The patron saint of the Czech Republic, the country in which IBTS is situated, is St Wenceslas, svaty Václav in Czech. In English, he’s probably best known as the subject of the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas. He wasn’t, however, a king, and as most of what we know about him is legend more than fact, it’s not entirely clear just how good he was either.
He was probably born around 907, grandson of the first ruler to have been baptised by Cyril and Methodius when they came to the Czech lands in 862-3. Wenceslas was a Duke, the ruler of the area of Bohemia. It would appear that, like most of the nobility before and since, he had a somewhat dysfunctional family, with relations between his grandmother, St. Ludmila, and his mother (Ludmila’s daughter-in-law) somewhat strained.
It is not even quite clear when he died. It is known that it was Monday 28th September, which makes it either 929 or 935, the latter date being now the most commonly accepted. At any rate, it’s another good reason to stay in bed on Monday morning! online sales valium Ambien Online Pharmacy Discount buy ambien online without rx
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Wenceslas was allegedly killed by his brother, possibly for political reasons, possibly for religious reasons, possibly by accident.
All of this leaves the legends. The legend is of the good and just ruler, killed by the scheming (later repentant) opponent. Legends, of course, are not necessarily always entirely untrue, and they do help to give a picture of what we want and desire. So, this story of Wenceslas, seen as the protector with his life of the Czech people, remains a powerful one. Here was a man who sought to follow Christ in all he did, even to the extent of laying down his life for his people. He wanted to act justly, to be someone who did good. He serves as a sign of what it is possible for the committed disciple to do.
The Czech Republic today is not a country where people have much time for institutional religion, for churches and church membership. This is not quite the same as saying that it is without faith or belief, since many people hunger for God, even if they often don’t even quite know how to name that hunger. They can understand someone like St. Wenceslas, even if they don’t have much time for any of the Christian churches. The witness of a life of faith, of devotion to others, of service and love, remains a powerful reminder to the people of this country of what being a follower of Christ can bring. On this Monday 28th September we at IBTS hope that in our own very small way we too can carry on this witness – it may make it worth getting up on a public holiday after all!
– Tim