman Emperor from 1556-1564) Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1547	Armed conflict broke out between the Hussite Czech nobility and the Catholic King Ferdinand. The German and Czech nobility supported Ferdinand, who defeated the Hussites nobility, then severely persecuted them. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1576-1611	Rudolf II reigned and was also the Holy Roman Emperor. He made Prague his imperial capital. In 1609 Rudolf signed a Letter of Majesty declaring toleration for the Czech Reformed Church. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1612-17	Matyáš, Rudolf’s successor, an ardent Catholic rescinded the tolerant treatment. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
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1618	Two Catholic imperial councilors were thrown out of a window of the Prague castle. The Bohemian estates were in open revolt against the Hapsburgs. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1618-1620	Frederick of the Palatinate, a Calvinist, ruled Bohemia. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
Nov. 1620	Imperial troops decisively defeat Czech forces at the Battle of White Mountain. The outcome effectively ended two hundred years of Hussitism being a dominant force in the Bohemian estates. In fact, five-sixths of the native Czech nobility went into exile shortly after 1620. Catholic Germans immigrated and replaced the native noble class. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1618-48	The Thirty Years’ War was fought between German Protestant Princes and the Catholic Holy Roman Empire. Battles were fought in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1637-56	Ferdinand III was the Hapsburg ruler. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1648	The Treaty of Westphalia ended the war and confirmed the incorporation of the Bohemian Kingdom into the imperial Hapsburg system, with the government seat in Vienna. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1656-1705	Leopold I reined. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1705-11	Josef I reined Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
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1711-40	Charles IV reined Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1740-80	Maria-Theresa ruled Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1780-90	Maria-Theresa’s son, Josef II, ruled Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1740-90	A period of enlightenment helped change the long established economic system. Serfdom was reduced (though later regressed and not eliminated until 1848) allowed more freedom of movement. It also allowed the upper class to reinvest profits in emerging new manufacturing businesses. A national education system was established taking the power from the Jesuits and making science, not theology the main study. During this time the population of Bohemia and Moravia quadrupled. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1790-92	Leopold II ruled Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1792-1835	Francis II ruled Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
Late 1700’s	The Margravate of Moravia was abolished and merged with Austrian Selesia. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1806	Holy Roman Empire officially dissolved. The German confederation was established, in which Austria played a leading role. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
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1835-48	Ferdinand I ruled Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1848	Slavic revolts from within the Austrian Empire. Fratisek Palacky, the great Czech historian, favors keeping the Austrian Empire as a buffer against German and Russian expansion while proposing a federalization model with separate Czech and Slovak entities. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
Jun 1848	The first Slavic Congress convened to discuss possible political consolidation of the Austrian Slavs (Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Slovenes, Croats and Serbs) Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1867	The Dual Monarch of Austria-Hungry was established. This meant the two parts had a common ruler, a joint foreign policy and some shared finances. Otherwise, each had their own parliament, government, administration & judicial system. Austria gradually enlarged freedoms, including, in 1907, universal male suffrage (the right to vote). By these policies, Czechs were able to have responsible positions in government. Hungry, on the other hand, was controlled by the aristocracy, so very few Slovaks gained positions of importance in Hungary. Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
1879-83	The Old Czech Party, which stood for a reconstitution of the Bohemian Kingdom (with accompanying traditional rights) Czechoslovakia: A Country Study
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Mar - Jun 1884 Next	Thomas Biesinger, from Lehi, Utah, became the first missionary among the Czech people. He and his companion, Paul Hammer, worked in Europe under the supervision of Elder John Henry Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Edler Biesinger immediately began sharing the gospel upon his arrival. Two of his investigators were Johann Klusak, a Bible merchant, and Antonín Just, a dealer in furs. Missionary work was interrupted when Elder Biesinger was abruptly arrested and jailed a short time later. During his imprisonment, he learned that his former missionary companion in Austria was extremely ill from smallpox. He appealed for divine help “in tears and prayer,” Elder Biesinger later recalled. “I was granted [by the judge] the privilege to write which I did, and promised him [the missionary] in my letter in the name of the Lord Jesus that he would return to his family in Utah alive." This promise was later fulfilled. After 37 days in jail, Elder Biesinger was called to trial. His two accusers were none other than his investigators, Klusak and Just. Just, however, testified in Bohemian, which the missionary could not understand. Following the trial, the missionary was convicted of “canvassing with intent to gain converts” and sentenced to more jail time. He responded to the officials that he had delivered his message for their salvation, and that the responsibility for his rejection rested on them. He was eventually released after 68 days in prison. Two days later Klusak, who begged for forgiveness, again met Biesinger. Klusak felt he was being punished because his only son was dying of smallpox. The elder freely forgave him, but said Klusak would have to also ask God for forgiveness. Klusak's son died two days later. Negative publicity hindered Elder Biesinger's work. He was unable to find any new investigators. Church News 30 Mar 91; Ensign Aug 94 Click here to go to when the missionaries were pulled out of Czechoslovakia
21 Jun 1884 Next	Elder Biesinger, on the day he left baptized the first known Czech convert, Antonín Just, his former accuser. Church News 30 Mar 91
1900	Tomas G. Masaryk, a formerly of the Young Czech Party (which defeated the Old Czech Party and ended their compromises with the Austrian government), founded the Czech Progressive Party. The party stood for national autonomy on the principal of popular sovereignty. They also wanted universal suffrage, parliamentary politics and rejected radicalism.
1913 Next	While living in Vienna and at the age of 32, Františka Vesela Brodilová, was baptized in the Danube river. “The ordinance being performed late one stormy night in order to avoid religious persecution. ‘My heart swelled with a feeling of satisfaction, and at my confirmation I felt myself filled with a new power.” Her husband, while friendly to the church never did become a member. She married František Brodil in Vienna, where he worked for the Austro-Hungarian government, in 1904. They had two daughters - Františka and Jana. Ensign Aug 94
Aug 1914	World War I begins with Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire & ? fighting the allied powers.
1916	Tomas Masaryk, Eduard Benes & Milan Stefanik created the Czechoslovak National Council to encourage the west to recognize an independent Czechoslovak nation.
18 Oct 1918	Tomas Masaryk issued a declaration proclaiming Czechoslovak independence
28 Oct 1918	Czechoslovak Independence Day as proclaimed by the Czechoslovak National Council
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11 Nov 1918	WWI Ends
14 Nov 1918	The National Assembly (parliament) was established. They elected Tomas Masaryk President, Karel Kramar as Premier (head of the government) and Edward Benes as Foreign Minister. The new nation had a population of 13.5 million. It inherited 70 to 80 percent of all the industry of the Austro-Hungarian empire (including the glass, china and sugar industries), more than 40 percent of the distilleries and breweries and other major factories, including Skoda. Czechoslovakia was one of the world’s ten most industrialized states. (This industry was concentrated mostly in Bohemia and Moravia, where 39 percent of the population was employed by industry as opposed to 17 percent in Slovakia.)
Apr 1919	The Land Control Act redistributed ownership of land. At the time, one-third of all agricultural land was owned by a few aristocratic landholders (Germans and Hungarians) and the Roman Catholic Church.
10 Sep 1919	The Ruthenians (from the Ukrainians Rusyn - a name used for Ukrainians in the Hapsburg monarchy), in accord with the Treaty of Saint-Germain, became an autonomous area within the Czechoslovak Republic. Ruthenaian-Americans, led by Gregory Zatkovic, made this happen. The Czechoslovak government accept this to establish a common border with Romania.
1920	A new constitution was established. It created the National Assembly, which consisted of the senate and the Chamber of Deputies. It was given supervisory powers over the executive and the judiciary. Every seven years, it elected the president then confirmed the cabinet he appointed. Minorities were given special protection by being able to use their language in schools and elsewhere when they constituted over 20 percent of the population.
1921	Foreign Mister Benes negotiated the Little Entente - an alliance with Yugoslavia and Romania to counter Hugarian and Hapsburg ascendance.
1922-38	Five political parties formed the backbone of Czechoslovak democratic stability: Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants This party was the core of every government from 1922-38. It mainly represented the agrarian population. Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party The communists left this party to form their own in 1921. They were a party of moderation and regained their strength by 1929. Czechoslovak National Socialist Party Before 1926 it was called the Czech Socialist Party. They rejected class struggle and promoted nationalism. They represented mostly lower middle class, civil servants and the intelligentsia. Benes belonged to this party. Czechoslovak Populist Party They represented several Catholic parties and lobor unions. They espoused Christian moral principals. Czechoslovak National Democratic Party They formed as a result of a merger of the Young Czech party and other center and right parties. They were national radicals and economic liberals. Some form of coalition of these five parties governed the nation from 1922 to 1938 (except from March 1926 to November 1929). The leaders of these parties became known as the Petka (The Five). Antonin Svehla, who let the Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants, and was Prime Minster through most of the 1920’s, led the Petka. Masaryk, much like George Washington, didn’t belong to any party.
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1924	Foreign Minster Benes makes treaty with France for mutual aid in the event of war.
Feb - Apr 1928 Next	Thomas Biesinger, now age 84, returned to Czechoslovakia to meet with government minister to gain permission for him and others to preach the gospel. He reported the way was open. However, when he left, no missionaries were there to take his place. Church News 30 Mar 91; Ensign Aug 94
mid-1928 Next	Sis Františka Vesela Brodilová wrote to Pres. Heber Grant asking that missionaries be sent to her homeland. Ensign Aug 94
1928-9 Next	Elder Arthur Gaeth was sent from Germany to Czechoslovakia. " His journalistic bent and booming voice enabled him, within ten days, to arrange for two ten-minute radio talks to be reads in Czech, to speak on German radio, to lecture at a German adult-education institution, and to write an article for a German-language newspaper. " Ensign Aug 94
Jun or Jul 1929 Next	Arthur Gaeth, while driving back from Plzeň, he saw a magnificent castle upon a hill. It was Karlštejn, built by Charles IV. " Elder Gaeth visited the site and found a nearby wooded knoll suitable the dedication of Czechoslovakia for the preaching of the gospel " Ensign Aug 94
24 Jul 1929 Next	Elder John A. Widtsoe dedicated Czechoslovakia for the preaching of the gospel. (128 Czechs joined the church before the Nazis took over.) He was there along with five missionaries from the German-Austrian and Swiss-German missions. " Early in the morning, it was raining, but by the time they got there at 8:00 a.m., it was clear. The first mission amongst the Slavic people was established. " Elder Gaeth was called as the mission president. Church News 3 Mar 90; Ensign Aug 94 Click here to read about the plaque that now rests on this spot.
Oct 1929 Next	The first Czech language tracts were published. By 1931, 250 articles, mostly written by missionaries, appeared in Czech newspapers and journals. " Much of the mission work focused on friendshipping through participation in community organizations and providing printed material. " Ensign Aug 94
Nov 1929 Next	Pres. Widtsoe introduced Pres. Gaeth, who was still single, to Martha Králíčková. Martha’s father, a professor, had been a close associate of TomᚠMasaryk, the president of Czechoslovakia. Ensign Aug 94
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Spring 1931 Next	Pres. Gaeth baptized and married Martha Králíčková. They soon obtained a villa in a new section of Prague to become the mission home. Ensign Aug 94
1932 Next	Elder Widtsoe’s last visit to Czechoslovakia. Ensign Aug 94
1932 Next	The first known Jewish convert, Elfrieda Glasnerová Vaněčková, was baptized. (Later, during WWII, " she, her husband, and two sons spent two years in a concentration camp. Frieda was scheduled for execution on the day she was freed by the Americans. Pres. Toronto found her in the hospital, recovering from her ordeal. She wept with joy to see him. Eleven members of her extended family had perished at Auschwitz. Now she had been reunited with someone of her faith. Released from the hospital, she faithfully began paying her tithing and saw to it that her two sons were baptized.") Ensign Aug 94
10 Jan 1933	Adolf Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany
Feb 1933 Next	Three thousand copies of the Book of Mormon came off the press. One hundred copies were sent to Czech libraries Ensign Aug 94
May 1933 Next	The first branch presidency was created in Prague. Josef Roubíček, became the first native Czech called to the church leadership in Czechoslovakia when he was called as the first counselor. (Branches were also established in Mladá Boleslav and Brno before 1939) Ensign Aug 94
1 Oct 1933	The Sudeten German Home Front Party was established (they changed their name to Sudeten German Party - SdP). They became the focal point of German nationalist forces. They were led by Konrad Henlein.
1935	Edward Benes, Foreign Minister since 1918, succeeded Masaryk to become President.
1936 Next	Arthur Gaeth was released after ten years of missionary service (three in Germany and seven in Czechoslovakia). Wallace Toronto was called as the mission president (where he served until his death in 1968 - 32 years, which is a church record) Ensign Aug 94
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1936	Nastupists (called after the journal Nastup), took control of the Slovak Populists Party (which had been a part of the government after Slovakia was made a separate province in 1927) in 1929. In 1935 they polled 30 percent of the vote. This party demanded a Czechoslovak alliance with Hitler’s German and Mussolini’s Italy. It was the Slovak Populist Party that received instructions from Hitler to press for Slovak independence.
Jul 1937 Next	Pres. Heber Grant, then 81 years old, visited Czechoslovakia. Ensign Aug 94
1930’s? Next	Josef Strobel became the first Czech baptized in America Church News 30 Mar 91
13 Mar 1938	Austria was annexed into the Third Reich
24 Mar 1938	By now, all other German parties merged into the Sudeten German Party (SdP) and their deputies and senators now represented this party. Most of the leaders supported Hitler’s pan-German plans.
Sep 1938 Next	The signing of the Munich Agreement precipitated removing all missionaries to Switzerland. Ensign Aug 94
Oct 1938 Next	As the situation stabilized, Pres. Toronto returned with Elder Asael Moulton. They revived branch activity and put local leader in charge, such as Jaroslav Kotulan in Brno and Josef Roubíček in Prague. Ensign Aug 94
Feb 1939 Next	The mission had translated Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage, which provided study material for members if the missionaries had to leave. Ensign Aug 94
Mar 1939 Next	Germany occupied all of Czechoslovakia. Regular missionary activity ceased. Ensign Aug 94
Mar 14, 1939	Slovakia declared independence from Czechoslovakia with Father Tiso as head of government. Tiso allowed German occupation of Slovakia and the Slovak Republic entered the war as Germany's ally. After the war ended in 1945, Tiso was hung for treason and Czechoslovakia was resurrected. Source: slovakia.org
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Mothers Day 1939 Next	The Prague branch met to celebrate Mother’s Day. The service was drawn to a close when the back door opened to reveal a young German naval officer in uniform. Anticipating the worst, the congregation froze. Hesitating but a moment, the officer smiled and walked down the center aisle to meet Pres. Toronto. Then the officer explained to the group that he too, was a member of the Church and had come to worship. The women expressed their relief in tears; the men nodded in approval. The officer bore his testimony not to the enemies of his country but to the friends of his religion. Ensign Aug 94
July 1939 Next	The Gestapo arrested four missionaries; they lived on bread and water for 40 days until Pres. Toronto was able to negotiate their release. Ensign Aug 94
24 Aug 1939 Next	A cable from Church headquarters directed the few remaining missionaries to evacuate. Pres. Toronto set apart Josef Roubíček to preside in his absense. In Denmark, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, a member of the Twelve, assured Sis. Toronto that war would not start until her husband and missionaries were all safely evacuated. Pres. Toronto found passage on the last train to leave before war engulfed Europe. Ensign Aug 94
1944 Next	A stone monument was erected on Kněži Horá, near Karlštejn, symbolizing the faith of the members that the work would continue. It read, " Na Tomto místě byle dne 24. Července 1929 zoložena Českoslovenká misie Cirkve Ježíše Krista Svatých Posledních Dnů " Ensign Aug 94 Click here to go to the dedication
1945 Next	By the end of WWII, acting mission president, Josef Roubíček, knew the whereabouts of eighty-six members still in the country. A few months earlier he wrote about this group, " Their testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel have not wavered even in the worst moments of this great conflict." Ten baptisms were preformed during the war. Ensign Aug 94
Mar 1946 Next	Elder Ezra Benson met with the Czech Saints on his tour through war torn Europe. He asked the government if the church would be allowed back. He was given permission and found that the church had an excellent reputation. Ensign Aug 94
28 Jun 1946 Next	Three missionaries, Pres. Toronto, Victor Bell and Heber Jacobs, reentered the country. 149 Czechs joined the church before they left again in 1950. Ensign Aug 94
Spring 1947 Next	Pres. Totonto rented a four-story villa to serve as the mission home. Ensign Aug 94
Oct 1948 Next	By this time there were thirty-nine missionaries serving in the country. Ensign Aug 94
1948 Next	The mission was ordered to stop publication of the Nový Hlas by the Communist Government Ensign Aug 94
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1948 Next	That year there were 28 baptisms Ensign Aug 94
1949 Next	That year there were 70 baptisms - including 17-year-old Jiří Šnedefler Ensign Aug 94
1946-9? Next	Otakar Vojkůvka made Branch President in Brno Church News 30 Mar 91
Jan 1950 Next	" Elders Stanley Abbot and Alden Johnson disappeared while attempting to visit a member in a remote area. No word of their fate was received until eleven days later. They had been arrested for entering a restricted border zone and were accused of spying. The communist authorities informed the United States State Department that the two elders held in prison would be released if the other missionaries were evacuated. President Toronto had no alternative but to comply. Finally, the word came that the imprisoned elders would be released if President Toronto could get them passage within two hours, which he managed to do." Ensign Aug 94
6 Apr 1950 Next	Missionary work officially ceases in Czechoslovakia. During the next 15 years, Pres. Toronto would apply nine times for a Czech visa and was refused nine times. Church News 3 Mar 90; Ensign Aug 94 Click here to go to the return of the missionaries to Czechoslovakia
1964 Next	The official presence of the Church was again felt in Czechoslovakia when Pres. John Russon of the Swiss Mission and Lynn Pettit, an early Czech missionary visit Prague. Ensign Aug 94
1964 Next	Marie Veselá, a member, was granted permission to leave Czechoslovakia to visit her sister, Martha Roubíček, in Salt Lake City. Appraised of the visit, Pres. David McKay advised Pres. Toronto to apply for a visa. He did and one was granted. Ensign Aug 94
1964 Next	Pres. Toronto visits Brno and Prague for the first time since being forced to leave in April 1950. Ensign Aug 94
July 1965 Next	Pres. Toronto again visits Czechoslovakia, with the intent of reestablishing the church. He was arrested by the Secret Police and, to his surprise, was interrogated by the very man he’d hoped to see. " He presented his case, and in answer, was escorted to the German border - evicted from the country." Ensign Aug 94
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1968 Next	President Toronto died
1972 Next	The organization of the church began to be rebuilt. Jiří Šnedefler later recalled, " For 30 years, we could not meet at all. The Church almost fell apart in Czechoslovakia during that time. In 1972, we started to rebuild the organization of the Church from scratch. We lived in constant fear we would be raided by the secret police and arrested. But in all those years, we never were raided. " Church News 31 Aug 91
1974 Next	A church Conference was held. Jiří Šnedefler later recalled, " In 1974, we held a conference for all the saints in Czechoslovakia; 11 members came. The others were afraid to attend. That was a very dark time for us. " Church News 31 Aug 91
1975 Next	Russell M. Nelson’s first visit to Czechoslovakia (prior to his being called to the Twelve). He writes, " the first time Sister Nelson and I visited Czechoslovakia in 1975, I had been invited to participate in a medical capacity. While in Prague, we met with a few Saints in a member’s apartment, which we accessed up a dimly lighted stairway. Well do we remember meeting the fifteen-year-old daughter of two members who indicated that they had never before revealed to their daughter their affiliation with the Church. That night-for the first time-she was being entrusted with that potentially dangerous information. After the meeting was over, the district president [Jiří Šnedefler?] dropped us off some distance from our hotel so that police would not identify him in our presence." Ensign Dec 91
1975 Next	Jiří Šnedefler was called as the District President for the Czechoslovaian District. Church News 31 Aug 91
29 Jun 1985 Next	Freiberg Temple (German Democratic Republic) dedicated, with Henry Burkhardt called as President. Ensign Dec 91
mid-1985 Next	Elders Monson and Ringger visited the Šnedeflers in their Prague home. He recalled, " When Elder Ringger and I entered their home, I saw more pictures of temples than I had seen in anyone's home. There must have been 12 pictures of temples in the living room. In the next room, there were more pictures of temples. Pictures were everywhere. I said to Sister Šnedefler, ‘Your husband surely must love the temple.’ She didn't speak English very well then, but nodded her head and said, ‘I, too.’" Church News 31 Aug 91
14 Nov 1985 Next	Elder Russell M. Nelson, four days after Pres. Benson becomes the President of the Church, is given the assignment of being the first contact for all countries in Europe (succeeding Elder Thomas Monson, who for nearly 20 years had that responsibility, until his calling into the First Presidency). Shortly thereafter, he began making visits with Elders Hans Ringer to Prague making formal requests for official church recognition. Ensign Dec 91; Church News 31 Aug 91
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1987 Next	On one of their official visits, Elders Nelson and Ringer are told by the Council of Religious Affairs " that a formal application for recognition could be made only by a Czechoslovakian member of the Church, not by an American, as is Elder Nelson, or a Swiss, as is Elder Ringger." Pres. Monson later said, " It was a dangerous thing to have a Czechoslovakian member step forward and apply for recognition of the Church. Having a member identify himself to the government as a leader of the Church in Czechoslovakia at that time could have been an invitation to prison." Church News 31 Aug 91
Jul 1988 Next	Czech members begin fasting an additional Sunday each month. Pres. Šnedefler said, " In July 1988, the leadership of the Church in Czechoslovakia asked members to fast and pray every third Sunday of the month, in addition to the usual fast on the first Sunday. We asked all the members to pray that the Church would be recognized, and that Czechoslovakia would become free. A few months after we started the special fasts, things started to unfold." Church News 31 Aug 91
Dec 1988 - Jan 1990 Next	District President Jiří Šnedefler submitted the formal recognition application to the Council of Religious Affairs. He recalled that, " After I submitted the application papers in December 1988, I was interrogated by the secret police every month, until the revolution in November 1989. They wouldn't leave me alone until the Communist regime fell. They wanted to know the names of all the members of the Church in Czechoslovakia. They wanted lists of addresses, and where we met, what activities we had planned. I refused to give them any information." He continued, " I was told when I made the first application that I would get a reply in about three months. I waited, but heard only silence. I filled out the request again, and waited again. Then a lawyer advised me to send a written inquiry about my request. For the next three months, I wrote letters. It seemed I was always writing. Then the government's regime fell on Nov. 18, 1989. The provisional government cancelled the Council of Religious Affairs, the office to which I had submitted the application. I had to start over, making formal requests with the new government in December 1989 and January 1990. At the beginning of February, a new government came into office. Once again, I submitted the application requests." Church News 31 Aug 91
October-December 1989	The Velvet Revolution - The Czechs and Slovaks threw off the bounds of communist rule. On November 25-26, around 700,000 people gathered on Vaclavske Namesti. Husak soon stepped down as President. By the end of the year, Alexander Dubcek was Prime Minister and Vaclav Havel, a staunch critic of the communist regime, stepped up as President of a now-free Czechoslovakia Click here to go to the Velvet Divorce
6 Feb 1990 Next	Elders Nelson and Ringger and Pres. Jiří Šnedefler met with Deputy Prime Minister Prof. Josef Hromadka for formal church recognition. When asked what the Czech people might need from the church, Hromadka said, " We don't need material goods or technology. We need a new spirit. We need moral values. We need the Judeo-Christian ethic back in our curriculum. Please help us make this a time of spiritual renewal for our nation." Church News 3 Mar 90
21 Feb 1990 Next	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was once again granted legal recognition in Czechoslovakia. This became effective on 1 March 1990. Elder Nelson said, " We received recognition, not as a new church, but as a church that was established in the country over 60 years ago. Our status has been restored as a recognized church in the Czech Republic. This means our members will be able to worship in full dignity as they once did. It means we will be able to buy and sell property. We will look for a place in which the saints can meet. Missionaries will return again to Czechoslovakia." At the time, there were about six branches in the country and about 200 members. Church News 31 Aug 91; Church News 3 Mar 90
2 May 1990 Next	The first post-communist era elders arrived in Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakian District President Jiří Šnedefler said about this, " Although the Communist regime fell on Nov. 17, 1989, we did not feel that the country was really free until we saw the missionaries. The first elders came on May 2, 1990. The joy we felt is beyond words. We welcomed the missionaries with open arms - and with banners. We never felt such joy. " Church News 31 Aug 91
1 Jul 1990 Next	The Czechoslovakia Prague Mission is once again formally organized with Richard W. Winder as President. It was created from the Austria Vienna East Mission Church News 3 Mar 90 Mar 1991 Martin Pilka became the first Czech to serve a mission. He was called to the Washington Seattle Mission. He said, " Early in 1989, I was invited by my girlfriend, Hanna Burdakova, to a party of young people." At the party he met several Latter-day Saints. Because proselyting was not legal at that time, the members shared the love and joy they felt, but did not preach gospel principles. Later, when religious freedom was granted, he and Hanna began taking lessons from members, including prominent longtime LDS member Otakar Vojkůvka and Dr. Olga Kovařova, who now teaches at the Missionary Training Center in Provo. They were baptized and became part of a group of 20 members in their hometown of Uherské Hradiště, near the center of Czechoslovakia. Later he explained that a mission costs two lifetimes of Czechoslovakian earnings. He also explained that in Czechoslovakia, students must complete their university training without interruption or they are not permitted to return. He graduated as a civil engineer and was offered a contract that he declined in order to fill a mission. Other barriers to serving a mission included the likelihood of losing his apartment during a serious housing shortage. Church News 16 Mar 91
18 Jun 91 Next	Tabernacle Choir visits Prague Ensign Oct 91
1 Sep 1991 Next	Jiří Šnedefler, then age 59, was called as the second Freiberg Temple President, succeeding Henry Burkhardt, and Olga Šnedeflerová was called as the Temple Matron. Church News 31 Aug 91; Ensign Dec 91
Jan. 1, 1993	The Velvet Divorce - After the Velvet Revolution, two governments fought for power: the main government in Prague, and a governmental body in Bratislava. The Slovak government felt they were not receiving a fair representation in the new Czechoslovakian government. After years of the power struggle, Slovakia declared its independence at Midnight on New Year's Day.
Jun 1993 Next	7 to 8 million Czechs and Slovaks see Objektiv produced by Premysl Cech and Radim Smetana for Czechoslovakia television. They came to Salt Lake to produce the show. Church News 22 May 93; Ensign Aug 93
1998	Institute classes start in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Elder LuDene and Sister Geraldine Snow teach the classes. They said, " there, young adults are finding blessings, not only as they learn the gospel, but also as they are able to socialize with one another. These [social] activities are most important to the youth, " said Elder and Sister Snow. " They can socialize . . . friends are made and sweethearts are found. One such couple, institute students, were sealed in the Freiberg Germany Temple last summer. A young woman was recently baptized, married and now waiting to go the temple to be sealed. Two faithful students left this year for missions in England. At least half of our teachers are institute graduates who have filled missions and have returned to their native countries ready to give back something to the Church through the education program." Church News 16 Jan 99

John Wyclif - "In England the schism [which brought two concurrent Popes - Urban IV, ruling from Rome and Clement VII, ruling from Avignon, which occurred in September 1378] brought Wyclif to the turning point that led to Protestantism. At first he welcomed [Pope] Urban [IV] as a reformer, but as the financial abuses of both Popes grew more flagrant, he came to regard both as Anti-Christs and the schism as the natural end of a corrupted papacy. Since the moment the church penance to be commuted by money, he believed, nothing but evil had been the result. Despairing of reform from within after the schism, he came in 1379 to a radical conclusion: since the Church was incapable of reforming itself, it must be brought under secular supervision…Wyclif was now prepared to sweep away the entire ecclesiastical superstructure - papacy, hierarchy, order…

" In a culminating heresy, he transferred salvation from the agency of the Church to the individual; ‘For each man that shall be damned shall be damned by his own guilt, and each man that is saved shall be saved by his own merit.’ Unperceived, here was the start of the modern world.

"…The entire scripture of some three quarters of a million words was translated from the Latin by Wyclif and his Lollard disciples in a dangerous business of opening a direct pathway to God, bypassing the priest…When Jan Hus was burned at the stake for heresy by the council of Constance in 1415, Wyclif’s bones were ordered dug up and burned at the same time [he died in 1384]."

Sámo	623	658/9

Panovníci Velké Moravy
Mojmír I	830?	846
Rastislav	846	870
Svatopluk	870?	894
Mojmír II	894	906/7

Česká Knížata (Přemyslovci)
Bořivoj	?	894?
Spytihněv	?	905?
Vrastislav I	905?	921?
Drahomíra	921	923
Václav I (Svatý)	923	935	(maybe 929)
Boleslav I	935	972	(maybe 929-967)
Boleslav II	972	999?	(maybe 967-999)
Boleslav III	999	1002
Vladivoj	1002	1003
Boleslav III	1003
Jaromír	1003

Polish Prince
Boleslav Chrabrý	1003	1004

Jaromír	1004	1012
Oldřich	1012	1033
Jaromír	1033	1034
Oldřich	1034
Břetislav I	1034	1055
Spytihněv II	1055	1061
Vratislav II	1061	1092	(king from 1085)
Konrád I Brněnský	1092
Břetislav II	1092	1100
Bořivoj II	1101	1107
Svatopluk	1107	1109
Vladislav I	1109	1117
Bořivoj II	1117	1120

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