Youth between two worlds: the evangelization activity of the charismatic community in czechoslovakia during the period of normalization
Abstract
The beginnings of the charismatic movement in Czechoslovakia are connected with vicar Dan Drápal and the Holešovice congregation of the Protestant Church of Czech Brethren, which he led. Drápal, originally adhering to the Protestant tradition, experienced conversion to evangelicalism in 1978 and subsequently began to move his community towards charismatic religiosity.
With the help of Western missionaries and materials smuggled into the country, he built an evangelistic and follow-up pastoral system focused especially on the youth. In the 1980s the congregation experienced a massive increase in members and did not escape the attention of the State Security, which tried to suppress the growth through an extensive agency network.
During the entire period of mutual interaction, both the state authorities and believers were creating strategies for carrying their conflicting goals through.