| Revision as of 22:20, 19 February 2006 editKuban kazak (talk | contribs)13,061 edits Nevertheless that is an independent source, stop vandalising this article or else I will ask the admin to take suitable measures.← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:22, 20 February 2006 edit undoKuban kazak (talk | contribs)13,061 edits Will this more NPOV version suit better?Next edit → | ||
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| The ] who through the ] (1595-96), while preserving their Byzantine ] in the ] language, forced into full ] with the see of Rome, after a few centuries of Polish persecution, were at first mainly Belarusian. Even after further Ukrainians forced into the Union in about 1700, Belarusians still formed about half of the group. | The ] who through the ] (1595-96), while preserving their Byzantine ] in the ] language, forced into full ] with the see of Rome, after a few centuries of Polish persecution, were at first mainly Belarusian. Even after further Ukrainians forced into the Union in about 1700, Belarusians still formed about half of the group. | ||
| With the partition of Poland, the incorporation of the whole of ] into ] many Belarusians took their chance and by march 1795 |
With the partition of Poland, the incorporation of the whole of ] into ] many Belarusians took their chance and by march ] 1,553 priests, 2,603 parishes and 1,483,111 people willfuly returned to Orthodoxy. However due to the Polish nobility's dominance in the area and the Russian Imperial authorities religious tolerance programme, the uniate Church continued to function. However immediately a rift began to emerge in the clergy. Most who cherished the slavonic liturgy and traditions began to see an eventual reunification with their Orthodox brothers whilst others began converting to pure catholicism and distance themselves from the eastern rite altogher. | ||
| However it was only after the ill-fated ] of 1831 which allowed the Polish noblity where removed from having any influencial role in the society that the former group could have its demands met and in ] ], after a synod of ] where the remaining three bishops of the Church, along with 1,305 priests, and remaining Uniate christians 1,600,000 returned to the ], ending two and a half centuries of Catholic influence in Belarus. | |||
| For Belarusians this was the chance to openely develop their national culture, language and identity. Although many see this as a form of Russification, by the end of the 19th century the first cultural elite began to emerge which would eventually turn the Belarusian peoples into a nation. It is not surprising that in the Imperial census of 1897 the people chose to list their language not as Russian (as they did during Polish rule) but as Belarusian. | |||
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| However for some priests and faithful, the roots of the unia were too deep, whilst after the Russian state aid helped to return most of the property to Othodoxy in the 1840s, not all priests were happy to chose between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Some emigrated to Autrian Galicia, others chose to in secret practice the now-forbidden religion, and were subject to persecution and even deportation. | |||
| ⚫ | When, in 1905, ] published a decree granting freedom of religion, as much as 230,000 {{fact}} Belarusians wanted to revive the Uniate Catholic Church. However, since the government refused to allow them to form a Byzantine-Rite community, they adopted the ], to which, in consequence, most Belarusian Catholics now belong. | ||
| After the First World War, the western part of Belarus was included in the reconstituted Polish state, and fewer than 30,000 descendants of those who, less than a century before, had joined the Russian Orthodox Church were forced back into the Catholic Church, while keeping their Byzantine liturgy. In 1931, the Holy See sent them a bishop as Apostolic Visitator. After the Soviet Union annexed Western Belarus in 1939, an exarch for the Belarusian Byzantine-Rite faithful was appointed in May 1940, but, a mere two years later, he was arrested and taken to a Soviet concentration camp, where he died. | After the First World War, the western part of Belarus was included in the reconstituted Polish state, and fewer than 30,000 descendants of those who, less than a century before, had joined the Russian Orthodox Church were forced back into the Catholic Church, while keeping their Byzantine liturgy. In 1931, the Holy See sent them a bishop as Apostolic Visitator. After the Soviet Union annexed Western Belarus in 1939, an exarch for the Belarusian Byzantine-Rite faithful was appointed in May 1940, but, a mere two years later, he was arrested and taken to a Soviet concentration camp, where he died. | ||
Revision as of 00:22, 20 February 2006
The Belarusian Byzantine Catholic Church is listed in the Annuario Pontificio as an autonomous (sui iuris) ritual Church, an Eastern Rite particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church. The same publication, however, at present makes no mention of it outside its list of such Churches.
History
The Christians who through the Union of Brest-Litovsk (1595-96), while preserving their Byzantine liturgy in the Church Slavonic language, forced into full communion with the see of Rome, after a few centuries of Polish persecution, were at first mainly Belarusian. Even after further Ukrainians forced into the Union in about 1700, Belarusians still formed about half of the group.
With the partition of Poland, the incorporation of the whole of Belarus into Russia many Belarusians took their chance and by march 1795 1,553 priests, 2,603 parishes and 1,483,111 people willfuly returned to Orthodoxy. However due to the Polish nobility's dominance in the area and the Russian Imperial authorities religious tolerance programme, the uniate Church continued to function. However immediately a rift began to emerge in the clergy. Most who cherished the slavonic liturgy and traditions began to see an eventual reunification with their Orthodox brothers whilst others began converting to pure catholicism and distance themselves from the eastern rite altogher. However it was only after the ill-fated November Uprising of 1831 which allowed the Polish noblity where removed from having any influencial role in the society that the former group could have its demands met and in February 1839, after a synod of Polotsk where the remaining three bishops of the Church, along with 1,305 priests, and remaining Uniate christians 1,600,000 returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, ending two and a half centuries of Catholic influence in Belarus.
For Belarusians this was the chance to openely develop their national culture, language and identity. Although many see this as a form of Russification, by the end of the 19th century the first cultural elite began to emerge which would eventually turn the Belarusian peoples into a nation. It is not surprising that in the Imperial census of 1897 the people chose to list their language not as Russian (as they did during Polish rule) but as Belarusian.
However for some priests and faithful, the roots of the unia were too deep, whilst after the Russian state aid helped to return most of the property to Othodoxy in the 1840s, not all priests were happy to chose between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Some emigrated to Autrian Galicia, others chose to in secret practice the now-forbidden religion, and were subject to persecution and even deportation.
When, in 1905, Tsar Nicholas II published a decree granting freedom of religion, as much as 230,000 Belarusians wanted to revive the Uniate Catholic Church. However, since the government refused to allow them to form a Byzantine-Rite community, they adopted the Latin Rite, to which, in consequence, most Belarusian Catholics now belong.
After the First World War, the western part of Belarus was included in the reconstituted Polish state, and fewer than 30,000 descendants of those who, less than a century before, had joined the Russian Orthodox Church were forced back into the Catholic Church, while keeping their Byzantine liturgy. In 1931, the Holy See sent them a bishop as Apostolic Visitator. After the Soviet Union annexed Western Belarus in 1939, an exarch for the Belarusian Byzantine-Rite faithful was appointed in May 1940, but, a mere two years later, he was arrested and taken to a Soviet concentration camp, where he died.
While from then on very little information about the Byzantine Catholics in Belarus could reach Rome, refugees from among them founded centres in western Europe (Paris, London and Louvain) and in parts of the United States of America, especially in Chicago. The Holy See appointed a Belarusian bishop as Apostolic Visitator for the Belarusian faithful abroad in 1960 and a successor in 1983. But after the latter's death died in 1986, no further such appointment was made. At present, therefore, Belarusian Byzantine Catholics have no bishop of their own in their homeland or elsewhere.
However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Church began to reemerge. By 1992, three priests and two deacons in Belarus were celebrating the Byzantine liturgy in Belarusian. The same year, a survey by Belarus State University found that 10,000 Belarusians identified themselves as Byzantine Catholics. By 1999, at least ten parishes had applied for registration with the Belarusian government.
Sources
- The history of the Uniate Church and its disestablishment in the 19th century.
- Oriente Cattolico (Vatican City: The Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Churches, 1974)
- Annuario Pontificio.
- Ronald Roberson, CSP; The Eastern Christian Churches: A Brief Survey (6th edition); 1999; Edizioni Orientalia Christiana, Pontificio Istituto Orientale; Rome, Italy; ISBN 88-7210-321-5