Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius

The Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius stands on Slovanské náměstí in Kroměříž, and it looks out of place the moment you see it — a Byzantine-style dome rising among the town's otherwise Central European rooftops. That's the giveaway: this is an Orthodox church, not a Catholic one, in a town best known for its Baroque Archbishop's Palace and UNESCO-listed gardens. Its presence here has less to do with tourism and more with a story of war, gratitude, and one man who paid for his faith with his life.

Why is there an Orthodox church in Kroměříž at all?

The answer starts with a single biography. Matěj Pavlík, later known as Bishop Gorazd, attended the archbishop's gymnasium in Kroměříž as a boy and, between 1905 and 1908, edited a Catholic regional weekly in the town. He went on to become Bishop of Moravia-Silesia in 1921, then converted to Orthodoxy three years later and led the reviving Czech Orthodox eparchy. In 1942, when the paratroopers responsible for assassinating Reinhard Heydrich took refuge in the Orthodox church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague, Bishop Gorazd took responsibility for having sheltered them. The Nazis executed him on September 4, 1942. After the war, Kroměříž — the town where he had spent his formative years — chose to honor his memory.

Who built the church, and when?

Construction ran from 1946 to 1948, in the years right after the war. The design — a Byzantine church with a dome and a stark, symmetrical form — came from Archimandrite Andrej, a monk-architect who worked on Orthodox church buildings across postwar Czechoslovakia. The new church was meant to serve two purposes at once: a working place of worship for the local Orthodox community, and a memorial.

Who else does the church commemorate?

The second dedication belongs to the soldiers of the Romanian 1st Army. Fighting as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, they liberated Kroměříž between May 4 and 6, 1945, at a heavy cost in casualties. Romanian units went on to liberate more than 1,700 towns and villages across Czechoslovakia by the war's end, and the gratitude for that sacrifice outlasted the war by decades — in 2005, former King Michael I of Romania visited Kroměříž for the 60th anniversary of its liberation.

Is the church still an active place of worship?

Yes. It belongs to the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and functions as an active parish church, holding services according to the Julian calendar. The local community maintains its own website with service times and parish history, which makes clear the building is not just a monument — it's a living congregation.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bishop Gorazd? Matěj Pavlík, later Bishop Gorazd, had ties to Kroměříž going back to his school years. In the 1920s he left the Catholic Church for Orthodoxy and led the country's re-established Orthodox eparchy. He was executed by the Nazis in 1942 for sheltering the men who assassinated Reinhard Heydrich.

Why does an Orthodox church in the Czech Republic look Byzantine? Because that's the tradition it belongs to. The Byzantine style — a domed church on a symmetrical cross-shaped plan — is the standard architectural language of Orthodox churches, regardless of the country they're built in.

What exactly does this church commemorate? Two things at once: the martyrdom of Bishop Gorazd, and the sacrifice of the Romanian soldiers who died liberating Kroměříž in May 1945.

Can visitors go inside? It's an active parish church, so the best approach is to check current service times and visiting possibilities on the local Orthodox community's website before you go.

Where exactly is it located? On Slovanské náměstí (Slavonic Square) in Kroměříž, a short walk from the historic town center with its archbishop's castle and gardens.