16. "Exegi Monumentum"

On 22 August 1969, Father Thomas Padziava arrived in London. He had come to Rome from Poland in January and stayed there till the end of the General Chapter. Like a true absentminded philosopher, he arrived one day later than expected. In Florence he got out of the train for some reason, and the train departed without him but with all his belongings and documents. He took the first train to Bologna where, thanks to the courtesy of Italian Railways, his belongings were waiting for him. The next train to Calais went via Switzerland. The fact  that he had no Swiss transit visa did not stop Father Padziava. On arrival at Victoria Station in London, without knowing a word of English, he telephoned Marian House. Bishop Sipovich went to meet him and... missed him. Eventually he was fetched by Fathers Hermanovich and Haroshka.

With the arrival of Fr Padziava there were now four Belarusian Marian fathers and two lay brothers at Marian House, not counting the bishop. Thus it seemed that Bishop Sipovich's dream of the "New Druia" was coming true. However, the age of the members of the Marian community gave cause for serious concern about its future: Bishop Sipovich, at the age of 55, was the youngest of them. There were two younger priests, but they were not members of the Marian Congregation. They were Fr Alexander Nadson, aged 43, Vice-Rector of the Belarusian Catholic Mission (the Rector was Fr Haroshka) and Head of St Cyril's boarding house for boys; and his assistant, 29-year old Fr Robert Tamushanski.

All priests, Marian and non Marian, (with the exception of Father Zhurnia who was of Roman rite) belonged to the Belarusian Catholic Mission of Byzantine Rite in England. The fact that the Rector of the Mission happened to be a Marian Father was often the cause of confusion between these two institutions. The confusion existed even among the Marian Fathers themselves. Thus towards the end of 1969, as the formalities over purchasing a house for the proposed Belarusian library (of which more below) were almost concluded, Fr Nadson asked in whose name it was going to be registered, and Fr Haroshka without giving it much thought answered: "Marian Fathers, of course!" Fortunately it never came to that. This tendency to identify Marian community with the Mission was the source of certain complications and tensions which initially were barely perceptible but were to have serious consequences in the future.

In 1969 there was a thriving Belarusian community in England, and especially in London. The Association of Belarusians in Great Britain, one of the oldest Belarusian emigre organisations, was well established, with properties in London, Bradford and Manchester. Under the wise and enlightened chairmanship of Paul Navara, and later Jan Michaluk, apart from its own activities, it was ready to support any worthwhile initiative, not only morally but also materially. This was possible thanks to the able management of the Association's assets by Paul Asipovich, its permanent treasurer. The organisation which profited most from this support was the Anglo-Belarusian Society. Its publication, The Journal of Byelorussian Studies and the annual courses of lectures of Belarusian culture did much to spread the knowledge of Belarus and its culture in the English speaking Academic circles. Some of the English and other Western Slavists, became regular contributors to the Journal and developed a life-long interest in Belarusian Studies. Among them were Professor A. B. McMillin, J. Dingley, T. French, P. Mayo and others. The moving spirit of the Anglo-Belarusian Society was its secretary Guy Picarda.

The priests of the Belarusian Mission were busy with their pastoral duties, the boarding house for boys, and the journal Bozhym shliakham (to which practically all of them contributed regularly), but they also found time to take active part in the life of the Belarusian community. Father Haroshka was for several years a member of the Council of the Association of Belarusians and of the Belarusian Charitable Trust. Father Nadson was on the editorial board of, and a regular contributor to, The Journal of Byelorussian Studies, and frequent lecturer on the  courses of Belarusian Culture.

In London Bishop Sipovich devoted himself fully to his duties as Apostolic Visitor for Belarusians. Now that he was no longer Superior General of Marian Fathers, he could also find some time for research and writing. The history of the Catholic Church in Belarus was of particular interest to him. As a result in 1970 and 1973 respectively The Journal of Byelorussian Studies published his articles, "History of the Minsk Diocese" and "Language problem in the Catholic Church in Belarus". He also was collecting material about Fr Tsikota with the view of writing about him a book which, however, remained unfinished in manuscript  form.

Bishop Sipovich was a great bibliophile, and during his life he succeded in acquiring a number of interesting and valuable books. In 1960 Father Haroshka, another book-lover,  brought his collection from Paris. Thus a small library of about 5000 titles was formed at Marian House. Half of them were religious books in different languages. But there were also a number of books in the Belarusian language and about Belarus, some of them rare. Unfortunately there was no suitable place to house them properly and to allow room for expansion.

Soon after his arrival from Rome, early in September 1969 (the school term had not yet started), during an after-lunch walk in the park Bishop Ceslaus Sipovich suddenly said: "Let's found a Belarusian library!" He expressed the idea which for some time had been in the minds of other priests, and so it was immediately accepted. By unanimous decision the Library was named in honour of Francis Skaryna (c.1485-1540), the first Belarusian printer and translator of the Bible.

It was fortunate that just at this time the house at 37 Holden Road, similar to those at  39 and 41 which already belonged to the Mission, came up for sale, the middle-aged couple who owned it finding it too big after their children had grown up and left home. The price of ?12000 was reasonable for that time, if one had it... Here Bishop Sipovich  had to display his fund-raising skills to the full. A loan had to be arranged. All the priests had agreed to "tax" themselves voluntarily by giving part ot their Mass stipends to the Library Fund. But eventually it was thanks to the generosity and understanding of the Belarusian community worldwide that the necessary funds were raised. The appeal was made on 1 November 1969 and published in Bozhym shliakham. It was signed, apart from Bishop Sipovich in his capacity as Apostolic Visitor for Belarusians, by Auberon Herbert, chairman of the Anglo-Belarusian Society, and Paul Navara, chairman of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain. From the beginning it was made clear that the proposed library would be an independent Belarusian institution and not belong to any church or national organisation.

On 12 February Bishop Sipovich received the keys to the new house. On the following Sunday, 15 February, after the Liturgy there was an "open house", during which, after a talk by Father Haroshka about the fate of Belarusian libraries, all present, – Belarusians and their friends, – inspected the new building, in which  there was nothing yet except bare walls and floors, – and held a party there.

Everyone expected Fr Haroshka to become the librarian. But it was not to be. After a slight disagreement with others about the arrangement of the bookshelves, he resigned not only as librarian but from the posts of Rector of the Mission and Superior of Marian House, and asked for permission to go to Paris. The arrangement of shelves was a trifling thing, but it was symptomatic. Fr Haroshka was in many respects an outstanding man, exemplary and totally dedicated priest, but also an individualist by nature, endowed with a strong and somewhat unbending character. For over 20 years as a priest he had been alone and used to make his own decisions (which usually turned out to be correct). His achievements speak for themselves. His decision to join the Marian Congregation was a surprise for many who knew him. In London there were early signs that he was not completely happy, and that the community life was a burden to him. The ten years he spent in London were the most unproductive period in his life. Early in April 1970 he left for Paris, but did not stay long there. In the autumn of the same year he was appointed head of Belarusian programmes on the Vatican Radio, replacing Mgr Tatarynovich who was retiring on account of his age. It is safe to say that the standard of broadcasts under Father Haroshka has never been surpassed to the present day.

With the departure of Fr Haroshka for the lack of better candidates Fr Nadson became the librarian.

It took a year to carry out necessary repairs and alterations, install the shelves and other furniture, and then transfer the whole Belarusian collection from Marian House to the new premises.

Finally on Saturday 15 May 1971 the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum was officially opened by Prof. Robert Auty, Professor of Comparative Slavonic Philology at the University of Oxford. The Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, Archbishop Domenico Enrici, assisted by Bishop Sipovich, blessed the library in the presence of the Exarch of Ukrainian Catholics, Bishop Augustine Horniak, Father John Ababurka of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and the Deputy Mayor of Barnet. The many guests included several English academics working in the field of Slavonic studies, representatives of Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak etc. communities, and, of course, a great number of Belarusians from England, France, Germany and America.

The opening of the Francis Skaryna Library was an impressive feast of Belarusian culture and a personal triumph for Bishop Sipovich. But it was only the beginning of the real work.

The Library had a twofold purpose: to be a depository of all material, both in printed and manuscript forms, relating to Belarus, and thus preserve them from being lost or destroyed; and to act as a "window of Belarusian culture in the West", by making this material accessible to all those interested in any aspect of Belarusian studies.

The holdings of the library at the time of its opening might have looked impressive at the first sight, but those closely connected with it were aware of the fact how many important works were still missing. It had become their task, especially that of Bishop Sipovich and Fr Nadson, to fill those gaps. The easiest thing was to make sure of obtaining all new publications. Emigre publications presented no difficulty. But publishing in the Soviet Belarus was state controlled, and practically the only way to obtain certain books was to buy from the official Soviet book agency. This was expensive and there was no certainty that one would receive what was ordered. There was not much love lost between the Communist-controlled Soviet Belarus and the Belarusian emigration. It was therefore without much hope that Fr Nadson wrote to the Belarusian National Library and the Library of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences in Minsk, proposing a book exchange agreement. To everyone's surprise they agreed. It was in particular the Academy of Sciences which was interested in emigre publications. A contact was thus established with mutual profit: The F. Skaryna Library received practically all new publications from Soviet Belarus, while at least some privileged readers in Belarus had access to forbidden "nationalist" literature! It was a small "chink in the Iron Curtain". The Academy of Sciences also kindly helped the Library obtain some earlier and out-of-print publications. Another "supplier" was Fr Uladyslau Charniauski, who sent a number of books, usually posting them in the capital of Lithuania, Vilna (Vilnius) where the controls were not so strict.

For pre-war and 19th century publications the F. Skaryna Library was in touch with various antiquarian booksellers in Germany, Holland, France, Sweden and the United States, which specialised in Slavonic books. Belarusian was not very well known, and it was possible to get some valuable publications at bargain prices. Thus Fr Nadson bought a copy of "Historyia Bielarusi" by V. Lastouski of 1910, the first history of Belarus in Belarusian, with pages still uncut, for 5 German Marks (about 3 dollars). Another source of pre-war books were Belarusian emigres in different countries. Many of them when leaving Belarus had taken some books with them. As they were getting older, they were willing to donate those books to the Library. Bishop Sipovich and Fr Nadson kept it always in mind during their travels. In this way the Library's holdings had been enriched by hundreds of publications, most of which were not found in any other libraries in the West.

Early printed books were the most difficult to find. Bishop Sipovich and Fr Nadson began to watch out for book auctions. In February 1972 they were lucky to purchase at an auction at Sotheby's Novyi Zavet i Psalmy (New Testament and Psalms), published in 1652 in the Kutseina Monastery in Orsha in Eastern Belarus. The importance of this publication lies in the fact that while the main text is in Church Slavonic, short summaries of each chapter or psalm, as well as the commentaries on the margins, are in Belarusian. Another valuable acquisition at an auction on 27 June 1972 was the manuscript of 1652 of the Pontifical Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in Church Slavonic with parallel Latin translation. Bishop Sipovich made this manuscript a subject of his special study. In 1978 he published its facsimile edition, together with the life of Theodore Skuminovich and copious liturgical notes.

The Library named in honour of the first Belarusian printer Francis Skaryna did not possess even a single original copy of his editions. It was therefore not surprising that the news about the impending sale by auction on 28 November to 1 December 1975 at Monte Carlo of a fragment of Skaryna's Book of Kings (Prague 1518) caused great excitement among Belarusians in London. Bishop Sipovich appealed for funds, and Fr Nadson was despatched to Monte Carlo with strict orders not to come back without Skaryna... He came back late at night on Monday 1 December carrying the precious fragment of Skaryna's Bible, which he acquired after successful bidding against a representative of the Soviet Academy of Sciences from Moscow. The fragment consisted of two sheets (8 pages) which were  printed but never bound in the book, which makes them still more interesting. Fr Nadson brought with him also a dozen other valuable books from the 17th and 18th centuries, including two editions of the Suprasl Greek-Catholic Basilian monastery: Litourgicon of 1695 and Sobranie pripadkov of 1722, which may be considered the first book of moral and pastoral theology in Belarusian for Greek Catholic priests. The first of these books, which had belonged to the Basilian monastery of Bytsen in Western Belarus, is of considerable interest because in its structure it reminds one very much of the Roman Missal and thus is one of the early examples of Latin influence of the Greek Catholic Church in Belarus. The second book bears the autograph of Theodore Vislotski who in 1800-1801 was the first and only bishop of the short-lived Suprasl diocese, established by Pope Pius VI when Suprasl fell under Prussian rule. Thus the books were not only bibliographical rarities, but also fragments of Belarusian church history. Another important acquisition was a copy of the "Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" of 1588. The Statute was the code of civil and criminal law for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was written in Belarusian, the official language of that country. After Skaryna it is considered to be the most important monument of early Belarusian printing. The book was given to the Library on 22 November 1973 by Mr and Mrs L. Halak who during the war, at the risk of their own lives, had saved it from being confiscated by Germans. After the war they emigrated to the United States and took the book with them. They had never considered it to be their personal property but a part of the Belarusian national heritage. After hearing about the Francis Skaryna Library, and having made the necessary inquiries, they decided that this was the place where the "Statute" should be.

The autographs  of works of the greatest Belarusian poets, Ianka Kupala, including his famous poem "Kurhan" (The Burial Mound), written in 1910, and Iakub Kolas occupy pride of the place in the Library's manuscript collection which contains documents going back to the 15th century.

Bishop Sipovich understood the value of original documents and encouraged  individuals and organisations to deposit their archives in the Francis Skaryna Library. He was also tireless in searching for old manuscripts and documents. Thanks to his efforts the Library's archives contain much hitherto unknown material which still awaits its historian. Documents relating to the Greek Catholic Church in Belarus go back to the 18th century. Of particular interest are numerous 20th century documents from the period before the Second World War. The private archives of Belarusian priests deserve a special mention. The letters of Fathers Talochka, Kulak, Shutovich and others shed much light on the religious situation in Western Belarus before 1939. So too do the archives of Fathers Haroshka, Tatarynovich and Hermanovich which in addition cover much of the post-war period in emigration, as do those of Fathers Salaviej, Francis Charniauski and Thomas Padziava. Bishop Sipovich deposited his own extensive archives in the library during his lifetime, thus indicating that he wanted them to be part of the Belarusian national heritage.

Bishop Sipovich often repeated that the Francis Skaryna Library belonged to the Belarusian people and not to any organisation or institution. To secure its independence, in  1979 it became a Charitable Trust, governed by a board of trustees, consisting of representatives of Belarusian community and English scholars specialising in Belarusian studies. Bishop Sipovich insisted that Father John Piekarski of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church should also be made a trustee, thus underlining the national character of the library.

The day after the opening of the Library, on Sunday 16 May, Bishop Sipovich wrote in his diary: "God in his goodness helped us to achieve a great things: the founding of our own library and museum. This is most necessary, if we want others to know and appreciate us, and also that we ourselves may know better our history, language, art etc. The Belarusian tree, if it wants to bear fruit, must have deep roots. All sorts of small manifestations, cheap publications, ultra-patriotic noise will pass away with the first breath of wind and will be forgotten by all. That is why, despite many difficulties, we must build a lasting all-national home. God, do not cease to help us!".

During the last ten years of his life, with his health failing, Bishop Sipovich saw many of his earlier hopes unfulfilled – the passing away of many priests with no one to take their place, the failure to establish Apostolic administration in Belarus, and his vanishing dream of the "New Druia" in London. In these circumstances the Francis Skaryna Library was particularly dear to him: no effort was too great where it was concerned. Bishop Sipovich chose one of the rooms in the library as his study, and spent there every moment free from his other duties. It was his greatest pleasure to show proudly to visitors the treasures of Belarusian culture held by the library.

Of all the Bishop Sipovich's projects the Francis Skaryna Library has proved to be the most enduring. It stands today as a monument of one man's love for his country and people, which years of separation could not weaken.