11. The Wind of Change

For the Catholic Church the year 1959 started full of the excitement which the new 77-year old Pope had managed to create. The most popular word was "aggiornamento", or bringing the Church up-to date, finding the most suitable and efficacious ways and means to proclaim the eternal and unchanging Gospel of Salvation in the rapidly changing modern world. It was this atmosphere of excitement and expectation which pervaded the whole of the short pontificate of John XXIII.

One may speculate whether the general atmosphere pervading the whole Church affected the Belarusians, but among them too there were changes in the air. With Father Haroshka in the Marian novitiate it seemed that Father Sipovich's dream of a "Second Druia" was beginning to take shape. The fact that this was at the expense of pastoral work among the Belarusian community in France showed the need for a better coordination of the activities of the few Belarusian priests working in different countries. To solve this and other problems it was proposed to call a reunion of Belarusian priests. The idea of such a reunion was obviously a subject of discussion between Sipovich and Haroshka for some time. After his arrival in Rome and before entering the novitiate Father Haroshka went to see Cardinal Tisserant at the Oriental Congregation. Here is what he wrote on 22 January 1959 to Father Sipovich: "I mentioned to him (i.e. Tisserant) the matter of our reunion of all Belarusian priests; the Cardinal did not object and said that he would help such a reunion... I think that it is best to send now a short letter to all (priests) with the proposed agenda and a provisional date, so that all may answer and send in their proposals".

In his answer of 5 February Father Sipovich suggested that the reunion should take place at Marian House about the middle of 1960. The reason for choosing such a late date was that by then Father Haroshka would have finished his novitiate, and Alexander Nadson and John Sadouski – their studies. He also agreed to be responsible for all the preparatory work, because Father Haroshka, being a novice, could not do it.

Father Haroshka answered on 12 February: "With regard to the place of the reunion, in my opinion and that of all other Roman priests it can only be Rome, because the main purpose of the reunion will be not talks among ourselves, but talks with the Vatican, and, most important of all, an audience with the Holy Father". He also proposed the following provisional programme: 1. Survey of the religious state of the Belarusian emigration; 2. Distribution of duties among priests; 3. To try to find a way for the affairs of Belarusian Catholics of both rites to be entrusted to the competence of one single Vatican congregation; 4. Preparation of a joint memorandum to the Holy Father; 5. The question of the beatification of Abrantovich and Tsikota.

Before Sipovich could answer, he received another letter from Haroshka, dated 6 March, in which he wrote: "Last week  Bishop Sloskans was here... I told him about our project and the Cardinal's approval of it. After a moment's reflection, he became animated and said: 'Then write the letter and I shall sign it and give it to the Cardinal, because I have to see him'. After such a conversation it was impossible to postpone the matter, and I, having got in touch with Tatarynovich... wrote the letter, agreed (its text) with the Bishop, and the day before yesterday he handed this letter to the Cardinal". The answer of the Congregation was very quick. In a letter dated 7 March it approved the idea of a reunion and promised a grant of 500,000 Italian Lira towards its expenses.

Bishop Sloskans was not very active and did not show much initiative, partially because of his age and health. But he did care about the Belarusians and tried to help and support them in his way. One of the reasons for his visit to Rome was a private audience with Pope John XXIII which took place on 5 March. During the audience Sloskans in his capacity as Apostolic Administrator of Mahilou and Minsk, and Apostolic Visitor for Belarusians in Western Europe, asked the Holy Father to impart the Apostolic blessing to all Belarusian Catholic priests in exile and to the entire Belarusian nation.

Before leaving Paris Father Haroshka left the 1957 issue of Bozhym shliakham with the printers, asking them to forward proofs to him in Rome. This resulted in further delays. One of the articles in that issue was a life of Father Fabian Abrantovich written by Father Sipovich. Father Haroshka showed the article to Father Tatarynovich. On 6 March he wrote to Sipovich that "He (i. e. Tatarynovich – A.N.) quite reasonably advised caution when publishing anything about Kolpinski, because the Russians and especially the Jesuits may become spiteful and create obstacles in the cause of beatification. If we keep silent about Nailovich, then we can say nothing about Kolpinski either, because this is not a bright, but shadowy episode".

Diodore Kolpinski was a Russian Catholic priest whom Abrantovich knew from St Petersburg, and who in the 1920s was living in Poland. When Abrantovich was appointed to Harbin in 1928, he asked for Kolpinski as his assistant. Unfortunately their cooperation was a failure, they soon fell out, and Kolpinski left Harbin for Shanghai where he died in 1932. Casimir Nailovich was a Druia cleric who was sent to the Russicum in 1929. In 1935, when already a priest, he went to Harbin. In 1943 he left both the Marian Congregation and the Catholic Church, and married a Russian divorcee in the Orthodox church. At that time the superior in Harbin was Father Tsikota. These episodes were regrettable but in no way secret, and if it came to the beatification process of Abrantovich or Tsikota (and that was one of the points proposed for the forthcoming reunion of Belarusian priests) they would naturally have had to be fully investigated. Thus keeping silent about them would achieve nothing. Father Sipovich was against dropping the Kolpinski episode from his article. Nevertheless Father Haroshka "having considered calmly before God", as he wrote in his letter of 7 April, decided to omit it.

Marian House with its Byzantine rite chapel was one of the first permanent Eastern Catholic places of worship in England. The interest in Eastern Christianity among English Catholics has a long and distinguished history. One may mention the works of Father Adrian Fortescue at the beginning of the 20th century; the Society of Saint John Chrysostom which was founded in 1926 ; and Dom Bede Winslow, a Benedictine monk and his Eastern Churches Quarterly which he started in 1931 and continued till his death in 1959. There were conferences, discussions, publications and occasional celebrations of the Eastern Liturgy in a Roman Catholic church by a visiting Eastern priest. All these activities, valuable as they were, had a scholarly, somewhat remote character. With the establishment of Marian House and Ukrainian churches in various towns the Latin faithful could walk in any Sunday and take part in the Byzantine Liturgy in its natural surroundings. This would help them realise the proper meaning of the catholicity of the Church, namely that the unity of faith does not mean the uniformity of worship. The realisation that the Eastern Catholics and the Orthodox share the same spiritual and cultural heritage could lead to mutual respect and understanding which must be the basis of any work for the Union of all in One Holy Church.

There were many English visitors to Marian House, both individuals and groups. The majority of them after one or two visits disappeared forever. Others stayed longer, sang in the church choir and took part in other activities. A few of them became regular "parishioners". One of these was Guy Picarda who came to Marian House in the early 1950s, when he was still a student at Oxford, in search of Byzantine church music and has remained a faithful friend ever since. He did much to make Belarus, her history and culture known in the English-speaking world. His contribution in the field of study of Belarusian church music – a subject hitherto practically unknown, – has been appreciated both in Belarus and abroad. For many years he conducted the choir at Marian House. Another faithful English parishioner and friend is the poet Vera Rich who has become well known for her fine translations into English of works of Belarusian poets.

In compliance with Bishop Buchys's instruction of 1950, an "Eastern Praesidium" of the Legion of Mary was set up at Marian House, with Father Sipovich as their chaplain. Its members were pleasant English and Irish young people (there were no Belarusians among them), pious and always ready to help. One of the aims of the Legion of Mary is to engage, within the parish framework and under the guidance of the parish priest, in the work of evangelisation and pastoral care. In the specific situation of the Belarusian Mission it was difficult to think what they could do, especially since they did not know the Belarusian language or the Byzantine rite. Nevertheless they seemed to have enjoyed being vaguely "Oriental", but with a few exceptions they did not develop any deeper interest in the Eastern Christianity or in Belarus.

Another organisation based at Marian House was the Society of Saint John Chrysostom. The aims of the Society were "to make known to Western Christians the history, worship and spirituality of Eastern Christendom, and to work and pray that all men, and in particular the separated  Eastern Christians, may speedily be united in One Church of Christ". It was founded in 1926, apparently not without help of d'Herbigny, but ceased its activities after the outbreak of the war in 1939. Father Sipovich started thinking about reviving it as early as 1948 but did not succeed until 1959. He was helped in this by Helle Georgiades, a Greek who before becoming a Catholic, had been secretary of a joint Anglican-Orthodox organisation called the Society of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius. The President of the Saint John Chrysostom Society was the Archbishop of Westminster. Father Sipovich was the secretary (after his elevation to the bishopric he became the Honorary Vice President) and Miss Georgiades – editor of the newly launched journal Chrysostom. In the years that followed the Society did much to spread knowledge about the Eastern Christian tradition among English speaking Catholics. It also became the champion of the cause of Eastern Catholics whom some "Latins" in the name of wrongly understood ecumenism considered an obstacle to "ecumenical contacts" with the Orthodox.

Father Sipovich had always been a great book lover. At Marian House his initial modest collection of books rapidly grew into a small but well equipped library. There were two main sections: religious which, together with theolgical and devotional books, contained a number of works on Eastern Christianity and problems of Christian Unity; and Belarusian, consisting of books and periodicals in Belarusian as well as in other languages on Belarus, some of them very rare. This eventually became the basis of the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library, which was officially opened in 1971.

On 6 July 1959 Father Alexander Nadson came back to London after six years of absence. In 1953 he had gone to Rome to study for the priesthood and had been admitted to the Greek College. He was ordained on 23 November 1958. Father Sipovich cherished the hope that Nadson, whom he had known since 1945, would join the Marian Congregation, and was disappointed when this did not happen. This did not prevent them from remaining on friendly terms and working closely together for many years. Father Nadson took over some of Father Sipovich's pastoral duties, in particular visits to Belarusian communities outside London.

With another priest in London to help him, Father Sipovich could concentrate on  preparing for the proposed reunion of priests. This involved writing to everyone concerned, asking them for suggestions about the most convenient date and the programme. Not all the priests were equally enthusiastic. Father Charniauski wrote from the United States that he did not see the point of the reunion "because nothing will come out of it". Good Father Salaviej from Germany liked the idea very much, but as to the suggestions he wrote: "You, Father, know our needs, and we shall talk about them. In my view – I don't know whether it is good or not – what can a nightingale add to it?" (In Belarusian salaviej means nightingale). Father Tatarynovich also had his doubts, perhaps he was afraid of criticism of certain  linguistic innovations in  his publications. In the end, however, he was most helpful and did everything for the reunion to be a success. It was he who found the venue for it at 24 via Camiluccia, the priests' residence where he himself lived. Eventually all difficulties had been overcome, the programme agreed and approved by Bishop Sloskans, and the date fixed for 1-6 February 1960, i. e. two weeks after the end of Father Haroshka's novitiate.

In the meantime Father Hermanovich had at last obtained a passport and permission to travel abroad. As he explained later, he accused the Polish authorities of discrimination because he was Belarusian, and this seemed to have worked... On Saturday 24 October he arrived in Rome. Father Haroshka wrote on the same day to Sipovich, telling him the joyful news. On his arrival, Father Hermanovich said that Father Los' and other younger Belarusian priests had no chance of coming abroad, because the Polish authorities would never allow it. Secondly he announced that he had no intention of going back to Poland. This did not please the Superior General and the Council of Marian Fathers in Rome, who feared repercussions on the part of the Polish authorities. But Father Hermanovich was firm, and they had to give in.

The Belarusian Marian Fathers were not the only ones who felt the effect of discrimination. Father Vatslau Anoshka, a Greek Catholic priest, whom Exarch Niemantsevich had appointed his deputy,  escaped to Poland towards the end of the war, after being saved at the last moment from being shot by the Soviet Communist partisans. When he heard about the proposed reunion of Belarusian priests in Rome, he wanted to come, but the Polish authorities did not let him.

In Rome Father Hermanovich wrote a short account, dated 9 November 1959, of the Harbin Mission and the fate of its priests. Among other things he said: "We, the Marian religious, destined for the Mission in Harbin, were all Belarusians, and we worked for God and the Church, and for a... foreign country, namely Russia which for centuries has been hostile to us (laboravimus pro Deo et Ecclesia, et pro patria... aliena, scilicet russa, quae a saeculis fuit nobis inimica)". He finished his account with the demand that the time had come for them to work for their own people.

On 11 November the Holy Father John XXIII relieved Cardinal Eugene Tisserant of the post of the head (secretary) of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches  and appointed in his place Cardinal Amleto Cicognani. Tisserant was a distinguished orientalist with an intimate knowledge of the Christian East. But he was first and foremost a priest, for whom considerations of a pastoral nature took precedence over all else. After over 23 years at the head of the Oriental Congregation (he was appointed in 1936) such a change was almost inevitable. Yet for many his departure seemed like the end of an era.

Belarusians have every reason to remember Cardinal Tisserant (1884-1972) with gratitude. He was the first high Vatican prelate who showed sympathy and understanding of their needs, and came to their assistance in a very concrete way. After his departure there was a moment of anxiety whether the new head of the Oriental Congregation would continue the policy of his predecessor with regard to Belarusians. Fortunately he did, perhaps due to the fact that the lower rank officials of the Congregation remained the same, in particular Mgr Moioli who was in charge of Belarusian affairs. Father Sipovich wrote on 26 November to Bishop Sloskans: "You most probably know already that H. Em. Cardinal Tisserant left the Oriental Congregation and in his place came H. Em. Cardinal Cicognani. It all happened unexpectedly, but God's will be done! We must slowly and systematically carry out our plans, and I don't think that we need ask permission again. When the communique is ready, we shall send it to the Congregation together with a letter reminding them of help they promised for our reunion".

As the time of the reunion drew near, it was evident that only priests from Western Europe would be present; those from the United States and Argentina could not come because of the costs involved. Shortly before the opening date Bishop Sloskans fell ill, and it became doubtful whether he would be able to come to Rome. Fortunately he recovered in time. Thus on Monday 1 February at 9.30 a.m, there were present, apart from Bishop Sloskans, nine priests: Joseph Hermanovich, Leo Haroshka, Peter Tatarynovich and John Sadouski from Rome; Ceslaus Sipovich and Alexander Nadson from London; Constantine Maskalik from Paris; Michael Maskalik from Goslar and Uladzimier Salaviej from Schongau in Germany. The first day was one of recollection and prayer. It was conducted by Bishop Sloskans. Tuesday 2 February was the first working day. The main topics for discussion were outlined in the papers: "Religious problems of Belarusian emigration" (Haroshka), "How to organise pastoral work among Belarusians" (Sipovich), and "The Belarusian religious press" (Tatarynovich).

All those present were unanimous in stressing the need for a Belarusian bishop who would direct and coordinate the activities of priests in various countries. It was generally felt that the bishop should belong to the Byzantine rite but also have jurisdiction over priests of the Roman (Latin) rite. Bishop Sloskans, to whom Belarusians owed much, was the first to insist that the time had come for them to have their own bishop. At the same time he explained that he would like to retain the title of Apostolic Administrator of Mahilou and Minsk which was a link with Belarus and might prove useful in the future, e.g. accepting candidates for the priesthood. If he resigned, the Holy See would appoint no one in his place, and thus this link would be broken.

The comparatively small number of priests and great dispersion of the faithful created its own problems. It was suggested that perhaps instead of priests living alone at great distances from one another it would be more sensible to establish pastoral centres which would serve large areas. One such centre could be London and the area covered would include also France and Belgium. However this suggestion did not meet with general approval.

The situation in the United States was considered. There already existed a Belarusian Greek Catholic centre in Chicago under the direction of Benedictines from Lisle. But this was not sufficient. It was proposed that Fathers Sipovich and Hermanovich should go to the States and try to establish a centre similar to that in London somewhere in the vicinity of New York, where there was the largest concentration of Belarusians. In this case Father Haroshka would be left in charge in London. Subsequent events made this project impractical.

In the situation in which Belarusians found themselves in the West, the apostolate through the press was of particular importance: it provided a means of reaching people with whom personal contact was impossible or very difficult. It was decided to make an appeal for support for two existing well established journals, namely Bozhym shliakham and Znic. It was stressed that a religious journal is just another method of spreading the Word of God, and for this reason its character must be such as to attract people and give them spiritual nourishment. Extraneous subjects, especially those which might give offence or provoke controversy, should be avoided. The problem of religious radio broadcasts was also discussed, in particular Belarusian broadcasts on Vatican Radio which had been started by Father Tatarynovich ten years earlier. A recommendation wqas made to try to use more efficiently the facilities provided by other broadcasting companies which had broadcasts in Belarusian, such as Radio "Liberty" in Munich and Spanish Radio in Madrid. The importance of radio broadcasts was that they could also be heard, albeit with difficulty, in Belarus.

In general it was stressed that the priest should be above all political divisions. For him to be Belarusian meant to feel responsible to God for the souls of all Belarusians irrespective of their political and other opinions. In general it was affirmed that the priestly vocation was a call to holiness, and that  the priest should be a witness of the Truth of Christ not only in words, but with his whole life.

Much time was given to discussing and writing a petition to the Holy Father. Initially it was not known whether the Holy Father would receive the Belarusian priests. Only on Thursday 4 February did the news come that the Holy Father would receive in private audience all participants of the reunion on Saturday 6 February.

These were the main points of the petition:

"We, Belarusian priests in exile, scattered throughout various countries and engaged in pastoral work among our compatriots; and Bishop Boleslaus Sloskans, Apostolic Visitor for Belarusians of Byzantine rite, gathered in Rome on 1-6 February 1960, having discussed and  seriously considered before God matters of greatest importance, so that the Kingdom of Christ may spread in the souls of our Belarusian brothers, dare to ask you the following:

1. The appointment of a Belarusian bishop in Europe with sufficient powers to coordinate and direct the pastoral care of Belarusians;

2. The appointment of a Belarusian bishop with the title of Exarch or at least Apsotolic Visitor, with sufficient powers in the United States of America and Canada, where the bulk of Belarusian emigration is concentrated;

3. The appointment of a Belarusian Delegate to the Supreme Council for Emigrants;

4. Financial help for the establishment in the United States of a religious house of the Marian Fathers, together with a church, Apostolic School, junior seminary and missionary centre;

5. A subsidy for the publication of journals in the Belarusian language for distribution in Europe and in America".

Then follows brief information about the Catholic Church in Belarus, its history and present state, as well as the problems of the Belarusian community in exile, the dangers of their being lost to the Catholic Church because of the lack of pastoral care. It is because of this danger and in order to be able to organise effective pastoral care that a Belarusian bishop was needed. It was also pointed out that "It would be painful for our people, if in the forthcoming General Council there were no Belarusian bishop present (Doloroso etiam populo nostro esset, si in Concilio futuro Oecumenico Hierarcha Alboruthenus abesset)... In recent times we had men whose merits were great in the sight of the Church and our people... and it is only political circumstances and hate of the Belarusian Church that prevented us from venerating them as our bishops. However, their merits make us more bold in the present time to ask this favour from the Holy See".

The petition was signed by Bishop Sloskans and all priests present at the reunion.

The papal audience took place on Saturday 6 February at 11 a.m. The Holy Father first received Bishop Sloskans alone, then after a few minutes all others were admitted to his study.  Pope John XXIII put everyone at ease in his inimitable manner. He took time to talk to everyone personally, advised Father Hermanovich to try "not to fall again into the hands of your enemies", and remarked about Father Salaviej who was not exactly a lightweight: "Questo e una figura imposante (this one is an imposing figure)". On the serious side he said that while he could promise nothing at the moment, he would study seriously all the requests in the petition. One could feel that he would keep his word. In the end he gave his Apostolic blessing to all present.

After the papal audience Father Salaviej announced publicly that now that he had won the admiration of the Holy Father, he would eat twice as much...

The reunion was over, but on Monday 8 February all the participants had audiences with Cardinal Cicognani at the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, and Cardinal Siri at the Consistorial Congregation. Both prelates received copies of the petition to the Holy Father. Father Sipovich in the name of all thanked Cardinal Cicognani for the grant of 500 thousand Lira towards the expenses of the reunion. Cardinal Siri was asked to appoint Father Tatarynovich as Belarusian representative on the Supreme Papal Council for the Emigration.

After these audiences the whole group went to the Basilica of Saint Peter to pray at the tomb of the First Apostle.

The last visit was on Tuesday 9 February to Cardinal Tisserant who, after leaving the Oriental Congregation, had been appointed prefect of the Vatican Library, to thank him for everything he had done for Belarusians. In a letter, which was signed by all, they said among other things: "The undersigned Bishop Boleslaus Sloskans and the Belarusian Catholic priests, on the occasion of their reunion in Rome, which was made possible thanks to your benevolence and your help, express their sincere thanks for everything you have done for Belarusians (Tibi pro omnibus, quae pro Alboruthenis fecisti gratias maximas exprimunt)... Since it is the will of the Holy Father that you should no longer be involved in our affairs, there remains nothing else for us except to remember you, Eminenent Father, before God that He may for many years grant you excellent health and abundance of grace; and humbly ask you for your help and protection".

The Roman reunion was the first official meeting, a kind of "mini-synod", of Belarusian priests engaged in pastoral work among Belarusians in various countries. They represented a certain organisational unity thanks to the person of the Apostolic Visitor who acted as a link between them. The main purpose of the meeting was to find the best ways to minister to the spiritual welfare of the people entrusted into their care, and to spread the Kingdom of God among their countrymen in exile, while not losing sight of the much wider issue of the religious needs of the whole Belarusian nation. The reunion took place with the knowledge and approval of the highest Church authorities, so there was good reason to hope that they would listen to the requests of its participants.