St. Wenceslas Day — Czech Statehood Day (28/09)

On September 28, the Czech Republic celebrates the day of its patron saint, Saint Wenceslas (Czech — Svatý Václav), this day is also the Day of Czech Statehood (Den české státnosti). This is a public holiday in the country.

Vaclav (907–935) from the Przemyslid family, son of Duke Vratislav and pagan Dragomira, was Prince of Bohemia from 924 to 935. Raised by his paternal grandmother, a zealous Christian, Vaclav was religious from childhood and, having become the head of the state, led a monastic rather than a secular lifestyle. Vaclav did a lot to spread Christianity in the Czech Republic; by his order, the Church of St. Witt was built in Prague.

It was Wenceslas who contributed to the liturgies in both Slavic and Latin being able to develop in mutual respect in his country. Thus, already in the 10th century, the idea of Pope Paul John II was realized that the « church would be richer if it breathed both of its lungs — eastern and western».

For his time, Wenceslaus was an unusually educated man: he wrote in Glagolitic alphabet, spoke Latin and Greek. In 924, having received power, he already knew that such a small country as the Czech Republic, tormented by internal strife and surrounded by neighbors greedy for foreign land, could survive and flourish only if its people were more demanding of their education and morality.

According to one legend, when he ascended the throne, Wenceslaus said that he wanted to rule so that there would be peace in his country, so that judges would judge fairly and so that the people would live according to the laws of God. In this he himself set an example. Being a devout man, he ruled with a firm hand. And this is what he knew how to: « distinguish one from the other; knew when to pick up a sword, and when to avoid evil in the process of patient negotiations».

The Christian mode of government and social orders that Wenceslas introduced were met with opposition from the pagan nobility, who eventually killed Wenceslas by uniting with his brother Boleslaw. However, this action showed the opposite result — the blood of the martyr Wenceslas influenced the final victory of Christianity in the Czech Republic.

Numerous legends told about the kindness and justice of Wenceslas. One of them, translated into Church Slavonic, came to Russia at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries. And in England they still sing the song «About Good King Wenceslas» at Christmas.

Vaclav was very popular among the people and, being proclaimed a saint, began to be revered as the heavenly patron of the Czech Republic, its symbol. By the 14th century, the cult of Saint Wenceslaus had become official in the Czech Republic. The Russian Orthodox Church also venerates Prince Wenceslas as a saint, but under the Old Church Slavonic name Vyacheslav.

Currently, the remains of St. Wenceslas are buried in the chapel of St. Witt's Cathedral in Prague. The walls of the chapel are decorated with semi-precious stones, and its compositional basis is the statue of St. Wenceslas by the architect and sculptor Peter Parlerge. The helmet, shell and sword of the prince stored here are revered as a shrine.

The crown, called the Svyatovaclava crown, has been crowned by Czech kings since the fourteenth century. There are an infinite number of images of Saint Wenceslas —, either as a young man preparing wine and bread for the fulfillment of the sacrament of the Eucharist, or as a knight with a spear, sword and shield. Since the Middle Ages, the Czech people have been waiting for the legend of the Blanick knights to be performed during difficult periods of their history. According to this legend, in Mount Blahnik the knights of St. Wenceslas are always ready for battle, and when the Czechs have the worst, they will come to the aid of the people, and Wenceslas will ride on a white horse at the head of the knightly army.

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