The purpose of my article is to present a summary of the commitment made by the Dehonian Fathers in the Polish Province of Byelorussia. To understand the ministry service of our fathers it is necessary to describe, at least briefly, the religious and historical context of Byelorussia, in particular that of the Latin Church. I shall divide this exposition into three main points: 1. The national and religious history of Byelorussia; 2. Byelorussia today, some general notes; 3. The activity of the Dehonian Fathers in Byelorussia.
1. The National and Religious History of Byelorussia
On the basis of linguistic and political criteria we can divide the Slavic peoples today into three groups: Western Slavs: Poles, Czechs, Slovaks; Southern Slavs: Slovenians, Croats, Serbs, Macedonians, Bulgarians; Eastern Slavs: Russians, Ukrainians, White Russians. The White Russians (Byelo Russians) belong, like the Ukrainians and the Russians (Great Russians), to the group of Eastern Slavs.
In the history of various populations their origins are of particular interest, even if the reconstruction of these origins is never easy. Historians try to reconstruct the origins of the people of Byelorussia on the basis of archeological and written sources. Among the written sources they often draw on the chronicle which was written in the 12th century: “The Story of Times Past”, also known as “The Chronicle of Nestor”.1 This “Chronicle” lists the series of tribes of the Eastern Slavs. Among these we find: the Dregowicze on the upper Niemen, the Krywicze on the upper Dniepr, the Radymicze on the Soza.2
These tribes, towards the end of the VII century, settled in the above mentioned zones, creating there their own enclave.
In the IX century three centers were formed in the territories of the Eastern Slavs, around which state structures began to develop: Kiev in the south, Novgorod in the north, and Polock on the river Dzwina, which one could call the cradle of Byelorussia. From the rivalry which arouse from among these three centers the victors were the people of Kiev. At the end of the IX century the Krywicze, the Dregowicze and the Radymicze were also subdued, and thus the Byelorussian territory became part of the Rus´ of Kiev.
The first political, cultural and religious center of the Eastern Slavs was therefore the city of Kiev in the Dniepr Basin, seat of Prince Vladimer the Great. This Prince, together with his country, (therefore also the population which lived in Byelorussian territories) decided, at the beginning of 988, to adhere to the Christian religion. They received Christianity from Byzantium (in the Byzantine rite).3
After a period of notable development there followed the disintegration of the kingdom of the Rus´ of Kiev. In this period (XI-XII centuries) other small principates developed. In the Byelorussia territory we have the principate of Polock, which then split into those of Vitebsk and Minsk, and the principates of Turov, Pinsk and Smolensk.
From the middle of the XIV century three peoples, three nations, became more clearly delineated: Russians (Muscovites), Ukrainians and White Russians; these latter gave the name to the whole country of Byelorussia.4
All of these small principates shared a common fate: they were subjugated by the Mongols. The Mongol yoke was much lighter in the Western area of the Rus´ than it was in the East.
In this period the power of Lithuania also grew and a new center was established: Vilnius. Lithuania moved towards the east and the south freeing the White Russian and Ukrainian principates from Mongolian suppression, and absorbing them into the Great Principate of Lithuania. Under Great Prince Olgerd (Algirdas, 1345-1377), the Lithuanian State (only 10% of which was of Lithuanian race and tongue) adopted the political, juridical and cultural conditions of the Kingdom of Kiev.
Once the union between Poland and Lithuania (Lublin, 1569) was established, the Byelorussia lands were united with the Republic of these two peoples.
This union, by altering the borders of the new State, provoked the conflict between the two Christian Churches: Byzantine, (Orthodox), and Latin (Catholic). Since the Lithuanian prince embraced the Catholic faith, the consequences of this conflict were mostly felt by the inhabitants of the Great Principate of Lithuania (who were, for the most part, Ukrainians and Byelorussians who followed the Orthodox faith). What happened with time was that the Orthodox aristocracy and nobility went over to Catholicism, polarizing themselves into the Latin rite group, while most of the peasants remained faithful to the Orthodox Church.
The co-existence of the two Churches (Catholic and Orthodox) was not easy; as a matter of fact it did not favor a deep understanding of the Christian ethos among the diverse inhabitants of this territory. As a consequence of this, many representatives of the two Churches felt it was time to start talking about an ecclesiastical union; one that was similar to that achieved in Lublin: based on the voluntary agreement made between two free peoples who had equal rights. This ecclesiastical agreement was reached in 1596 in Brest-Litovsk. That was the moment of the birth of the Greek-Catholic Church (Uniata).
Even though there is no time in this report to give you sufficient information to make a judgement concerning both the union of Brest and of Lublin, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that, in the course of living with the Lithuanians and the Poles for many years, within the confines of the Federal Respublica, even though they were part of the great Lithuanian-Polish State, the Byelorussians never lost their own national identity. There is no doubt that Poland’s culture influenced them, above all regarding politics and religion, but in the Polish-Lithuanian State it was possible for a double or triple patriotism to co-exist: state, national, local. It is thanks to this that the White Russian nationality was also preserved. The fact that the Eastern ethnographic confines of Byelorussia today correspond almost exactly to the Eastern confines of the Polish Respublica prior to its division, is very characteristic of the situation. To the east of these confines (in the territories under the Russians), the White Russians were completely de-nationalized, swallowed up by the Russian population (Muscovites). Within the Polish Respublica on the other hand, the White Russians preserved their language, culture and traditions. Thanks to which, in the years at the turn of the 1800’s and the 1900’s (XIX and XX centuries) it was possible for there to be a rebirth of the people of Byelorussia.5
In the course of the division of Poland (1772-1795), the territory of Byelorussia which was part of the Polish Respublica became part of Russia and was subjugated to “Russianization” and to a growing favoritism towards the Orthodox Church. In 1839 the Greek-Catholic Church (Uniata) of this territory was incorporated, by force, into the Russian Orthodox Church.
During the First World War Byelorussia was occupied by German troops. After their withdrawal (1919) the Byelorussian territory, as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia, found itself under the domination of Soviet Russia.
In 1921, after the war between Poland and Soviet Russia (1919-1921), the treaty of Riga was signed: the western part of Byelorussia was given to Poland, eastern Byelorussia remained part of the Soviet Union as the Byelorussia Republic.
In 1925, in the part belonging to Poland, the diocese of Pinsk was established. In the eastern part of Byelorussia, on the other hand, there began the persecution of the faith and the closing of the churches. Many people were also persecuted because of their Polish origins. In these lands, not only did they try to make the people atheists, they also tried to make them Russian.6
We now come to the Second World War. On September 1, 1939 Poland was invaded by Hitler; on September 17, 1939 it was invaded from the East by Soviet Russia; on June 20, 1941 the German troops arrived and in July of 1944 the Soviet troops came once more. After the Second World War the western part of Byelorussia, which had belonged until then to Poland, was inserted into the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia. For the Church in Soviet Byelorussia, as in the other Soviet Republics, the time of persecutions and the closing of churches returned. The hard and long struggle for the survival of the Church and of the Catholic faith in Byelorussia lasted until March 11, 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in Russia and started the profound transformations (the so-called Perestroika = Restructuring). The effect of the changes which took place in Russia at the end of the eighties and the beginning of the nineties were felt also in the political and religious fields of Byelorussia.
In 1990 the official status of the Byelorussian language was restored. During the Soviet regime the only language spoken in schools was Russian, while the Byelorussian language was treated only as an optional subject. In this situation not everyone had the chance of learning the Byelorussian language, consequently it is not currently known by all the people of Byelorussia. In daily life only 40% of the population use the Byelorussian language, and in offices (at work) only 25%. Currently, although the official status of the Byelorussian language has been restored, there are in practice two official languages: Byelorussian and Russian.
This linguistic situation also makes itself felt in liturgical celebrations and in the catechesis. Today it is therefore necessary to use the Polish language (above all for elderly people of Polish origin who do not know Byelorussian), Byelorussian and sometimes (above all for catechesis) Russian.
It should be added here that one of the major objectives pursued by the Communists was to make it so that not only the religious identity of the people disappeared, but also that their national and cultural identity was mutated into that of the Soviet Union. In the approximately 70 years of Communist rule there was a fairly constant movement of populations and repeated deportations, sometimes of whole nations, often to far distant parts of the empire. These events occurred with greater or lesser intensity and could appear to be more or to be less spectacular, but they were always painful.
In August of 1991 Byelorussia proclaimed its independence and shortly afterwards, in December of the same year, together with Russia and the Ukraine, the Community of Independent States was formed.
2. Byelorussia Today: some General Notes
Currently Byelorussia covers an area of 207,600 square kilometers. 10 million people live there (exactly 10,367,000 in 1994); they are divided into Byelorussians (77.9%), Russians (13.2%), Poles (4.1%), Ukrainians (2.9%), Jews (1.1%) and a minimal group of Tartars and Lithuanians.
The religious structure is difficult to define because many Byelorussian citizens are not yet used to the new post- Communist situation. The sources provide varying information regarding this. Bearing this in mind, however, one can hold that 40% of the population is atheist or indifferent to religion. The remaining part (60%) would therefore be believers, at least theoretically, belonging to one Church or another.
Among the principal faiths the Catholic Church claims approximately 25% of all the inhabitants, as also does the Orthodox Church.7 The other confessions (10%) are Protestants (above all Baptists), then old-Catholics and Jews. As in Russia, also in Byelorussia the number of the various sects is increasing.8
Looking at the map of religious distribution in Byelorussia it can be noted that the greatest concentration of communities of the faithful is to be found in the western part of the country (the only exception being those who follow the Jewish faith).
The Latin Catholic Church in Byelorussia, after its reorganization of April 13, 1991,9 is composed of three administrative units: the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohylev, the Diocese of Pinsk and the Diocese of Grodno.
The administration of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohylev was entrusted to Cardinal (as of October 30, 1994) Kazimierz S´wiaþtek, who is also Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pinsk. In this service he is assisted by the auxiliary Bishop Msgr. Kazimierz Vielikosielskij. While the head of the Diocese of Grodno has been entrusted to Bishop Aleksander Kaszkiewicz, assisted by his auxiliary Msgr. Antoni Dziemianko.
In 1996 Msgr. Dominik Hruskovsky of Trnawa (Slovakia) was named apostolic nuncio. Since February 11, 1999 the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Byelorussia is officially in charge.
In the autumn of 1990 the Major Seminary was opened in Grodno. For the present it is the only Catholic seminary which receives candidates to the priesthood from all of Byelorussia. This year (1999) there are 120 students. From 1990 until today 50 priests have come out of this seminary. However, it should be added that in spite of the presence of numerous foreign priests working in Byelorussia, currently - according to a provisional calculation - at least 60 more priests would be necessary to satisfy the needs of parish ministry. At the same time, however, it must be noted that the civil authorities keep this aspect of the life of the Church under control and only a limited number of foreign priests can receive permission to work in Byelorussia. It is thought that in the future (perhaps next year) another seminary will be opened in Pinsk where, in November of 1993, the Catholic Church regained possession of the building of the old seminary.
In May 1995 Alexander ?ukaszenka became president of Byelorussia. He is an upholder of the old Communist system and of the integration of Byelorussia within Russia. Under his government, as can be seen, there has been a regression in the development of democracy and a return to the old Communist system. Thus the Catholic Church also finds itself in the difficult conditions of limited freedom. The current civil authorities try to blame the Catholic Church, and above all the Polish priests, for all the discontent of the Byelorussians which arise from the difficult economic and social situation of the country. To this end the means of mass communication are also exploited in order to feed this Orthodox aversion of the Catholics.10 All this creates a very difficult environment for the Catholic Church to live in today in Byelorussia. This is also the environment in which our S.C.J. brethren carry out their ministry work.
3. The Activity of the Dehonian Fathers in Byelorussia
Our Congregation’s first contacts with the Church in Byelorussia took place through Fr. Czeslaw Kunda, who was born in that region. Already in 1957 he had made his first visit to Grodno and to Vilnius (Lithuania). Thanks to the political changes which took place after the death of Stalin, Fr. Kunda was able to celebrate his first Mass among members of his family (he had been ordained eight years previously). He was able to repeat his visit almost thirty years later, that is, in 1985 and 1986. He then stayed, first on his own and then in company with other brethren, for some weeks in the Grodno area, with the purpose of getting to know the existing situation better. He asked for a permit to stay in the Soviet Union but his request was rejected. Taking advantage, however, of the possibility of a short term sojourn, Fr. Kunda and other of our brethren offered, particularly in the Grodno area, pastoral assistance to the small group of priests who were already present in Byelorussia, especially during Advent, Lent and over Easter.11
The turning point for the life of the Church, as also for our pastoral commitment in Byelorussia, took place at the end of the eighties with the political and social changes (“perestroika”) of Gorbachev, which created new conditions and greater freedom for the Church.
The first visit made to Byelorussia by the Polish S.C.J. Provincial, together with his assistant, took place in 1989. Contact with the local Bishop (then Msgr. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz) led to the acceptance of parish activity in Lack (approximately fifty kilometers east of Grodno) and in Lyntupy (approximately one hundred kilometers southeast of Vilnius, but still in the territory of Byelorussia). Three fathers were inserted into this activity. At the same time two other fathers were sent; one to the Byelorussian area of Chernobyl (Lelczyce) to organize the parish there, and the other to Grodno. In 1991, at the request of the new Archbishop of Minsk-Mohylev and the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pinsk, Msgr. Kazimierz S´wiaþtek, two of our fathers started ministry work at Lachowicze (about 150 kilometers southwest of Minsk). We were subsequently entrusted also with the parishes of Postawy and Szarkowszczyna (in the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohylev), and lastly with the parish of Ostryna (in the Diocese of Grodno).
The pastoral commitments and the places where our fathers worked have in part changed since the early days. Some of them which were entrusted to us temporarily because of the scant availability of priests, have now been filled by local priests; other places have been left for various reasons. Here is a concrete example: Fr. Zbigniew Bojar worked for 3 years at Lelczyce (near Chernobyl), where he built the new church and parish building. Today the diocesan priests work there.
Since 1999, 11 of our fathers are present in Byelorussia. They work in seven main areas, in the territory of all three dioceses. Another works as a professor in the Major Seminary at Grodno. Taking these two brethren into account, there are now twelve Dehonian fathers working in Byelorussia.
The centers served by our fathers could be useful in the future as a support base for certain specific activities of the Congregation which, at present, above all because of the somewhat unfavorable political situation, it is not possible to develop. It must be born in mind that until only a short time ago it was almost impossible to start any other kind of work apart from the typical parish ministry. It is hoped that with time there will be new possibilities of work in this country.
In Postawy we already own our first religious house; it is currently being restored. It will be useful for the ministry to children and young people and for the charity services to the poorest. The restoration of this house is being financed by the European Dehonian Movement of Naples.12
The ministry to the children and young people in Byelorussia was entrusted (by our Congregation) to Father Marek Kaz´mierczak, formerly vicar in the Parish of Postavy, and now vicar in the Parish of Lyntupy. Since 1993 Father Kaz´mierczak has been organizing, among other things, vacations for children and adolescents, called “Vacations with God”. These are particularly for those people coming from the poorest families or from areas polluted by the atomic center from Chernobyl.
It must be added here that Byelorussia is one of the poorest countries of the former Soviet Union. Many families live in dire poverty, so that it is not possible for them to give their children the chance to have the rehabilitation and rest they require. In such a situation this initiative seems very important.
With regard to the future prospective for our Congregation, the fact must be emphasized that we already own our first house in Postawy, one which will also be useful for the vocational ministry. We also have the chance of building a new religious house in a large urban center in Grodno. At present one of our students from Byelorussia is studying in our Major Seminary at Stadniki; one young man has started the novitiate and another his postulate.
In the future the Polish Province may be able to take on more specific tasks: missions to the people and spiritual exercises, a wider ranging ministry, teaching and publishing work in the Seminary and in the catechesis Institute. Meanwhile, however, according to existing state legislation religious Institutes may not be officially registered; for this reason we are forced to take on work in the parishes in order to obtain a residence permit. One of the most important things for our Province is the fact that it has given us the possibility of having local vocations, as indeed a well organized religious house in Byelorussia.
Looking back over the progress of our fathers in Byelorussia we can say that there have been years of hard work which at times might also seem to be somewhat unfruitful. All the same, one must take account of the difficult socio-political situation in which they have had to, and still have to, carry out their work. In spite of all the difficulties and obstacles we can record that in this period we have accomplished the building of 4 new churches and 2 parish buildings, as well as the restoration of 7 chapels. All this makes up a significant contribution, not only from the religious point of view but also from the material aspect. One must also mention here the late lamented Aleksander Wyszyñski, who paid for his great commitment to the Church in Byelorussia with the sacrifice of his life. We thank God, who in the most difficult period of the life of the Church, after the destructions caused by communism, has given our fathers the possibility of making their important and long lasting contribution towards the construction of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart in Byelorussia.
NOTES
. Cf. Povest’ vremennych let’, Edited by D.C. Lichacev, Moscow-Leningrad (St. Petersburg), 1950 (Translated into Polish: Powies´c´ minionych let, Wroclaw, 1968).
2. Cf. T. Manteuffel, Historia powszechna. S´reniowiecze, Warsaw 1968, p. 14.
3. The Christian religion already had numerous followers in Kiev before Vladimir: in 945 there is mention of the church of St. Elia and the Christians of Igor’s following. The wife-widow of Igor, Olga, was baptized in 957, probably in Constantinople. She appealed to Otto I, asking him to send a bishop to Kiev from the East. But it was Olga’s grandson, Vladimir, who made Christianity the religion of State. The political circumstances favored his plan. The Byzantine emperors, Basil II and Constantine VIII, had asked Vladimir for military aid in order to resist the usurpers in Asia Minor. Vladimir consented on the condition that he could take Anna, the sister of the emperors, as his wife. At the same time he promised to be baptized (Cf. J. Krajcar, Quadro storico generale (General Historical Picture), in Storia religiosa russa (Russian Religious History), edited by L. Vaccaro, Milan 1984, p. 29).
4. The etymology of the word Byelorussia is “White Russia”. The experts agree that this refers to the colors on the compass with which, in the 14th century, the Slavs defined their directions. The color white indicated the north, thus the peoples who lived north of the Rus´ of Kiev were called White Russians. However, there are many other people who claim they were called White Russians because of the prevalence of white (Bielo) in their traditional costumes. Attempts to study the exact situation of White Russia has created not a few problems for scholars. It is certain that it was a part of Eastern Slavonic area, and it seems that it encompassed: Vitebsk, Mohylew and, in part, the territories that make up the region of Minsk.
5. Cf. H. Gulbinowicz, Ewangelia a kultura. Dos´wiadczenie bia?oruskie, in Ewangelia i kultura. Dos´wiadczenie s´rodkowoeuropejskie, Edited by M. Radwan, T. Stczen´, Rome 1988, p. 186.
6. There were two dioceses in this area: Mohylev and Minsk. Until 1925 the diocese of Mohylev was governed by Archbishop E. Ropp, and the diocese of Minsk by Bishop Zygmunt ?ozin´ski. Then, until 1927, Bishop Sloskans governed them both. After 1927 these dioceses remained vacant.
7. The number of Orthodox faithful is, according to some people, greater than that of the Catholics. But one must take into account that these data concern the situation of ten or twenty years ago. In recent years, on the other hand, a notable increase in the number of Catholics, as opposed to the Orthodox, can be seen. In any case the Catholic Church still has a significant percentage of over 20%.
8. Cf. Religie i Koscio?y w spo?eczen´stwach postkomunistycznych, Edited by I. Borowik, A. Szjewski, Crakow 1993, pp. 113-115.
9. On that date the Holy See, under the plan of the reorganization of the Latin Catholic Church in Russia, took the following action: it established the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohylev and nominated as Archbishop of the Archdiocese, the Reverend Msgr. Kazimierz S´wiaþtek. Archbishop Kazimierz S´wiaþtek was also nominated Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pinsk and, on October 30, 1994, he was raised to the dignity of Cardinal. In addition, the Holy See established the Diocese of Grodno and nominated Msgr. Aleksander Kaszkiewicz as its bishop.
10. Already on July 3, 1995 the new president undertook measures to limit the pastoral work of the Polish priests in Byelorussia, and to confirm the regulation forbidding catechism to be provided by the nuns who had come from Poland (Cf. “S?owo-Dziennik Katolicki”, October 2, 1995; and KAI, n. 78 (November 21, 1995).
11. Cf. Cz. Kunda, Poczaþtki zaangazowania duszpasterskiego naszego Zgromadzenia na Bia?orusi (The Beginnings of Our Congregation’s Pastoral Commitment in Byelorussia), Cracow 1994. In speaking of the activity of the Dehonian Fathers in Byelorussia, the name of Father Marian Radwan should also be noted. His contribution is above all of a scientific character and is expressed in the various publications concerning the situation of the Church in the Soviet Union (Cf. M. Radwan, Duszpasterstwo katolickie na Bia?orusi, 1917-1984, w; Ewangelia i Kultura. Dos´wiadczenie s´rodkowoeuropejskie, Edited by M. Radwan, T. Styczen´, Rome 1988, pp. 189-208; ibid., Kos´ció? w Rosji i na Bialorusi w relacjach duszpasterzy (1892-1926), wybór tekstów i operac. M. Radwan, Cracow 1999).
12. The beginning of the official agreement for collaboration between the Dehonian Fathers working in Postawy and the European Dehonian Movement dates from the visit of the Provincial Superior, Father Cz. Konior, together with Father Muzio Ventrella, the President of the European Dehonian Movement, with the representatives of the same Movement in 1995. It should be added that Fr. Muzio Ventrella had already been to Byelorussia once with a group of young people from the same Movement in June of 1993.