Saint Gorazd

Gorazd of Prague, given name Matěj Pavlík (26 May 1879 – 4 September 1942), was the hierarch of the revived Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia after World War I. During World War II, having provided refuge for the assassins of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich, called The Hangman of Prague, in the cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague, Gorazd took full responsibility for protecting the patriots after the Schutzstaffel found them in the crypt of the cathedral, hoping to minimize Nazi reprisals on his congregation. This act guaranteed his execution, thus his martyrdom, during the reprisals that followed. His feast day is celebrated on 22 August (OC) or 4 September (NC). Matěj Pavlík was born on 26 May 1879 in Hrubá Vrbka, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic). He was the middle of three brothers. Born into the Roman Catholic society of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Matěj entered the Faculty of Theology in Olomouc after finishing his earlier education. He was subsequently ordained a priest. During his studies, he was interested in the mission of Cyril and Methodius and of Eastern Orthodoxy. Establishment of Czechoslovakia in the aftermath of World War I brought complete religious freedom. In this environment, many people left the Catholic Church. While many left the religion completely, some looked either to old Czech Protestant churches or, as Pavlík, to Eastern Orthodoxy. The Serbian Orthodox Church provided a shelter for those looking to Orthodoxy. As a leader in Moravia, the Serbian Orthodox Church agreed to consecrate Pavlík to the episcopate for his homeland. On 24 September 1921, he was consecrated bishop with the name of Gorazd. Historically, his monastic name of Gorazd was significant as it was the name of Saint Gorazd, the bishop who succeeded Methodius as Bishop of Moravia after he died in 885. Subsequently, Pope Stephen V drove the disciples of Methodius from Moravia as the Latin rite was imposed.