Proceedings against Orthodox Church in Czech Republic dropped
The Czech Ministry of Culture closed the case after the Church paid off its debts to the state and its employees.
The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia has retained its special rights after administrative proceedings against it were discontinued, UOJ in the Czech Republic reports.
On February 6, 2026, the Czech Ministry of Culture halted proceedings that had been launched on December 2, 2025, amid the economic crisis in the Prague Eparchy. The ministry made the decision after the Church settled all of its obligations to the state and to its employees. Had the case ended differently, the eparchy could have lost the right to register marriages, send chaplains to the army and prisons, and preserve the confidentiality of confession.
Ministry spokesman Petr Šimůnek confirmed that the case had been closed. Despite the repayment of the debts, the Church’s financial situation remains strained. In recent months, staff cuts and dismissals of part of the clergy, including psalmists, have taken place. The dismissal orders were dated March 13, 2026, and signed by Archbishop Michael of Prague and the Czech Lands.
As the UOJ previously reported, the Prague Eparchy had earlier carried out mass dismissals of clergy amid bankruptcy and unpaid wages. The crisis affected not only clerics but also laypeople working in diocesan structures.
