All articles in category Slovakia
By Alec Taylor
Article
August 2016
Slovakia
A summer visit to Slovakia
I have known Branislav Micieta, pastor of Soli Deo Gloria Reformed Baptist Church in Žilina, Slovakia, for several years, having first met him at the Metropolitan Tabernacle School of Theology. Two-thirds of the population of Slovakia profess to be Roman Catholic and the influence of the Church of Rome there is quite strong. At least ten per cent of the population are Lutheran. There are some Brethren assemblies, but very little Reformed Baptist witness. Slovakia’s neighbours are the Czech Republic in the west, Poland in the north, Ukraine in the east and Austria and Hungary in the south. Branislav (Brano) was brought up as a...
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By Allan and Caulene Bussard
Article
April 2012
Slovakia
Doing mission, from Slovakia to Africa
Doing mission, from Slovakia to Africa We are missionaries to Eastern Europe. What are we doing involved with kids from African slums? When we started working as missionaries, Central and Eastern Europe were locked in communism. Our ministry had to be clandestine, and we focused on the individual training of church youth leaders, hopefully staying under the radar of the communist secret police. In the last 20 years, we have seen dramatic changes. Slovakia, where we have lived and ministered for those years, is now a prosperous and democratic country with a functioning market economy. It is a member of NATO, the EU and euro...
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By Philip Slater
Article
September 2007
Slovakia
Light and darkness in Slovakia
Light and darknessin Slovakia I recently made my fourth visit to Slovakia since 2000, this time accompanied by my wife Jean. I preached nine times in six days and the rest of the time was spent travelling, visiting believers in their homes and sightseeing in that beautiful country. We flew from Manchester to Bratislava. In spite of there being other empty seats on the plane, a young woman was allocated the seat next to us. There was no conversation until ‘out of the blue’ she asked, ‘Are you going to Bratislava on holiday?’My answer persuaded her otherwise and she immediately wanted to talk about spiritual...
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Article
November 2004
Slovakia
Missionary Spotlight – Fact File – Slovak Republic
Fact File – Slovak Republic Area: A landlocked country of 18,932 square miles; once the eastern 40% of Czechoslovakia. Neighbours: Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. Environment: The rugged Carpathian Mountains, including the Tatras, lie to the north (highest point 2,655 metres). South-western Slovakia’s fertile lowland extends to the River Danube on the Hungarian border. Slovakia has a rich wildlife. Population: 5.4 million. Life expectancy: Men 70 years; women 78 years. Ethnic groups: Slovak 86%, Hungarian 10%, Roma (Gypsy) 2%, Czech 1%, others 1%. Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian, Roma. Capital: Bratislava...
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Article
November 2004
Slovakia
Missionary Spotlight – Fact File
Area:A landlocked country of 18,932 square miles; once the eastern 40% of Czechoslovakia. Neighbours: Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. Environment: The rugged Carpathian Mountains, including the Tatras, lie to the north (highest point 2,655 metres). South-western Slovakia’s fertile lowland extends to the River Danube on the Hungarian border. Slovakia has a rich wildlife. Population: 5.4 million. Life expectancy: Men 70 years; women 78 years. Ethnic groups: Slovak 86%, Hungarian 10%, Roma (Gypsy) 2%, Czech 1%, others 1%. Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian, Roma. Capital: Bratislava (450,000). Other cities: Kosice, Nitra and Presov. Urbanisation:...
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By Jan Sichula
Article
November 2004
Slovakia
Missionary Spotlight – Christianity in Slovakia
Slovakia, like Poland, Spain and Italy, is predominantly Catholic, even though it has many churches claiming to be Protestant. These include Baptists, Moravians and various kinds of Brethren. However, in Slovakia, Protestants are largely ecumenical and liberal in theology; and the real, regenerate church — believers saved by grace, through faith in Christ — is only small in size. History Before the Reformation — during the early 15th century — the ministry of John Hus of Prague exerted an influence on Slovakia, albeit a much smaller one than in his native Bohemia. During the 16th century the Reformation spread quickly from Germany and...
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By Philip Slater
Article
November 2004
Slovakia
Missionary Spotlight – A visitor in Slovakia
Czechoslovakia divided into two distinct republics in 1993. The Czech Republic is largely irreligious, but the Slovak Republic is predominantly Roman Catholic. In addition to Catholicism, shrines and large church buildings in Slovakia evidence Eastern Orthodoxy, and it is estimated there are about 400,000 adherents of Lutheranism. The credal distinction between Romanism and Lutheranism was greatly blurred on 31 October 1999 when the two denominations signed a ‘Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification’. By this their ecumenical relationship was extended and advanced. In Slovakia, as everywhere, the cults vie for influence with the churches. There are also Baptist churches — ‘general’ and ‘reformed’. ...
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By Philip Slater
Article
July 2002
Slovakia
Slovakia revisited
In May, Willis Metcalfe and I revisited Slovakia. The glorious countryside abounded with evidence of the Creator’s handiwork – spectacular mountains, rivers and vast prairie-like plains. The villages are engulfed in vineyards, though the Communists scarred the landscape by erecting towering tenements in the cities. Tourists from the west may not yet have put Slovakia on their itineraries but it is a place worth visiting. Prices are low by western standards. Everything, of course, is relative, and £50 per week is a normal wage. We felt material standards had improved since our last visit. Much of what we saw can be seen in any UK...
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By Jan Sichula
Article
July 2001
Slovakia
Missionary Spotlight-Slovakia – land of darkness
I was born in 1975 in Humenne in east Slovakia. When I was six we moved as a family to Presov, in search of work. My mother raised me as a Lutheran, although my father tried to persuade us to embrace Roman Catholicism. I regularly attended the local Lutheran church after being ‘confirmed’ but had only a superficial knowledge of Christianity and the principles that lay behind the Protestant reformation. For four years I studied at secondary school and became enmeshed in a carnal, semi-lawless lifestyle. Computers were my main interest and I progressed well in understanding and using them. In 1993 I began studying...
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By Philip Slater
Article
September 2000
Slovakia
MISSIONARY SPOTLIGHT
‘COME TO PRESOV’ A letter arrived from eastern Slovakia inviting me to go to the town of Presov to preach the gospel. Whilst an avid student of atlases, I had never heard of Presov, nor was I familiar with that part of the world! I felt drawn to accept the invitation, and Willis Metcalfe offered to come with me. On 21 March we left Manchester Airport for Kosice, flying via Vienna. At Kosice we were met by the pastor of an Evangelical church in Presov, who took us to the hotel where we stayed for the next ten days. Presov is a university town...
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