Instytuty Polskie > Instytut Polski w Pradze > Daily Courage. Polish, Czech and Slovak Women in Anti-Communist Dissent 1968-1989 / 16 – Women and Church

Communist states controlled their citizens in every aspect of their lives – faith was one of them. In Czechoslovakia, after harsh persecution in the 1950s and the targeted destruction of religious orders, a free underground church emerged. Women were actively involved in organizing education and secret meetings, working with children and young people, and participating in the creation and transcription of samizdat religious magazines and books. They ended up in prison under the law on obstruction of supervision of churches and religious societies.

The Czechoslovak communist state used women’s orders in charitable and social work. Meanwhile, nuns pointed out that the law on religious freedom existed only on paper. The wives of Greek Catholic and Protestant priests were also persecuted. The Polish Catholic Church formed a strong opposition to the communist regime. It was an institution that had the opportunity to support dissidents financially, hide them, and organize exhibitions and meetings in churches.

„Here in Europe, we tend to have traditional models of the church and carry within us a fear of the freedom of others. Men may not even realize this and are losing out on the great potential of active women. In the spiritual realm, however, there should be no division between men and women, no „dos and don’ts,“ no power considerations, but rather a joy in each other’s charismatic gifts.“

Ludmila Javorová in conversation with Zdeněk Jančařík in the book You Are a Priest Forever.

Eva Klčovanská was the editor of ZrNO, a Slovak samizdat magazine on religious topics for young people. Editorial board meetings were held in her apartment. She was constantly monitored by the secret police. Pictured are editors Ladislav Stromček, Eva Klčovanská, and František Mikloško.
Source: J. Šimulčík, www.samizdat.sk
Nun Bernadeta Pánčiová, an important figure in the underground church, with her parents and brother Bernard, who was sentenced to thirteen years in prison in 1958. On 21 August 1968, she wrote in her diary: „Today our nation is humiliated! Russia and its allies have occupied us. Jesus, have mercy on us, save the Holy Church and our homeland! Mary of Sorrows, do not forsake us!“
Writer and Charter 77 signatory Iva Kotrlá (right) and her husband were active in the Catholic dissent movement, preparing texts for broadcast on Vatican Radio’s Czech service, among other things. Pictured here with Ludvík Vaculík and Lenka Procházková in 1987.
Source: Private archive of Iva Kotrlá
A close colleague of Felix Maria Davídek in the underground church was Ludmila Javorová, who was ordained as a Roman Catholic deacon and priest in 1970 under exceptional circumstances. In 1996, she was banned from performing priestly duties on the grounds that her ordination was invalid under Catholic canon law. Alena Srnková-Šounová became one of the first four female pastors of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. She was monitored and wiretapped by the Secret Police
In the photo of the Koinótés community in Brno, fourth from the left in the back row is Ludmila Javorová. Source: Private archive of Ludmila Javorová
Polish dissidents organized joint prayers as spiritual support for the strikers. The photo shows Magdalena Modzelewska at the Gdańsk shipyards, where she led joint prayers during the strikes in August 1980, together with Bożena Rybicka and Ewa Ossowska, among others.
Photo by: Stanisław Składanowski   

Mária Muráňová devoted herself to theological and philosophical education within the Slovak underground church. Her texts were secretly passed abroad, where they were published under the pseudonym Viktória Montana and smuggled back in book form. From the 1970s onwards, the so-called KLAPY courses were held for Christian seculars, combining spiritual, theological, philosophical, and practical training. Lectures on psychology were given by Judita Stempelová and Eva Klčovanská. From 1975, Emília Turičíková transcribed tape recordings and handwritten notes by the secret bishop J.C.Korec. To avoid possible detection, she did not attend meetings or pilgrimages. By 1990, she had transcribed approximately 15,000 pages