🇨🇿⛪️THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE CZECH LANDS - Chapter 3: Slavic Peoples, Relationships & Conflicts, and Great Moravia – The Cradle of Czech Christianity

⚔️ Slavic Peoples: Relationships and Conflicts in Central Europe ⚔️

Understanding the interplay among Slavic tribes and their encounters with non-Slavic peoples is vital for appreciating how Christianity took root in the Czech Lands. In the early centuries, scattered Slavic clans ruled by local chieftains frequently faced invasions from nomadic groups like the Huns and Magyars. The need for defense and survival compelled these tribes to seek unity under strong leadership, ultimately paving the way for the emergence of a centralized state that would shape both their identity and future faith.

As leaders arose to consolidate these disparate tribes, the region evolved into a vibrant center of

trade, cultural exchange, and, at times, conflict. Bohemia’s proximity to Germanic tribes such as the Bavarians and Saxons meant encounters that ranged from peaceful commerce to fierce territorial disputes. Although these clashes sometimes brought devastation, they also drove advancements in military organization and fortified settlements, strengthening the Slavic people’s ability to protect their homelands. Over time, the adoption of certain Germanic customs and technologies enriched the local culture, blending elements of Slavic and Germanic traditions into a distinct identity that would profoundly influence Czech language, architecture, and social norms.

Forging Unity: The Rise of Great Moravia

Against this backdrop, powerful figures like Duke Mojmír I and Duke Rastislav began uniting the Slavic tribes in the early 9th century, forming Great Moravia. This new, centralized state encompassed large portions of modern-day Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, providing both military cohesion and a growing sense of cultural solidarity. By consolidating power and fostering cooperation, Great Moravia not only gained a strategic edge against external threats but also became a focal point for diplomacy and innovation.

A Cradle of Christianity in Central Europe

Rastislav recognized that adopting Christianity could further unify his people and strengthen ties with the influential Byzantine Empire. He famously invited the Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius, whose groundbreaking work in creating the Glagolitic script enabled the translation of the Bible and liturgical texts into Old Slavonic. Their efforts introduced literacy to many Slavic communities, making Scripture and worship accessible in the local tongue. Rather than an imposed faith, Christianity was increasingly understood and embraced by the population, who could, for the first time, read the Bible in their own language.

Cyril and Methodius also founded the first Slavic schools, ensuring that newly ordained clergy could
guide their congregations in an authentic and contextualized faith. This cultural and educational revolution did more than anchor Christianity in the region; it also boosted the prestige of Great Moravia as a spiritual and intellectual hub. Although the state would later decline under external pressures from the Magyars and internal strife, its pioneering role in Slavic Christianity endured, influencing future Czech and Slovak Christian communities.

Modern Moravia and Historic Regions

Today, Moravia remains one of the three historic regions of the Czech Republic, alongside Bohemia in the west and Czech Silesia in the east near the Polish border. Although it no longer wields the political clout of Great Moravia’s heyday, Moravia’s legacy still resonates in local traditions, cultural pride, and a shared awareness of the region’s formative role in bringing literacy and the Christian faith to the Slavic world.

Reflection

These early relationships—among Slavic tribes themselves and between Slavic and non-Slavic peoples—defined the resilience and adaptability of the Czech/Bohemian peoples. The success of Great Moravia underscores how faith, strategic leadership, and cultural integration can transform fragmented societies into communities capable of thriving despite pressures from all sides. The mission of Cyril and Methodius reminds us that authentic contextualization of the Gospel, coupled with genuine education, fosters both literacy and spiritual depth.

As we consider the Czech Republic’s spiritual heritage today, Great Moravia remains a vivid example of how cultural unity, rooted in a shared faith, can unite diverse groups while respecting each distinct contribution. Through this example, we learn the profound impact of early missionary work on shaping a resilient, literate, and cooperative society—a model that resonates long after empires and states have faded.

Prayer Focus

Let us pray for the Czech Republic, that the unifying spirit exemplified by Great Moravia continues to inspire a strong and cohesive Christian community. May believers today draw fresh encouragement from the legacy of Cyril and Methodius, championing contextualized ministry, genuine fellowship, and the wise integration of faith and culture.

🇨🇿⛪️THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE CZECH LANDS - Chapter 2: 🌿Pre-Christian Slavic Paganism and the Postmodern Resurgence of Neo-Paganism🌿

Long before Christianity brought its transformative message of grace, the people of the Czech Lands practiced a deeply rooted spiritual tradition: Slavic Paganism. This belief system, woven into every aspect of life, reflected their intimate connection to nature, community, and the forces they believed governed existence. Worship was not confined to temples or sermons but flowed into their forests, rivers, and homes, where sacred rituals were performed to honor a rich pantheon of gods, seek their favor, and sustain the fragile balance between the human and divine.

The Slavic Pantheon: Slavic Gods and Their Roles

The Slavic pantheon was diverse, and while its organization varied across regions, the pre-Christian Czechs likely worshiped many of the following Slavic deities:

• Perun - The chief of the gods, Perun was the god of thunder, lightning, and war. He was seen as the protector of the tribe, upholding justice and striking down enemies. Warriors often prayed to him for victory, offering sacrifices of bulls or rams, and sometimes performing

  

  
  rituals on mountaintops or near sacred oak trees, which were thought to be his earthly dwelling.
• Veles (Volos) - Perun’s rival, Veles was the god of the underworld, cattle, commerce, and magic. His domains were fertility, wealth, and the mysteries of life and death. Depictions of Veles often show him as a serpent or dragon, and his worship often included offerings of milk, honey, and cattle. Farmers sought his blessing for their herds, while merchants invoked him for prosperity in trade.
• Mokosh - The goddess of fertility, women, and domestic crafts, Mokosh embodied the nurturing and life-giving aspects of nature. She was revered by women, who would offer flax, wool, or baked goods in her honor. Rituals dedicated to Mokosh often included prayers for healthy childbirths and bountiful harvests, and some ceremonies may have symbolically invoked her fertility through dances or planting rituals.
• Svarog - The celestial smith and god of fire, Svarog was believed to forge the sun and bestow the order of the cosmos. He was a symbol of creation, light, and divine authority. Farmers lit ritual fires to honor Svarog, asking for his blessing to warm their lands and ripen their crops.
• Radegast (Rhadagast) - Associated with hospitality, feasting, and warriors, Radegast was
  worshiped as a deity of joy, abundance, and community. He was particularly venerated in Moravia, where his shrine is believed to have stood on Radhošť Mountain. Offerings to Radegast often included beer, mead, and food, and celebrations in his honor featured feasting, music, and dancing. His enduring legacy is reflected in modern Czech culture, where he is remembered as a symbol of joy and camaraderie, even lending his name to the popular Radegast beer.
• Dazhbog - A solar deity and bringer of prosperity, Dazhbog was seen as a giver of life and blessings. Stories about Dazhbog often depicted him riding across the sky in a fiery chariot, illuminating the world and bestowing fortune upon the people.
• Rod and the Rozhanitsy

  

  - Rod was the primordial god of creation, fate, and family. Alongside him were the Rozhanitsy, a trio of female deities or spirits who determined the fate of individuals at birth. Offerings of bread, cheese, and honey were made to these beings to secure good fortune and a long life.
• Morana - The goddess of death, winter, and decay, Morana symbolized the darker aspects of nature. At the end of winter, effigies of Morana were often burned or drowned in rivers to symbolize the triumph of spring over death and to invite renewal.

Worship in Practice: Rituals, Sacrifices, and Sacred Spaces

The Slavs saw the natural world as infused with spiritual forces. Forests, groves, mountains, and rivers served as their temples. Radhošť Mountain, for example, was a site of pilgrimage to honor Radegast, while oak groves were sacred to Perun. Rivers were believed to house spirits or connect to the underworld, making them key locations for rituals. Archaeological evidence of these spaces includes stone altars, carved idols, and remnants of ceremonial fires.

Animal and Human Sacrifice

Sacrifice was central to Slavic pagan worship, serving as an act of devotion to the gods and a way to ensure the well-being of the community.

• Animal Sacrifice: Ritual slaughter of animals, especially cattle, goats, and horses, was the most common offering. The choice of animal often depended on the deity being honored—bulls or goats for Perun, or cattle and sheep for Veles. These sacrifices were performed with great solemnity, often accompanied by prayers or chants. The meat from the animal was typically consumed in a communal feast, symbolizing a shared bond between the tribe and the divine. The blood, considered sacred, was sprinkled on altars, idols, or the earth to sanctify the ritual space.
• Human Sacrifice: While less common, human sacrifices did occur, often in times of extreme crisis, such as famine, war, or plague, or as part of funerary rites for significant leaders. Captives, slaves, or even volunteers were sometimes sacrificed to appease the gods or secure their favor. These rituals were carried out in sacred groves or near rivers and were seen as the ultimate act of devotion, intended to demonstrate the seriousness of the tribe’s need.

Seasonal Festivals

The Slavic year was marked by festivals tied to the agricultural cycle:

• Kupala Night: This midsummer festival celebrated fertility and purification. Rituals included jumping over bonfires, casting flower wreaths into rivers, and dancing. Some accounts suggest romantic or sexual encounters were encouraged during this festival as a symbolic celebration of life and renewal.
• Spring Equinox: Effigies of Morana were burned or drowned, symbolizing the end of winter and the return of life. This ritual was accompanied by feasts and dances.

The Resurgence of Neo-Paganism in Czechia and Europe

In recent decades since the fall of Communism in 1989, a neo-pagan revival has emerged in Czechia and across Europe. This resurgence reflects a growing interest in reconnecting with pre-Christian traditions due to the spiritual vacuum that has been created in post-post-Christian Czechia, particularly among those seeking spirituality outside of institutional religion. In the Czech Republic, one of the most secular countries in the world, some people have turned to Slavic Rodnovery (literally “Native Faith”) as a way to explore their heritage and identity.

Modern Rodnovery Practices

Much like the beliefs and practices of Pre-Christian/Pre-Roman Great Brittain, little is actually known of Slavic Pre-Christian Pagan beliefs and practices becuase, unlike the Greeks, Romans,
and Egyptians, Slavonic culture did not have a written language prior to their acceptance of Christianity in the 9th and 10th Centuries AD. We will explore this topic more when we come to our chapter on the mission of Greek missionary brothers Cyril & Methodius in the 9th Century, but written language came with and was closely associated with Christianity in the Slavic world.

Neo-pagans today in the Czech Republic often attempt to reconstruct Slavic Pagan rituals and
beliefs based on folklore, scant historical records, and archaeological findings, but their beliefs and practices are often filled in with information from more known Pagan practices from other cultures, as well as a great deal of conjecture. Practices include:

• 

  Worshiping Slavic deities like Perun, Mokosh, and Radegast in sacred natural spaces.
• Reviving seasonal festivals such as Kupala Night and the Winter Solstice.
• Performing rituals involving fire, water, and symbolic offerings.

This movement appeals to those who feel alienated from organized religion and are drawn to nature-focused spirituality, cultural pride, and community traditions.

Neo-Paganism and Cultural Identity

The rise of Slavic and European neo-paganism is also tied to broader cultural and political trends. In some cases, it serves as a form of resistance to globalization, secularism, or the perceived loss of cultural identity. While neo-pagan groups vary widely, many emphasize environmentalism, folk traditions, and a sense of spiritual autonomy.

A Journey from Darkness to Light

The spiritual practices of the pre-Christian Czechs were powerful, rooted in awe and reverence for the forces of nature and the divine in an attempt to explain the unexplainable, with only natural revelation to go off of prior to the light of the Gospel. But they were also burdened with fear—of the gods’ wrath, of imbalance, and of the unknown. The coming of Christianity to the Slavic world brought a new message: one of grace, love, and the assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ. It transformed not only their worship and culture but their understanding of the divine and humanity’s place within creation.

As the resurgence of neo-paganism in Europe shows, the longing for spiritual connection and meaning remains universal. Yet, it is the Gospel that offers the ultimate fulfilment of this longing—a relationship with the Creator, not through rituals or sacrifices, but through the finished work of Christ.

🙏 Prayer Focus

Pray for the Czech Republic, that the Gospel may continue to illuminate hearts and minds, bringing light and hope where fear and uncertainty once ruled.

📿🪢 Holding the Rope for God’s Mission 🪢📿

Have you ever thought of the mission field as a mine, and the lives touched by the Gospel as treasures, waiting to be uncovered for God’s glory? ⛏️💎 Our ministry in Prague through Faith Community Church is somewhat like that—a mine full of riches for the Gospel, waiting to be unearthed. But to extract these priceless riches of lives transformed by the Gospel of grace, some of us must go down into the pit, while others play the crucial role of “holding the rope” back home. 🤝💡 Thank you for holding the rope for us!

“I will go down into the mine, but you must hold the ropes”. ~William Carey

The Legacy of William Carey & Andrew Fuller: Mining Treasures of God’s Grace for the Gospel

In 1792, as William Carey, the "father of modern missions," began his lifelong mission to India, he understood the immense potential for seeing millions of people from hundreds of unreached people groups in India, reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for God’s glory. But William Carey knew that he couldn't do it alone and that the partnership of those back home in England was absolutely critical for his ministry in India. In particular, Carey’s friend and fellow pastor back in England, Andrew Fuller, whom Carey told in a letter, “I will go down into the mine, but you must hold the ropes”. 🪢📿

William Carey’s role was to be the “miner” or missionary who was called to descend into the mine ⛏️, and Andrew Fuller enthusiastically launched into his role as a “rope holder” back home, providing prayer, encouragement, and financial support, as well as helping to mobilize others to join in holding the rope for Carey and his fellow workers in India. Both of their roles were vitally important callings to take part in God’s mission. In the same way, each one of us today who are Christians are called to either be “goers” or to be “senders” who help hold the rope in support of those the Lord has sent.

Prague: A Post-Post-Christian Landscape

Many American Christians today may be completely unaware of just how deeply secular Europe has become. You might even visit Europe and see beautiful, historic churches all around you, but today, many of these churches sit largely empty with the exception of tourists and a small and aging but devout remnant of believers gathered on a Sunday morning. These ancient and beautiful churches and cathedrals are often monuments to an ancient but fading Christian past whose days are all but forgotten in Europe. Its a stark reminder for us that the Bible's understanding of what a "Church" is ("εκκλησία", or "ekklesia" in the Greek New Testament, meaning "assembly"), is not a building -no matter how beautiful and ancient- but a people.

The Bible-believing Christian population in many European nations today, including the Czech Republic, is often less than 2%—a threshold below which Christianity struggles to grow and sustain itself without the help of foreign missionaries. In William Carey and Andrew Fuller's day, the most critical needs for mission sending and the light of the Gospel were to the so-called "dark continents" of Africa and Asia. But today in the 21st century, after centuries of mission sending and surging indigenous churches in Africa and Asia, the "dark continent" most in need of the light of Christ today has become Europe itself, formerly thought of as "Christendom".

In "post-post-Christian" Prague, Christianity hasn’t just been rejected recently—it’s often not even been considered. Many Czechs and other secular Europeans living in Prague have never encountered a Bible-believing Christian who could share the Gospel with them in a meaningful way. In fact, the percentage of Czech Bible-believing Christians was estimated a decade ago to be just 0.76%, and is probably significantly less today, making Prague one of the most challenging yet critical mission fields for the future of Christianity in Europe and the western world. This makes our mission incredibly urgent and impactful, as we seek to bring the transformative message of Jesus to a community that’s largely unaware and untouched by it.

How You Can "Hold the Rope" for Us in the Mission Field of Central Europe:

🙏 Pray: Lift us up in prayer as well as for those we minister to and come in contact with to hear the Gospel and receive it with gladness.

🤝 Support Financially: Your donations help sustain and expand our ministry efforts. 👉 Give Here: mtw.org/bean

📢 Encourage & Share: Share our ministry in Europe with friends, family, and with your church, to help grow our support network and awareness of how God is at work.

👥 Mobilize Your Community: Invite others to join our Facebook group, share our email updates and blogposts with them, and encourage your church to support our mission through prayer and financial partnership.

Why It Matters:

By holding the rope for us in Prague, you enable us and our team to dig deep, planting and nurturing churches that become lights of the Gospel in Prague, and we hope in the future, beyond into greater Czechia and Central Europe.

Just as Andrew Fuller’s support back home in England was vital for William Carey’s mission in India in creating a lasting church planting movement that continues to this day, your support of our work in Prague today is essential for our efforts to uncover and cultivate the Gospel’s treasures in Prague—all for God’s glory--together. 🤝🌟🙌

Thank you so much for all that you do to “hold the rope” 🪢📿 in supporting the mission of God to draw those who’ve never heard the Gospel to our gracious savior!

An Encouraging Note to You, from Our Friend Rico Tice:

Dear Friends and Partners of Dawson & Shanna,

The Revd Rico Tice

My name is the Reverend Rico Tice. I was ordained into the Anglican Church in 1994 and then spent 29 years as an evangelist on staff at All Souls, Langham Place in London. In that time, I also set up Christianity Explored, which is a charity that seeks to help churches and individuals look at the person of Jesus in Mark's Gospel. I’m honoured to have been asked to be one of the keynote speakers at Mission to the World’s Global Missions Conference this upcoming November in Atlanta. I left All Souls in 2023 to work full-time for Christianity Explored and in part in protest at the apostasy of the leadership of The Church of England, took my family out of the Anglican Church and joined the International Presbyterian Church of Ealing (IPC-Ealing) and delightfully we found ourselves in Dawson and Shanna's Home Group.  

I wanted to write, because I just can't speak highly enough of their care and leadership.

First of all, they both have such a clear and winsomely reformed theology. It has been wonderful to be led by people who have such a grip on the sovereignty of God. I really can't think of anything that Dawson has said, as he's led study after study, which hasn't been theologically faithful. There are a number of people in our group, for whom English is a second language and they then personify the old adage that 'those who understand deeply, teach clearly'. The notes that are given out are clear and really enable people who struggle with the language to follow along and take home something solid and digestible. It's obvious they've been so well trained.

Secondly, their theology is followed up by really self-sacrificing lives. I rang them last week and they were out with a couple, both young Christians and the wife was in the middle of really a bit of a breakdown, and it was just so typical that they had their arms around that couple, when I spontaneously rang.

Furthermore, last Monday we had a birthday celebration for a dear man in the group. He's 42, single, lives with his mum and is pretty vulnerable. Shanna organised the party which they hosted in their back garden. There were three cakes and when I drove him home, he said to me, "That's been the best birthday I've ever had". It's just simply living out what it means to be a church family and opening your home again and again.  

And then there is their evangelism. There has been a constant stream of men that have come to IPC-Ealing with Dawson. When I went for a haircut in Pitshanger and tried to raise spiritual things with the barber, he said, "Oh there's an American who comes in here called Dawson, who has spoken to me about this". Furthermore, I was driving through Greenford, a village near Ealing, on a Saturday morning and there were Dawson and Shanna out on the streets doing open air evangelism.  

So as I commend them, there's theology, care of the church family and evangelism. All three have been modelled and embodied by the Beans. There's a real joy in the Lord in them and, as we have interacted with their children, we have just felt that their kids are with us in this great work, but nevertheless are themselves and have lots of personality. My wife Lucy thinks the world of Shanna and has so appreciated her example, and I have appreciated Dawson's. I really want to wholeheartedly commend them both to you their partners in ministry, the Board at MTW, and now to their new church in Prague, Faith Community Church. They are outstanding Christian workers, who have certainly shown themselves to be really effective in the cross-cultural context of West London.

 

1 Thessalonians 1:3 springs to mind - "We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

Warmly in Christ from London,

 

The Revd Rico Tice

Evangelist & Founder

Christianity Explored Ministries

www.christianityexplored.org

www.honestevangelism.com

 

Hello from London!

We've come to realise that many of our friends, family, and ministry partners have gotten off of social media altogether (and some were never on it to begin with!), and as a result, have not been seeing our regular ministry updates. So we've decided to try a new approach, starting this new blog/website titled The Beans in Prague: Taking the Gospel to the Heart of Europe. 

While we'll continue to post personal, family, and ministry updates on our social media accounts and groups, we'll be adding this as a new alternative that people can subscribe to and read updates about our ministry over the past 2 1/2 years in London, and our upcoming move to Prague (more on that soon!). Over the next few days, we'll be posting past content from our social media accounts to create something of an archive for those who feel like they may need to "catch up" with what we've been up to.

We hope that you'll find this to be a helpful (and free!) alternative to logging in to social media, that's also a much more cost effective way of keeping you up to date with how God is at work in our lives and ministry than mailing out very costly paper newsletters through "snail mail" which we are constantly having to update people's mailing addresses for, though we'll continue to send those out from time to time as well.

So feel free to leave a prayer request or comment to let us know you're out there, and share posts with friends and family who might also be encouraged by how God is at work in the world today. 

Now get ready to come on a European adventure with us! (Okay, that was more cheesy than Red Leicester.....😬)

From London With Love,

Dawson, Shanna, Joshua, Caleb, and Mary Bean

Hope Explored Session 2 tonight, please pray

Hey friends, please pray for session 2 of our Hope Explored outreach tonight at IPC-Ealing at 7pm London time (1pm CST). We had a really encouraging turnout last week of about 55 for dinner and discussion about the Gospel, and many of those who came were not Christians and not in a church anywhere, and from many different religious backgrounds including those from Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu, as well as secular backgrounds.

Please pray for our associate pastor Reuben Hunter's talk on Peace from the Gospel of Luke and for good discussion, and pray that many would come back from the week before as well others who were not able to make it for session 1. Please pray for our friends Kit, Alicia & Edward from Hong Kong, Adil from Pakistan, Jorge from Chile, Khalid from Kuwait, Francesco & Diana from Italy, and many others who may come along as well.

Here's a short preview video with Rico Tice to give you an idea of what the programme is like, especially if you might like to give it a try at your own church or just at home with non-christian friends. It works equally well in small groups or one-to-one (if not better) as it does in more of a programme setting at a church, and can be done using the videos or someone giving a talk on the topics in person. Blessings to you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8AbJ2N8NAY

Thank You For Praying For Hope Explored

Thank you so much for praying for our first of three Hope Explored outreach events last night at the church- we have two more weeks the next two Wednesday evenings so please do keep praying! We had a really encouraging turnout with about 55 in attendance for the discussion and a couple of great talks on the topic of “Hope” by Christianity Explored’s Rico Tice and our associate pastor Reuben Hunter. Please pray for the many non-Christians who came along, including Mary Elisabeth’s friend’s mum Kit and Kit’s nephew Edward (who are both Buddhists from Hong Kong), as well as Jorge (from Chile), Adil (a Muslim from Pakistan), and Nadia (an Assyrian Catholic from Iraq), who all come regularly to our English classes and are meeting with them for one to one Bible reading together. 

I had a really encouraging conversation for about an hour after the event ended with Adil from Pakistan (pictured in the black coat at our discussion table) about the Gospel where he just about asked me every question about Jesus that you can imagine. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work in his heart and the hearts of all who came and heard the Gospel. 

Finally, please pray for a newcomer named Khalid, a Muslim and refugee from Kuwait who showed up seemingly out of nowhere to our English Class Christmas Party last month and since then has shown up to not only Free English Classes, but also Sunday morning church service and now Hope Explored. We are working very hard to try to communicate effectively with Khalid using things like Google Translate, but Arabic is his first language and he speaks almost no English whatsoever, but he seems very friendly and interested.