Unity of the Brethren
Baptist work in the territory of the present Czech Republic began in the 1850s. The area was part of Austria-Hungary until the end of World War I, and was known as Czechoslovakia from 1918 until 1992. In 1858 Magnus Knappe, a German minister, began to travel regularly to the Broumov area and preach to the German-speaking people there. The first Czech Baptist congregation was established on March 15, 1884 in the village of Hledsebe in Central Bohemia. This body called itself the "Congregation of Christians Baptized in Faith". This work moved to Prague and continued to grow, and other works were established. Meeting in Vavrišovo in 1919, 15 Baptist congregations formed an association with the name "The Chelčicky Unity of the Brethren". Later the name "The Chelčicky Unity of the Brethren Baptists" replaced the original, and in the early 1950s it was changed to "The Unity of the Brethren Baptists". Though in the 1960s two regional groups (Bohemian-Moravian and Slovak) were formed, the Unity included all Baptists in the territory of Czechoslovakia until 1993. After Czechoslovakia was split into two republics on January 1, 1993, the "Unity of the Brethren Baptists" was divided on January 1, 1994, forming the "Unity of the Brethren Baptists in the Czech Republic" and the "Unity of the Brethren Baptists in the Slovak Republic". These two bodies maintain fellowship, use the same hymn book, and publish a common magazine, the "Rozsievač" (meaning "The Sower"). The "Unity of the Brethren Baptists" split again in 2019 due to theological disputes. There exist currently two Baptist unions in the Czech Republic, the "Unity of the Brethren Baptists" and the "Fellowship of Baptist Churches".