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1. POLAND AND DANZIG
2. UPPER SILESIA
3. EASTERN POLAND
4. GERMAN WITHDRAWAL
tN THE EAST
5. THE STORYF WILNO
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thc leadiig ncosagen s or diracl frcn:-
THE POLISH RESEARCH CENTRE,
32, CHESHAM PLACE, LONDON, S.W.I
THE
ORTHODOX
EASTERN
CHURCH IN POLAND
First published Septembar, 7942.
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
THE DITCELING PRESS, LTD., DITCHLING,
riassocxs, sus.snx.
HE ORTHODOX
STERN CHURCH
IN POLAND
PAST AND PRESENT
THE POLISH
il
Edited by
RESEARCH CENTRE
LONDON
TEE POLISII RESEAECH CENTRE was
founded in London in April, 1940, and is
governed by an Anglo-Polish Council. The
Centre has been giveri hospitality by the
Royal Institute of International Affairs at
32, Chesham Place, Lonilon, S.W.1.
)
r, .{ r.i.6 }l iD !
)'.kt .!J\r(r
i-
,.t l'l
I
(
CONTENTS.
PART I.
IIISTOBICAL OUTLINE DOWN TO i'HE XVIII CENTUR,Y.
Introduction
Page.
1
2
4
l. The Beginnings of Orthodoxy in
lhe
of Poland.
Kingdom
II. The Orthodox Metropolis in the XV and XVI
I II. The Union of Brest anal the Decline of the
Orthodox Metropolis
The Bestoration of the Orthodox Metropohs ...
The Orthodox l\{etropolis in the XVII anil
XVIII Centuries
The Orthodox Church in Poland after tr'our
Centuries
PAB,T II.
,I'HE
ORTHODOX C]IURCH IN POLAND IN TIIE XIX
AND XX CENTURIES.
Poiish Orthodoxy under Bussian BuIe
The Orthodox Church in the Bestored Polish
Page.
28
32
oo
Nationalist Tenilencies ancl Programmes in the
Polish Orthodox Church
XI. Diffrculties and Conflicts
X lL The Status of the Orthodox Church in Poland...
Oentnries
State
The Russian Church in its Relations to Po1ish
Orthodoxy
BN7
50
,.?,1
P7
17
26
IV.
V.
vl.
I
t4
3B
43
47
'j
,,.I'
l'1-r,
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
PART I.
HISTORICAT, OUTLINE DOWN TO THE
XVIII CENTURY.
IurnoouclIoN.
OTII canon law ancl the traditions and sustoms of the
sl,ern Orthodox Church demand an independent ecclesiastical
rrgtnisation within the boundaries of each state, an organisation
,,,i,,pendent of external influences, especially of a political
I r r Lrtcter.
Adrien Bondon
J6zef Feldrrran
E. Golubinskij
M. Hruszewskyj
Aleksander Jablonowski
Lescoeur
Dr. E. Likowski
Cecylia Lubienska
Mitropolit Nlakarij ...
Paul Pierling ...
Wiktor Piotrowicz ...
Voelker
Le Saiut-Siege et la Russie,
Paris, 1922.
B,zeczpospolita a Kosci6l Pra
slawny, Warszawa, 1934.
Sprawa dyssydencka za Lug
sta II, Krak6w, L924.
i ego spodwizhniki, Kiev,
Istorija russkoj Cerkvi, 2 vols.,
Moscow, 1901-4.
Kulturalno-nacjonalny ruch
Ukraini, Kiev, 1919.
Akadeinj a Kijowsko-Mohylans
Warszawa-Krak6w, 1900.
L'EgIise Catholique en Polog
2 vols., Paris, 1876.
Die R,uthenisch-Boemische
Kirchen-Vereinigung genann
Union zu Brest. Freiburg
Breisgau, 1904.
Sprawa dyssydencka,'Warsz
1911.
Istorija Russkoj Cerkvi, 12 vo
St,. Petersburg, 1859-83.
Un Arbitrage Pontifical au
Sildle entre Ia Pologne
Bussie, Bruxelles, 1890.
Wschoilnie zagadnienia
niowe, Warszawa, 1938.
Kirchengeschichte Polens,
lin-Leipzig, 1930.
Ever since its appearance in history the Orthoilox Church in
',rlirncl
showed a marked tendency to maintain such indepen-
lorrco both of Moscow and the Patriarcha;be of Constantinople'
In the course of its long existence on Polish soil the Eastern
llrrrlch
absorbed many elements of Polish culture, some of t'hem
rnunon to all West European countries, others peculiar to
'oIish surroundings.
These influences resultetl in a form of ecclesiastical organisa-
,iorr based on the General Synod, on the participation of the laity
rr ohurch management, and on many local customs.
In the Middle Ages Poland. was alreacly remarkable for her
righ measure of political lreedom and for religious tolerance,
x'
et
rirrgs which drew neighbouring peoples towards her.
ln 1386 the Polish-Lithuanian Union was concluded, Ladislas
lrr,gello, Grand Duke of Lithuania, became King of Poland and
rrrlertook to receive baptism with his entire people a,nd to respect
ro liberties of Poland. But a vast number of his subjects were
rlrrady Christians anil aclhered to the Eastern Orthoclox, not to
,lr,r R,oman Church. Poland, for her part, possessed a consider-
rlrltr Orthodox population in B,ed Ruthenia. Now, their numbers,
rrrrler Polish sovereignty, were gr'eatly increased.
This branch of the Eastern Church founil itself within the
,1,lrere o{
'Western
influences. On the other hand, it was also the
,i,.jcct of special interest on the part, of Potrand's Eastern neigh-
,,,rrrs, always remarkable for their aspirations to political expan-
ri.lr. The Orthodox Church itself became an important factor in
lrc political tife of Poland, as when the rights of the Ruthenian
,'rrtiv or the privileges of the episcopate were a:b issue during
Iro wars with Muscovy or the Cossack risings.
These problems gave a political character to the religious
lrrostions
in Poland. In the period of decline, in the XVI4
'rrrrtury the difficulties concerning the Orthodox and, in general,
I,lrtr diisenters or ilissiilents, as they were termed in Polancl, be-
nrrne welcome pretexts in the hands of B,ussia ancl Prussia in
llroir action for the breaking up of the Polish State.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Adrien Bondon Le Saint-Siege et Ia Eussie,
Paris, 1922.
PART I.
HISTORICAI, OUTLINE DOWN TO THE
XVIII CENTURY.
IutrouuctloN.
OTII canon' Iaw ancl the traditions and customs of the
,)rrrit,ern
orthodox churoh demancl an independent ecclesiastical
r|pqrrnisation within the boundaries of each state, an organisation
,',it,pendent of external influences, especialiy of a political
,lrrrrrlcter.
lrrgollo, Grand Duke of Lithuania, became King of Poland and
rrrilertook to receive baptism with his entire people anil to respect
rrr liberties of Poland. But a vast number of his subjects were
rtrldy Christians and adhered to the Eastern Orthodox, not to
rr, Iioman Church. Poland, for her part, possessed a consider-
Kazirnieru
()hodynioki
J6zef Fekluran
S. Golubiew
E. Golubinskij
M. Hruszewskyj
Aleksander Jablonowski
Lescoeur
Dr. E. Likowski
Cecylia Lubienska
Mitropolit Xlakarij ...
Paul Pierling ...
Wiktor Piotrowicz ...
Voelker
Rzeczpospolita a Kosci6l. Prr
slawny, Warszawa, 1934.
Sprawa dyssydencka za Au
sta II, Krak6w, 1924.
Die Ruthenisch-Roemische
Kirchen-Vereinigung genann
Union zu Brest. tr'reiburg
Breisgau, 1904.
Sprawa dyssydencka,'Warsza
1911.
Un Arbitrage Pontifical au XV
Sildle entre la Pologne et
Bussie, Bruxelles, 1890.
Wschodnie zagadnienia wyz
niowe, Warszawa, 1938.
Kirchengeschichte Polens,
lin-Leipzig, 1930.
Kievskij mitropolit Pet'r M
i ego spodwizhniki, Kiev,
Istorija russkoj Cerkvi, 2 v,
Moscow, 1901-4.
Kulturalno-nacjonalny ruch n
Ukraini, Kiev, 1919.
)rrrrr)on to all West European countries, others peculiar to
Akademja Kijowsko-Mohyl
rrr based on the General Synod, on the participation of
organ]sa-
the laity
Warszawa-Krak6w, 1900.
tr'Eglise Catholique en Polo
2 vols., Paris, 1876.
Ilver since its appearance in history the Orthodox Church
in
'rrlnnd showed a ma-rked tendency to maintain such indepen-
llrrco both o{ Moscow and. the Patriarcha;be of Constantinople'
In the course of its long existence on Polish soil the Eastern
llrrrloh
absorbed many elements of Polish culture, some of them
l'ol ish surrounclings.
These influences resulted in a form of ecclesiastical
rr chrtrch management, and on m&ny local customs.
In the Mlddle Ages Poland was alreaaly remarkable-for her
riglr measure of political freedom and for religious tolerance,
rirrgs which drew neighbouring peoples towards her.
i rr 1386 the Polish-Lithuanian Union was concluded, Ladislas
Istorija Busskoj Cerkvi, 12
St. Petersburg, 1859-83. llhis branch of the Eastern Church found itself within the
rlrlo Orthodox population in Bed Ruthenia. Now, their numbers,
rrtlur Polish sovereignty, were greatly increased.
,1,lrore of Western influences. On the other hand, it was also tle
,ir,iccb of special interest on the part of Poland's Eastern neigh-
l,,,irls, always remarkable for their aspirations to political expan-
r,r()n. The Orthodox Church itself became an important, factor in
l,lrc political life of Poland, as whon the rights of the Ruthenian
;,r,rrl,ry
or the privileges of the episcopate were at issue during
llrrr wars with Muscovy or the Cossack risings.
These protrlems
[ave
a political character to the religious
,lrrcstions in Poland. fn the period of decline, in the XVIT:T
,','rrl,ury the difficulties concerning the Orthodox and, in- general,
tlr,, diisenters or dissiilents, as they were termed in Poland, be-
,,rrrrre welcome pretexts in the hands of Bussia anil Prussia in
llrrrir action for the breaking up of the Polish State.
I.
THE BEGINNINGS OF' ORTHODOXY IN THE
KINGDOM OF POLAND.
PO"ON, adopted. Christianity according to the Western
in the year 964, and that rite became a bond of union amorrg t
tribes settted in the basins of the Yistula and the Oder. PoIa
was not involved in the schism which was then'developing
tween the Roman and the Byzantine Churches, but her
rulers with the ducal house of Kiev, and finally, her politi
intervention in the affairs of Red Buthenia betweon 1177
graphical position brought her into contact with Greek influer
nitering through R,ed B,uthenia which had been Christiani
througE the ag-ency of the Eastern Empire. Poland's wars wit
the Ruthenian States from 992 to 1079, the alliances of Polis
cluded-in her frontiers, that Poland founcl a foreign creed on
own territory and was compelled to deflne her attitude towards i
7227, brou$nt her into contact with a hitherto unknown form
worship. But it was not tilI 1340, when Bed Buthenia was
j
On the political and economic decline of Kiev, the
poiitans of that city, who had, tili_then, been thespiritual
of tUe whole of R,uthenia, removed. their see to Yladimir on
Klazma, so that the Southern and Western regions of B,u
began to suffer keenly from the lack of spirltual
_directior
Simultaneously the various Ruthenian principalities lost thei
oohesion, and the future Muscovite State began to take sh
first in the region of Vladimir and later in that of Moscow.
Meanwhile South-West or Bed Ruthenia became centred
the principalities of Ilalicz and Vladimir in Volhynia, while
North-Western regions came under Lithuanian sovereignty.
In these circumstances the rulers of the different territori
felt the necessity of organising religious centres, all the more
as the Dukes of Moscow began to show tenilencies towards
tending their domination. This was countered by the Grr
Dukes of Lithuania and the Dukes of Ifalicz and Yladimir, w
at the end of the thirteenth and early in the fourteenth centur
obtained the consent of the patriarch of Constantinople to
founilation of two Orthodox metropolitan sees, one at Nowogr6d
in Lithuania (1299-1300) and the other in Ilalicz in Red Ruthen
(1302-1303). Diplomatic manoeuvring in Constantinople by tl
Dukes anil metropolitans of Moscow, lecl, in 1347, to the a
tion of the Lithuanian metropolis and the incorporation of
of Ilalioz with that of Moscow. This was Moscow's flrst
in the ecclesiastical field. But the masters of the Western te
1]IIE BEGINNINGS OF OII,TI{ODOXY IN TEE KINGDOM OF POLAND 3
,r'ies were not slow in contriving a counter move.
The Grand Duke Olgerd restored. the Lithuanlan metropolis
'lrile
Casimir the Great, King of Poland and heir of the last
,rrlte
of Ha1icz, re-established the metropolis there.
In 1415 an assembly of eight Lithuanian Orthodox bishops
rrs held at Nowogr6dek. The archbishop of Polotsk and the
islrops of Smolensk, Czernihow, Tur6w, Luck, Vtadimir, Chelm
rrrl Przemysl attencleil, and Gregory Tsamblak was elected
rrrl,r'opolitan. This episcopal synod of Nowogr6dek was a memor- vr a\ vvv uSruuga w a5 a rlEurur
_
rltr event in the historv of the Orthodox Church within the
,,lish-Lithuanian Union, inasmuch as i! expressed the wilt of
nt Church to maintain its independence and distinct hierarchy
l,he Jagellon N{onarchy.
A'li further'rivalry between Poland aind Moscow for supremacy
lr the Eastern Church in Lithuanian and Buthenian lands was
rrrlly settied in 1480 by their division into two church provinces:
rrrl, of Kiev-fIalicz within the boundaries of the Polish-Lithuanian
rrt,e, and that of Moscow, ever unwilling to give up its titles to
ir,v. In this manner a dispute of long standing was allayeil and
rr. existence of two indepenilent sees, coresponding to the
'r'r'i1,orial
and political conditions o{ the time, was agreed
l){)n.
This was Moscow's first defeat in her endeavours to im-
,rj{) her spiritual leadership upon
lhe
Orthodox inhabitants of
rlrrnd.
In accordance with the cond.itions of the Polish-Lithuanian
lrrion,
King Ladislas Jagello made efforts to convert' the pagan
,il,lrrrtr,nianJ to Christianirty, Ieaving the Orthodox population
rrlilo liberty in the e*"r"i*e of lts
religiom'
-
But
i" 9'*9L
to
prevailing in Constantinople and in lVloscow.
The Eastern Church und.er the Jagellons was faced with
problem of internal organisa,tion, and this depended on the
-p
tical position of the Church's adherents and on the attitude
the nin-Orthod.ox Polish rulers. Its position in Red Buth
differed from that in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
II.
THE ORTHODOX
METROPOLIS IN THE XV
AND XVI CENTURIES.
TffO organisa;tion of the Orthodox Church in Poland
based upoi the general principles governing the Eastern Ch
though
-obvlousty
modified Uy ttre polltical and social condi
of tfe country, conclitions which differed greatiy from I
former, on being united to Poland, received the assurance
religious liberty fiom the Poiish kings. It is true that by,an-et
ot I+Zg
r,adislas Jagello forbade the children of Boman Cat
to be baptised in thL Eastern rite, and that it was also forb
to erect new Orthodox churches; but the same king prohibi
any violence towards the followers of
lhat
creed.
,,.plcd by Lithuanians, formed part of the Grand Duchy,- a-,s did
l,',, lllack Ruthenia, Polesia and Podlachia, territories which in
lr,, I'ourteenth century were partly Orthoilox, partly
!9at!e1.
'lrrr
"annexes" consisted of the piovinces of Polotsk, Witebsk,
lrrrolcnsk, Czernihow-siewiersk, Volhynia and the province
-of
rrr,v, and were peopied almost entirely by followers of the
,I'IIE
ORTEODOX META,OPOIIS IN TEE XV AND X\II CENTURIES 5
)r'llrorlox Church.
,rrsolidate tte Catholic faith among the newly baptised f ithu-
rrirrrs, an edict was published forbidding them to inter-marry
The Charter of Jedlno (1430) laid down the principle that
Orthod.ox gentry of Potrand were to enjoy the same political I
social rights
-as
the Catholics, thus proclaiming religi
equality as a maxim of policy; and in 1443 another Ch
gianted the Orthodox Church all the rights and privileges enj
il,lr drthodox Christians. But marrlage of Orthodox persons
rl,lr
()atholics
of long standing remained fr-ee. Another restliction
,rs l,]re prohibition-"to erect new Orthodox
p-Iaces of worship,
,rrl, l,his d-ecree referred. to the archbishopric of Gniezno, on whic!
lr,, lristropric of Wilno d.ependetl, and it'applie-4 only-to the Grand
rrr,,lr.y pr'oper, whieh had a majority of Catholics. Moreover, this
,,rit r.ictiion
-practically
ceased to bperate at the close of the fifteenth
'llhe Charter of Wilno (1387) placed the upper classes- of
,rl,lrrrirnia on an equal foot'ing with the Polish knighthood: they
',r'()
freed trom various contributions towards the Treasury ancl
r r,r'c grantod the same personal liberties. But this applied solely
,, tlitholics. These
-rights
were conflrmed by the IJnion. of
l.r'odlo (1413), which now declared the-Orllr-o-dox Lithuanian
,,,.1,irrs to'be in every way the equals of the Polish gPltty In
1,il
,, of this there were
'
sti1l certain- func-tions.
^
yhlch
^were
,i,
lrrinciple
inaccessible to the Orthodox. ln 1434 the Grantl
r,rlirr Sig-ismund, son of Kiejstut, foliowing the Polish initiative
,r,,,, tw-o years earlier, issued a charter granting the.boyars full
,.ligious equatity with the Catho ics, but they were still excluded
r'',rr the posb of palatines (governors of a- province) a'tr'd trom
1,,' goverriorships-of the important strongholds of Wilno and
',,,1,i. But this-restriction was actuallv in abeyance; in the reign
JAVU VY AO
I Sigismund the First, one of the highest dignlties in the Grand
rrr.liy, the palatinate of Troki was obtained ty Prince.Con-
rrr,rri, rr,s a patron of the Orthodox Church in Poland'
'llhe years 1563 and 1568 saw the publication of charters by
,rr,;1 Sigismund. Augustus, whereby aII restrictions were finally
l,,,iishef, and the Or"thodox boyars were recognisecl.as the equals
,l llrc Catholic gentry in every way.
ln the towni of Lithuania religious equality was upheld; the
,,,1 rrl charters applied with equal force to Catholics and Orthoclox,
6y the Roman Catholic Church. In accordance with the so
and political cond.itions of those days, the Orl,hodox squ
actually enjoyed aII the rights thus bestowed. upon them,
this can hardly be said of the townspeople. Certain restric
apptied to the burgher class were the natural outcome of the
"iisting
social system, while others had their root in the M
burg Laws, vrhich had been grantecl to the towns of R,ed Ruth
Moieover, the townsmen were split into numerous guild"s
corporations, largely of a religious character, and that
religious problems. Disputes arose as to eligibility for
the unremitting efforts of the Orthodox burghers to obtain
rights with their fellow-townsmen were crowned with sr
posls of authority, or concerning the enjoyment ol civic privi
It was not till L572, in the reign of Sigismund Augustus,
lrrrrl,ine Ostrogski who had distinguished himself by
lis
victory
,',,r' the Muscovites at Orsza, but who was nevertheless prom-
and all the restrictions resulting from their attachment to
Ortbodoxy were 6na1ly abolished.
Lithuania, even after the union with Poland, was not h
geneous as regards religion. Lithuania consistecl then of
Grand Duchy and the so-called "annexes." Lithuania pr<
ri,l in the town councils half of the members were of the former
The fundamental rights of
lhe
followers of Orthodoxy
,r' llrtr tlost part in the King's gift.
in no wise affected by the predominance of the Roman Church
6
'ruu ori'r'HoDox uASTEIIN cI{uRCIr IN
poLAND
denomination, and half of the latter. A similar balance of
was aimed at in the guild elections.
the realm. Orthodox senators and ministers-powerful
of their Church-sat in Council with Catholic bishops, arrd
hetman's baton was wielded by
the
Orthodox grandsons of
independent Buthenian princes as weII as by the Cath
descendants of the pagans of Lithuania.
The attitude of the Polish rulers towards the Eastern Chu
was guided by a double influence: there \'vas the Byzanti
tradition in the Orthodox Church, which often warranted v
far-reaching interference on the part of the monarch, who
sidered himself its chief defender; but there was also the
cultural influence of Poland upon Lithuania and R,ed Ruthen
which resulted in building up the relations between Church a
State according to Western ideas, on a basis of immunities.
natural consequence was the gradual emancipation of the Ort
dox Church from interference of the secular powers. As rega
the appointment to church dignities and oflices the right
patronage developed also in the Orthodox Church in Poland.
In the Grand Duchy the right to individual landed prope
dates from a charter of the year 1387, which applied only
Catholics. The lands of the Orthodox Church therefore
regarcled as being the property of the Grand Duke, the eler
only being grantecl the usufruct of them. This arrangement cor
not fail to increase the influence of the Prince in the filling
benefices.
When, in the middle of the fifteenth century, the King
Poland obtained a deciding vote in the nomination of Cat
bishops, his influence on the appointment of the Orthodox c
was oonsolid.ated in proportion. But Western conceptions of I
having spreacl to Lithuania the Eastern Church ultima
acquireil the right o,f property and became the actual ow
of the land of which it had hitherto merely enjoyed the usufn
N{ateria} indepenilence, based upon the inviolability of chu
property, tended to emancipr:lte Poiish Orthodoxy from secu
control and strengthened its positiorr in the State. In Musco
exactly the opposite was taking place: there the head of the
disposed of church lands without limitation aird thus gained
see was ondoweil and presented him to the Patriarch of
stantinople to be anointeil and blessed.
't'llt,l ORTIIODOX I,IETRO],OLIS IN TIIE XV AND XVI CENTURIES 7
rrrls o[ monasteries, archimandrites and igumens; election by
,. rorrrrnunity was comparatively rare, the monasteries being
'l'lrtr right of presentation to benefices naturally resulted in
,rrrrrltrlllble influence irr church affairs being exercised not oniy
r i,lrc
()r'olvrr
but by secular elemcnts in general This tutelage,
,\\'rvcr', proved beneficial to the Orthodox Church: i! guaran-
,,,,
1 {,lrc inviolability of church property, assured the proper en-
,\\ nrurl of the church, forbade the rnortgaging of church pro-
'r'1.1 , rrtrrl prevented mismanagement. Under these conditions
r,,irriurraL structure of the Orthodox Ohurch in Poland was a
.,,rrlirr,r:
oombination of canonical principles and local traditions
r,l crrsl;oms. Its head in the days of the Jagellons was the
,,1,r'o1roli1,arr of Kiev ancl Halicz, almost independent of the
rrl,r'irrrclr of Constantinople, who had mereiy to anoint the metro-
,lrlrrrr lrofore his investiture. The rretropoiitan's sphere of
rllrolil,.y embraced both the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the
rrrlr ol't,he Crown of Poland, as the term went. IIis duty was
,l)r'ilri(r'vo the purity of the fa;ith and care for the morals and
r,,,'ilrlinc of the priesthood and the laity. The bishops were
,,,;,,
,rrsilrlo to him and he exercised judicial powers over them.
,,rrlso lriltl the right of presiciency at the Synods convoked by
rr\ rors(\rrli of the Crown, and was the spokesman before secular
'\\'rls
l'or the whole Orthodox Church in Poland.
'l'lro Synod consisted of bishops, archimanclrites and
"hiero-
,,rnrlrs,"
and included also representatives of the iaity, gener-
1.1
1,r'irrccs
ancl lords of high starrding, with an advisory vote.
r,,r,r S.yrroils had Iegislntive porvers within the Church but in
,r,'lirc l;hcir influence was limited. Besides this institution there
rrrlrrI irlsr) the "Electoral Synod" composed partly of laymen,
,.lrir:l'purpose being to elect candiilates for the higher ecclesi-
I rrrrrI posts.
l\'l rrrrrrwhile the power of the bishops increased at the expense
llrr,so institutions. In their government of the dioceses the
lr,,;rx hatl at first availed themselves of the assistance of the
trol of the Church itself. ]Iowever the appointment of metr
politans and bishops rernained in he hand of the King, wh
,rrr,1 prrrish priests who attended the annual diocesan assem-
r,,ri, lrrrt, l;hese congresses were soon abandoned ancl in
{heir
place
,,r,, iu'ose the "kliros,"
an institution similar to the Catholic
'Irrr.1rl,or. "
r\i, l,ho end of the fifteenth century a new instltution came
1,, lrr,irrg, namely the confraternities. These were attached to
, \'nrious places of worship and very soon began to play an
rl)')r'ir,rl part by extending their care both to the worldly goods
'l'lrt, legal procedure in the Orthodox Church of those times
, , ;r corrrbination of Greek Church law with secular precedent
r,l lrrsl,orn, and produceil a most interesting body of rules for
,.
,,rrirl:rrrce
of Church courts when passing sentence. At the
after having ascertained the choice of the spiritual and secu
llrrr
()lrrrrch
and the conduct of their members.
electors, bestowed on the candidate the estates with which h
The royal prerogative also appeared in the nomination of
B run oRTEoDox EASTERN orruRctr rN PoLAND
end. of the fifteenth century we find ecclesiastica] ssntences
on the Statute of Lithuania and on common law.
From the religious point of view the Orthod'ox clergy of
days had many failings: the higher ranks cared too m
for"worldly goois and favours and too little for their sacred d'ut
Moreoveri iheir spiritual qualiflcations 1ef! much to be desi
The non-admittan-ce of the-Orthodox bishops to the Polish Se:
-- -r- ^l:^^^-.-^^^f,
in which Roman Cathoiic bishops had their seats cliscouraged
sons of nobles from taklng holy ord'ers, and the r6le of the Or
dox clergy in State affairi was limited' As for the lower rr
they weie, in general, ignorant and poor and did not always
ao
-"difyirg
example to their flocks.
In-the sixteenth contury Calvinism ancl Arian Unitari
spreail rapidly among
lhe
Orthodox nobillt'y,
-
already
affected by Western culture and the new iltellectlul
I
Powerful
-
families, e.g. Chodkiewicz, Wisniowiecki, Sapi
abanclonecl {Orthodoxy-and
errrhraced Protestantism, but I
changed their creed for Catholicism. Other princely houses
i
the Orthodox Church under their protection thereby gaining g
influence in ecclesiastical affairs. The foremost of these was
Ostrogski family which, while holding, generation after gen
tion, the highest State dignities anil covering itself- with
-g
in the wars with Moscow, was at the same time a devoted
tector of Orthodoxy.
Under such powerful patronago, and thanks to the ben
lent attitude of the Crown, the Orthodox Church was to
appearances very powerful No less than nine dioceses
suEordinated to the metropolis of Kiev-Halicz, namely: Il
Lwdw, Przemysl, Chelm, Vladimir, Luck, Tur6w, Br
Polotsk ancl Smolensk. But much internal corruption was u
mining its strength. So along with plans for reform there
the id.ea of submission to the Church of Rome. The Ort
confraternities obtained permission
to
found new schools
the ed.ucation of priests in which Greek was to be compu
The confraternities themselves were reorganisecl so as to e
greater discipline and a higher inlellectual and moral level ar
lheir members. They alsoobtained far-reaching
Pgye-r
in re1
to the clergy, not eicepting even the bishops. Under--t
fluence a new intellectual life was infused into the Ch
number of writers appeareil among the members of the confr
nities while the intellectual level of the clergy was gracl
dox Church at the very moment when Rome began
!o
stri
Union with redoubled energY'
imnroved.
'
Brrt, thu preclominance of the confraternities of I,w6w
enjoyed special prerogatives, lecl to a dispute between them
the Lierarchy, wt ict aggravated the ilisorganisation of the O
III.
IIE UNION OF BREST AND THE DECLINE OI'
THE ORTHODOX METROPOLIS
IITER unsuccessful attempts at union made at Florence in
ll{), a campaign for the union of the Orthodox Church with
)rne was resumed in the second half of the sixteenth century.
timed no,b only at a revival of rnissionary activity on the part
t,he Catholic Church, but at the formation under Papal leader-
rilr of a great anti-Turkish league, including also Muscovy,
lrich was previously to be won for Ca,tholicism. Between Wes-
r Europe and Muscovy lay Poland; and it was to Polish
hodoxy that the Iloly See flrst turneil its attention.
The general interest in religious ploblems which was an out-
rding feature of Polish intellectual and political life in
the
l,r:enth century could not fail to give prominence to so
rrnentous a question as the proposed union of the Eastern and
rr Western Churches: unity of faith was recognised as an im-
rr'{,u,nt factor in the strengthening of the State, and the
rn soon assumed propor-tions exceeding the bounils of an
iastical issue. It involved the whole of Poland's policy, her
rcorns arising from contiguity with Muscovy, and the interests
l,he Patriarcha;t'e of Constantinople. Among Catholics opinion
divided. R,eligious strife could only weaken Poland internally,
rur,ge her diplomatic relations with Muscovy and stir up en-
l,y on the part of the patriarchal see of Constantinople. A
lliunt publicist, Stanislas Orzechowski, a Catholic priest, but
, grandson of an Orthodox clergyman, ailvocatecl Church
krrr, while declaring that the Wes'tern Church was only a part
l,he Universal Church. A writer of high distinction,
linal Ilosius, Bishop of Warmia, while also aiming at the
rrion of the two great Christian Churches, conceived that union
u strict dogmatic tie between East and West under the recog-
rrl supremacy of the Pope.
'['he Jesuits took a leading part in the campaign, and in 1579
'v
founclecl a college at Polotsk, and three years later a semin-
rr,t Wilno. Fr. Peter Skarga, a member of this order, famed
as preacher anil writer, gave his support to the cause of
llnion.
Ilut the policy of the lloly See went beyond that of Poland.
l l)apacy aimed at winning over Polish Orthodoxy as a pre-
irrrlry to a vast scheme for converting not only Muscovy
rrven Tartary and China.
Meanwhile Poland had resumed her struggle with Muscovy
10 TrrE oRTIroDox I:ASTERN crrllncll rN Por,ANl)
anil her arms were meeting with ever increasing successes;
other interests were therefore subordinated to the prosecution
IIIIN o IIR,I],)ST AND THE DECLINE OF ORTHODOX METR,OPOLIS 11
the campaign, and everything was done to avoid stirring up
gious animosity among the Orthodox population on the Eas
marches. Moreover, and this is worth noting, Catholics
immed"iateiy concernod with affairs of State adopted an atti
of reserve towards the pians of the Vatican; they were m
more interested. in their home problern-the conversion
Cathoiicism of the Orthodox within the borders of their coun
The Orthodox Episcopate itself took no part in this
ment on which its own fate depended: concernecl with its
day cares, engaged. in disputes over its property, or with
various confraternities, it failed to realise the issues at stal
the campaign for Union.
In 1588-89 Jeremiah, patriarch of Constantinople, visi
removed. from episcopal authority and made entirely au
and, to mark his supremacy over the Polish metropolitan,
created a Patriarchic Exarchate, entrusting this, office to C
'Ierlecki, the energetic bishop of Luck. By these acts
Patriarch abolished the hitherto complete inilepenilence of
metropolitan and the bishops, but at the same time aggra
the dispute-already suffrciently bitter-between the hiera
and the confraternities, and set the bishops once more at vari
'lvith the Patriarchate. To make matters worse Jererniah
firmed the Patriarchate of Muscovy whiah was instituted in
and which claimed supremacy in place of Constantinople
the Orthodox Church in Poland.
This attempt by Muscovy to control Polish Orthodoxy-
second in a hundred years-compelled the ruling powers in Po
to pay much closer attention to the affairs of the Orth
Church.
The higher Orthodox clergy now betrayed a tendenc
warcls Union, anal it is noteworthy that it was their own l
*ho suggested the idea. Ballaban, Bishop of Lw6w, hail
to the Catholic bishop of Lw6w, Solikowski, for help, and
been referred to Bis[op Terlecki, the Patriarchic Eiarch,
maintained close relations with Maciejowski, the Catholic bis
of Iruck.
Between the years 1590 and 1592 secret negotiations
carried on among the Orthodox episcopacy for a Union with
Latin church but with the retention of the Eastern lit
tr'our bishops, those of Luck, Lw6w, Tur6w and Chelm, sh
readiness for union; King Sigismund III was delighted
(:l)
'['lre admission o{ bishops of the Eastern Church to the
rll. rtlrrally with the Catholic bishops.
1;1.;
'lhe retention of the rights and privileges'hitherto enjoyed
I lr,r
(
)r'l,hodox hierarchy.
1
l1 r\rr assurance of protection against any disciplinary action
llr, priltriarch.
r,,lr.; oxcopt those of Lw6w and Przemysl. The conditions
1
I
1
'l'he retention of the rites and ceremonies of the Eastern
r','l r.
'\1,
l,he various diocesan synods collective deciarations were
,. irr lirvour of the Union, and at the Synod of Brest, held in
,, l|1)5 the assembied bishops with the metropolitan at their
,1, ,lclined the conditions of union in thirty-three articles.
,,;rl irrg the {ormula agreed upon at Florence as to the dogma of
ll,rl,y Spirit (filioque), and the doctrine of the Roman Church
",r'rring
Purgatory, the bishops demanded the retention of the
,t,,r'rr liturgy, of Communion in both kinds, and the married
r,l,lrrror[. R,eferring to the conditions of Torczyn, they recog-
,,1
llrc supremacy of the Pope, at the same time refusing to
'rl,
ruy secular interference
in
Church government. After
l,,r'irrg their reacliness to be united to the Roman Church they
rrrrl,t,rl Bishops Terlecki and Pociej with the actual conclusion
lr,, rrcgotiations with R,ome.
\1, r congress held at Torczyn in December L594 the con-
,rrr ol'[,lre Union were ]aid down by a special ast which was
lrr,lolo the King and signed by
lhe
metropolitan and all the
N,rl, rinly the King of Poland and his Council of State but
Llrc Orthodox population had now a very important say in
rrrrrl,lr:r. John Zamoyski, the Chancellor of State, had sug-
,,1 l,ransferring the Patriarchate from Constantinople to
,rr,l (rr,ctua1ly to Kiev), but the Council, desirous of isolating
t )r'l,lroclox people {rom possible Muscovite influences, finally
,l,l llre bishops' attitude, which seemed to promise for the
ri,
ijlc)ilter
interiai unity of the State.
lrr lhe middle of Juiy 1595 Bishops TerTecki ancl Pociej
rrrll,txl the decisions o{ the Brest Assembly to King Sigismund
ru lro had hitherto remained neutral, but accepted the
,rls of the Orthodox hierarchy in a series of edicts, only in
rr rrs the articles concerned the Boyal authority. The King
l,,r l,he Diet their demand for ailmission to the Senate, as
llrcir claim to confer directly with the Latin hierarchy in
rrrrrl,t,er of their participation in the Crown Tribunal,
lrr September 1595 Bishops Terlecki and Pociej set out for
rr. :u)d on the twenty-third of December of the same year
llrrion was solemnly proclaimecl, the Eastern Church to be
Muscovy and Poland with the object of enhancing his auth
among the faith{ul of those lands and incidentallv astoni
the bishops by promulgating a number of decrees. He gran
the "stauropygia" to the confraternities, whereby they w
promiseil them protection against the patriarch.
',',1
i,o retain its rites and the Julian calendar, and its clergy
'
r.,lri to contract marriage.
12 TIIE OIiTIIODOX EASTERN CHURCE IN POLAND
I NII)N 0II' BII,EST AND THE DECLINE OF OII,TEODOX METBOPOLIS 13
lirrgl lrlctliren.
'l'lro Synod of Brest which had thus brought about the almost
lrrl rurllnpse of the Orthod"ox hierarchy, made the further exist-
r,.,t r)l'rn Orthodox metropolis within the territories of the Polish
,rrrrrronwealth a matter for speculation. The Orthodox Church
,ll'wts in no immediate danger of abolition though its member-
rrlr w,ls considerably reiluceil. The final issue lay entirely in the
rr,lx of l,he Orthodox peopie: the future of the Eastern Orthodox
rrrrrrlr llopsnfled on their steailfastness.
Wil,h the ratification of the Union all the privileges and rights
llrlrl,o orjoyed by the Eastern Church passetl to the "Uniates."
'
rr rrrsrrlt the newlv created denomination obtained a legal
rrrrrlrrl,iorr, while what had been Orthodoxy could only exisb oia
,'li, rvilhout legal safeguard, though within the terms of the
rrlrrrw
(lonfeileration
of 1573 which proclaimed the principle of
rl,iorrx ireeclom.
When the two emissaries returned' from R'ome with le
h'orrr the Pope to the metropoiitan and.-!he.Ifing
in.the b,egir
ot-tn" totto*ing year they found that the situation in Poland
"rrr"g"aco*piefel{..Theanti-Unio"l*:-hid,:I::,"--1:,-,'iF":
;;;p"rrg-;gJirr.t in" innovation. Supported by.Prince.ostr
tn" L*?* ind Wilno confraternities openly declared thems
hostile, while Bishops Bal}aban and Kopys-tenski, who hacl s
the articles in June" 1595 declarecl themselves openiy agafnj!
o"iior. of the two delegates, and the Orthodox nobilit-y of Li
ania, Yolhynia anil R-uthenia also expressed their disapprc
S;;;r" ln itre support of such strong opposition,
wJric
t*'tt
"t
strengthei-ed by the adherence ot the Protestants,'.
O.t""S*Li in lhe following year-pubii-cly-
protested before the
agrioJt the activities of Terlecki and Pociej'
By the King's command' the
-metropolitan
convokgd a S
at Brest, which-revealed unmistakably
that t'he members o
Eastern bhurch were by no meaus un-animous on the questi
U"lo". R,ahoza, the metropolitan, in a proclamation
conv
ti."- Sylroa for October 6, 1-596,-,pp:?}."* not only
'o'tO.",:
u"a ttu notables, but, to aII the faithful to take pq-t i
e**"*frfy. The King was represented by- L-eo.sapiehal Ch#
"r
ilirr"l"ir,
-
rri n?ari*itli Palatine of rroki, ana bv^
{
the Under-Treaiur"",
while the Catholic Archbishop
SoIi
u"a Si*trop Maciejowski represented the R'oman Curia'
urrio"* cities and confraternities
sent strong delegations'
From the very outse! the Synod betrayed in the most st
-uro",
its total iack of unity: it split up
lnto
Unionists and
U"f""f-tt, nrrd
"n"t
faction deliberat-ed ildependently
ott ur. The most outstancling figure of t'he-Congress
was
Co"ttr"tl"" Ostrogski' The partisans-of Union, repre
* ."f.tn"tirl
numf,er of the 6i*hopt, denianded a decl
U;i"" *ith Ro*". The anti-Union
party, who counted' I
;';t; .rpdt"r. tiuo bishops, Prince Ostrogski and,the de)
oI lhe -b-rtriotchs
of Constantinople
and Alexandrta' dt
;;";.; the idea in
principle but demanded that the Union
[["i*pr",""rr,"a
Uy a G'e^neral-Synod
and t\:
"."-"?"."iijl
"rt-lri"fr..-
ilr. ufio*t. of the King's emissaries to bring a'
;;;";;;;
"n*"
to nothing; betwe-en 9t'h and 19th october
ii:".-;. .;;t"
-pns.ud
bv boih parties showing all-too-clear
tions rvere passeil by both part'ifs- showlng all,too,crea{
a""ol, spliL-was the once undivided Orthodox Church tn '
T#t;i;sts went in solemn procession to the church
Virnir. *il*re, afi,er the Te Deum had been sung' Bishops
f rrluoa Kopystenski, togetter with the otber clergy who c
irr" u"1"",'"r""r"
dupoled anil ex-communicateil'
T
ii"i""i-i-
""
their sicle passecl resolutions for the maintet
tir"- Ortfroaox Faith: ihly condemned' the actions of the
"oiitr"
n"a the bishops,"refused
to acknowledge
their.at
i;-til il;r; und ,estlved to open a campaign to reclai
IV.
,l'HE
RESTORATION OF THE ORTHODOX
METROPOLIS.
A, ,n" end of the sixteenth and in the flrst years of the se
beenth century the Orthodox population, representeil by
prominent men, initiated a vigorous campaign for the res
of their Metropolis and the preservation of the rights oI t
Church. The question of Orthodoxy became a frequent su
of discussion both at the loca,l dietines and in the Diet
It was a problem which persistently forceil itself upon
attention and coulcl not fail to be a matter of constant
statesmen and clemanded an ultimate and permanent dee
The whole pro-Orthodox movement centred round certain of
nobiiity, foremost of whom was Prince Ostrogski.
King Sigismund III's attitude was that the Uniate Ch
was the only legal Eastern Church in Poland and he gave defl
proof of this view in 1605 by confirming in favour of the Un
metropolitan the charter of 1511 which had been grantecl to
Orthodox metropoiitan. But the party opposed to the KinE
which the Orthodox had adhered, continued to clamour for
dissolution of the Union. Their efforts were not quite vain,
the "Constitution" promulgated in 1607 did not adopt
definite attitude in relation to the two opposing Eastern Churc
It confined itself to laying down, on the broadest lines, the ri
of the Orthodox Church with reference to dignities anil es
Nevertheless, this "Constitution" diil express, however cauti,
the attitude of the Estates, recognised the existence of
Orthodox Church anil croated a legal basis for its contin
within the Polish R,epublic.
An act of the Diet of 1609 guaranteed to the Orthodox
undisturbed anil free possession of their dignities and ch
property, indioating in the clearest manner the distinct identit
the Orthodox Church. fn practice, however, these rights l
not always respectetl; the State had never clearly defined
relations to the Orthoclox Church, and the ailherents of that f
taking aclvantage of this circumstance, strove continuall
improve their situation by accomplished facts.
Und.er these circumstances fears began to be entertai
anil it was soon to appear that they were not unfouniled, that
Orthod"ox leailers would seek support beyond" the frontiers
Poianil, notably in Muscovy. King Sigismuncl's foreign
based on a league with the Catholic Ilapsburgs, proilucecl a
action on the part of the Protestant powers who, ever since
rrrl'lr'.rLli
of
,the
Thirty Years' war in Germany, had been seeki,g
'.'
\r.irlicll the Emperor's ally, the King of
poland.
This reactior]
rlr',rrrl <;oincided with the growing- discontent of the ortho-
l,,r rvlrich met with sympathy bot[ in Constantinople and in
,,\ wrucll met wtth sympathy both in Oonstantinople and in
l,,ri(:()\v. At the same time Poland's relations with hurkev be_
,rrnrr l,ol)se and the Sultan soug'ht to foment discord u*orrg th"
rrlr.;r,cl,s of Kjng Siqismund: the Patriarch of Constantin"ople,
lrr now actecl both for Turkey and Muscovy, sent Theophaies,
',l,rrrr.lr of Jerusalem, to Russia to ordain the new
pi,triarch
,l l\l,s.,w;
he was also instructed to bring about
the restoration
'l
llr, l'olish tVletropolis.
t )rr lris- r.eturn journey
from Russia in 1620 Theophanes
l,;r1r'r I rr,t Kiev, and there, rvith the help of the co,fraterniiies, ot
lr. r,lr,r'A.y,. of the people, and above all, of the Cossacks,'he
rrrrrrllrrrl, in the greatest secrecy, the complete restitution oi the
)r llr,rl,x hierarchic system on Polish teiiitorvj he ordained as
,II{E
RESI'ORATION OII THE ORTITODOX METROPOIIS 15
r,'rr
.i\,.l.cl,r'opolitan
the fgumen Borecki, and five Orthodox bishops
rr rr,l,lil,ion.
l(irrg Sigismund III, in various royal decrees of the year
llll l, rrrlopted the entirely just
attitude that he alone was the
',1'lr,rrrlrrr"'
and "governor"
of the Orthodox Church, and that
r,, r,rrlr.jcct,
of the SultLtu or dependent of the patriarch of Con-
l,rrrlirrople had any right to wield authority over the Orthodox
'lrrrlrlr
itt Poland. Thereforc fhc Kino.li.l .^t rannonico tha lrrrlr.lr in Poland. Therefore the King did not recognise the
,,rr lrislrops, while they, on their part, allying themselves with
rr,
( lossirck
leaders, began to look about for support. AII this led
, rr,r lil,l,le exasperation of public opinion ir Poland and the
,lrl,ir,rr,l leaders endeavoured to bring about a settlement by con-
,,,rrinns
to Orthodoxy. These endeavours met with widespread
rplx)r'1, irurong the population.
lrr t623 the Diet appointed a special commission to fix the
rrrrr ol't,he agreement and voted the annuiment of aII law-suits
lrr,'lr lrrr,rl-their_origin in religious differences. There was good
rlr.rr l,r) hope for a definite appeasement rvhen an unexpe;ted
rrlron l,o hope tor a detinrte appeasement rvhen an unexpected
rr'rrlr.rrl, rrpset these plans: the Uniate bishop Josaphat Kunce-
,rrr,,,, I rnuch indignation, gained fresh converts for the Uniate
lrrrlrrlr, and alienated the more moderate elements who had
tllrr,r'l,o been weII disposed towards Orthodoxy. Meanwhile the
rllr,,rlox hierarchy began more and more to look towards Mos-
,\\ rr.rrrl thereby baulked the endeavours to reach a conciliation.
llowever, the Uniate Church did not succeed in inspiring
,,, g,,'o1lle, the State dignitaries and the Roman Catholic clergy
rllr rrrspect. Abandoned by the upper classes it became more
rr,l rrrolLr a
"peasant
religion," a thing which, in view of the
,, rrrl sl,ructure of the country, could not fail to produce
undesir-
74
,rrrl sl,ructure of the country, could not fail to procluce undesir-
l,l, clTocts. Ilence we find, in 1623, renewed negotiations be-
16 fEE oR'rIroDox EASnERN cHuB,cIt rN PoLAND
tween IJniate and Orthodox bishops with a view to a mu
unilerstanding. It was even suggested that a common Patri
ate be created for all three branches of the Christian Chu
This bold project, however, was not, reaiised, and meanwhile
Orthodox zealots had induced the turbulent Cossack bands of
Ukraine to join their ranks, so that the religious question o
more assumed serious proportions and threatened to prod
international complications, especialiy with Muscovy and 'Iurk
Sigismund 1II, whose personality and policy had been
closely connected with the Union, died in 1632 and was succee,
by Ladislas IY. The Orthodox again took council and laid 1
demands before the "Convocation Diet." At the same time
Czar took up arms against Poland, and the
"Election Diet"
a commission to work out a scheme for the restitution of
V.
1'IIIJ, ORTHODOX METROPOLIS IN THE XVII
AND XVIII CENTURIES.
tt
,)ri th" third time in the s
Oti the third time in the space of three centuries the political
rrrl'irrct of the Orthodox people, as well as the wisilom o?
polish
l.rr.l,osmen, scored a great success against renewed. attempts of
l,rscow to extend its ascendancy over the Orthodox Chuich in
',rlrrnd.
llhe chief task of the Orthodox Church, whose organisation
ir; llow reco-gniseil by the State, was to put its newly acquired
lilrl,s
to goocl use. The Uniate Church continued to- exist and
rrr tlefending its diminished situation to the bes-t of its ability,
r \vrrs soon to be seen when it came to the aliotment of places
I u'orship and the appointment of bishops. During
lhe
neit few
.ru's
-of
the reign of Ladislas IV the proprietorshrp of Orthodox
rr,l Unia;te possessions appears to have rernained, doubtful.
lrr, rluestion of these churches was the frequent subject of dis-
nsion in the Diet, and its decisions appear
!o
have been based
Orthodox hierarchy with a metropolitan at Kiev and diocest
Luck, Przemysl, Mohyiew and Lw6w. Principles of fyil rel\
liberty and social and political equality were followed by a
for the division of churches, monasteries and, estates uniler dis
"puncta assoanationis for citizens of the Crown of Poland and
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of Ruthenian race and Greek
gion." On 1st November, 1632, Ladislas ra;tified these poi
except, that the distribution of church property was to
settled by the next Diet. When swearing to observe the P
between Uniates and Orthodox. Ladislas IV accepted
contseita, on 14th November, the newiy elected King
of the Patriarch of Constantinople. This act gave proof oI
understanding that existecl between the secular power and
Orthodox Church; it marked the close of the period of reli
dissension and the beginning of a peaceful development of
Orthodox Church in the Polish State.
'llhe rivalry shown at the nomination of bishops and the divi-
,rr of the already existing bishoprics, resulted in the Uniate
llrop of Przemysl, on the death of the Orthodox "vlaclyka,',
'lrrirring
exclusive control of that iliocese, aithoueh the deceased 'lrrirring
exclusive control of that diocese, aithough the deceased
ll only a- short time before been appointed to his dignity. In
rir way the Orthodox Church lost one iliocese and, instead of
rri way the Urthodox Llhurch lost one diocese anil, instead of
rrr liuu ,*rrded to it, it now possessed only four: the Kiev
l,'lr',,nor',rrr diocese, and those of Lw6w, Luck and Mscislaw.
rr l,lre actuai needs of the local population.
,,r'liing hand in hald with the political powers and benefiting
, l,heir support, and his efforts me! with the approval and
rrrlrathy of King Lad.islas.
to appease the "divided Greek religion" on the basis of
articles proposed by the commission, so that they would
have legal force throughout the State.
The highest, posts in the Orthodox Church were now fi
The metropolis of Kiev was given to Peter Mohyla, Archimand
of the Lawra Pieczerska, one of the prominent men of the ti
On March 15, 1633, a royal decree confirmed the rights of
Orthodox Church and definitely acknowledged its claim to
places of worship. This decree formetl part of the "constit
of tt e Coronation Diet and duly legalised the Orthodox
polis and the existence of the Orthodox Church in Poland.
-
On April 28, 1633, Peter Mohyla was solemnly orilain
metropolitan, receiving, besides the Roya1 Patent, the blr
rr lhe other hand this Church gained enormously in public
,rrririn and importance in the State thanks to the Metropolitan
,,lr.yIa,
who had initiated and vigorously carried on a great work
llorganisation and culture. He restored the prestige o{ the
,,lropolis and tightened the relaxed discipline of the Church.
rr,lrrl his control the Mohyla Academy of Kiev flourished, while
'l'hat monarch, who spent the first years of his reign fighting
rrricov;r, and his latt,er years in planning campalgns against
rlkoy, realised only too weII the momentous nature of the
llrodox problem. Both the Czar and the Sultan did their best
rl,ir up his Orthodox subjects, and especiallv
the
Cossacks,
inst him. Tfence the idea of a separate Polish Patriarchate
:rgain mooted. The proposal was supported by the Metro-
t7
18 TIIE oRTHoDox DASTERN cIruB,cH rN
poLAND
politan but quashed by the action of the Pope; T,adislas had
reckon with the ltoly See in his Turkish wars, for he req
Papai subsidies.
While the question of a Polish Patriarchate was being
cussed, projects of Church Union continued to be put
which led to conferences between the Orthodox hierarchy
'representatives of the Crown. Both plans were suddenly brou
to nought by the unexpected ileath of Ladislas IV and by
simultaneous Cossack rising under Chmielnicki who, to his
sonal ambitions and his quarrels with the Ruthenian m
added a religious slogan in ilefence of the rights of the
In view of the critical situation it became imperative
an end should be put to these religious dissensions and that,
ward expression should be given to the rights of Orthodoxy
a faith enjoying equal privileges with the other denominationi
the Bepublic. After two unsuccessful campaigns against
Cossacks, a royal charter of 1650 granted complete liberty
worship to the Orthodox Church, which now regaineci a nu
of sacred edifices in Poland proper anil in Lithuania. The cI
also greatly increased the assets of the Orthodox Church:
d.iocese of Przemvsl was restored, and a new bishopri
Cheim-created. In the same
)'ear
a further see was e
that of Czernihow, so that the Orthodox hierarchy he
consistecl of a metropolitan ancl six bishops. In common
the Roman Catholic clergy the priests of the Orthodox Ch
r'vere declared exempt from all rates and taxes; they were allo
to found religious orclers, schools and printing offices, which g
anteed the continuity of their faith. But the charter of 1650
not concede to the Orthodox bishops the right to sit in the
their claim was defeated by the Catholic opposition, a
partly to be explained by the tense and unsettleil relations
tween Poland and the Cossacks.
Tfow strong were the ties that bound the Orthodox Ch
to Poland's culture and her political order, became evident w
Chmielnicki surrendered the Ukraine to the Czar. Comm
of faith was not, sufficient to attach the Kiev hierarchy to
covy. Kiev, leavened with progressive Western itleas, stoocl
in contrast, to Moscow, still steeped in Byzantine traditi
Kiev representeil a system of legal order which clearlv def
the limits of State intervention and allowed the Church defi
inviolable rights, while Moqcow demanded the unconditi
subjection of the Church to the State, anil arrogated to itself
right of unlimited interference in all church matters. It
just in the relations between Church anil State that Kiev
Moscow showeil how little they had in common: on the one
was the Western conception, baseil rrpon law, on the other
Eastern, expressed in terms of royal pleasure. An open
broke out between the Kiev hierarchy, the secular clergy,
'I.II|ii
I)II,I'II(}I)oX METI.iOPOLIS IN THE XVII AND XVIII CENTURIES 19
lrrrllrl lr.y l,lre Czar and the patriarch of illoscow on the other:
rl liill Nlotlopolis defended its hierarchic independence o{ the
lrrnrrow
lrrr,lriarchate,
and the whole population was opposed to
try itrl,trr'l'rrrence on its part. It became obvious to aII how sin-
lnll rr,rrrl tleeply the Orthodox of Kiev were attached to Western
rll,rrlrr, sl,ubbornly resisting as they did the Czar's ruthiess
'l
rrtrrlrl,s ut encroachment on their church life. The independent
l,rrrlrr ol'l,he Kiev Church became an important faetor in the
ln|(rrr,nce of a distinct Ukraine, unmoved bv aII the Kremlin's
ot'l,x l,owrrrd uniflcatiorr.
'lrlro
(lrvonant
of Hadjadj drawn up in 1658 included a boidly
rrrrrrrir'rrl scheme to extencl the Polish-Lithuanian Union to the
rrrl,lr l,lnst, regions and create there a third member of the
rrlrrrnl,iorr. Its object was
to
bring about lasting co-operation
lwrrrrrr l)oles and R,uthenians and to settle the religious problem
r grrrrrl,irrg unquaiified equality to the Orthodox as the only
1,,1, 111'cisiorr in the matter. But this.Covenant hacl no lasting
ll,'r,l,rr, lol the Buthenian people were divided, most of them
l,lirrg wilh Poland but some with Muscovy: the t,rans-Dnieper
'11r,,rr,
irrcluding Kiev itself, Ieaned more and more towards
Irrxrrov.y, while the cis-Dnieper region of the Ukraine continued
r l,r, lirrlicrl to Po1and. It will be seen there{ore that the
11,1' l)rrieper had become a line of demarcation dividing the
rrrlolr plovir"rce of Kiev itself
;
and the more marked this bound-
\ lrr,r,rrrrrc, the ileeper became the ri{t in the erstwhile united
rrrrrrlr
lrrrrvince.
'l'lro
()zar's
government, taking aclvantage of
the
death of
lr, Nrlol,ropolitan Ballaban, appointed its own bishop for the
rurr l)niol)or provinces, dependent on the patriarch of Moscow.
Ir rrrurr'pitrg rights which belonged exclusively to fhe patriarch
I l'rrrrxl,rrnl,inople the patriarch of }iloscow was acting contrary l'rrrrxl,rrnl,rnople the patnarch of 1\loscow \ilas actlng conlrary
r llrr, crr,rrons of the Orthodox Church. As a result of this action
r,rr followed, in 1663, a double election to the Metropolitan
,,,,, rvlriclr favoured the separatist tendencies inspireil by the
rr,rrrlirr, and though within a few years this anomaly had been
r,,,,,,rrul'rtll.y dealt with and the diocese left in the hands of
rrIrrlHki, a fervent, champion of independence from Russian con-
,rl,
.\'ol,
t,he r61e of the new metropolitan was difficult. In 1667
r,' rrltrris{,ice of Andrusz6w led to a partition of the Ukraine be-
r,,,rr l'olilrd and Muscovy, whereby the division of the church
,,rirrr,r', whieh had already existed d,a
Jacto,
was perpetuated.
,,r l,lrrr lilst time in its history, t,he Orthodox Church in Poland
,r,, rlll'rrrl,ecl in its struggle to maintain its reiigious and political
1,fr,;rr,rrrlonce of Muscovite overlordship, while t'he Czar's
Ir,rrrr,x I'or extending his d.ominions scored a success.
'l'his
turn of events produced an unfavourabJe feellng to-
20 THE onTrroDox EASITERN cHUB,crI IN PoLAND
warils the Orthodox, and the champions of the Uniate Chu
,I'III,I
IIII,'I'IIoIXJX METN,OPOLIS IN TEE XVII AND XVIII CENTURIES 21
l,r'r'r{r ol l'rzemysl, in 1700-Lw6w, in 1701-Luck, so that in
Jecriecl Orthodoxy as a destructive force in the country
-dr
ing the Buthenians towarils Muscovy.
-- 3h"
Diet of 1668
(
n.'-"d the rights conferred upon the O-rthodox in. 1663 but
clared itself dZfinitely opposed to any red'uction of the posses.sr
of the Uniate Churcl,
-*ni"i,
now- regained the bishopric
Przemysl. For the first, time the
term Di'suniat'a (dysunicki)
applied by the Polish Diet to Or-thodoxy, which expressed^a'
dLicy to treat it as a mere secession from the Uniate Ch
ancl lhus reversed the terms of the problem'
In 1676 the Diet passecl a bili declaring it illegal for
Orthodox clergy to deal with Constant'inople without the kt
ledge of the a,irihorities anil piaced. the hitherto independent
fraiernities uniler the conf,roi of the bishops' This biII
inspired by a distinctty poiitical object': Poland was
just
prelaring ior another Lampaign against the Sultan and it
i*portait to prevent Turkish spies from.entering the country
Lhd disguise oi Ortiiod.o* priests. Meanwhile lhe-Union
wls,y."'
the beeinnine of hit successor's-Augustus
II-the various
"".u*
&ru aft"er another acceiled to the Union I in 1692
lr,, 1rq,1,i1111'11. of the eighteenth century there remained only one
Irl,lrrrrlor lrishopric in Poland: that, of Mscislaw in White
I ttl ltrrnirr.
gaining"strength, especiaily during the reign of John III Sobies
"
tf,is
"ot-qrr"rorlf
the Turks, less exclusive in religio-us
qui
tions than Sigismund III had been, was compeiled to reckol w:
public opinio-n and his pollcy be^came- ever more. clos-ely
I
lrdinatei with that of the ltoly See: he therefore lent his sr
port to schemes for the merging of
.
Orthodoxy with. the Unir
bhurch as the chief means of allaytng t'he ferment in tiuthet
and guaranteeing it against the elcroachments of both Musco
and turkey. ni,t
"oifur"o"".
held in 1680-81 between the t
Eastern C[urches ended in complete failure.
Two events of the next few years were to decide the issue
union: the subord.ination by the-Czar's government, of the K
X{etropolis to the Patriarchate of Moscow (1685-86),
3-ttd
t
conclu-sion of an "eternal peace" between Poland and Muscc
in 1686. This agreement, known as Grzymultowski's
Treaty, s
rendered the re"gion beyond the Dnieper and Kiev to lVlosct
and the Orthod6x ciergy of Poland were piaced under
'
authority of the metropbiitat of Kiev.
-
The ultimate outcome
ail this was that, there- came to pass t'hat which Poland had
three centuries striven to prevbnt: the de facto rule of
Orthodox Church in Poland by the Czat acling through the X
metropolitan who, in his trun, was subordinate to the patria
of Moscow.
The war being then waged with Turkey preve'nted PoIt
from approaching ihe Patriarch of Constantinop! with a
liev
instituti-ng an inlependent organization of the Orthodox Chu
within ih6 Republic, so that Union appeareil as
lhe
only pract:
solution. Duiing the last years of John Sobieski's reign and
'l'nkirrg l,clvantage of the exhausted condition of the country
l,rllrli l'r'orrr l,he long Swedish invasion, Peter the Great, uncler the
rrr,lr,rl, ,rl'
lrrotecting
the Orthodox people according to article IX
'l
(llz,.yrrrrrltowski's
'Ireaty, began to interfere with growing
rrxrnrrr,(\ irr the internal afiairs of Poland. Paradoxically enough,
l'r,l,,r', rvlro rrrbitrarily abolished the Patriarohate of Moscow,
rrrl lr)r'r'rr(l trpon the Church an. organisation basecl on the
"Holl
I
r r r, ,r I
' '
r,r, lr iclr cleprivecl it completely of its independence and
ulrlr rnl I't'cotlotn, now posed as defender of Orthodoxy in Poland
rl,rr I rrrl, rr.l logcd oppression.
ll,rrrrxiri's interference evokecl in Poland a hostile attitude
,u'rrlrls l,lrat country, even among the partisans of the Czar who
,rrr, lriri srrpport to Augustus II, and when Prussia, imitating
'rrlrrrrrl'rr ltlrlsterri neighbour, initiated an extensive campaign for
11,,
"1rlol,1rction"
of the Protestants, a spontaneous revulsion of
,,,,lirrt.1 l,owirrds all non-Catholics spread to the whole country.
Irrrr. irr l'oland religious cluestions became interwoven with
,,,ltlrlnl issues, and to disengage them from foreign influences
rrrrl
;111;p11.i
constitutecl one of the most serious questions of State.
'l'lrr, gtrntry, now animated by an ever increasing religious
,,,r1, rrirrrcrl at restricfing the rights of dissent,ers: between 1717
rl,l l'iilli l,hey were denied the right of public worship and for-
rr,lrlr,rr lo u'cct new churches. They were also deprived of the
t;,lrl, l,r, sil, in the Diet and coulii no longer be judges or hold any
l,rrrr'11r111111{, pegtrs. This ill-adviseil zeal could only have the
,llr,, l ol' rlliving the non-Catholics into the arms of foreign
r rl r,r,l ot'ti.
'\ll,lrorrgh the King had, in 1720, fitled the long vacant, bishop-
,l Wlril,o B,uthenia and confirmed at the same time all the
rlrrlrrrll r'ights of the Eastern Church, the number of Orthodox
,rrltrru(\(l I,o decrease in {avour of the Uniate Church. Poland
rrrl.\ ,rl)lx)sod any Russian attempts at intervention, and the
'lr;rlrrrrrl,s
of the Orthodox on the score of wrongs done them by
r,' llrrirrl,trs were referred to civil courts as the only competent
ll lrr rlrl\ But while rejecting the attempts of Russian
tl,l,,rur'\ ho meclille in religious questions, the Polish Ministry
,nl,l rr.l, prevent the ever-increasing
infiltration
of the influence
llrr, N4oscow Syriod, which now began to fiIl posts in the
llr,,rlor
(lhurch
with a view to the ultimate and lasting pre-
,rrlrlr'nroo of B,ussia over Poland.
'l'lrr! Il,ussian action in favour of Polish Orthodoxy, carefully
,rr11lri, orrl; as to programme and method of execution rras most
r,'rt,,,lictrll.Y carried out by Catherine II, a firm believer in the
rrrrlrlr,lrr suborclination of Church to State, and one of her imme-
22 THt, oR'r'HoDox ITASTIIIiN Lrnutlclr lN PoLAND
diate objects was the formation of a Poiish political party en
dependent upon St Petersburg.
That the question of Orthocloxy was a mere pretext was
to be avowed by the R,ussian Chancellor Panin, who wro
"The question bf the Dissidents must be raised, not with
object
-of
propagating our own or the Protestant religion, but
orier to cieale,-witli the help of our co-religionists and the P
testants, a strong and ever reliable party"'
The Russian Government founil a reacly instrument
George Koniski, the new bishop of White Ruthenia, who
been consecrate<l through the efforts of the Moscow Synod
blindly obeyed R,ussia in all thiirgs- Brrt in spite o{ the
,eco*rirrg conflicts between the Orthodox and the Eastern C
.}ics, the former prorretl either passive or indifferent in politi
and religious mat,ters, so that the Russian agents receivecl lil
support in the quarter where they hacl most reason to expect
Meanwhile, Russia and Pmssia had corne to a forlnal ag
ment as to their attitude towards Poland, and on the deat'h
Augustus III, Catherine II, extending her projects of interven-ti
airied at securing for the Orthodox access to all public oIlir
thouqh it was doubtful whether any suitable canclidates could
though it was doubtful whether any suitable canclidates could
found among them. Public opinion in Poland saw in this
attempt on the sovereign rights of the State and opposition
R,ussian interference stiffened accordingly.
With the accession of Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski
obtqined the crown through the machinations of the Czari
R,ussia redoubled her efforts to pave the way for ultimate
interference in the internal affairs of Poland. In the meantime
Orthodox Church continued steadily to decrease as it did thro
out the eighteenth century: there now remained oniy 600,000
against four miilion Catholics of the Eastern Bite. At the insti
tion of Prince Repnin, the Russian Ambassailor, Bishop Kon
in 1765, presented a lengthy memorial to the Polish Minir
complaining o{ nurirerous wrongs suffered by the Orthod.ox,
demanding that they should be given public rights. But
Chancellory had no sooner commenced a formal enquirv into
complaints than Koniski begged thern to abanilon it: "The pl
tiffs," he wrote, "clo not seek satisfaction for the wrongs
have suffered; what they request is an improvement of their
dition in the future and a confirmation of their ancient rights
privileges." This declaration throws a characleristic light on
ieal motives of the complaints raiseil by the Orthodox against
Uniates.
Treating the Orthod.ox question not as an object in itself
as the most convenient means of making Poland clependen'
as the most convenient means of making Poland dependent
Russia, the Czarina's Chancellor Panin was decicleilly oppc
to the adherents o{ the Eastern Church being granted full <
right's, for-and these are his own words-"Should they be
IIIIIi IIII.I'IIol)o\ MI]TII,OPOLIS IN TEE XVII AND XVIII CENTUR,IES 23
rllrl l,u rrrnirrl,uin themselves and take part in the government
llrr, rrurrrrl,r'y without our aid," not only would that aid make
,,1 ,rr'
l)r'(!r.iolrt
prot6gds our future rivals," and prove unneces-
lt, rl u'orrlrl rlso mean incalculable loss to Russia, as it would
rl,rr,rl,\ Llro llight of the peasantry to Poland where they would
rr,l rrrrrrrlr lrcl,l;er conditions of life in addition to full religious
rlll rtlil'r\
ilrrrrlrlo lo lrreak the anti-R,ussian opposition of the Diet and
r,,
l,r,rlr'.r,
llrc
(.lzarina's
ambassador brought about tlie forma-
,,1 rrl llrrrlorrr of an anti-royalist confederation and demanded
,r, r,,irrrrnfi lirl the Orthodox. But even this "Confeileration
l,'l ,
r'orrlx)sod though it was of men politically or financially
'1,, rrlr\rl, ()rr
Sf Petersburg, proveil unexpectetlly obstinate,
lr,r rtrl,or l,lrr: agents of Catherine, casting conventionalities to
r', u,urilr, srrizod the leaders of the opposition and transported
r, rr 1,,
('rrrrl,r'tl
liussia. This ac{ of violence was rendered pos-
,1,' l,.r l,lrc prclsence of Russian troops in Polish territory.
llrr,lll l,lre menace and pressure of these developments the
lr,l ll l7(il]- guaranteed complete libertv of worship to the
rrr,lrrr rr
( llrrrrclr.
It also confirmed the bishopric oi White
rrr,lrrr rr
( llrrrrclr.
It also confirmed the bishopric of White
rrllr.r'rrirr rrrrrl granted complete equaiity of rights to the orthodox.
llrrl, llrc St Petersburg Government was-not long in instigat-
r' l'rlrrlr
"inciclents,"
this time on the vast expinses of the
Lrnirrr, ll,rrssian
lgents,
both secular and ecclesiastical, began
r rr I r'. r r pr l,lrc
.
population, alleging religious injustices against
r I l r, rr l. r.\ W he. the anti-R,ussian " Confederatibn
, ,
was fJrmed
llrrr rrrrrl rlr,llecl upon the country to light for its threatened
lr
lrr,rrrlr,rrrrr,
l,lre Russian answer w-as a peasant rising in the
r,,,' ol'nllrrgod threats to Orthodoxy.
iL,r,irrt.i l,lrc tide of indignation rise in
poland,
the Czarina,
lr, \rnr,
1rrsl,
then engaged in a war with Turkey, decided to
,,1'1, l,r, l,lrrr l,im,e being, an open clash with her Western neigh-
,,r ,rrrl lr,ltxed her pressure in favour of the Orthodox. When,
rt,, llrr,
(izrrlina
showed herself still more inclined
to
make
1,,,,,,1r,,rr,, irr the domain of religion, which became a question
r!,r,r rttr lill'.\ irrrpoftanCe.
'l'1r,, I )irrl
of \775 removed non-Catholics from all ministerial
r'lrr rrrrl .r.lrrded themlrom the sehate; they were still arlowed,
,nlrlr
, I,o sil, in the Chamber o{ Deputies.
,,r lly rrl'l,rrlwrlrds, the First Partition of Poland neared realisa-
'l
\,\'lr,,r'.1).y ll,ussia was to annex half of its Orthodox inhabit-
llr l,lrr, lirst Partition the Orthodox population of
poland
was
lrtrrlllrr,rl l,y lrrrlf to aibout 300,000. As Mohylew was includeil in
,,,,',,lr,rl ,r'(rrs the Orthodox Church in Poland was now deprived
rl, ,rrl,r lrislrrp. But the Russian Synod began to interfere in the
l,rrr,, ll llro l'olish Orthodox, causing confusion and general em_
Il, ,,,,r1 ll,rrssian priests, totally alien to the local population,
, ,,'l llr,,rl wr.y into Poland in considerable numbers.
fealty to the Czarina and refusing this act towards Poland
the year 1787. Even when he had sworn loyalty to Pol
refused to celebrate divine service for the prosperity of the
public and the King, and in all his public appeals and wri
referred to
"the
supreme will of IIer Imperial Nlajesty Cat
II. " Indicted for complicity in the peasan! risings in Vo
ancl Podolia, ancl for open high treason-as evidenced b
activities-Sadkowski was arrested in 1789 and placed
special commission of enquiry in Warsaw. But meanwhile
with Russia had broken out, and as a result of its unfortu:
conclusion Sadkowski was released in 1792. The trial
revealed how abnormal was the position of the Orthodox
ancl its relations to the State, anil serious efforts were
the Polish authorities for a final settlement of the problem.
24 TIIE onTrroDox EASTERN cI{uRCrr rN PoLAND
Taking ailvantage of the weakness and want of dec
the Polish side, Russia, in 1783, devolved
jurisdiction over
the Greek-Eastern Confession" upol1 Victor Sadkowski
erected his See in Sluck. Sadkowski, a Ruthenian of the U
had been a Uniate priest, but' later passecl to the Ortl
Church and was now consecrated bishop of Sluck. AIi this
place without Royal consen!. Sadkowski was no sooner
firmed in his see than he openecl a vigorous campaign of I
fication and subversion: he introiiuced priests from
flooded his diocese with the publications of the Synod and
prayers to be said for the Empress Catherine. I{e also com
his flock to swear allegiance to E,ussia, himself taking ot
The Great, Diet (1788-92), undertaking the task of
reform with the object of securing Poland. from further
interference, again took up the Orthodox question' Two
the
fieople
to disobedience and revolt against their lawful
us al.o to stir up disoriler in your own country. It is tl
our clutv to warn you not to stain your bodies and souls by
macle to foreign powers, which leacl to disobedience and t
A11 you priests in general ought
!o
set an example to oyr
holiovino Christia,ni bv vour deeils. and so teach ancl adn
believing Christians by your deeds, and so teach and adt
them that as they glorify God, so also may they remain oI
and faithful to the commands of IIis Majesty and the
Iates were decided upon: the resumption of relations w
Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the creation of an
pendent ecclesiastical organisation in Poland.
In 1790 the Polish Ministry obtained from the Patriarc
recognition oI an indepenilent Orthodox Church in Poland.
have hearil with horror, " wrote Neophytos VII in
a
Ietter to the Polish Orthoclox,
"that your spiritual leaders
taken a vow whereby they have bouncl themselves to ob
foreign power and to fulfiI commands evidently intelded to i
Serene Polish Bepublic. "
A special commission, acting in close collaboration
llgnl,Irrrx l'rrrrrr the Orthodox priesthood
and people, put
lrrt'r' l,ltl l)irrl, rr, rriotion for a general assemblv of
tle O.tLoio*
trtt'r,lt u,il,lr t,ho purpose of regulating its government. The
rrl krtr n,rrN rrrlopted and the congress was fixed for 15th June,
lll, 1,, lrrr lrrrlrl at Pinsk with the participation
of State com_
hllo|trrt'x,
'llrl. nxsrrrnbly was well attend.ed: 108 representatives
nt'r,rl, 1,1'wlrich 47 were priests and 56 laymen,
-and
within a
l,.trlglrl l,lrrry prepared a scheme for the brganisation of the
l,lr,rl,r
( llrrrrrrlr
i. Poland. Pending the approval of the scheme
l,lr, l)i.1, {,lro supreme control of the Churih was to rest in the
rrrlr ,l'
"'l'lr.
Supreme Consistory of the Greek-Oriental Rite in
rr l\lrrHrlrrrn of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,,,
nlrt ot't,l()l)ox MMrtopoLIS IN TIIE XVII AND XVIII CENTURTnS 25
,,lr,*r!(l ,l''l2 urembers, half clerical and half secular, with the
uturrr" Snba Palmowski at their head.
'l'lll xclrrrrne was laid before the Diet without delay and-in
ll,rr r.rl' rr ctrrfio,in opposition by the Uniates and thl Roman
Itrrlllrr
.wos
adopted by an overwhelming majority on 21st
,t,
l'ill!, when the country was once mo-re taLin{ up arms
Irul,, l,lrrr. ll,rrssian aggressor. The new charter of the"Orthodox,
l,ll,l.rl
"
1,)s{,*blishment of a Permanent Ilierarchy of the Greek_
lrrrrl,1,,1, ,,,,,,-,Jniate, Church in the clomains of ihe
polish
Re-
lI',
"
r'r,xlored the traditional bond with the patriarch of Con-
rl,lrrolrIr, and created a- hierarchy consisting of an archbishop_
,ltl.;rolil,nrr
ond three bishops,
-to
form f,ogether a Nation'al
trl,l rrx l,lrc supreme ruling 6ody of the whoie Church. The
,llrlrnlil,rrrr
rurd bishops were to have assistant councils com-
rrrl rrl'lrol,lr clerical and secular members, in the election of
h,lr rr,ll l,lrtr faithful were-to take part. The metropolitan, as
rl ll'l,lro
(lhurch,
was to be assisted in his duties bv-a General
rnlrl,.r'.y .ll 12 members, clerieal and secular, while Jach diocese
l lrr lrnvtr i1,s own consistory, the members of which could be
rvrrlrlrl l,o diocesan congresses. fn matters of dogma secular
I,rrll[r'x ..uld not vote, while in questions of churlh property
rrl' r.lrrritrlble
enterprises their r6lJ might be decisive.-
'
'l'lrir'.clnLrter made the Orthodox Chrlrch a living institution,
',r'rrrrllrltr
l,o the canons of the Orthodox faith aid the tradi_
rr ol' llrc Polish State. It was of historical importance and
rlrl rrrrrlorrbtedlv have provided. this Church with a sound and
llrrtr1 lrrlris for its ind.ependent existence in Poland, had not the
I
;rrr'l,ili,rr,
in 1795, put an end to the State itself for well over
rilttrlt'r,rl ycars,
u.
THE ORTHODOX
CHURCH
IN POLAND
AFT
I]OUR CENTURIES.
E Uuu since Polancl bv union wit'h contiguous
rea]ms inco
,t"a ,afr"*"ris of the
"lJastern
Church in
ler .p.opulation'
;;ilf
;r. to respect, the independence
of that Ohurch' in
ior*ity with its canons and traditions'
-- --
il the course of the centuries, historicai and local tradj
eu""-il"
-Eusteru
Church an organisation.independent'
of f
;;[.;;;;"; whether ecclesiastiial.or
political
.
T\"-911
Cfr"r"n in Poland underwent
a characterist'ic
development
ir**
"."*ia"rably
influenced
by Western culture-while
m
ir*i"g it. canoijcal and ethnicai distinctness'
It became
ilil;r;;
falto, ot Polish publie.."Iif9, hglpinq,':1111
P*t
Wlstein civilisation
in spite of her di
the part of outPost of
geog'raphical siluation between. Illst and W?tI,,^,^^,r..r^-
, t"""Tiil'il;ti"r"
cn"..h in Poland suffered vicissit'udes of
t,r"", u"iJi"S as it did in
a State-
1n ry\ich"Bo'"-:9ii"h-^"]1
;.
;;;;;;,irrt,
ar.al which often felt the effects
of far-
;;.';i;ilPupacy.-
rhe fluctuations of
-Pili:1;t P-1IJ:{]:
i; h"'";&;rr"i^
Ltt"" affected the, position of orthodoxy-
b
".
ti*" i.nether in its heyday or during its struggle with.
t-ltil., .iiJi srffe, from tle adulteration
that feilo."th,:,r
;il-iirJ;"
Church in R'ussia, where complete uniformit
relision
prevailecl.
,"o"ri"at, altereil to suit the taste of this or that
-despo!'
ii6s
"
P'rtrlr""n"t"
"i
Moscow was illegally.*eated';
in 1
;;;ppil"aed
by a HoIv Svnod which the Czar con
iil ;sli il;-'
:
ot.'p.ot oru [o'
"' tn ortb odox,Y-t::"Y
J,l:
;?'rh;ilil"r;Ah;;h;"re
not ratecl v-erv higllv: whle ch
organisation
was strictly subjected tg tl", p9llt:t-^:::i:
:i
S;?;;;";L;;l, *ere ditrerentlv
conceived.bv
bhe various
There alwavs, however,
prevailed the tendency to,use tre-
;;';ili ;f 1*p""irri.*, a thing- t'hat. became onlv to9 ap
in nr..lu'. relaiions with Polant during the eEhteenth
ce
In the Morrrr"t i" B"p"Lfi" which
'united
po6"6'
Tlit\
and Ruthenia by a oolu"ia'y tie,
-the
existence
9f
ttre.!1!
ah;"h was gulranteed by both
-secular
and ecclesia
;;-;;"" a".i"g the transitlry
period of intoleranc"
-,"*^l:11
;1r;;s";t.;.:'--Errit-i-
io be ascribed to a p:**.nL":]
r"3l
ih" iatio.ul character as well as to R'oman traditron'
,
ro
,=figi"".
i"teration,
so striking in the sixteenth century'
26
r, lr rrrl ol llrcso elements. The various religious bodies of
,,l,rrr,l
lrrrrl llrcir oxistence guaranteed by law. Royai charters,
rr rlr rrrr\rl,
".,rrs1,itu'tions"
and decisions of the Diet fixed the
r,,rl
,,lrrlrrrr ,l rrr.lr denomination. Beligious assemblies heid by
rr ,rllr.r'r'rrl,s.l'lhe
di{ferent creeds as weil as the local dietines
llr,,
1,,.,rrllJ, wcre continually occupiecl with religious discus-
,,,,,,,,
r'', |, I i s
1,
r r l.s, ." b; pr;;;l,.
f;i;;";;;"ltrffirf
"r"d
;: rli;
l,rl,, rll,rlrrrl rro1, only religious freeilom but also freedom of
,,,,,,1r, llr. rlisprrtants
did not hesitate to vent their feelings in
r, rrrrrllr,r', r,r(i the oratory was fluent and vigorous.
l',l,li,'
'rlrirrion
played an important part: the iliscussions of
l,rr,'lr ,r,rrr'rrrlrlics,
and the deliberationi of the local dietines
rll,r'rr.r'rl llr. sessions of the Diet, to return therefrom in the
'r
rr ,'l |r,',rrl.ri;/rne .-.] l^--,-
-^^-^^+^l
:.^
^--^----r
r.r rr
'l,
,'l lr,i,rtlrr,l,ions
and. lpws
respected in er.eryclay life. Ifow
rrlrrrr.l rrrrl.urrs.lrrrblic
opinion is shown by the hisiorj of the rjast-
l l'11111r'lr
irr I,oltnd, which speaks eloqlently of its fluctuations;
,,, ,,, I rrrirrl(r, wrtrurl speaKs eloquently of tts tlllctuAtlons;
,lr,,rtrr,.r;orrro(,irnes
of political maturi[y and at other times of a
'|
lrr,' ,r
1,rrlrli.
spirit accompanied by narrowness of o*tlook. rn
, l,,r ll,,r'.,.r.rsrr pr.irnary motives lay outside the sphere of religion.
, I lr,. ,,rlllrlcorrth
century they were the
""ultio.,
to foieign
llllrl r)ll'l'll()l)()\ oHUIicE IN
poLAND
AITTEIi FOUR CEN'IURIES 27
l, rrrlrl', rrl, rlisr.rrption.
, tr,rl I'r..rr Poland and Lithuania: as soon as the Orthodox
ll, *rrr; l,lrn fate of the Orthodox Church in
poland
that it
,,,lrr,rll.r
lrr,t,:11yl61 deprived of its natural leaclers. One bv one the
rrlr,,, l,,, rr,lrlt's went over either to the Boman Caiholic or
, I'r,,1,,r;lrrrr.l, I'rr,ith, partly under the influence of
polish
culture,
r llr llr'.rrglr inter-marriage
with the non-orthodox families.
Itr llrr,r'rrrl of the eighteenth century Russia had taken
..
.,,Lrr.rr
o[.lr large area entirely foreign-to her in every way.
"tlrlr'',r,
rrr.l lr,ds were soon being used to assimilat" t]i" con-
, r',,1
l,olrrrlirl;ion,
but these efforts never had more than a super_
l,rl ,,ll'r,r.i 'l'he recent history of the Orthodox Church in
poliand
,,rr,,
lr,\1, l,lrin was the Russian veneer that covereil the lands
,, rrl,l,, 1,. organise their Church on a free basis within the new
,lrr lr
,llrrlrrrblic,
they showetl themselves lor what they are_
1,,,'lrllrrr()rs people whose customs and ouilook have iittle in
rrlr,n \1,il,ll those of Russia,.
PART II.
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN POLAND I
THE XIX AND XX CENTURIES.
VII.
POLISH ORTHODOXY UNDER RUSSIAN RU
,'n
I ffp partitions of Poland at the end of the eighteenth ce
gave Russia a1I the Orthodox population of Poland except
small number in the province of Bialystok r,vhich rvas he
Prussia tilt 1807.
By the end of the eighteenth century there remained
about 300,000 Orthodox in Polancl, the Greek Catholic-"Uni
-Church
having gained millions of adherents.
'
When R,
began to rule in the land the position of the erstwhile P
Orthodox was compietely reversed: from being a reli5
minority thoy now formecl a part oI the State Church in
Ilmpire of the Czars.
It now seemed certain that the Eastern Church wo
Iast become a power in Russia's newly acquired
rterritories,
the very opposite took place: Orthodoxy entered upon one
most critical perioils, caused partly by the changes in or1
tion to which it was subjected, partly by the burdens laid
it by the Russian Government. In Poland the synodal pri
of secular participation in Church government, and the o
ance of local traditions in ecclesiastical ritual were still
while in Russia Orthodoxy had already iost
its
Patriarchate
Czar himself being ileclared supreme head of the Church.
being an ecclesiastical institution the Eastern Church was
ally trans{ormed by the Czars into a kincl of government d
ment, a convenient executive instrument in the in
administration o{
lhe
Empire.
The principle being accepted in Russia that the Ort
Church was an instrument of statecraft, this Church
it,self to B,ussia's most ruthless methocls of oppression
assimila,bion in Poland: the Or"bhodox clergy acted as
executive body to the secular authorities whose aim
not only to destroy Polish Church trad.itions but to root or
Polish element altogether. In open violation of the Consti
granted to the
"Kingdom
of Poland" in 1815 the Ort
parishes were excepted from the control of the Polish "Comm
for Religion and Public Education" and placed under the j
tion of the bishop of Minsk, suborilinate to the Iloly Sy
28
I.I)I,II.,III oT,'IIIODOXY
UNDEIT, RUSSIAN B,ULE
29
l'r,l,r rrlrlr,ll. l,r.iosl,s were transfeuecl from Oentral Russia to
r,ru tt ltr,t,, l,lro population-Poles,
Ukraimans
and Wnii"
ltlrr,rrtrrlu,
u,rrs out,t.ely loreig. to them, both in orrg* uoJ;
ll,,::.1:, .::,llll,,',.1:li, i1t*rl""rion
and consequent
naor"""i,*ot tn"y
I rr,t, r,r,,rr lrtrsrl,ate to take advantage
of tir"
"o"f"ssio"ni
r.'L,
,rrrrr
,l
l,,.r,.illt.(j. Meanwhtle
the fi,ussians ha<1 createa praran"*
rr rr\r,r,,,ri ol Lhe number requrred.
and were intriducrng
lrlrl,r (itl\trr
l'l.or.rr 1ar_ofi Russran provinces.
.,\\
lrrl,' llrolvirrg.
special
_care
foi the few Orthodox
!n
the
rr l,r
'.r(lrr,r,.(l
t,nd.s and using the Eastern Ct-;r"h';
";;
I I ll,,l:11,,,
r,rl liussilication,^the
St
_petersburg
Governm;J;;
',r,,1
rrlrr,r t,,
Pr.ol,ect
the Roman Catholic tiitU.
-.;.l;;1;
rlr.rr (
rrl,lrolics,
bound to R,ome by union, oo uffort *ua
rr,,rl, 1111 r,.*,s left, untried by the iJussian'raili__t*ti""
lrr.lrr| llrrrrrr lrrrck to the fold of 0rthod"oxy.
N,,r n.r,o l,he lioman Cathoiics
u_*"*pt from oppression:
;:, :i,,.,,,,',,.1,,1:l::.1]l
the purchas.e
of iand weie introdu";'d';;;;;
Ir llrr,
(
tr,l,lrorlo.r
couid acquire real estate, u"a tn" *ora1i
rrtlr .l t,lr,, rrrr:t,irods applied
was shown by the ,uLrr"- oi
rrrlrrrrlrr ,l l,lrc Iioman Calhoiic faith on condition tfrai tn"y
,,rlul I )r'l,lt1rl9X.
,
l{,,,111:r,rrr;, Lyr.anny,
tle coTpulsory
entry of Roman Catholic
r lrrnr.r, (:tut(treo
as Orthodox in the birl,h registers, the de_
rl,rll,,r.,,l
IJrri,to priests,
the eviction of
poliJh
lr.do*r"r'
,,,,, ,rrr,l rrrrrrr.y other means were used by the R,ussian Govern_
,ttl
ltr trrr',:rril.,'l: i+"
-,,+I^1^^^
-^ti^--
n
u.
,rrt
trr
;rrrlrrrril, oI its ruthless policy of ajsimilation.
ll1 irrr irrrPo'ial
ukase of t-gsg ihe Eastern oatholic church
r,, ,,rlrlrr'f+i(r(l
irr the provinces
o{ the R,ussian nmpire, flre
r,,,,trrr (i,r,tr1.,,rrr"rr,
finding
a. zealous partisan in thi p;r;;;
.t
lr,, rrrr,lr.opolitan,
Joseph
Siemaszko,
^ur,
,r.a"rrpulous rene-
1,, ,
l,lrrrr,rrr.ag-ed.
by ihis success
tt
"
Czar,s
'g""a**""t
,,, , ,,1 ,r
1,,r,()sclytizing campaign
even among the Roman
Irrrrrr rr,
11'111y, of course, had never belonged to- tne Orthodox
r,rr, lr ll,
P.essure on the Boman cathoiics
o"a tir.-u"iuiu.
r,",rir \\,r,i :rlrlo to show apparent successes in the fo.rrr oi a.
r,,r,,, rr llrc rrumber
9f
the Orthodox;
she was also in posses_
rr rrt 11111111,s,1r,s
Catholio
estates and chu,ch lands whlih had
,, lll,,lrrllt,
seized.
l'lr" ;;1111;1'1'sstions
of 1881 and 1g68 gave the Russian reac-
,,rr", nr cxcuse for a fresh attempt to stamp o"i *nut
rirttrrrrl ol l)olich nqli^-oli+-
--,1 ^+
+L'^ n-.r-
-,.
r'rrrrrrrl ,l l'olish nationality
and of th-e catholic church. Manv
1"lr
l,r
rr,ril,s had taken an active part in tn"." ,i*i"g.;;"dit:
l', t,,rrlrrlg
Government now redo-ubled its zeal in thi extermin-
,r, ,,t llr,r Ou,tholic faith.
'l'1r,,
1,11y1,1r6ion
of 1905 that followed. the unsuccessful war
lr .lnlrrrrr
brought about some relaxation in the
policv
of
',,,
r,,rr llre Czar on April B0 of that
vear issued; U[_;
r,trrr1,r'r,ligious
freedom. But the burearicracy
saw to it that
30 TrrE oRTEoDox EASTERN crruncg rN PoLAND
the non-Orthodox should profit but little from it, the
the
'revolution' were rapidly forgot'ten and the old methods
again brought to bear o_n the_refractory.
'
e *ia"" gulf now divided the new, artificially
nou4i
Orthodox Chirch in the former Poiish territories from the
inhabitants-the Poles as well as the Ukrzlinians and W
Ruthenians, maturing into national consciousness'
In the m
of th"*" peoples, who-remembered
the church iife of.the old P<
days, tlie dastern Church of Russia was inseparabiy associ
wiin'tire tyrannical Government
of St Petersburg, and ever;
wrth tl1e tyl'anntcar
(f,overrnerlL ul DU r EuvrDUurS,
move on tLe part of t'!rc Czar's Church was lookecl
-upon.as-a
uii"*pt ,poi th* form of worship to which tl"y
1."{
,itn"frlua fir centuries a.nd an effori to transform the religion
nationaiiiy of the country. 'Ihe very
"-u*9.:l
,the
land
ufr""ay bten changed-: Pbland was now the
"VistuLa B
,"a #frrt had forinerly been known as- Lithuani*
?."d
nJfr""iu was ilescribed as the
"North-Western Area"'
On the outbreak of war in 1914 the Orthorlox priests
colonists abandoned their posts. retiring into R'ussia
with the Czar's armY.
In what condition did Russia Ieave church life?
The Orthodox Church had beerr organised on an ofilcial
The hierarchy and. common clergy- were Russian'
.tl
;h".;L orgaiiisation, excluciing- all
-laymen
from the discu
"r
p*""niir affairs, Lampered.Ihe religiow ut.yt},?t
'-!:
"ll
d.eielopment of the commu-nit-y'-.
The R'ussification was
."p"rn'"iri, the population.had [ttle contact,y',-11
i PII
tfrii *u. ioreigo t6 them in language and national culture'
il;"J l;;;td'to the day'when-they
oould once more rest'
ir""-O*froaox
Church as-their forebears had known it'
Such was, generally speaking, the heritage left to the
dox Church in Poland bY Russia.
'Ihe war of 1914 openecl up a new era in the life of the
dox Church in the Polish lands formerly under B'ussian ru
;; ;; era eagerly awaited, which gradually- led-through
C"rror" o".ltp*iiorr-to
the restitution of Polish sovereignty'
;"t"t ;f lhe hussiun authorities,. whet'her i1
lhe ::?l"tiTt*
it"-Eo.iut ilomain, were still fresh in the minds of the pec
if.r"t *" need not wonder that those outposts of Bussian Ort
ifr"i
-tifL remained. became the objects of d.islike of the local
irti";, who saw in them the relics of foreign-sway'
{"igg
;;;;'a movement
for the liquidation of R'ussian instit
trr".piu"t"d to Polish- soil, and the problem
."f 9*+"d)
i;.frJa,'i" spite of the bitter memories the Russian State C
frrJ["q""*tled
to the country, hacl once more to be faced'
Wheo it is considered that' the Poles are a Catholic
strnnslv attached to their faith, and more specially wJ
;;;;t6"t their sufferings at the hands of their Bussian
I,,I,ISII oBTHODOXY
UNDEE RUSSIAN RULE
31
tlr,., ,lrllir,rrll,y,rl.lhc
problem
of Orthodoxy
in
poland
wiit be fullv
'r1r;r1I11'111l1'1|; Irrrr, arr acquaintance
witb tri" *"Jtoi.
b;;;#;;t
l'
,,,,;
,,,,,,
1,,r.rr,,l.ir.;rl,posit-ion of tf." Orif."ar,. Chureh in,p;i;;j h;;
r"''| rr rr'1'rrrrrr.rr
wi, convince
the impart,iar
oI l,he spii'i1 0f torei.-
''r'i'r'I
l,*'r'rlFi
,{lrer rlenominations,
which arway.'has
b"";-;
r,lrtlrlrrll
Ir,rrl,rrrtr irr
polish
history
during the cent,uries.
VIII.
THE ORTHODOX
CHURCH
IN THE RESTOR
POLISH STATE,.
T ,U Worid War did noo cnd for Poland in 1918, as it clirl.
,ff [" other States that took part in it: the Trelty
9f
Vgsai
"rlflJti.
State into being, without definit'e1y
fixing its. Wes
frontiers, while on the Eastern siiie no boundaries were Ialtl ct
at all.
It was not till after the Upper Silesian plebiscit^e and
,""onoition of the Eastern front'leis of Poland by the Conf
;;-f;[;;--dors on March 15th 1923 that the count'rv's
ioriui ttut,r. was formally and legally established'
.
'Ihe
restored State had to be rebuilt from top to bottonr' th
being practicaily nothing to start,from, and tne
!|t-e.e li:tl:1
rr"ia"fr:;-"i
hit"r""t"powers,
had to be reunified' eco
iit"-""r/*"i."c1,
a constitutlon agreed
-*4orr,
*"ty,
.y""t,L1,1
*-a"
?""a,
hostile activities aI work for generations obliter
Yet' orianisation was carried on apace' Among the. questio
["
"fr"Ea
*"r" tftu re]ations of tf,e State 1o lhe
eight reli
,"1.o-" forty sects that were now represented within Pnl
bounilaries.
The Polish Constitution
of 17th Nlaroh 1921 laid
6he
principle of religious liberty ancl maile provisiorr for the
;;ffi;;i;;- bv law
"ot
trr. r'elaiions between the Stat'e arid
;;i;;- denomina"tions,
o11 the basis of their particular stat
-\";;;.piiJwas nrade in the case of t'he Roman Catholic Ch
;-h; pisition in the State lvas-to.be defined.by,a,*Yl"uli
,rt"* frii*"L" Poland and the Hoiy See, ratifled by the Di
-----
No great delay occurred-: in, 1925 a Concord'at",
Iu'
ctuaea w?tfr the Hoiy See, and in the coiirse of the next few
;;;; ;";;
-p
"s
sed dehninc.
th.:
.:ti!-"' :l'0,:
^
"'#j""* tk11
Ifr" On n'ite" without
"hierarchy,
of the Kararlm Sect'
iir" l,t"tf"* community,
and of the Jewish creed" Shortly a:
warcls the Diet passed analogous measures relating
,t".
1h,",
:
t".ir"t ChurchJs: the Ref6rmed Evangelical (!alvi'ist;'
,{.rg.burg Evangelical (Lut!e1an),
ancl the United l'"1,1q?
er?"ily, T" rs38l Pr..ialntial De#ees, promulgated in confor
*ltt it
"
authorisations
of the Diet, d'efined the relations bet'
the Polish state and the Orthodox Church'
-^"--
-.{cluaIly
the reorganisation of
-the
Orthodox Church,in
dates from
"1921
and"more especially from the arrival of
t;;;p-G;"rge
Jaroszewski,
-.
#ho
-
tob1, became
S:l3"li
W;;H*;d"l*u""t
of the ort'hodox Church in Poland" I
32
'I III.i IIII'I'IIoI)oX CHURCII IN TIIE R,ESTOR,ED POLISII STATE 33
r,rll,,rr rrrli rr,rr. * Lloneral Episcopal Synod was held which, in
,,rrl,r rlrl,r rlrllr il,s ctrions, prociaimed the Orthodox Ohurch in
l',,1,,rr,1 1,, 111,,,',locephalous. Of the five bishops present, two,
I lr rllrr,r rrr,, ,\r'clrbishop o,f WiJ,no, and Panteleimon, Arch-
,l,rlrrrlr,l
N,,tr',rglrirleli-both of them R,ussians-recorded t,heir
'
rrlr, ilr r'lrl,',riili,rll llusiDg it orr the assertion that an autocepha,lous
Irlr,lr ,,,rrrililrrl,ioti
could only be prociaimed by a general council
,l tlr,, lrrrr,l rrrr,l t,lurt it should first have the oonsent of
{he
Mother
lul,lr, u'lrir'lr irr tiris case would be the Church of Russia, arrd
l,rt rt lrrrrl l,r lrc ;rchnolvledged by the other independent branches
,l llr,
( 'lrrl'r,lr.
]n consequence of their adherence to these
rrl r;rlr,,, 1,,,1 lr rr,r'chbishops, together with Viadimir, Bishop-
,,,1rl111lrr1 r,l
(lrrrrlrro,
r'esigned their dignities and left the country.
\,, ,r r'r.rull, oli rLrr agreernent between the i\{etropolitan George
rr,l tlr,,
(i,)volnnlent
there appeared, in the first months ot 7922,
I t ilt
ltt,
t tt t tl I i tt1 tt.l,tttions concerning the mutual rolations b etweett
ll,, ti,t111'11 tttr:ul. u'tr,d the Orthod,or Church in Poland,." They
1,,,i
1,ll,lrr;lrrrrl
in t,he lorm of a decree of the Minister of Church
\ll,rrr rrrr,l l,lrlrrcir,tion. As the title suggests, they were intended
,,
I'r',\
r,lt. rr. lr,rrrporary arrangement pending the legal definition
'l
tlr, r,lrrlrrs ol'the Ohurch in question, and were conceived
l ,r ,,lrr.l,l.1 pr':r,ctical spirit. They took aceount only of the actual
,,tr ,,1 rrllrr,irs, and recognised the existence of five Orthodox
11,,, r,r, , u lriclr slill maintained the Russian synodal and con-
l,,trrr rrrl l,r'rrr ol church government; they recognised the General
I
;,r,,,
,,;'rrl i..r rrotI as the rightful representative of the Orthodox
rlrrr,,lr
rr l',rlrrrr<1, provided the appointment and transfer ot
,rl,,,t,,, r,,,.,,11niserl the existing diocesan consistories, whose mem-
,, r,, lrL,' I lrrr pliests-were appointed by tlie bishops, declared
lr,, l'1 1l111ls lrrrrgr.rage to be obligatory in intercourse between the
tr tl ,rrrl lr,rlil,ics and the autonomous ecclesiastical governing
1,,,,1t,,
r.rrnl('(l
t,he Orthodox Church the right to use places ol
rr,,r,,lrrl,, ,lrvollirrgs, etc., ancl allowed the Orthodox clergy special
I ruilillr,
il\vlrililBb, euu., il,llu altow
rr,rrr rrl
lilrrrrls.trom
the Treasury.
'l'ln
,
;,r'r,lirrrinary
and provisional settlement of the,relatiols
,, t\r,,,,r llrr' Olt,i:odox Church and the State was paid for by the
r,,,q, 1111111r,,rr ol l,he Metropolitan George by an Orthodox monk,
, ll,, r,rrr niurrc(l Smaragd, who, inciteil by hostile influence,
'
tll,,l lrrr,
1,r'ivirte
accoun s with the new church dignitary under
,,1,,,rr ,,1 rr plotest against autocephalous organisa,tion.
I lr,
;,r',,t,l11mal,ion
of the'autocephalia' by the General Epis-
,,,;,,r1 I ,'un'il in 1922 evoked protests from the Patriarch of Mos-
'',,,
,,r{l llrc Synod of Karlovatz in Yugoslavia; these two
I
1,, ',,;,rrl
1..1 tr<>rls, though normally at variance with one another,
,,rrrt,I rrr ,,1,position for the political reason of maintaining the
,rrt 1
rrl llrrr lormer Russian Church. They had no canonical
rr,,i,r,l. I,r'llroir action, for Eastern ecclesiastical law as well as
r rrrr,rl r.rril()rir lrnd local tradition, all acknowledged the undeniable
lx.
I I II. IiIIS.SIAN CHURCH IN ITS RELATIONS
,I'o
POLISH ORTHODOXY.
ll'\'l'ryrrn llro actual reaction of the Russian Chuvch to the
rrt,rr r;rlrrrllur; orgrLnisation granted to Polish Orthodoxy?
'l'1r,,
ll,rrririirr,rr Uhurch was at all times an instrument of the
,,1', r*lr,,li',
lx)li(,y
plll'sued by the Czars in their dealings with
,rrrlr rr ,, I.lrrrl, rrurrrbered any Orthodox among their subjects. As
tlr rrl llr,,r'iovottl,eenth century Muscovy interferecl in the in-
rr,rl ,rllruri ol' l)olish Orthodoxy; in the Lighteenth century the
r,,l,l, rrr ,,1 llrr'
"rlissidents,"
especialiy in relation to the Ortho-
,, rrn,l llr,, 1111i11,{,os was one of the pretexts for intervention in
',l,rrll
|
',,1
l,r,lrrl l,lro ll,ussiari Church is influenced bv liussian
,r r 11,11
;rr1l11'1',
l,lrorrgh that policy, needless i;o say, his no con-
It,,rr u lrrrl,,r,r,r' with church matters
llr, lirr,,riirrrr lt,volution of 1917 broke the ties.between the
tlr,,,l," r 'lrrrr.clr
rirrrl the Bomanov dynasty. Before the end of
r, lr,llr,$ilr,,
,\,(!irI
thc Moscow Synod had returneil to the patriar-
',l
,,r,',rrr,,nli,,rr
:rnd electeil Tycho as patriarch and head of
r, llr,,,,rrr
( 'lrrr.r,lr.
llut meanwhile the revolution spread apace
,.1 llr, ll,,lrrlrr,r,ilis, seizing the reins of government, proceeded
,'r, r ,, ,,,,r,rlirrp1
to their programme, with me:_r,sures agairst
li, t',1 l'1r,, r'r,r;rrll of this policy was that Orthodoxy split into
,ri,, r,,ili, ,,,,1,nt'lltr (lhurches,
some founded on a social-religious
l ,r,,llr, ,,rr rr, r'0iigious-national foundation.
\ I I lr. llr.r I
(
icneral Council held in Moscow in 1928
patriarch
,l,i'
u,r,L ,lr,llrr.orred by the votes of those same bishops who
I
'
1,, 1,,,1 lrirrr [i vo vears before. Meanwhile ]re had been arrested
| ,,r,1 rrrl,o
lrrison.
lrr r,;,r1,, ,1'l,hc chaos that hail arisen in the Church owing
ll trrrrlrrlrl.r 1,. scttle its own legal organisation-the Council
\1,,,,,,,rr rrr l1)ltJ decreed a special constitution for the diocose
)\,1', ll
llr,. yi1,i11.,q
general
9f
th9 patriarch o{ Moscow desig_
,,1 l,r 'l',,,,1r,,
lr;rrl been one after the other sent to prison, orr" 3I
r, llr, \1,'l',1r.lil,rL.
Agatha.gel-who
was deporied to siberi*
lr,',,, ,r, lrrr. rlrrprrty Sergius, metropolitan of Nijni_Novgoroct,
,, ,'l ,,,rrrr,,.,
rlirl not possess the direct canonical mlission
tlr, l',rtr,,,.lr 'l'r'.Jro. In 1g2g Sergius recognised the Soviet
34 TIrE oRTHoDox DASTERN cIluRCH rN PoLAND
principlo that in every sovereign.stat^e
-the
Orthodox Ohurch
independent of all authority outside of th-at state'
Thi. *** the attitude of Gregory YII, patriarch of L)
stantinople, who in his 'thomos' of 13th November
1
said thai
"taking into account the precepts
-Iaid
down in
Hoty Canons, i"ni"n ordain that the ordering
.of
ch
mattors should. conform with politicai and social reforms;
considering the fact that the separation of- the Polish-Lithuani
lVletropolit"anate of Kiev from tLe Patriar"c.hate, of Constantinol
and iti incorporation with the Russian Church was not' rn c
foimity with canonic law, " he and the trn'elve Metropolitans
his Synod hail resolved to acknowleclge the independence of t
Orihod.ox Church in Poland and grant it their blessing'
Tn this canonical and traditi-onal manner the autocepha
'Lhomos' received from the Patriarch Gregory, and soon
wards the other autonomous churches, the Eastern patrt
and the Orthodox Churches of the Balkan States, acknowled
Ort'hodox Church in Poland was recognisecl as equal in rank wi
the other ind.ependent Eastern Ohurches, and in a'thomos'
13th January ilOZS Constantine VI, Palriarch of Constantinop
informed the other autocephalous churches o{ the establishm<
of autocephalia in Poiand.
On iattr April 1925 the Synod of Orthodox Bis
in Polanci maile inown to all t'he faithful the contents of
the independence o the Orthodox Church in Poland' Thus se
governm;nt was finaiiy obtained for Polish Orthodoxy;,it
w
3"k""*f"Jg.ci by almost all the autonomous Orthodox Chu
in the vari6us c6untries. There remainecl in Poland itself a
,rr*be. of persons who still refused to accept^it; these createil
parish in filno which they styled-the
"OIc1 Church" and whi
i,cknowteclged the patriaich
-of
Moscow as its spiritual h
it" adhetirrts of this
"Old Church," who are pure Russi
maintain that the proclamation of church autonomy must^be r
bv a National C6uncil ancl be, tloregye{, approved. of by
Rlssian Mother-Church as well as by aII the othor autoce
Orthodox Churches. They ciosed their eyes to the fact that 1
creation of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1589 was an uncanonl
u"t, ot was also the reform in church government carried out
172b, when that Patriarchate was abolishecl ancl the Czar, Pe
the Great, proclaimecl head of the Church.
\\,rr,,,rrr ,rrr,l irpJrointed Bishop Seraphin from one of the Rus_
r,,ll.',., ,,. rrs il,s spiritual head. A delegation sent by the
,l,il,,ll
,, ,,,,1,',1 l,he decree to the representative of Polaid in
dD
Government anil made a compromise wlth It whereoy rne I
Church was to be ailowod to organise its internal life'
When, in 1921, the Orthodox bishops of Poland in
Patriarch Tycho that they hail set up ar] independent Ch
the Patriarch
protested, demanding that the metropr
George should rule the Po1ish Orthodoxy-only as-exarc
the
iatriarch
of Moscoy,
ll-
accordance. with al order of
The Metropolitan Sergius, who at present r:ules the B'us
Church, foilorvi the same policy and has repeatedly shown
enmity towards the Polish Orthodox Autocephalous Churc!
1929 [e clemanclecl in the most categorical manner that the P'
36 THE oRTIroDox EASTERN oHURCI{ rN Por'AND
Government anil made a compromise with it' whereby the Ru
Orthodox Church should not cleclare itself autocephalous wi
the consent of Moscow.
Mos6ow Patriarcha,te of 1920, which allowed' the au
government of dioceses under extraorilinary
political.
"ondili
thi. *rt an expression of the ilesire to maintain the unit,
the R,ussian Church for a future non-Bolshevik R'ussia,
the same time to continue R,ussian influences in the new P
State.
From the point of view both of the State and of the spiri
heads of the Eastern Church in Poland the numerous insta:
of Russian intervention in the affairs of Polish Orthodoxy
no canonical
justification: the Bussian Church has acted
canonically every time it has changed. its form of gover
It acknowledged the irreligious Soviet r6gime and posset
spiritual head able to speak with real authority in the na{re
faith. On th-e itrprisonment and subsequent death of the Pa faith. On th-e itrprisonment and subsequent death of the Patr
Tycho, canonic law clemaniled
the
election of a new patrj
Meanwhile the Bussian Church, or rather a section of it,
ruled by the I\[etropolitan Sergius who had usurped the office
belonged by rights to the Metropolitan Agathangel, the no
of the Patriarch Tycho. Sergius excommunicated him and
illegally. From a canonical point of view it was unla
zlppoint a vicar generai of the patriarch where the letter of t
clemanilecl the election of a successor, that is, of a new
of the Church. Ilence all the protests of the B,ussian Churc
a religious institution, and still more those of the uncanoni
governing Sergius, could not be regarded by the Poiish
Church as justifled.
Besides this strictly canonical aspect of affairs the M
politan Sergius betrayed a woeful subservience in his act
Ele was completely in the power of the secular authorities
aiming in principle at the complete abolition of aII reli
bodies, arrangecl three
"five-year" campaigns againSt Orthc bod.res, aruanged three
-'five-year"
campalgns agalnst
(
which completed the destruction of the Eastern Church
tion in Bussia.
In addition to the patriarchal church of Moscow,
autocephalous Orthodoxy found an antagonist also in a bt
lrl
,lll.\N
r:111111911 IN ITS RELATIONS TO
pOLISE
OBTHOOOXy 37
r, llr,,rrrrrtr
(ilrrrrgit
now in exile. At Karlova:bz in
yugoslavia
lr,rr
l ,l l,lr.
'lrl
ll,ussian hlerarchy had estabtished theinseives
r.rrl1,1. .\ rrllr,rrr.1,. Olrrapowicki,
lhe
former metropolitan of Kiev,
lr" 11,,,, )rrr('r\ l)oolr succeeded by the Metropolitan Athanasius.
Irr',,r, rr.r',
l*r,lrrl,os
oI the old pre-war type, zealous nationalists,
1,,',,,,,1rr,rr, is to restore the R,omanovi and the oicl svnodal-
.rrrr,rrrl,r
rrrl,,lr.rr'.ir government.
Disclaimed by ihe patriarchai
l,r,r'r\t r,lnrrrlr.
t,lrey are no Ionger able to repr-esent ih" foa*".
rrrt,rrr
()r'l,lrrrrloxy
of
!!e
Czars; defending themselves against
r,, ,,rnrri. rrrrzolilinty
of Moscow, they are"at variance witi the
Ilr,,,l,r,!rrrillr.t!s
of Iraris under th; Uletropolitan Eulogius
,r r1
11
1r,,1 r' 1,trlt i.
.l'1r,, ,llrrr;riirr.rr
lrr,igrds' church at Karlovatz in
yugoslavia
rs
l,r,rllr
,lrrr,ril,r,rl oI any authority that might, give iveight to
,'
l'r,'rr',,rr,,,rrr.rrls
: even the Parisian Metropolitan Eulogius,
ll,tr
;,,,rrnrrrl,otl
hy the Moscow palriarch
arh the EpisJopal
1r,r,l rrl lrrr'l.viltz,
was able to declare himself independent^of
rr,r lrrrllr rrrrrl prrt himself under the authority of ihe patriarch
,, ,rrr{r
lrrru
ruustjr-r urruer rtie aulnoltty OI tne patllal0h
I
',r,,t,rrl,rr()l)lo.
To-day he governs the Orthodox of-paris in
r'
'
lr,rt rI.lr.r' 0l O,tafOh.
llr,, l\lr,l,r'rlrrlit,atr
Plato who had the care of the Orthodox
,
\lrlt'rr, rr,cl,trtl in precisely the same manner, refusing to
l',,'rr lr',lri,' rrs cunonical the authority either of }roscow Jr of
rrt llt rrL,
l'lr,',,1,1 li,ussian Church is to-day in a state of complete dis_
l'|lt,,,
,rrrl .rrrl'rrsion:
there is no central authority to look up
1,,,,ul,r,.rnc lrcad to respect and obey; it is breaking up into
lrlrrr,rrrlrlr. ri()(it,s, a sure sign of internal decay. Een?e all
,,tr,,t,, rrl,rrirrsl, l,he autocephalous Church in
polanil,
whether
,,,,,,,rllrrl,
lI.rrr Moscow or Karlovatz, have neither canonical
,,r,' l,,r rrr,,r'rrl arrthority. These protests, moreover, are known
1,, trrr
lrrr,rl
1r.1, political motives.
x
NATIONALIST
TENDENCIE,S
ANI)
PROGRAMMF]S
IN THE
POLISH
OR.THODO
CHURCH.
38
T ,U internal organisation
o{ the Church pr-ovecl a much
diffr""lt task thanihe
tluestion oI its autor:ephalous.status'
The Orthodox
cll,irch is conceived as consisting.
of.
"t"*!oL,
th" hi".ur"ltr,
*" common ciergy and th:'.,',1'T
cent,ury and a
hal-[
,ol'
subservience',
::i?1':: .:'"::-::
".Ii""iriJ
l"ndencies,
have put' these- eiements at varrance
one another on the q;"ti;? church government'
'*-}]
;il;r;h d.ignitaries,
mostiy oi liussian ongirr' were accusrom(
iil"'t*m,-"or*i.io,iui'Lt"
.tt'ot
ugyaltSd
Yd",I,i!"- 9ji':i
uru b'vrruuar-""""'"""--,;";;;lves
tL the far-reaching
aims of
were loath t,o adaPt t
;;;;;r:;i;*"rrt
wt icu, in the oILi Polish State' alwavs..
parbinchurchgovernment'Outheotherhand'theyou
""re.sr :'
-".iil'-
"?
"
u[,ni"i'" a'nd' white
I*]"^L :l -3:'cll',I
i,il'"1';il"i]".;;";l;^li';-
Cr'*'n the local customs or t'he
ffirrtiii""
ti*;f, toot*a askance a! everything
that savot
6f Bussian OrthodoxY.
The census
returns of 1931 gave a total of
?J6?'4P+
d"- i'l'P;;#;:
'i;i'il";e
tt'e riuainians numbered
1'540'
the White Ruthenians
iiOe,Sfi, the natives of Polesia ol^"l*:'
H?t,]i1l,u1r-bb6,
siii,-Tr,t-
r'ot"*' +ez, zso, the R ussians
ee' 636'
Czechs 21,672.
Such a variety of nationalities
could :rot
.fail
to
Prod
.*rJi""ail;;;;is;;";'oi
oi"*' ancl tenilencies
with reg
the future d,evelopment'
tilf'" Orthoclox
Ch",-g
Tl"^YY?l
;ii:';::;
";;";r;il;;;;;,
";1"
had been nationallv
con sciou
a considerable
time *oJltnot"
church
11'dii:"ll: Y:1",:1*T,
il:i':il",i}'looffi
ih*'ih;;;
or inu oth^er orthodox
in P
showed a tenilency
to nationalise
ltre. .Clrul,ctr
*'!lit-j
limits.
At numerous
congresses,
-of
which the most imp'
i""# prr"""-t i""r. t-
ii?i,
i1'".u-li,lilT:
d,"#':^1**:
tion of a separate
archbishopric
in Volhynia' the'consecratl
Ukrainians as bishops,
tf'"
'*lt"
of the-Ukrainia'n
languagei
nrrlnit. the Ukra.inian'pr'oioun.iation
in the Iiturgy, and fi
i#";i';;;,
;;
";i
i'o"jt
"u.,,"t'
tra ditions. u"d
".l:-t:T::-,^
H;;ff;;11"";#
;;td;;i"
*"'gv and was characterisr
il"Jiur-;""1h;
B";.;;
-Clt,:o
n"f,"'
"?'i?:l::d:i9
-*'i
.tr#. ?fr"i. irra"pu"a"lr"e
of Moscow as a religious centre'
ti"rUy they were opposed
to t'he Soviet r6gime: too m
N \'l'loNr\t,tSU
I,ITNDENCIES
AND
pIiOGIi,AMMES
Bg
r,11111 s',11s1;,p1',1,
rvho found refuge in
poland
between'1g18 and
I
'
l,,l.rrrrl.
rrx,ir.;rl,io,sJracl
been brought to nought by Russian
l, rrr llr. ltlrlrrirrrr.
Wiflr regard to
poia"a'iireir
lttitu"de *;. l;
lrr, tlrl' lrrr,rrrll,r, l,rwilrcls
the State on condition
"i ""_pi"i. 'rrlr
l,r tlrr, lllir.rirri:r,ns
as citizens of the Republiclo d#"]"p
r tr
',\r
l ,.rrllnr.r,
lrtrrl nationality.
'l'1r,,
\\'lrilr, Il,rrt,henian
national movement
which srew ,n
trl,r,rr
llrltt 1,,,,1 l9ll0,. never developed strongly. e U?.t*".i
'r1r.lr
'r'r.rr
rrr rlrrv rlreir national nnd reugious inclivitruaritv is
rr, lr tr r,rr rlr,,tir r.l rlrrrn that of the Ukrainian?.
i;;ir;;;h;,;i1";;
, ,1,,,,r,,',
rrr.r, lin"ritecl to the use of the White n"tfr."ir" air-
I rrr tlr,'
;rrrlpil,,
the consideration
of \yhite Ruthenians in
l,'rtllrr.llr, l,r WItitc ll,uthenian parishes,
the use of the
rtlr llrrllr,'rirrrr rlirr,lcct, on the part of the priest in his lnter-
,rrr
q1
,1lr lrir
Prr.islri.ners, and wtrite Ruthenian c:rrechisfc for """
rl ,, ,rfi
l)i*rsrroners, and whrte fi,uthenian
catechists for
t1,11,1, ,,t \\'lril. lirrthenia,
origin.
politically,
tf," lVf.ii"
I, rrrrrrr rr()\ (,rr(,nl
has always be"en moderate,
bli ;l,rry*;;
, r,, r,rl
'.\1,.('ssi(),,
anti_Con.rm,nist;
i! n,as onl), in thJ first
r,,
"l
tlr,, 111,1y l,olish liepubiic that ihu C,n-*,rrist move_
rrl 1,,q111,1 rn,\, rcsponse
__(g1a
il was but a feeble r..po"..;
rrrr1, 1111,
1rrr,r.r's1,, .landless White Buthenian peasantry.
It"llr lll'r'rrirrirr'rrs
and.white Ruthenians
are in favo,r
of the
,,lr ,,rl,irrrrrrrliorr
llnd gotrernment
being in the hands of a
,,r' rl
'rrr,l
,.1;rirrr
the right, of laymen to"take p"rt, i"
-Cfrr."n
'
rrlr, rl rrr ol,lr<rr
words, they are for a retuin to the tradi_
r,rl
1,r,r,
lr,,r,r; ,l' tl:e Orthodox-Church
as they existecl in old
l,,lr lllrrr r,
. ll,,
llrrr,r,rrrrrs
rcgard these
_questri91s
in quite another light.
I lr, r, rr,, rrr,rsl riistingur'sh
th; 40,000
,.Ot'a
S"H"r"".,:,-fr,,.-
r', r\ ln lr,rr,. lrtt,rr settled in
poland
for netrrly 2OO y""rs,
fro*
llrrr,,,r,rrr,, rvlro r:lme to_
poland
after the
furfitiorr,
and the
llrr' t,,trrl rrrrurher
of Russians in
poland
is about 18g,000.
lr, ,', tlri,
.l{t,(XX)
"OId
Believers,,
are clescenclants
"f
;;;;i;
r lt' ,r r u,lro, in thg middle of the eighteenth ;";;;i;;
1,r
,l 11,r111 llrr'. persecution
they had to'suffer for non_
,,,rt
\ \r rllr l,lr. ecclesiastical
and liturgi.ri
,ufor_.
"nr-"iJ
l,r ll,,
1,rrl.irrr..h Nikon. As a corrseivative
eleme"t th;;
l,l l,,r ,r r.,,rrl, lo the Church reforms and, severely perse"uted,
l,,,rr,l r,,lrrli,,
irr
polanil.
llrr' r,r r rrrr.rl g.orrp
of Russians
are the descendants
of those
lrr, rt , rllirirrls,
rlrmv officers and Orthoclox p"iests
".Ir;
,,1 ll l',,1,,r,,1 ,'f+.^* +i.^
-^-.:it^*---
;-"--"' ,l tl l',,lrrrrrl
after the partitions.
They gradulffy
U".r*"
rt,,, ,l rrr,l 11,1i;1pfisd
themse]ves
t,o their" nEw surroundings,
,r' rt', lrr\c s11id, some of them returned to Russia in f,he
,t r,l tlr,,
('7;11''s.army
during the Great War. Th;; *h;
].,.,,,,,'. .],,.]i.,.,-:ll:,l"red
.stiil
further with the native poputa_
, llr,rl u, lrr,, i,he machinery
of the new
polish
State #a's set
40
TrrE ornrlroDox
EASTDB'N clruRcrr IN Por'AND
up, many of them were accepted as government ofrcials and
as judges.
The third
group, the 6migr6s,
play an important
pt'rt' i
The third group, the emlgres'
pray ail turyvru@lu v@rv
Iif" ; ii;;*furrdi""iy
smalIRusslian
population' Ardent
.r".
"f
ti" otd Cra'isi"rdgime,
they tencl
t"
iTry:^"-^l*-:i'-"
ilil
;ffiJ;;t
';Hsi-oG,
o'
'h;,,9'*.:9:x
hierarchv
an
whole Orthoaot
pop,i,iio"
"ot
only Russia"t
'id.
tl^"ii
y':lT
i;#h"*t5,#cu"'"t
hu*gv
'6*"what
prone to rol
irggistior.s
of the Btssian.exiles'
:r-- 11-^ n,,ooiona nnn
'*"il;;;1-a..ia"aiy
in t'he mi,orit'y'
the liussians
op
nationalising
tendencies
of ihe Uk"raini=:
i:g^Y:li::l
lil;;;"6il;,""h:'-
il-H; matter of church
"'c1t',--*i"-ti
;h";""i"*.
ur" *oa*te
t they wish to combine
the sy
"i".*i"'iri
#;;
witl iavmens
share t",:h"Tl-Fo,T*"i#
solrsrbuurrar
D')DUU,r
"
'li '
'tilion
in number'
have-Iittle
The Polesians'
hr
litics' ancl rem
national
consciousness,
take no- siiles. itt p?.
-.^^
;td;;;
io- rit ortio"aiistic
and religious
djsoutes'
The orthodo*
"f
;;iJ;lo"uitv'
lP''iv l"1i 1,4]:
number,
show a .u'Li"
-benclency-
t'-o
,"Polonise"
the
Church.
But, here it *"tl be pointbd out that:"?"."1-"
r'nurc','
Duu uele
'" -i;;
;;il of ti*"' gradual adaptati
tion, not. that due to
State and social conditions,
surrolndings.
d
":lt::"t::tl
i
;J#:;1:-;ii-h;;il
opposite or those desired anil onlv
itr" ,"trtnt
pr:ocess of assimilltion'.
- r--^-^r;+-- :-
"'"
ii"i#0";i;;yti"*,
tlie orthodox
metropolita-n
in
oLt"*it"a-to
pt""iof g"t", {hrough the
.F'piscopal
S;
i"i"*h churct constltution'
This. constitution'
:1PI:
;;;;i;;i";;
ot tt
"
l\'fetropolitan
and his B',sslan entourr
""""1",
t"
pJish
tradiiioi
by denying the"right
"i
:":$'1
;; .;ffi
prri l.-clr",.rt'go"i^;"ot'
'lt
also denied" the
i;r;h; bor"rr*"rrt
t'o lnterfere-no
matter h:Y
T"t:
"."f".L.ti"rl
matters from the point of view of St'ate sover
Til'idit"plUtuo'.
proposition^
rq3liX"d
without support
hu the Government
or by the faithful'-
-
"'
'i;
igzii'ii.-ili.ttpt1
svnod intended
l'o convoke a
Council
to draw lrp
"o?t"'""ai
constitution
for the O
&;;h i,,t
p"lr"a,
b;;;1hi*
ulso the Governm"lt.t:.|
;iil:'""J,,;"';#ft;J.'ii"t
'""n
a sv-nocl' convoked'
u
'
;ffi;;;
;f * ;;p't i"
"
aI c on clit ion s
1
* o dq
-":1,
1:1': :'^i::1
{i#"ilIr"d;;-;i*h;p;'
real object' was to raise a solemn
#'sil;";;,r"-i
3,i
"i,i*
uv
lF"
B:T.1"
P:ll^*XPtl
ii"i'p..alrin-ilih;;"'ts,
for t'he-return
of over 600
pl
tr"^firp t" i'h" Ro*rir Catirolic and the Unial'e
Churches
{ormeriv owned them'
-"-:Tht
"internal Churoh constitution"
-was
a mere
...,..,iiil^n ihe Council. Another unavowed
reason was the
ilivergent
vrews, anct.t'i
.-_-^r^_
^:*^.r -+
a.n
o;;ff;;;
'pl"pr";
trr" R'ussian hierarchv aimed' at
I.J^'I'I(INAI,IST
?ENDENCIES AND PROGR,AMMES 4I
rr lll, r,rrrrrn nn(l White R,uthenian movements. And flnal1y,
r'
ltrr'
r1,1,.,, ,,rr which the Council was to have been convoked,
,
',rrr,r,lt,
nrrrl l,lrc Oouncll did not meet. The decision of the
i,\, I r,rr,rrl, rvrrs
,ltrstitiable,
for a Council convoked at that junc-
,\ r r rlrlnr, \r,)rs
JtrsolnaDte,
ror a Uouncrl convoked" at that
Sunc_
r, rr,'rl,l ,,rrl.y lurvo excite[l party passions and. created an atmos-
,,,, rrrIrrrrr;rrrl,ilrlc
With the carefui consideration of such a
,'L, trl',ilr, il[t,l,l,r]1..
,,,,,1
llr,, lnru.rr,(ilry in a much more advantageous position than
, lrrrt r r\ lr,, rvorrltl not have been assured adequate representa-
',
\ll llr,,r;,' ..rrsiderations induced the Government to refuse
Ir.,,r rllrr.1y111.1ls the Government, assuming the initiative,
ll,,l ,r ,,;,,.,,rrr1 cunrnission which, in agreemeni with the hier_
, lr r ,rr'l ,,l lrr,r, O'th.dox circles, was to prepare a
,'pre-counct_l
, ttrrl rrrr,l nteirsures for the eventual convocation of a
, rr, r ,l t',,rrrr,.il.
'lhe corrrmission drafted:
(l) \ pr.oglamme of a
"Pre-Councii
Meeting.,,
1
11 lt;rsic principles of the Councii.
(.t) \
lrlogr.urnrne
for the Council,s deliberations.
I , ,r,l,l rl r,rr, the oommission suggested regulations 1or.
,,rr,, rl
;,r,,,
r.,lur.c llnd for elections to the General-Synod.
1,, lr tl lr L\l:r.y, 1930, the President of the Polish R,epubJic
',,, I ,r
l,r,,r,lrrrrriLt,ion
t,o the metropolitan Dionysius in which,
r, rrrrrl 1,, llrr, ltst Orthodox General Synod heid in
poland
at
, t,,r,, ,,1 l'irrsli in 1791, he declared that
the Autocephalous
tl',,,1,, t lrrrr.clr in Poland was now free to resume th6 inter_
;,tr,l
,,,rrrr,,, ol' il,s history and convoke its first Synod in the
,, l',,1r lr iilrrltr. The proclamation
was solemnly read in the
rl,,,,l', r
',rllrrrrlr.lrl
of Warsaw on 1st June, 1SSO, in the
',,,
r,, ,,1 (
i,vclnffient representatives, the hierarchy and the
t lrl,,l ;i',rn(! (lirys
later the Metropolitan, in a pastbral letter
I lr, r,, r I I r I r r l, s;r irl that a new, bright era in the iife of the C.6urch
I lrr
1,rrl.
l,lrr, l,resident having given testimony before the
,,1, rr,,r l,l ,l t,lre friendly relations between the Btate and the
r"r'| r'rr rrr ,r (,rre
irrendly relations between the state and the
tlr,,,l,, lrrrllr "Tire
Orthodox Church,,, the Metropolitan de_
',,1
,l,rr(lfi
by the State and the Polish nation, and the
, r,,,1 , ,,1 l.lrr Orthodox citizens are intimately connected with
,,1 I lr,, St;tte. "
And shortly before_on Aprii
gth,
rr
l'1r,,, rrr, Patriarch
_
of Constantinople, having been in_
l rt lr llrr,
(
irand Ribbon of the Orderbf
poloniiRastituta,
t,, llr, l'olish Government that "the polish
State shows
ttrtlr,"l,,'. (ilrur:ch
and the faithfut much benevolent care and
,,,t,1, r,rtr,,n, l,() the greater honour and esteem of our faith.,,
llr, ,lr,r'r'r.c
of the President markeil the close of the first
t,,,1 rr' tlr,, lilc of the Orthodox Church in the new
polish
Re_
I , I l, ,, r r, | | rr ir I clown the general lines for its Iuture organisa-
rr r, rr.r'rr.rlrLrrce
with the best traditions o{ the old
poland.
\\,, lr,r\,, r.rr)w merely to indicate the actual position held by
lr llr,rrl.i (l|1rch
dlring the period. under review
There are five Orthodox
d'ioceses in Poland.: (1)
Y
x.*"grralt,
-iz;
rot"tia,--(3) Grod"?,^,(4)
Vdogill
"?*
Metropolitan d.iocese oi"W"itn*
and Cheim' Each dior
under an archbishop,
-
*o-" of
-whom.
.have
assistant-bi
il;;; ;;t; altogetlier eleven Orthoclox bishops
1l T:I''ld:,
Cfr"r"f, authoriiies were: the Church Council' the -blpt
SrjrroJ r,'*=ide,-l over bv rh* metropolitarr' errtl wit'hin the di
tf.r" -..iini-r.lop. *Ilo itrle througli- their c-onsistories'
--
it
"
Polish State showed m"uch care for the education
souns Or1 hodox clelg.y: rt semitlar; was maittlitilred ut \Vilno
'rffit?.;';; Krr"-i"ill"".
rn \t'arsaw.there
was" tl, f?"Yil
O;h;"t theology at the University, lhe
dean of that I
;;ff;t;
fr"i,ofrLutu"
Dionvsius'
.ii
aaaiti"lt
.'1" ?t*:
42 TIIE onrlroDox
EAsIIERN cHUricE
tN PoLAND
[#8a"ri
it. o*]. expense a hostei for students o{
theoiogy in Warsaw.
- --
If"tfr" proviirces o{ Lublin,
-Polesia,
\Vilno',Now"g-t:-1t\
Volhvnia.wheremostoftheOrthorloxlive,therewerel
si"i,i"iala f"ri.rr".,
anc1, whereve, the religious
needs of
,nrrtrtiorr demanrle.l
it, sub-pat'ishes
were also created'
""'"+i.;, i;r;h;a;; church ha*d also several monasteries
and
ue,,rti--tire
most famous being that of
-Poczavov
in Yolh
ltrvery bishopric,
-".-.!",1
-'ia p"tf' had its orrn-11*"{
;";;'. E;;ti-
parish anrl sub-pa'iih was a1lowec1 ils gl.epg'
;;;i:,i ,."*Airig io the fertililv of the soil
.and
-which
,r""""t"a
to onE hundred acres' Both the parochial ciergy t
hfi;;
";".;h
dignitaries received a.salary from the Treas
;'ilil;";;-
t-t u
'"*ot"-ents
accruing fiom their ecclesir
i,rr"r"tiot. and the incomes derived from church lancls' The
BJ";t made
provision for the Orthodox Church' thro
iri"l-l.ir" of Church -\ffairs
ancl Etlucation' The allowan'
two a,ntl a half million zloty irr the last pre-war year-was
cient to elicit the remark trom the Catholic Press that' taking
,t"o""t the relative numerical strength of the two reiigions
A;ih;d""
parishes were more generously subsidised thar
Roman Catholic.
As a result the Orthodox Church was suffrciently
p
tor, u"a enjoyed ample protection-.froni the State' in
""""
*ltf. Poiurrd's iraditional religious toleration and
f;;"h"; .."frr."t., of whatsoever nationalit'y or.creed'
-
A-E
;J;; ;t-t;il,
Professor Budanov, testffies in one of his
;h;; ; Catholic Poland the invioiability of the possessions
xI.
I
)
I I.'I,'I('I IL'rIES
AND CONFLICTS.
I l,r llr,, llrrrisil'.yirrg
poti"y of the Czarist Governments.
I I ll I \ lN rlisliko of the Orthodox Church inevitably
rrrlr.,,l 111 l',lislr rrrinds_ from the pre_war d.ays when O;h;-
'
,,.,,,,,,1rrJ'
I,lrrr reiisious sphere] lent itself as an instru_
,r' lnnc l,roubles of L9l4-20 did much to hinder the
r,lrrr.rrl,
oI relations between the
polish
majority and.
r rr
lrrrrtr,\ runr()t'lir.y.
And it was only natural if institutions
Il,.,l ,,,,1.1,r
lo 1.o[[f6rg. Orthodoxy in ttre country, but not
,,,;,,,q1,11s.1,,
.l
,r.;nry
reai needs of the p"opi", were abolished.
.,",,,, I lrrr,l llr. l)olish troops entered- thL Eastern prb;il;;.
,
l,',,1'rl,rr
.
l'r,r,lirrg
be.caTe aroused against things whiJ
trr,l, ,l
Ilr,, l,olr'* too vividly
of
_their
*riry yurr. of"bondage.
tl lrrr,,t rrr
lusl,icc
be mentioned ihat a large number of plaies
,,r'lrrl,
rr,,,, 11lri1,11d6psd
by the Russian
"G*gy,
who ret'urneJ
llrr,,, r,r rr rl lr I lro Czar,s retreating
armi"s"."
polish
claims
,,1',,r,,,1r'
rn(l rlid not create mucf, resentment
on the part
O.tt oao" Church was more carefull-v observed tharr in
t,,
rrrtlr,r,
i,,r, rrs t,hey themseives
were awal,e ihat *-r.ro
lr, ,,, rr , trlrrl,irrr"
were.really
superfluous.
Claims ;;.r;;i;,
lrr l,,r ,
'r,,1,
,,1",'.,,,|^
^J.i4^^- ---r^-i-r
r r t, , r ,,1,,,;, ,,lr r rr.ch edifices which had formerly- b"L"g"6
1,, t1,,, ll,)nr.rrr Catholic
or the Greek Cathohc
bhurch ind
tlr, llrr'.,i;1r1
rrdministration
had handed over to the Ortho_
lrrrr, lr rrllr,r. I,he Partitions.
\
',.rt,rrr.,lillirrrrlt,y r,vas brought about by the propaganda for
,' rr l,r, lr l,,,1irr.rr rr,t the same time. tror centuries ih" Iroto
lr,r. ,tr\,,rr
l() g.,in for Cathoticism
the lr""a*d*tltfi"i
,,1,,' ,,1 lirrssirr.
In accordance with t,t t. p"if"y-'Iil
,,11, ,1,r,,,.,,1)ll,o
undertook in the Eastern pr6vinc"s of
t,l rr r ,rtr,t,,,i,,r' i- +.-'^',-
^f
,.--:^,^
^-^
rr, r .
rr,t
'r
,,rrrr;rrriiyr
in. favour of union on the basis oi the Eastern
,rrt'
lirt,,
A number of_Orthodox priests, together with
1,,,
t, lri,l,.r'ri,,
having
embrace-d Cait oiic;sm,
'r"gr"tt"bil
.ll
,'
.t
,,rrl,
;rlrrce and a number of outrages were perpe_
I 1,, l,,,tlr
'rirltrs.
An atmosphere
of excitement prevailed,
, , ,rll, ,l t,,r. l,rr.tful intervention
on the part
oi't'he
p;ii"i
ir rlt,
'l'1,,,
TT*.i^+^
^^-^-^:--
rrtlr
'l'lrr, Uniate campaign in the East, and i" ;h;
',
r ,,t l,rrl,lirr led to the creation of over a dozen Catholic
ll,,,,t llr,. l,)rrstern Rite, embracing a total population
ot
'rll.l lrlr I
I'r',,r('lyl,es. E[ow much irirportance
-tfie
Vatican
, I t,, I lrrri rl.r,olopment
is shown by the nomination,
i" ia-B;;
,11,,,,,,
,rr,r,r(1(:lii
as-spe,eial Apostolic
Visitator for the Eastern
,lt, r lrr,,.lr irr
poland.
nut ttris offensive ali;"fi-r;;;;;;
,.1,,' r ,,,rrlrl
rrot, fai] to evoke, for a time at least, a gooj deal
Mr.rscovy.
43
I
I
44 1'H],1 0IiTIIODOX IIASI'ERN CUUECII IN POLAND DIFFICULTIES AND CONFI,ICTS 45
of friction between the two ilenominations, and was keenly foll'
*616 was the actual state of churches formerly belonging to the
by the Orthodox Church.
Eastern Uniate Church at present in possession of the State and
Still more bitterness was caused by the actlon taken beforo not being used by the Orthodox Church, and wherever possible
the Courts by the Catholic episcopate for the return of over t'o make them over to the Catholic Church as its property.
600 church truildings, formerly belonging to the Roman Catholiorr This whole question, in fact, only affectecl one particular
and the Uniates.
-The
Orthodox Church opposed this action irr region of Poiand, namely that of Chelm, the religious history of
various ways, and-as we have already mentioned-the Metro"which
-must
be kept in miird. When, in 1839, Nicolas r-, sup-
politan Dionysius attempted to convoke a Synod in oriler
!o
raist'
p-ressed the Uniate Church in the formerly Polish provinces oI
'a
solemn protest against* this elaim.
"
lhe Russian Empire that measure was not extendied to what
The action of the Catholic bishops was by no means ,"*6.
th-en went by the name of "Kingdom
of Poland. " In this way
tious, but it was intended to establish by legal decision the rightre
last remnant of the proscribed faith under the Russian sceptrL
of the Catholic Church ancl to prevent ih"ii b""o-ing barred bvwas
preserved. in a stretch-of country iyilg on the western bank
lapse of time.
9f .!\"
River Bug, extending northward
-from
the frontier of
It may here be remarked that the Roman Cathoiic bishopr,
Galicia and inclucled in the diocese of Chelm.
-
This exceptional
namely I(r. Lozinski of
pinsk
and Mgr. Jalbrzykowski, ariS
slate^ of things was never vieweil with favour by the zealots of
bishop of fuilno, repeateclly expressed tlheir desirl for an nmio
thu State Church of Russia a-,nd.by bureaucrats on the look-out,
abie iettlement of tn. al.prt"-by direct negotiations with thr,l'or
opportunities of easy distinction, After-the lapse of another
orthodox Church. The Caiholic Lpiscopate a%"rrr"J ir.u-*tro,,g""eration
and the Poiish risirr,g of 1863 ihe tendencies hostile
ready to waive their rights to *,r"fi
"n,r'r"h;;;;;-;ilrfi;fi;;;;t"
the uniate ch,rch.gai,ed tlie-upper hand and a number of
seized by the Russiani in their campaign;;ffiilil-uiirt*,p":liminary
steps,having..been takeirly suppr^esling character-
but, demanded the restoration of n
-,.riobJr"
;"il;;""J;;;*T'istic
features of uniate- liturgy, the diocese of che"lur was, in
locaiities where the Catholics had no relisious edifices. Th,,1875,
declarecl converted to the Orthodox Church. The popula-
orthoctox li.L"p* a1a-;;;";;;";;-r;; ;;;?"; t'iri" crtrr"ri.','t'ion
resisted to the limit or its strength, but was. racea_^by the
though .o*" of in"* ."".,,"c1 t-o underst,# u.3a"i"tis"1.""";n;HUrutJtftS.X*:
u"Hi#'jfX"'r".#ffi:'r*i"r?j'"""*?,*;
fn view of the therr existing legislation the Law Courl,x11qry1ger
of locaiiiies, hundreds of people from the different
declared their incompetencl'
to ileal- with the. rnatter. Jrrparishes,;"r;;;-*;#orted
and for many years the country was
iloing so thev referred to a-l)ecree of the General Commissionorlubjecbed
1" 3
.yrt'"* of unqualified religious persecution. It
for the Itrastern
'Ierritories, issued in 1919, whereby in!.er
was" only the UE;s; oi epril Sgth 1905 on freedom of conscience,
denomirrational disputes corlcerrring churches were to be settltrrlthat put an end to it. But then a violent reaction set in and
bv the administrative authoriti"s," tukirrg the actual
"".as
ol;ort
9f lgughly
400,000 people officially registered as Orthodox,
bhe communities into consideration. But the administrativr,nearly
zooioo6 i-rrr"aat"ty declareil themseives Boman catho-
authorities did not like to make use of their rights and thingr,lics.
"
This set_back of offrcial policy naturally exasperated the
remained as they were'
ohauvinistic
"1"*"J.
i,, Bussia ancl one of the Iast achievements
Nevertheiess the Concordate conclucled on February lOtlr,of the Czarist Government in Poland was the ereation in 1g12
1925, between Poland and the Holy See. provided an adhitionrl;of a s_eparate Gnvernment of Chelm for the b"t1;;-;r;;""ti;;
igrgemeLt
concerni_ng property formerly in the possession of thlof
Orthodoxy.
Uniate Church, and on June 20th, 193b, such air agreement wrlr, rn this region, therefore, for hatf a century orthodoxy
rnade'
- .I! lore-upon
those lancls, churches, chapels anil builrl received every" heip aod errlorrng"-urt*an6 the'r[-p;;;;f;i
ings which had been in former times taken from lhe Uniates [rrlGovernment oi tle'Csa.s made lal.ish expenditure for its sup-
were notr, at present, in the hands of the orthodox._ They-ootrport. And there is nothing r.l""i*fri"g if,'u. u result, that area
sequently formed a category_apart,
of which the Polish Stni,rwas so rich in churches ind chapels'thai after both Catholic
ll
f'9! could freely dispose'-fn virtue of the-agree1ent in-quorrnd.Orthodox parishes had been'r.u*oontrty-;;"iJ;,
;1;6;
tion the Holy See waived all the
{B!!s
of the- Ca,tholic Chiroluumbg".. of
..thim
appeared to be in excess of existing needs.
to this property in favour of the
potistr
Re-public in exchangrEspecially_ the ortnohox were well suppplied as their number
for roughly twentv-five thousand acres of land to serve the necrlhai awindted in
the
iast_g..eneratio,
ur"d'.o*e of their parishes
of that church and a sum of money to make up for the defloircontaineil no more than 180 or 200
"oJ..
-
in land' The Polish Government iurther
rrnde-rtook to inquln Nevertheless the supernumerary churches
and chapels of
46 TIIE ORTEODOX EAS'IERN CIIURCII IN POLANI)
which there was in the region of Chelm about a hunclred' becutrtt'
XII.
-"
"[1.* "t
*i"org a"tl."'u.p""ially
since it became known tltrul'
-rrJrr' q-,-A-rrTC
,..'L.
-*-r'J^-.,,,,-.r.
rhev were d.efinitely to become state property oI to be turno(l THE, STATUS OI" TI-IE ORTHODOX CHURCH
ouu". to the Catholics. Ihe Orlhodox clergy sought to.
establttrt.t
IN POLAND.
ia.its accomplis and to enter into possession of the v&uulrl
q
i,IipAr,
-
rii'n""sh-in"y
were often 6ompletely out
"f
l:-ti|:,
Duonrr,y a{ter
!h"
painful inciilents just
.r'eferred
to, a
Sorietimes clevJr stratagems were used, in other cases outt'tglll' Decree concerning the relations of the State with the Auto-
to."" **" applied to occ"upy premises
-o_r
perform religious {uno s.rhrlous Orthodox Church in Poland was issu_ed by- the Presi-
iions in hitihtrto ciosld df"r"U"..
Nationalist Ukrainian elo
4sn6 of the Republic (November 1938). In Decerlber of the
*""tu were only too wiiling to lend a hand in these irregulul same year an ordinancb appeared recognising its internal laws.
pr"r""ai"Si ,rd" UkraioianJ were numerous. naorrg ,E
_ry,::]i
ilhese two ed-icts laid the
-foundation
f6r thJ legal organisation
'thus
iltegitty put in charge of churches...The Government
evr of the Orthodox Chrrrch-in_ Polatd, which, in the light of the
dentlv Jouid Lot counte"nance such methods of dealilg witlr rish past of Polish Orthodoxy throughout, the agesi must be
;;";;. *U"n
"t*,
by virtue of the- agreemen-t with tle.Ilolyregarded as an event of considerable interest.
S"L,-n"a become Stade property. AlsJa pur!.o]
the Orthodor, Article I of the Decree declared that the Polish Auto-
;l.r;y;"r" opposed to tles-e disorde_riy undertakings...
- llPhalous
Orthodox C_hurch, while preserving its unity wittr the
---
'but
in oiposing them tight-headed. and irrespo_nsible agenl,r Universal Orthodox Eastern Church in malters of dogma ancl
started a co,]iter-movemen!-which
was unjustifiable and pro canon, was inilependent of any foreign authority, whethe-r secular
ducecl much resentment. Certain men in authority were chargorior ecclesiastical. In its internal affairs it was to enjoy complete
*ith-"oroiou,r,"".
In any case the lact remains that in an incrod liberty o{ action within the scope of State legislation ind espeei-
itiy *Uo* time most, of
[he
churches a-ncl chapels not yet.aw${qil ally o! the aforesaid Decree and its interna] Iaws.
to
"anv
clenomination in the eastern districts of the voievodsltt; The General Synod, consisting of the bishops and repre-
oi i"tU" were pulled. down and ceased to exist.
sentatives of both the clergy and the laity, was declared to be
This outra,ge was publiciy condemned. by t!9 B,oman Catho,lhe body reg^ulating the affairs of the Polish Orthodox Church.
Uc E-;i;;.pate'of
polina
ana became the- subject
-of
pastornl The duties of the General Synod were to be:-
i"tt*J of Loth Catholic and Orthodox bishops of the Eastert (1)
T"
maintain the faith anil organisation of the Church;
nit". It prod.uced much bad blood. and was not passed ovor
(?)
I.
strengthen and. ilevelop_ Church life;
*iino"t mlntion by the country's ill-wi,qhers !n
foreign. i_andu, (3) To s-atrSfy^the spiritual and moral neecls of the members
Reports on these
"anti-Orthodox" d.isturbances exaggerateil arrrl of the Church;
*i.'r"p.".""ted, as wili always happ-en in similar occurrencoH,
G)
fo care for the material needs of the Church.
contributed. to distort the pictlre of tU" general conditions undtrr
-
The o-rgan of Clurch authority for affairs exceeding the
which the Orthodox Churih in Potand. e*ist"d in the last, yearrdomain of diocesan bishops, was to belhe Episcopal Synod inder
before the outbreak of the present war. These conditions, ot the presidency o.f the metropolitan. The Generul Synod, under
ihe *hole, were favourable
-and
promising. It remains a fucltheprdency of the rnletropolitan,
was to be the exelutive organ
inut tn" only branch of the former Orthodox Church of Bussir of the Episcopal Synod. Tor the control of the finances and
.-the
*ni"n
"o;oy"a
tl" support and protection of secular powers &ltrigeneral. g"o,"o,-y of church institutions the
_metropolitan
was to
could. IooLiorward to--normal d6velopment was that, whlch wrlrhe
_assistetl_
by_ a Chief Commission of Control consisting of
"".o*pu.."a
with the frontiers of ihe PolishRepublic.. Not onltecclesiasti-cal and lay representatives. The metropolitan wai to
in Ruisia itself but even among the coionies-of 6migr6s tlrrrlbe elected
-by
an
Plectoral
Synod composed of clergy and lay
ehurch is in a state of internal ilissension ancl ilecline.
representatives of the parishioners in every diocese, tJ-be electei
by a diocesan assembly. The Episcopal General Synod was to
elect b.ishopq from among thlee candidates proposed by an
rr,ppropriate diocesan assembly. Each dioces" *r.- to-be gove"rned
by
-its
respective bishop, assisted by the diocesan assembly,
w-hjl9 a parochial board assisted the parish priest irr the care
of his parish. Th." same Decree defined the statps of Orthodox
!!,
47
48 TEE oBTrroDox EASTERN crruRCE IN PoLAND
rrrE sTATUS oF TnE oRTIloDox crrunoIr rN
poLAND
49
schools and seminaries, alloweil lay confraternities to be founded,
-r
r-j+-- r*
^rr:!:^.^
rL^ a---;.,^-
^,
.,
subject to the
-generai
laws cohcerning u.so"i,tioo*; acknow-
mt*#Z;f:-*.,:i##l;
r#"1$$*lr'H:r1"fl,]I?::""i*'":
Iedferl the Orthodox Church as a corporation as weil as its
bishoprics, monasteries ancl parishes; fixed the status of Churoh
tained' ft was' in fact, an organisation that titted in with the
property and the acreage of arable land to serve as endowment
past of Polish orthodoxy and at
lhe
same time satisfied the
io it
""va"io,,s
bishopri-cs, monasteries ,"a p--.i9r,"5,
1na
ma.de
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provision from the State Treasury for the Orthodox hierarchy
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state to the orthodox church, as woll as the limits of Govern-
The Mohylan Academy of Kiev, founded' by the-M^etropolita,
ment intervention in ecclesiastical matters of direct concern ,o
Peter Mohyia' was a shining light not only. for sout-h-East
rhe srare. rr was arso raitl down rhat th"";#;i-il;s;;s"
9t ;:t-t$r-r'r:A;l,Hfi1lJ"f#;:11ffi:3"#,i?1'3r-;i'ii:fl;;,T;
the Church authorities, as well as of Church institutions, was to
fuontiers. Oithodox ecclesiastical manlals, printed in
polish,
be Polish with the proviso that in the case of persons or institu'
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""i""il"r.tic
learning, reached. tar_off Moscow, as
tions who appliect to the Church authorities in any other lan'
f.;tt.;I-th; ;i"ili.,i;g labours of the Mohylan Academy.
guage, the Church authorities should answer in the same icliom.
The Decree further assured legal protection of the orthorlo*
The tragic events of September 1939 i,terrupted ihe wo,ti
church insrftutione in equar meaiu.re'with ii;.;""d"d to other
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ilenominations; the orthodox secular and regular clergy were to
-
Aqn1...rt-iiiJ sublected to the arbitrary decisions a,d cleai-
enjoy the same rights as those grantecl to priests of all other
ings of ih" G"r*n., authorities *ni"t
-r"o".
hesitate ruthlessly
churches acknowled.ged by the state' Pending the publication
to"exploit ro. irr"i" political aims everything that comes withi,
of a special law concerning the ownership of the real estate held
bI
.th;
ortho-dox
"orpornti-orr.,
the DecrL.-Ltt1h;;-p*p"*y-ro
*"'*affiPafter
the o-ccupation of
poiancl
the lVretropolitari
their possession with the proviso that any future claims of
'n"io^w.*.
*r."'a"p.ved of_his dignity and a new metropolita,
third party woulil have to be considereil' within two years from
of G6rman extrac'tion supplanted him. Lt was like the closino
the date of ttre Decree's coming into force the' Episcopal synoil
of a chapter in the history of the orthodox church ir.
polan5
was io fix the number and boundaries of the ilioceses, ilecanates
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The internal church laws laid do*r, the principles oU
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an<l decia'ed thev r'vorild'never
which the whole Church was to be governecl ancl the scope of
the authority of t'he llead of the Church, the General Synotl,
the General Episcopal Synod and the Chief Commission of Con'
trol. It also ffxed in detail the organisation of the dioceses,
decanates anil parishes, and lastly, settled the electoral by-
laws, and the regulations for the proper conduct of all ecclesias-
tical institutions provided for in the organisation of the Church,
The legal status of the Orthodox Church in Poland was lairl
down with the consent, of the Orthodox hierarchy and through
the efforts of a mixed commission composed of representativen
of both State anil Church.
A comparison of these reguiations with the legislation re-
tating to the Orthotlox Churehes of Yugosiavia, Greece, Humania,
etc., shows that the legal situation of the Orthodox Church irr
Poland was similar t,o its position in countries of establishod
Orthodox faith.
The new organisation provided to the fullest extent tho
internal unity of the Churoh, i.e. the co-operation of the hier-
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research
.
--t-he-0rthodox
east-
i ern church ln Po1and
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THE POLISE RESEABCE CENTRE WAS
founded in London in April, 1940, ancl is
governed by an Anglo-Polish Council. The
Centre has been given hospitality by the
Royal fnstitute of International Affairs at
32, Chesham Place, London, S,W.l.
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