Little Porcelain Statues: The Purification of Liturgical Space and the Early Realization of Liturgical Reform in the Hradec Kralove Diocese in 1966-1967

The study describes and analyses the course of one of the phases of the Second Vatican Council's liturgical reform (Small Reform) in the Czech Lands, specifically in the Hradec Kr & aacute;lov & eacute; Diocese in 1966-1967. The author proceeds from letters and reports by individual ecclesiastical administrators who, on the basis of their superiors ' orders, provided information on the course of the "purification" of liturgical space in their parishes. In connection with the Sacrosanctum concilium constitution, these changes applied to the transfor mation of church movables. The documents demonstrate the prevailing willingness of the clergymen to put the liturgical reform into practice as well as their delicate position. The purification mostly reflected their personal approach and was also potentially dissentious due to the removal or moving of objects with which the lay believers felt an emotional bond. This process took place almost exclusively within the authority of ecclesiastical bodies, including the possibility to conduct consultations with designated priests; the state administration and heritage preservation seldom entered into it.