The Beginnings of Anglicanism in Prague
The first Anglican church service in Prague was conducted on 13th November 1904 by the Reverend Walter Naish. He had been employed by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, a Church of England missionary organisation active throughout the world in the 18th and 19thcenturies, and was appointed for a six-month period in 1904, over which time he steadily built up a congregation of 32 members with 25 communicants, many of whom were drawn from British music students in Prague studying under the famous violinist Professor Otakar Ševčík at the Prague Conservatoire. In 1911 the Prague Municipality made over Kostel svateho Martina ve zdi, or the Church of St Martin-in-the-Wall, in Marlinská ul, to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and it was used exclusively for the services of the Church of England.
The Church of St Martin in the Wall, ca. 1900 before it was made over to the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel
When war came to Europe just a few years later in August 1914 the use of St Martin’s Church for Anglican services was, however, discontinued by the Austro-Hungarian authorities.
Anglicanism in Prague between the Wars
Although there is evidence that services in the English language were held in St Martin’s during the period from 1918 to 1938, there is nothing to suggest the presence of a resident Anglican priest.
There was, however, a full-time Chaplain for the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland Mission (to the Jews) in Prague in the 1930’s, the Reverend Robert Smith, and the British Minister to Czechoslovakia from 1936-1937, Sir Charles Bentinck, regularly attended the English language Sunday services conducted by him, and indeed Robert Smith was asked by the British Legation to conduct the local memorial service for King George V on his death in early 1936. In 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, worship in English once again ceased, this time by order of the German authorities.
The Courtyard of the Thun Palace, location of the British Legation to Czechoslovakia, in 1925
Anglicanism in Prague after the Second World War
After the Second World War Robert Smith returned once again from his native Scotland to Prague until 1948, when he returned home definitively, and by 1955 the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren had become the sole tenants of St Martin’s.
From the 1950’s services were performed by the Anglican Chaplain in Vienna, by the Bishops of Fulham and, later, Gibraltar, and indeed by various clergymen visiting Prague, and from 1967 the normal place for services was the British Embassy’s cinema.
Tanks of the Warsaw Pact on Wenceslas Square during the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Pact in August 1968
Anglicanism in the later Communist years
During the 1980’s the Anglican Church in Prague continued to be served by the Vienna Chaplaincy, and the Chaplains of Christ Church Vienna, the Reverend Canon John Phillips and later, the Venerable Jeremy Peake, were from 1982 included on the Prague Diplomatic List as Honorary Embassy Chaplains, resident in Vienna. This did not mean that they always found it easy to carry out their duties, as they were viewed by the authorities with suspicion and suffered harassment and administrative difficulties.
Visits from the Vienna Chaplains to the Prague Chaplaincy were usually timed to coincide with major church festivals and other services continued to take place in the Embassy. The congregation was drawn almost entirely from the British and other Embassies and the foreign business community.
The Post-Communist Years to today
Crowds on Old Town Square, Prague, during the Velvet Revolution, late 1989
The Velvet Revolution of November 1989 and the fall of communism brought new freedoms for all in Czechoslovakia, including the Christian communities. In 1990 the Anglican community were offered and accepted the use of Kostel sv Klimenta/St Clement’s Church, a Church building belonging to the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, as their permanent base. The first priest was from the Theological College at Mirfield, Yorkshire, Rev’d Father Hilary Greenwood.
The appointment of the Rev’d John Philpott as Chaplain in 2000 also saw the first direct involvement of the Intercontinental Church Society (ICS), an Anglican Mission Agency with roots going back to 1823, which recruited him and supported him and his wife financially.
The post-communist years have also brought an increase in Prague of people who have English as their first or second language and who came to Prague, whether as expats or as tourists, and this has meant that St. Clement’s has become a permanent, thriving (if small) community with some 75 people on the Church Electoral Roll as of 2024.
Chaplains
Anglicans in Prague have been blessed to have a series of excellent Chaplains of St. Clement’s since the fall of Communism, as follows:
Rev’d Nathanial Nathanial 2018 to present day
Rev’d Ricky Yates 2008 – 2017
Rev’d John Philpott 2000 – 2008
Rev’d Roger Kent 1995 – 1998: died 2009
Rev’d Hilary Greenwood 1991 – 1995: died 2003
Anglicanism in Prague – Conclusion
What overall impressions of Anglican life in Prague does this account leave? One is of being subject to the ebb and flow of historical events, wars playing a not inconsiderable part in our congregation’s story. Another is of an overwhelming desire for God’s people to meet together for worship in a language with which they are familiar, overcoming political and logistical difficulties in order to do so. Thirdly there is the link between the State and religion. In the case of the British Legation/Embassy (and others), protecting it; in the case of the communist state, seeking to minimise its influence. Lastly there is flexibility – being prepared to worship in a tradition that is not your own and in a place which is not home, yet becomes home.
