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Eastern Slovakia
Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn Genealogical Research

Slovak Lutherans

There are indeed non-Catholic Slovaks. I am writing this on a business trip from England so have no references available and am contributing from memory.

During the Protestant Reformation many people in the Czech and Slovak lands converted to Protestantism. There was a counter-Reformation and many of these new Protestants reconverted to Catholicism. The famous Battle of White Mountain was the last major battle in the Czech and Slovak lands during the Thirty Years' War. The Protestant forces were defeated at this battle. A law was passed but the Austro-Hungarian Empire forbidding Lutheran (Evangelical) churches could not have steeples. This is evident in Banska Stiavnica at the Lutheran Church there. Today I think Lutherans are about 2 to 6% of the population of Slovakia.

A similar Reformation occurred in Hungary during which the Calvinist Church was established. Its center was the town of Debrecen.

Milan Stefanik, who with Masaryk and Benes, was one of the founders of Czechoslovakia was the son of a Lutheran pastor. Alexander Dubcek may also have been Lutheran.

In the United States today, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Slovak Zion Synod is the only non-geographical synod in the church, and it is and has contributed to the maintenance of the Lutheran Church in Slovakia. There are also Slovak Churches in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church in the USA.

My parents participated in the activities of the Slovak Evangelical (Lutheran) Union when they were growing up. This was a means of preserving their Slovak heritage and in mixing with youth from other Slovak Lutheran Churches in religious, sporting, and social activities. The United Lutheran Society is still in existance as a fraternal life insurance society.

We have been proud and protective of our Lutheran heritage, but live and lived peaceably with non-Lutheran friends and neighbors. After all we are all God's children.

Historically there probably have been problems. I do not believe we should perpetuate past differences, hurts, injustices, but should live in peace with everyone. I do not feel guilt for anything my parents or grandparents or greatgrandparents may have done; not do I wish to perpetuate hurts which may have happened to them.

We each have our beliefs, worship the same God, and are proud of being Slovak. Thank God for each other.

As a kid I learned a couple of Slovak folk songs. One I still remember is "Ja parobek s Kapus~an". I have sung it on many occasions, once at a Rotary meeting at the end of a talk I gave on Czechoslovakia. My uncles sponsered a Polka hour on our local radio station in Hazleton, PA every Sunday at noon. My recollections are that Slovak music moved along at a good pace.

Now for a contrast. I played the organ for two Slovak Lutheran Churches in Hazleton. When the congregation sang in English, the hymns moved along, but when they sang in Slovak, they dragged so-o-o-o slowly. Why? I heard the same thing in churches I attended in Slovakia, with only 2 exceptions. Why?

As a sidelight to this, the organist had only the music for the hymns and the congregation had only the words. The verses were often 10 or more verses long. When I played for Slovak services, my Dad would sit on the bench next to me so he could tell me when the last verse was beginning, so I would know when to stop playing the hymn, since it was impossible for me to keep track of which verse we were on.

One of my clearest memories of Slovak services was hearing Pastor Jan Kovachick chanting the service. He had a beautiful baritone voice - very clear and strong and always on pitch. He was pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Lansford, PA. Does anyone else know him? I made a point of visting him last year with my Dad and we had a nice discussion about his background in Slovakia and in the USA. He broadcast Slovak services over Radio Free Europe for many years and I have met folks in Slovakia who remember hearing his broadcasts.

I attended church at the Lutheran (Evangelish) Church in my grandfather's village of Vys`ny Z~ipov in December. The church was packed and there were lots of young people there. This contrasts very strongly with a visit to Poprad in 1983 where there were only 20 at church, with only 2 young people in attendance, the pastor's daughter and her boyfriend.

A hymn that I learned as a kid was "Aj jiz~ vhcyha zi sulnec~ko". I spell it hear as best I can. While visiting my cousin's church in Banska Stiavnica, I sang it from memory. A man there didn't recognize it, but he told me that the language used was archaic or from the King's court. Can anyone elaborate on what he was trying to tell me. Were hymns not written in common Slovak?

There is a composer named Vajda who wrote many hymns. Is he still alive? Anyone know anything about him?

In any case, whether they sang fast or slowly, Slovak churches I have attended SANG strongly. My boyhood church now has few Slovak speaking members, but the tradition of singing with gusto has carried on.

We also said a blessing at the beginning and at the end of our meals. My grandmother always said the Lord's Prayer, the Apostle's Creed and the 23rd Psalm with me in Slovak at my bedtime. And she always expected me to be in church, including mid-week Lent or Advent Services.

Our church was the center of our social life. Attendance was expected. We had a youth group, called Luther League, which was allied with other Slovak congregations in Lansford, Norhthampton, Mount Carmel, Naticoke, PA and LIttle Falls, NYC, NY and Bridgeport, CT and others. We congregated once or twice a year for retreats. These were fun times for us.

We also had many church dinners with lots of home-cooked Slovak food. My mom and dad took me to most of the wakes they attended. It was something that was part of life to offer condolences to those in grief. After the funerals, we would meet at the church for good Slovak food, cooked by the Ladies' Aid Society (now called the Lutheran Church Women).

The men socialized in bowling or dart leagues.

Every year there was a general meeting of the church and all confirmed members were expected to attend. I can still remember some of the older Slovak men standing up to voice their opinions or objections on various points.

I remember the women of the church being kind, sweet, and hospitable when we visited their homes. It was common to be able to visit without calling to make an appointment.

I remember eating dinner with a family we were visiting when I was about 10 years old. The sister or the lady of the house passed me some grated red beets and horseradish and said, "This will put hair on your chest". I immediately wondered, "Does she have a hairy chest?". We often ate mashed potatoes, mushed into a crater in a soup bowl, with real buttermilk (I mean it had big lumps of butter in it). My grandmother told me if I ate it I would grow up "strong like onion".

Well, I digressed from my original beginning of this message, but hope it aroused similar pleasant memories of your own Slovak upbringing.

One of my most treasured books is "Lutherans in Slovakia", edited by August A. Skodacek. It was published in 1982 by Slavia Printing Co. of Pittsburgh, PA. It has 242 pages, paperback. It covers history from the Reformation through to 1982. Slavia Printing Co. is at 157 McNeilly Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15226, Phone (412)-343-4444.

Another reference is "History of the Slovak Zion Synod, Lutheran Church in America", published in 1970 by the LCA (now part of the ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). This is written in both Slovak and English.

The Slovak Zion Synod, ELCA, is the only non-geographical synod. It publishes "The Zion Almanac each year, written in the same volume in Slovak and English. In 1988 there were still 38 Slovak Lutheran Churches in the ELCA, 37 in the USA and one in Canada.

I hope you will find some or all of these resources available. There is a monthly or quarterly newsletter called The Zion which gives news of the Slovak Lutheran Church both in the USA and in Slovakia.

I can't put my hands on a copy of the Zion this minute, but will post the mailing address for it in a later message soon. I will also post the addresses of the 38 Lutheran Churches mentioned above.

One last reference. The United Lutheran Society is a fraternal life insurance company serving Slovak Lutherans since 1893. The have published small booklets related to Slovak culture over the years. I had a small booklet with the Slovak words and English translations of folk songs. Their address is ULS, Ross Mt. Park Road, P.O. Box 947, Ligonier, PA 15658, Phone (412)-238-9505. I don't know if they are able to provide information on any of their policy holders. They do publish a newsletter which lists fraternal activities and a listing of those who have passed away since the last issue was published.

Best regards to all,

Ron Orach
e-mail: ronweezo@loxinfo.co.th

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