The development of Byelorussian Orthodox Church

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 429.

As a result of the changes in European borders after World War II, all Western territories of Belarus were incorporated into Poland.

More than 1500 orthodox Christian parishes found themselves under the jurisdiction of the autocefalous Orthodox Church of Poland.

By 1919 the Soviet power was established in the regions of Mogilev, Smolensk, Vitebsk and in the major part of Minsk region, after a series of well-known historic disasters and calamities.

During the period up to 1941, their struggle against religion in general, and against the Orthodox Church in particular, was not ceasing even for a moment, varying only in intensity.

The November 7/20, 1920, Resolution No 362 by Patriarch Tikhon, and by the Holy Synod on granting greater power to Diocesan Archbishops, and more rights in arranging the clerical life within their eparchies, was a prerequisite for establishing the Byelorussian Orthodox Metropolitan See on June 23, 1922. It was headed by Melchisedek, the Bishop of Minsk, elected the Metropolitan of Minsk and Byelorussia.

But the repressions perpetrated by the Soviets made it impossible to establish normal clerical life. After numerous arrests and being in exile, Metropolitan Melchisedek died suddenly when serving the Holy Liturgy in Moscow in late twenties.

Following him, almost all Orthodox priests and bishops of Soviet Byelorussia died in prisons and concentration camps. They were replaced, for some time, by ‘Renovationists', but they also perished.

Clerical and religious life stopped in this part of Byelorussia ... By the beginning of World War II there remained only two churches in the Eastern territories of Byelorussia, with services arranged only occasionally.

Within the territory of the Republic of Poland there were five eparchies: Warsaw-Kholm, Volyn, Polyessye, Grodno and Vilno.

They used to give access to Holy Liturgy to about five million native Orthodox population of all Poland, and formed the Autocefalous Orthodox Church of Poland. Its autocefaly was granted in 1924 by Grigory III, the Constantinople Patriarch, at the application of the Episcopate and the government. But the only legal document, allegedly, regulating the status of the Orthodox Church in this republic, was the so-called "Provisional rules of government's relation towards the Orthodox Church in Poland", signed by the minister of education and belief" in 1922.

One can judge about the significance of this document by the fact, that it did not prevent the slow destruction of a unique church in Warsaw (comparable with the Christ the Saviour Church in Moscow ). The church, dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevski - the Great Prince, was a gift from Russia to the Orthodox people of Poland and of its capital. In 1925 the Polish government and the Pope of Rome signed the Concordat which declared Catholicism the dominant religion of Poland.

A bacchanalia began – of destroying everything Orthodox: half of the 1.500 churches belonging to the Orthodox Church of Poland were taken away from believers; 140 churches were destroyed in 1938 only, and 150 churches and homes for prayer were destroyed in addition, before the beginning of World War II.

Alongside this, almost all Byelorussian and Ukrainian national schools were closed. Total Polonization of Byelorussians began under the government program, since 1934. Since then, teaching the Law of God, and priests' sermons were to be in Polish, only.

Alongside this, it was only on November 18, 1938 that the president of the Polish republic and the minister for religious beliefs signed «The Inner Statutes of the Holy Polish Autocefalous Church», and the president's decree on the legal existence of the Orthodox Church in the country was published

After Soviet occupation of Western Byelorussia on September 1, 1939 there followed more changes for the Orthodox Church there.

Vilno was handed over to the Lithuanian republic, and Moscow appointed Metropolitan Sergiy Voskresenski -with the title of Metropolitan of Vilno and Lithuania, the Exarch for the Baltic area.

Metropolitan Sergiy Stragorodski appointed Metropolitan Nikolai Yaroshevich to head the Volyn eparchy, with the title of the Exarch for Western Ukraine and Byelorussia.

The newly formed Grodno-Vileika eparchy was headed by Archbishop Panteleimon Rozhnovski, who, since 1941, had Venedict Bobkovski as his Suffragan Bishop of Brest. Archimandrite Veniamin Novitski from Pochayevskaya monastery was appointed as Bishop for Polessye in Pinsk in early June 1941.

The German Fascist troops, that occupied Byelosussia, witnessed an almost total annihilation of the Orthodox Church.

There were no clergymen or monks, churches were either destroyed or closed. Only one, St Alexander Nevski church, situated at the old Military graveyard, was functioning in the capital Minsk, out of nine remaining churches. But the number of believers was so great, that the occupation authorities did not hinder the rebirth of clerical life, because they wanted to gain the loyalty of the population.

The authorities agreed to allow Metropolitan Panteleimon and Bishop Venedict to arrange clerical life in Byelorussia with the following conditions:

1) The Orthodox Church in Byelorussia is guided by its holy canons and German authorities do not interfere with its internal life;

2) The Orthodox Church in Byelorussia should be named «Byelorussian Autocefalous Orthodox National Church»;

3) sermons, teaching the God's Law and church documents should be in Byelorussian;

4) appointment of bishops, rural deans and priests should not be made without German authorities' knowledge;

5) The Statute of «the Byelorussian Autocefalous Orthodox National Church» should be submitted;

6) church service should be in Church Slavonic.

A special meeting of the clergy, organised by Metropolitan Panteleimon, approved the following resolution:

1) to accept and to abide by the conditions formulated in the letter by the General Commissaries of Byelorussia;

2) to move the Metropolitan Seat from Jirovichi monastery to the capital of Byelorussia - Minsk;

3) to open a theological college;

4) to confer the title «Metropolian of Minsk and for all Byelorussia» on Metropolitan Panteleimon.

However, Byelorussian political figures secured his resignation soon -- for his strict pro-Russian and monastic convictions. They continued interfering with clerical problems, and soon there was a deadlock. Metropolitan Panteleimon convened the assembly of bishops in order to solve the most important problems. The assembly decreed that six new eparchies should be opened: in Vitebsk, Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev, Novogrudok and Smolensk, and to appoint the corresponding bishops.

The Synod was elected, including two bishops and the Metropolitan as chairman. Byelorussian political figures continued their interference with the administrative matters of the church.

Having some support from the occupation authorities, they initiated German orders on displacement of the bishops they disliked, and on changing the decisions already adopted. Their conflict with Metropolitan Panteleimon who was the ruling archbishop, resulted in his dismissal and exile to Vileika, where he lived under observation.

The Metropolitan was replaced by Bishop Philophei, but he also was not obsequious enough for the Byelorussian politicians, e.g. he did not declare autocefaly they required. As a result of their threats (on behalf of the occupation authorities) and of their rudeness, the general Church Assembly was summoned on August 29, 1942. But the German authorities ignored both the opinion of the church, and the opinions of Byelorussian politicians. They demonstrated their own programme of attitude towards the Orthodox Church, and towards the people they planned to annihilate totally, in perspective. It became clear at the Assembly, that a declaration of autocefaly in strict accordance with the canon law was impossible, that is why the statute of «the Byelorussian Autocefalous Orthodox National Church» was considered without a formal declaration of autocefaly.

There followed a temporary calm, but half a year later Byelorussian politicians started a new disturbance. It continued till the time when the Soviet Army forced its way through the front line between Vitebsk and Orsha.

The result was a hasty evacuation of Byelorussian Orthodox hyerarchs from Grodno to Germany, together with the same Byelorussian politicians whose ambitions had put to death many thousands of Orthodox believers. The priests, that stayed in their parishes, shared the destinies of their parishioners later on.

All the decisions and labour of the bishops aimed at creating Byelorussian Orthodox Church ended in nowhere, and remained in the chronicles only. The few surviving churches were gradually closed and demolished, especially in the 1960ies. The number of parishes radically dropped to the total of 369. The theological college, and the monasteries in Polostk and Grodno were closed.

Considerable changes in the life of the Orthodox Church in Belarus followed the celebration of 1.000th anniversary of the Baptism of the Rus in 1989.

The Polotsk eparchy, and eparchies in Mogilev and Pinsk were restored in October 1989. The Gomel eparchy was restored, and a new Brest eparchy was established in January 1990. In May 1992 eparchies in Turov and Vitebsk were established. There were 609 parishes in the republic by the end of 1991. According to canon law, the ten eparchies on the territory of Belarus make the Belarusian Exarchate of Russian Orthodox Church, established in 1990. The Exarchate is independent in administrative matters, and is accountable before the Synod, headed by His Grace Philaret, the Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of all Belarus who assumed the Minsk See in 1978. Another name of the Belarusian Exarchate is Belarusian Orthodox Church.

Minsk Theological College (closed in 1963) started its work again in 1989; further on, Belarusian Theological Academy was set up in accordance with the 1993 resolution of the Synod. By July 1, 1994, Belarusian Orthodox Church comprised 850 parishes and 8 monasteries, and by the time of the second visit of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow Aleksiy II to White Russia, there were already 918 parishes, 3 monasteries and 6 convents. The monasteries are situated in the following places: the Holi Assumption Stavropigial monastery is in the town of Jirovichi, Grodno region, the Holi Epiphany Kuteinski monastery is in Orsha, Vitebsk region, and The Holi Annunciation Stavropigial monastery is in the village of Lyady, Minsk region.

Among the convents are: the Saviour-Ephrosinia convent in Polotsk, the Holi Virgin Nativity convent in Grodno, St Nicholas convent in Mogilev, the St Barbara convent in Pinsk, the Holi Protective Veil convent in Khoiniki, Gomel region, and a convent in honour of the Tikhvin Icon of Virgin Mary, situated in Gomel. By July 22, 1995, there were 38 monks and 14 lay brothers in the monasteries mentioned.

As for the convents, there were 57 nuns, 33 lay sisters, and 3 nuns that had taken vows of schema. 14 Orthodox friaries and 15 sisterhoods exist now at parishes and Eparchial Administrations.

By the beginning of 1995, the Exarchate's publications included 8 church newspapers, 3 magazines and an information bulletin.

There were 54 church libraries registered.

TEXT 3