Ratiboř

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, we said goodbye to our native, evangelical pastor Miroslav Frydrych, who passed away at the age of 92. The packed evangelical church was proof that Br. Pastor Frydrych left a positive mark on the hearts of many. Not only in his beloved Ratibora...

We knew each other for many years before we moved to Ratibor. We met at the January parish courses since 1991. Upon hearing the news of our move to Wallachia, he almost prophetically uttered a "vivat!" to us. Smiling and happy, he gave us a tiny Ratiboř calendar and said, "You will be very suitable for Ratiboř. Mirek Frydrych." A positive, open-minded, well-read, cultured lover of history and humanity and a walking encyclopedia of history. A joyful adventurer. When he celebrated his 90th birthday the year before last in Ratiboř at the rectory, he dressed in Wallachian costume (borrowed from Michal Děckuláček), Martin played the accordion, Mirek sang, danced and shone. He was always happy when he could visit Ratibor again. He was happy to give his time to the people both in the choir and in the village. He never forgot to visit Sister Vlasta Dančáková. They were classmates.

Many times he called me to see if there was any "free" Sunday in the congregation when the pastor was away and needed a substitute. He liked to preach even in his 90's and those who knew him can attest that his sermons were full of historical trivia and pearls. The last time he preached in our fellowship hall - the place where he came into the world - was on the first Sunday of Advent. He had already commissioned a hymn (EZ 277) from the choir a month in advance, unknown to us, because he wanted to use it as a bullet point for his sermon. He chose the then weighty words as the main text, "For you know what this time means: the hour has come for you to awake from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed" (Romans 13:11).

Miroslav Frydrych was born in Ratibor in the rectory. He was the son of Bozena and Josef Frydrych. His father worked for many years as a head teacher in the Ratiboř school, where the family also lived. He graduated from the Evangelical Divinity Faculty in Prague and became an Evangelical pastor. It is interesting that he began his preaching ministry in the church in Fulnek, which was rebuilt after the war, where Jan Amos Komenský had been the last preacher. His last pastorate was in Kolín, before that in Bohuslavice nad Metují and Odry. He served as a senior of the Poděbrady seniorate. He was one of the important personalities of the town of Kolín, where he was known as a ninety-year-old gentleman riding a bicycle with the energy of a twenty-year-old young man. He died in Kolín at the age of 92 on 2 March 2020.

Mr. Joseph Ptáček, who was his close associate in the Constance Unity, said at the funeral farewell, among other things:
"We knew each other all the time we have been here - 40 years and we respected him very much. He did honor to his vocation and was truly sent by the Lord God to serve his fellow men according to the gifting he received from Him. It was on Sunday, March 8, that Brother Miroslav was to give a lecture on T. G. Masaryk. He will not give it again, at least not here in the temporality. Brother Miroslav Frydrych, a deeply faithful pastor - all the time to us and others, near or far - was always kind, very humble, humble and wise, hardworking, warm, sincere, dedicated and a rare person with a sense of humor. I remember at a screening of a film about Jerome of Prague, we congratulated him on his forthcoming jubilee - he laughed that it was not until May - but he must have been delighted. At that time he was approaching 90. Brother Miroslav placed great emphasis on true ecumenical relations. He was happy when people liked each other and helped each other."

Before Christmas, when, among other things, they were reminiscing about the meeting together at the rectory in Ratibor on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Mrs Svata Rožnovjáková presented him with a small gift with her congratulations, saying that it was only half of it. She gave him the other half later. A picture album as a reminder of this important event. He was obviously delighted. They leafed through and described each picture. There was one in particular he liked. What should I call it? I wrote: "The Wallachian ogre from Ratibor." He says to her, "You know that's how I feel?" That order, to his regret, will not be fulfilled. Mr. Miroslav Frydrych has left.

We all liked him very dearly, he was very close to us. And so one can feel both sadness and joy. We grieve for the loss of a good man who faithfully served the Lord God and his fellow men, and at the same time we rejoice in the belief in eternal life and eternal glory with the Lord, where our comrade has already preceded us.

Miroslav Frydrych's quote from the book Ratiboř - a Wallachian village:
"What has been, will not be. The older I get, the more I remember Ratiboř. Above all, I remember the people I met and liked.Let us not forget them, those who have gone before us, those who lie in our cemetery. They belong to us and we belong to them."

J. Wiera Jelinek
parish priest