V temnici někdo změkne a někdo ztvrdne
In dungeon, some yield; some get tougher

Summary/Abstract: The illegal underground church in communist Czechoslovakia was one of the phenomena of ecclesiastical life. Its activity not only focused internally on the Catholic community, but also created a society-wide alternative space for the development of independent intellectual thought. The many hidden activities of the underground church in the 1970s and 1980s include activities that the offi - cial church was not allowed perform – retreats, study groups, the samizdat publication of Christian literature and magazines, and pastoral work among students and the young intelligentsia. A group of co-workers emerged from the study centres of Fr. Josef Zvěřina and Mons. Oto Mádr. This, in turn, gave rise to such bodies as the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, which operated as an advisory body to Cardinal František Tomášek. The basic vision, creative activity and experiences of the underground church, which grew out of its diffi cult struggle for freedom, were not lost when the political system changed. Rather, in many ways they have also served as an inspiration for a church that is seeking its place in the conditions that prevail in a society whose freedom has been restored.

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