Exulant

Exulant, zapsaný spolek (registered association), is a Czech Christian ecumenical community that brings together descendants of Czech exiles and welcomes anyone interested in the heritage of the Czech Reformation. It continues the civic association Exulant founded on 10 May 1995 and is also the successor to the Working Committee of Czech Exiles (officially dissolved during the German occupation) and the Committee of Czech Exiles and Returnees from Poland, whose activity was banned in 1953. Its co-founder and first chairman was prof. Karel Matějka. The association's purpose is to maintain the historical memory of the nation rooted in the legacy of ancestors — exiles from the post-White Mountain period who, taught by Master Jan Hus and the Reformation fathers to honour God's truth, sought to lead a godly life without pretence and lies. It maintains, strengthens or renews severed contacts among descendants and sympathisers of the post-White Mountain exiles in various parts of the world. The Exulanti website, which the association finances through MyHeritage, is a valuable source of genealogical information for tens of thousands of researchers not only from Europe; Edita Štěříková deserves the main credit for the creation of this database, having made documents from state archives and manuscript departments of libraries in Germany (e.g. Herrnhut), Switzerland, Poland and Bohemia accessible to the wider public. Exulant cooperates with related institutions in organising worldwide meetings and conferences — especially with the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, Baptists, the Evangelical Reformed Congregation in Zelów (Zelovské zvonky) and other evangelical churches and associations. It organises trips to places where exiles lived or where their descendants still live. It publishes books through the Kalich publishing house on themes of the Czech Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, exile and life in exile, as well as re-emigration (repatriation) and the contemporary life of exiles' descendants. It informs its members through an information bulletin (Věstník), usually published twice a year, whose archive is available online. The association holds regular conferences and annual member meetings; for example, on Saturday 19 September 2026 a regular conference took place at the congregational house of the Baptist congregation in Prague 4, Na Topolce, commemorating significant events in the history of the Czech Reformation, Czech religious exile and the return of post-White Mountain exiles to their old-new homeland. The association also receives donations, such as the estate of vicar Rudolf Šedý, given by Mr Filip Holienčin, who lectured on the vicar's photographs at the last conference in Prague. In 2026 the association plans to update its membership card index and asks members and sympathisers to provide their contact details by email or phone.

Exulant, zapsaný spolek, is a Czech Christian ecumenical association that traces its organisational lineage to earlier exile committees. It is the successor to the Working Committee of Czech Exiles, which was officially dissolved during the German occupation, and to the Committee of Czech Exiles and Returnees from Poland, whose activity was banned in 1953. The modern civic association Exulant was founded on 10 May 1995, with prof. Karel Matějka as co-founder and first chairman. The association was later registered as a zapsaný spolek (registered association). Its mission is to maintain the historical memory of the nation based on the legacy of ancestors — exiles from the post-White Mountain period who, taught by Master Jan Hus and the Reformation fathers to honour God's truth, sought to lead a godly life without pretence and lies. To this end, it maintains, strengthens or renews severed contacts among descendants and sympathisers of the post-White Mountain exiles in various parts of the world. A major project is the Exulanti website, financed by the association through MyHeritage, which serves as a genealogical resource for tens of thousands of researchers. Edita Štěříková is credited with the main role in creating this database, having made documents from state archives and manuscript departments of libraries in Germany (e.g. Herrnhut), Switzerland, Poland and Bohemia accessible to the public. The association cooperates with related institutions in organising worldwide meetings and conferences, especially with the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, Baptists, the Evangelical Reformed Congregation in Zelów (Zelovské zvonky) and other evangelical churches and associations. It organises trips to places where exiles lived or where their descendants still live. It publishes books through the Kalich publishing house on the Czech Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, exile and life in exile, re-emigration (repatriation) and the contemporary life of exiles' descendants. It informs members through an information bulletin (Věstník), usually published twice a year, with an online archive. In recent years the association has continued its regular activities. On Saturday 19 September 2026 it held its regular conference at the congregational house of the Baptist congregation in Prague 4, Na Topolce, commemorating significant events in the history of the Czech Reformation, Czech religious exile and the return of post-White Mountain exiles to their old-new homeland. The association also received a donation from the estate of vicar Rudolf Šedý, given by Mr Filip Holienčin, who had lectured on the vicar's photographs at a previous conference in Prague. For 2026 the association planned to update its membership card index and asked members and sympathisers to provide contact details.

• 2026

  Regular conference and annual member meeting held in Prague.

• 1995

  Civic association Exulant founded; prof. Karel Matějka becomes first chairman.

• 1953

  Predecessor Committee of Czech Exiles and Returnees from Poland banned.

A heritage and genealogical association for the descendants of Czech religious exiles, operating as a non-profit ecumenical community.

• Exulanti genealogical database

  A website financed by the association through MyHeritage, providing genealogical information for researchers worldwide.

• Věstník bulletin

  Information bulletin published usually twice a year, with an online archive.

• Kalich book publications

  Books on Czech Reformation, exile, re-emigration and descendants' life, published via Kalich publishing house.

1. 1Exulant official websiteexulant.evangnet.cz
2. 2Wikidata: Exulantwikidata.org
3. 3Wikipedia: Exulant (spolek)cs.wikipedia.org