Tichá srdce - Kláštery a jejich lidé – Ježková Alena (2019)

The deepest exploration into the history and present of our monasteries and the lives of the people within them. The theme of nearly sixty essayistic texts revolves around well-known and 'revived' monasteries, as well as those that are neglected, crumbling, or extinct. A striking layer of the book consists of testimonies from twenty-five religious and church figures. In the memories of older witnesses, harrowing accounts from the 1950s come to life, when the communist regime abolished monasteries and sent monks to internment camps or condemned them in fabricated show trials to long years in prisons and labor camps. The monks speak openly about the peculiarities of life in community, as well as about the profound spiritual experiences that come with a calling to monastic life or contemplation. The counterpart to the text is formed by black-and-white photographs by Jiří Chalupa, full of atmosphere and empathy for the places and people. The publication Silent Hearts – Monasteries and Their People, first released in 2013, is followed by the continuation Silent Hearts – Stories of Places and People (2015). Currently, the authors are preparing the third part of the intended cycle about monastic life in our countries.