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Miriam Therese Winter
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Out of the Depths: The Story of Ludmila Javorova, Ordained Roman Catholic Priest Hardcover – June 1, 2001

by Miriam Therese Winter (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
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Miriam Therese Winter traveled to the Czech Republic to interview Ludmila Javorova, a courageous woman ordained in the Roman Catholic underground church in 1970. Out of the Depths is based on exclusive interviews with Javorova and tells her life story.
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  1. Print length
    262 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Crossroad
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    5.38 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0824518896
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0824518899
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"If we wait for a man to approve this, it will never happen, so we must go ahead without it." Felix Davidek spoke these urgent words in 1970 before secretly ordaining Ludmila Javorova, his trusted aide and a woman, as a Roman Catholic priest in Czechoslovakia's underground church. Winter, a Medical Mission Sister in the United States, tells Javorova's full story for the first time in this compelling chronicle of the Koinotes, the fellowship that Davidek, in partnership with Javorova, formed in the 1960s while Czechoslovakia was under harsh Communist rule. Winter's account of Koinotes is disjointed and clumsy in places, but its essential facts are so intriguing as to cover even a multitude of literary sins. Though told in Javorova's voice, the story reaches beyond her extraordinary ordination to embrace the man who made it possible: Davidek, the passion-filled priest who was consecrated a bishop in the underground church in 1967. Davidek died in 1988, before the fall of Communism in 1989 and before his protge's clandestine ordination became widely known. Although she is barred by the Vatican from functioning as a priest, Javorova has emerged as a heroine of the women's ordination movement, particularly in the American Catholic Church. Proponents of the cause will applaud her courage, and even opponents will find it difficult to not be impressed with her spirituality and humility.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A Medical Mission Sister, Winter (liturgy and feminist studies, Hartford Seminary; The Gospel According to Mary) writes on Czech-born Ludmila Javorova (b. 1932), a Catholic who ministered to the underground church in Czechoslovakia under communism. During the long, complex process of spiritual survival, Javorova was ordained in December 1970 by a friend of her family, Bishop Felix Davidek (1921-88), himself clandestinely consecrated. A scholar and physician, he served a large hidden network of believers, despite his imprisonments and illnesses, and ordained several unnamed women and some married men. The book combines Winter's own commentary, lengthy texts from her taped interviews with Javorova, and the story of controversial Bishop Davidek. An official Vatican statement in February 2000 declared the ordinations invalid while compassionately recognizing the severe circumstances under which they occurred. The humble Javorova never celebrated mass publicly and accepts official church teaching. This informative personal record of suppression of basic human rights is recommended for academic and public libraries. Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crossroad (June 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 262 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0824518896
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0824518899
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.38 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

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Miriam Therese Winter

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

cheapie pie
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding portrayal of a woman priest behind the Iron Curtain
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023
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Ludmila Javorova paid a high price for her priesthood. This biography provides great detail about how her ordination came about, what her priesthood meant in practice, and the sad story of the suppression of her ordination. Be prepared to be saddened by her story.
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BWD
5.0 out of 5 stars Speedy response
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2021
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I was delighted to receive this book so quickly! The packaging was effective, and the fact that this book is available is great! From as far as I have read, this autobiography will give much persuasion to the concept of women as priests in the Catholic Church!
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Vincent J. Benander
1.0 out of 5 stars The Only Opinion that Matters.....
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2002
...that is, the "opinion" (read: authoritative judgement) of Christ's Visible Representative on earth, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II (emphasis added):
"4. Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the CONSTANT and UNIVERSAL Tradition of the Church and FIRMLY taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church's judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.
Wherefore, in order that ALL DOUBT may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, IN VIRTUE OF MY MINISTRY OF CONFIRMING THE BRETHREN (cf. Lk 22:32) I DECLARE that the Church has NO AUTHORITY whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be DEFINITIVELY HELD by ALL the Church's FAITHFUL."
-Pope John Paul II in his 1994 Apostolic Letter, "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis"
Those who have "ears to hear", let them hear.
5 people found this helpful
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Libro Maven
5.0 out of 5 stars A Marvelous Story
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2020
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This account is not only beautifully written, but brings to light a hidden chapter in the history of the Roman Catholic Church about which I -- a cradle Catholic! -- knew nothing. Now that women priests are more numerous, this story of a smart, pious pioneer who suffered terribly but kept the faith may be regarded as an origin story. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
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slovakgirl5
3.0 out of 5 stars Out from under Felix Davidek
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2002
I had high hopes in starting out in reading this work. Interested in all-things-Slovak and how Czechoslovakia functioned under communism, I expected this book to be a credible account of Ludmila Javorova's priestly ordination. Instead, I am sad to admit, I've come away thinking that Javorova was the unfortunate victim of a spurned megalomaniac. I hesitate to use such strong and disrespectful language, but after reading Javorova's story (which could be titled "The misadventures of "Bishop" Felix Davidek"), I, too, wonder about the validity of her priestly 'ordination.' Not that Javorova wasn't sincere in her faith: she desired to begin her religious vocation at age 15 but in 1947, Czechoslovakia was poised to become "liberated" by the Soviet armed forces. Father Felix Davidek, 11 years her senior, was arrested by Soviet authorities for continuing with clandestine religious activities. After his release from prison in 1964, he looked up Javorova, a neighbor and family friend from their native Brno and enlisted her help in ensuring the survival of the underground church in Czechoslovakia. Together, they established and ran Koinotes, a Catholic fellowship group out of which Davidek secretly recruited and educated men for priesthood in the Catholic Church. Once Davidek pushed his agenda for the ordination of women, though, Koinotes splintered and he lost much of his power and influence in the underground church. It is after this that Davidek's behavior began to border on the bizarre and his ever-increasing demands on Ludmila just more evidence of his deteriorating mental health. By 1970, when he insisted on ordaining her into the priesthood, Javorova felt that they were 'rushing' things. His controlling demands on her time eventually took their toll and she suffered from exhaustion and fell seriously ill. This did not diminish Davidek's demands on her and both of their reputations suffered irrevocably. In 1976, the Vatican officially ordered Davidek to stop his "work" as a Bishop in the Church and declared his ordinations and consecrations invalid. He refused to cease functioning as a bishop and a few years later, Ludmila finally succeeds in making a clean break with Davidek. Sour grapes again, Davidek engaged in some very un-Christian meanspirited actions against her. When he falls ill a few years later, Ludmila extends forgiveness toward him and nurses him until his death in 1988. Out of the depths is written well enough and proceeds in a chronological order. If the reader is not familiar with the hierarchy and politics of the Roman Catholic Church, he may find himself baffled at its political machinery. Therese Winter, the author of the book, never questions the validity of Ludmila's ordination and the reader must read carefully between the lines to pick up on Javorova's frustations at times in dealing with Davidek.
12 people found this helpful
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Patricia Obenauf
5.0 out of 5 stars Miriam Therese Winter beautifully relates Ludmila's story
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2015
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I got it for an acquaintance (a R. C. priest) who was not aware of Ludmila who was ordained in the Roman Catholic priesthood validly and legitimately to work during the siege of Czechoslovakia to serve the people. Miriam Therese Winter beautifully relates Ludmila's story.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Coming alive out of the depths can impact the Church
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2001
"Out of the Depths" by Mariam Winter is the story of Ludmila Javarova, a Czechoslovakian woman, ordained a Catholic Priest 30 years ago. She was ordained in secret by Bishop Felix Davidek, a man of intense devotion and spurred with new ideas to fire the Church with God's Holy Spirit. Ludmila lived most of her ministry in secret, out of personal devotion to God. In 1996, a news headline riled the pope who revoked her priesthood. As Ludmila said, "I'm a priest forever," even though she couldn't carry out any priestly duties. Although Protestant, I found this a very moving testimony of the Power of God in a woman's life, as well as enlightening of the effort of certain Catholics who kept their faith strong through the underground church during the reign of Communism just a few years ago. After Miriam Therese Winter listened to Javarova, visited her home in the in what was Czechoslovakia, and found a soulmate in Ludmila, she wrote the story so personally that the book feels like an autobiography. Ludmila Javarova is still coming alive out of her own depth of spirit, making a contribution to the changing face of Catholicism as women rise up.
9 people found this helpful
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Cyrille Rigobert Ogbabo
5.0 out of 5 stars I am most appreciative of your diligence and the way ...
Reviewed in Canada on August 1, 2018
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