New Martyr 20th century

New Martyrs of the Czech Lands

martyred 1942

Also known as Vladimír Petřek, Václav Čikl, Ján Sonnevend, Václav Ornest

Clergy and laymen of the cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Prague, martyred by the Nazis in 1942 for sheltering the persecuted

Feast Day

September 5

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Commemorated as

The Holy New Martyrs of the Czech Lands

Life

The New Martyrs of the Czech Lands are the clergy and laymen of the Orthodox Cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Prague who were put to death by the Nazi occupiers in 1942 for sheltering the Czechoslovak parachutists who had assassinated the Deputy Reich-Protector Reinhard Heydrich. They are commemorated together on September 5, and their veneration is closely joined to that of their bishop, the Hieromartyr Gorazd (Pavlik) of Prague, who suffered with them.

The group canonized in this commemoration comprises the priests Vladimir Petrek and Vaclav Cikl, and the laymen Jan Sonnevend, who served as chairman of the cathedral's parish council, Vaclav Ornest, and Karel Louda. Several of their relatives also perished, including the wife and daughter of Jan Sonnevend and the wife of Father Cikl, who were deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp and killed. Beyond this immediate circle, the synaxarion accounts record that hundreds of Czechs connected to the parachutists were arrested in the same reprisals, with a number of the cathedral's congregation among those shot.

The events arose from Operation Anthropoid: on May 27, 1942, Czechoslovak parachutists trained abroad attacked and fatally wounded Reinhard Heydrich in Prague. Several of the men afterward took refuge in the crypt of the Orthodox cathedral, hidden with the knowledge and help of its clergy and faithful. After their location was betrayed, German forces surrounded the church on June 18, 1942; the soldiers in the crypt resisted until they were killed or took their own lives rather than be captured. The clergy and laymen who had given them shelter were arrested, interrogated, and brought to trial.

Following a trial in early September 1942, Bishop Gorazd, Father Cikl, and Jan Sonnevend were executed by firing squad on September 4, and Father Petrek was executed on September 5. The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, which had been suppressed and its activity banned in the aftermath, later honored these martyrs as witnesses of the faith. Bishop Gorazd was glorified in 1987, and his companions among the clergy, laity, and their families were formally canonized in 2020 as the Holy New Martyrs of Bohemia.

Timeline 5 moments Read Hide

May 27, 1942 Assassination of Heydrich Czechoslovak parachutists attack and fatally wound Deputy Reich-Protector Reinhard Heydrich in Prague.
June 18, 1942 Assault on the cathedral German forces surround and storm the Cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, where the parachutists are hidden in the crypt.
September 4, 1942 Executions Bishop Gorazd, Father Vaclav Cikl, and Jan Sonnevend are executed by firing squad.
September 5, 1942 Execution of Father Petrek The priest Vladimir Petrek is executed; this day becomes the common feast of the martyrs.
February 8, 2020 Canonization The clergy and laity companions of Bishop Gorazd are canonized as the Holy New Martyrs of Bohemia in the Prague cathedral.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Cathedral as a Refuge

The Cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, the principal Orthodox church in Prague, became the hiding place for members of the parachutist group after the attack on Heydrich. According to the accounts, seven of the men took refuge in the crypt beneath the church with the assistance of clergy and laypeople of the parish. Their plan to escape the city failed, and their presence was ultimately disclosed through betrayal.

On June 18, 1942, a large German force surrounded and assaulted the cathedral with orders to take the men alive. The soldiers defending the upper church and then the crypt fought until the last; those who were not killed in the fighting took their own lives rather than surrender. The discovery of the refuge directly implicated the cathedral's clergy and the lay leaders of the parish, who were arrested in the days that followed.

Trial and Martyrdom

The arrested clergy and laymen were interrogated and tried in the first days of September 1942. Bishop Gorazd, the priest Vaclav Cikl, and the parish council chairman Jan Sonnevend were sentenced and executed by firing squad on September 4, 1942; the priest Vladimir Petrek was executed on September 5. The common commemoration of the group falls on September 5, the day of Sonnevend's martyrdom.

The reprisals extended to the martyrs' families and the wider community. The wife and daughter of Jan Sonnevend and the wife of Father Cikl were among those deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp and killed, and a large number of other Czechs who had aided the parachutists were arrested and shot in the same period. In the aftermath the Orthodox Church in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was suppressed.

Canonization

Bishop Gorazd (Pavlik) was the first of the group to be glorified, in 1987. In 2019 the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia resolved to canonize his companions among the clergy and laity together with members of their families. The canonization was solemnly celebrated on February 8, 2020, at the Cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Prague, the very church of their martyrdom, and the group is venerated as the Holy New Martyrs of Bohemia.

Sources: Synaxarion