History of Christianity in the Czech lands
Moravia was the earliest center of the Old Church Slavonic liturgy after the arrival of Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius in 863, but their opponents, mainly priests of German origin, achieved the banishment of their disciplines in the 880s.
Archaeological finds with close analogies in Ukraine – sunken huts with corner ovens, small cremation cemeteries, and "Prague pottery" – suggests that the first Slavic-speaking groups settled in the lands now inhabited by the Czech people in the second half of the 6th century.
[6] Fortifications at Mikulčice, Staré Město, and nearby settlements proves that important centers of power existed in the valley of the river Morava.
[11][12][14][16] Crosses from graves at fortresses suggest that most Moravian chieftains converted to Christianity by the 850s,[15] but the Frankish prelates described the Church in Moravia as "coarse" at their synod of 852.
[18] The Annals of Fulda writes of "fourteen of the duces of the Bohemians" who visited Louis the German in Regensburg where they were baptised "on the octave of the Epiphany," that is on January 13, 845.
[19][20][21] The Czech chieftains hoped that their conversion could contribute to maintain the peace with the Franks, because they soon returned to paganism after Louis the German invaded the Christian Moravia and dethroned Mojmir I in 846.
[22][24] On hearing this, Constantine and Methodius visited Rome where Pope Hadrian II sanctioned the use of Slavonic in liturgy and ordained their disciples as priests in 869.
[24] Although the Pope consecrated Methodius as archbishop of Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia), he was arrested by German prelates on his travel from Rome.
And from that day forth, God's teachings grew greatly and the clergy multiplied in all the towns.Moravia underwent a significant territorial expansion in the reign of Svatopluk I (r.
[29] According to a legend which was first recorded in the Life of Václav and Ludmilla around 994,[30] Methodius personally baptized a Bohemian duke named Bořivoj I (r. 872–889) who was the head of the emerging Přemyslid dynasty.
[39] Pope John IX sanctioned the establishment of an archbishopric and four suffragan bishoprics in Moravia in 898 upon the request of Svatopluk I's successor, Mojmir II.
[22][41] A heathen sanctuary built on the ruins of a Christian church at Pohansko suggests that traditional Slavic cults revived following the fall of Moravia.
[42] The First Latin Legend of Wenceslas[43] refers to a "greater priest" (maior presbyter) who seems to have represented the bishop of Regensburg in Bohemia.
[51] For instance, the earliest legend of Wenceslaus was written in Latin in the 960s, but its Old Church Slavonic version also appeared in short time.
[50] Wenceslaus's brother Boleslaus I (r. 935–972) defeated a number of Bohemian dukes who opposed his rule, erected new fortresses all over Bohemia, and conquered significant parts of Moravia, Silesia, and other territories.
[54] Pope John XIII authorized him to establish two bishoprics in his realm in 962, [57] but Michael, Bishop of Regensburg, prevented the division of his diocese.
[58] Cosmas of Prague narrates that the Pope forbade Slavic liturgy in his letter to Boleslaus II, but the credibility of this report has been challenged.
[58][60] Emperor Henry IV's diploma of 1086 (the text of which has been preserved by Cosmas of Prague) describes the boundaries of Bishop Adalbert's diocese.
[61] The diploma states that parts of Silesia, Lesser Poland (including Kraków), and modern Slovakia also belonged to the bishopric in the late 10th century.
[60] [Adalbert] planned to set his flock free form the captivity of the demons and of the vices; they, however, never ceased to bind themselves all the more tightly in the bounds of every possible sin.
[68][69] Likewise, the establishment of the wealthy Vyšehrad Chapter around 1070, which was directly subordinated to the Holy See, diminished the power of the bishops of Prague.
[50][70] On the other hand, a large basilica dedicated to St. Vitus was erected on the site of an earlier rotunda at Prague which served as the new see of the bishopric.
[72] Bretislaus I's decrees of 1039 make references to archpriests and archdeacons[66] which points at the existence of large parishes with their seats in strongholds.
[73] The development of the local church system accelerated after a papal legate Cardinal Guido obliged the two Czech bishops to determine the boundaries of the parishes in their dioceses in 1143.
