20. Friends old and new

Bishop Sipovich came back to London in 1969 with health problems which became more serious as time went on. This did not make him stop or even slow down his activities. One person who knew Bishop Sipovich well said, after his death that he had loved life very much. Indeed he showed a tremendous "joie de vivre", considered life the most wonderful gift of God, too good to be wasted. That was the secret of his energy which was an object of wonder to many people who met him. Only those near him knew that not everything was well. He always carried with him medicine for his heart condition. His frequent air trips did not help. Sometimes he made a note of it in his diary, as for example on 11 September 1975 en route to New York: "After the meal my heart began to beat violently, I had to take a tablet, and even then could not calm down for a long time". Incidentally while in the United States the Bishop consulted a Belarusian doctor about his health. This was Dr Vitaut Tumash (1910 – 1998), one of the most remarkable men in the Belarusian diaspora. Soon after his arrival to the United States he began to work in a hospital in one of the most deprived districts of New York, the Bronx, and remained there until he retired. All his free time he dedicated to research on the life and work of his illustrious predecessor, the first Belarusian printer and editor of the Biblical texts,who was also a doctor of medicine, Francis Skaryna (c.1485-1550). It may be said without exaggeration that Dr Tumash was one of the greatest authorities on the subject, and his numerous publications constitute a valuable contribution to the study of the Belarusian Renaissance. For many years he held the post of the President of the Belarusian Institute of Arts and Sciences, of which he was one of the founders. In his professional capacity he liked to help people without advertising the fact. Bishop Sipovich had great respect for Dr Tumash both as a man and as a doctor. In his diary on 18 June 1975: there is a note: "On our way we stopped at Zaprudniks' place to collect medicine which was sent to me by Dr Tumash". Again, before leaving for the United States in 1976 for the Eucharistic Congress, among "the things to do" there is also "to consult Dr Tumash about the state of my health".

Bishop Sipovich valued human friendship, and if he became friends with someone, it meant they were friends for life. Many such friends were in the United States. Among them were Francis and Vera Bartul, a couple of exceptional goodness, whose house in New York became open house for all Belarusian visitors. The Bartuls had been Father Sipovich's parishioners in London until 1957, when they emigrated to the United States. On every visit to the American continent Bishop Sipovich made sure not to miss their house. On 19 June 1975, before leaving New York, the Bishop made the following entry in his diary: "In all my travels and work the Bartuls helped me selflessly and with love. May the good Lord recompense them for everything". At the end of his second visit on 12 October in the same year he wrote: "Francis B(artul) takes me to Kennedy Airport... We are all moved more than usual. Tears in our eyes. Ultimum vale est acerbum (the last goodbye is harsh)". As it happened this was not their last meeting: they met again in 1976 during the Eucharistic Congress, and in 1978.

Dr Vincent Zhuk-Hryshkievich, the founder of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain, had emigrated to Canada in 1949. After the death of Nicholas Abramtchyk in 1970 he became President of the Council of the Belarusian National Republic (BNR) in Exile. He and his wife Raisa lived in Barrie. They were the only Belarusian couple there, the nearest larger Belarusian community being in Toronto some 100 miles away. The bonds of friendship which developed between the then Father Sipovich and Dr Zhuk-Hryshkievich during their work in common among Belarusian emigres first in Italy and then in England, remained firm for the rest of their lives. During his American trips Bishop Sipovich always included Barrie in his itinerary. The Hryshkievichs visited London twice, in 1972 and 1979 (Dr Raisa Zhuk-Hryshkievich was also present at the opening of the Library in 1971), and both times they were guests of Bishop Sipovich.

The Belarusian community in New York in 1960s and 70s was one of the largest and arguably the best organised. It played an important role in the political and cultural life of the Belarusian emigration. There was a number of religious, cultural and political organisations and institutions which represented the particular interests of their members, while the Belarusian-American Association, which had its headquarters in New York, served as an "umbrella" organisation for all Belarusians in the United States. It was customary for the Association to extend a welcome to distinguished Belarusian visitors from abroad. But not always and not to all visitors. In 1957 Father Sipovich went to the United States for the first time . Here is what he wrote in his diary on the day of his arrival in New York, 16 September 1957: "Having completed all formalities, I went to the exit and with pleasure recognised two compatriots, Mr Adamovich and Mr Shukeloyts, waiting for me... On the way in the taxi Mr Shukeloyts related to me many things about the local Belarusians. Among other things he told me about an incident at a Committee meeting of the Belarusian-American Association. When the question of a reception in my honour came under discussion and Mr Shukeloyts expressed himself in favour of it, P(eter). Dvaretski asked him: 'And you, Mr Shukeloyts, what is your religion?'. This made Shukeloyts and others indignant".

Since then Bishop Sipovich had made several visits to New York, attended many public events, some of them arranged in his honour by organisations such as the Institute of Arts and Sciences or the Belarusian Catholic University Union. But he had to wait eighteen years for a tribute from the Belarusian-American Association. This took the form of a reception on 14 June 1975  in a New York restaurant. Francis Bartul was in the chair. The first to greet the Bishop was Mr Anthony Shukeloyts, Chairman of the Association. He was followed by Dr Stanislau Stankievich, editor of the Belarusian paper Belarus and a well known literary critic, who two years previously had visited London and was a guest of the Francis Skaryna Library. Doctor Vitaut Tumash compared the work done by Bishop Sipovich to that of Father Adam Stankievich before the war in Vilna. Mrs Zinaida Stankievich, on behalf of Belarusian women, talked about personal traits of Bishop Sipovich's character, namely his readiness to come to the assistance of anyone in need. Bishop Sipovich wrote in his diary: "This was the first official reception in my honour by the New York Belarusian-American Association".

During his second visit in Chicago in 1961 (the first was in 1957), Bishop Sipovich found the Belarusian Greek Catholic parish of Christ the Redeemer "under new management". The occasion was the consecration of the new parish church at 3107 W. Fullerton Avenue, which took place on 2 July. The new pastor was Father Uladzimir Tarasevitch (1921-86), the nephew of Father Chrysostom Tarasevitch. He came to the United States from Belarus in 1938. There he followed in the footsteps of his uncle and joined St Procopius Benedictine monastery at Lisle, where he was groomed from the beginning for the "Russian apostolate". He was ordained priest in 1949 and, after theological studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, went in 1951 to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. He stayed there till 1958. During that period he travelled much in Europe, met Fathers Tatarynovich, Haroshka and Sipovich, attended the study weeks of the Belarusian Catholic University Union "Run'" etc. This made him conscious of the needs of his own people. On his return to Chicago Father Uladzimir's first concern was to set up proper pastoral care for the Belarusian community. He proved a very good organiser, and did much for the local Belarusian Greek Catholic community in Chicago. However, with time he became more involved with English-speaking visitors who began to attend Christ the Redeemer Church regularily. To make the celebration more meaningful to them it was eventually decided to introduce the Liturgy in English. From mid-1961 on Sundays and feast days two liturgies were celebrated, one for the Belarusians and one for the English speakers. In practice this meant that there were two communities which met from time to time on special occasions, such as a bishop's visit or an anniversary, but otherwise living each their own life. The English-speaking community at Christ the Redeemer Church were all American Roman Catholics who found the Byzantine rite attractive, especially since there was no need to learn a "foreign" language (it all began before the Vatican II Council, when the language of worship in the Roman rite was still Latin). They were all good people, but with hardly any interest in Belarus. The amount of energy and time given to them was perhaps the main reason why Christ the Redeemer Church had never fulfilled its initial promise of becominge a major Belarusian religious and cultural centre on the American continent.

In fairness it must be said that Father Uladzimir Tarasevitch was one of the first to introduce Belarusian in place of Church Slavonic in the Liturgy for Belarusians. The replacement was only partial, probably because of the lack of adequate Belarusian translations, but still it was a step in the right direction. Not everyone was pleased with this innovation. Thus, as Bishop Sipovich noted in his diary on 5 June 1975, Father John Chrysostom Tarasevitch, after they had celebrated the Liturgy together, told him that "one must not replace Church Slavonic by Belarusian, so as not to harm the work of reunion". Bishop Sipovich was then in Chicago to confer the title of Archimandrite on Father Uladzimir Tarasevitch.

Bishop Sipovich visited Chicago for the last time in May 1978. On Whitsunday, 14 May, he celebrated the Divine liturgy at Christ the Redeemer church. The concelebrants were Archimandrite Uladzimir Tarasevitch and Father John Chrysostom Tarasevitch. The parish madea special celebration in honour of Father Chrysostom, who was in his 86th year of his life and 55th of priesthood. He was already very weak. Four weeks later, on Sunday 11 June, he died.

The Belarusian Greek Catholic parish of Christ the Redeemer in Chicago owed its existence  to the initiative and insistence of a number of Belarusian emigre families, some Orthodox but mostly Catholic. Deeply concerned with the religious divisions among Belarusians, they became convinced that the way to the unity was through the restoration of the Greek Catholic Church, which was suppressed by Russians in 1839. It is to the credit of Fathers Chrysostom, and in particular Uladzimir Tarasevitch who recognised the need and opportunity for real pastoral work and gave themselves to it wholeheartedly. Strong bonds of friendship, mutual respect and undertanding existed between Father Uladzimir and Bishop Sipovich, resulting in fruitful cooperation during the period of several years.

A characteristic feature of Christ the Redeemer church was the existence among its members of groups of families, one is tempted to call them "clans" in the nicest sense of the word, which contributed in particular ways to the parish life. One such group consisted of the Bielenis and Panutsevich families. They lived in a big beautiful house within walking distance of the church, each family occupying one floor. As has been mentioned before, the wives of  Anthony Bielenis and Vatslau Panutsevich were sisters, daughters of Edward Budzka who died in 1958. He was survived by his widow Valeria who lived in the same house, as did her unmarried son, Cheslau, a man with an astonishing knowledge of facts (and some strange theories) from the history of Belarus, of which he could talk for hours. Belarusian visitor could be always sure of a warm welcome in that house. Bishop Sipovich became friendly with all members of this "Budzka clan", especially with Anthony Bielenis who helped him much during his subsequent visits. Cheslau Budzka presented his rich collection of Belarusian books, personal notes and files to the Francis Skaryna Library.

John Charnetski was another old Catholic who, like Edward Budzka, had been involved in the Belarusian national movement since almost the beginning of the 20th century. His daughter Irene married Doctor Peter Gajdziel, Bishop Sipovich's school friend from Druia, whom he met again after 20 years in 1957. Irena's sister, Vanda Machnach, a person of extreme goodness, was always ready to help anyone who asked her.

The Zhyznieuski family likewise played a prominent role in the life of the parish. Before moving to Chicago, they had lived at Peoria where their daughter Vera attended the university. She later married Doctor Vitaut Ramuk, a former student of the Catholic University of Louvain and active member of the Belarusian Catholic University Union "Run'". Her brother, Nicodemus Zhyznieuski, conducted Belarusian programmes on the local radio. He was also invaluable when anything needed to be done in the church. The Zhyznieuski family were Greek Catholic. Stephen Zhyznieuski died in 1962. His widow, Eudocia, was one of the most loyal members of Christ the Redeemer parish until her death in early 1990s. Anthony Bielenis, Vanda Machnach and Vera Romuk were members of the Belarusian Charitable Fund, whose purpose was to give financial support for various projects of Bishop Sipovich.

There were several other equally dedicated families and individuals who contributed much to the life of the community. Some Orthodox Belarusians also joined the parish, among them the well known composer Mikola Kulikovich (1896-1969) who conducted the church choir.

One of the traits of Bishop Sipovich's character was that he was genuinely interested in people. He always paid full attention to whoever he talked with, taking care not to make him feel insignificant or ridiculous, even when sometimes it was difficult to keep the straight face, as in the case of one Belarusian who was going to send his Alsatian dog to... a school at 60 dollars per week!

Bishop Sipovich always tried to see the good side in everyone. Thus in Cleveland, after meeting Eugene Kakhanouski and his wife for the first time, he made the following note in his diary on 4 October 1975: "About Kakhanouskis I cannot say anything bad, on the contrary they both were polite, helpful; their intelligent conversation on the things which concern us (i.e. Belarusians – A.N.) convinced me that among our people there are many persons, with whom it is worthwhile to maintain a closer contact".

It was this positive attitude and friendliness that attracted other people to Bishop Sipovich and made them come to him with their problems. And they were not necessarily Belarusians. In London one of his friends was the rabbi of the local synagogue. They were both keen chess players and spent much time at the chess board. Here is how Bishop Sipovich described one such encounter on 18 February 1979: "In the evening rabbi Baum came to the library. He was on his way from a barmizvah and brought me a piece of very sweet honey cake. We played two games of chess. In both cases I lost, although in the second game I was in a stronger position but underestimated my opponent. A very interesting man is this rabbi Baum. He is polite, patient, and maintains that I am a better player, because he knows only how to defend himself! If someone defends himself and wins, and the one, who attacks, loses, then who is the better player of the two?"

First and foremost among Bishop's Belarusian friends in London were Jan Michaluk and his wife Helen. They were both Orthodox. Helen Michaluk was for many years the matron of St Cyril's House, where three of their sons were educated. Jan Michaluk for over a quarter of a century was chairman of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain. They were the couple of exceptional integrity, innate dignity, and profound understanding of Belarusian national problems. Bishop Sipovich had a great respect for their judgment and consulted them on matters of importance. When in 1979 the Francis Skaryna Library became a charitable trust, John Michaluk was among its trustees.

The tendency to see good in others made Bishop Sipovich make certain mistakes. This was made especially evident in the last years of his life when the future of the Marian community in Marian House became doubtful. Bishop Sipovich was ready to believe in the sincerity of anyone who declared his attachment to the Marian Fathers and expressed a wish to join them. Such was a young German who after failing in a number of German seminaries, was accepted  by Bishop Sipovich and stayed in Marian House for 3 years (1975-78). There were others who stayed for shorter periods, among them a very pleasant and well spoken young Australian, whose understanding of the religious life did not include the effort of getting up in the morning for the Liturgy or taking part in the work of the community.

Bishop Sipovich bore with equanimity these disappointments.

Bishop Sipovich's hospitality was well known, as many visitors from all over the world could testify. Initially these were mainly Belarusians or people interested in the Eastern Christianity and Christian unity. The Francis Skaryna Library, after its establishment in 1971,  began to attract visitors of another type. These were scholars in the Slavic and East European fields. Among them was the Ukrainian American slavist, Professor Yuri Shevelov of Columbia University, whose interest in the Belarusian language went  back more than two decades (his first work, Problems of formation of Belarusian, appeared in 1953). In 1975 he wrote an important article on distinguishing between Belarusian and Ukrainian 16th century written documents. Another frequent visitor was Shevelov's former student, Professor Paul Wexler of Tel-Aviv University, author of several works on Belarusian, among them A Historical Phonology of the Belarusian Language (1977). Among other vistors one can mention Professor Sante Gracciotti from the University of Rome; Emanuela Sgambati, also from Rome University, author of the work on the Belarusian version of the medieval story of Tristan and Isolde and its Italian original, which was found by the author in Venice; Father Jan Krajcar, professor of history at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, who wrote on the princes of Sluck and their efforts for Church Union in the 16th century Belarus; Professor Moshe Altbauer from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who was working on the publication of 16th century Jewish-Belarusian Biblical texts; Professor Paul Cubberley from the University of Melbourne; Professor Reginald De Bray from the University of Canberra, author of the fundamental work, "Guide to the Slavonic Languages"; Professor Frantishek Mare?s of the University of Vienna, who made a study of the 15th century Belarusian translation of the Roman Mass; Ferdinand Neureiter of Salzburg, author of an anthology of Belarusian Literature in German translation; G. M. Meredith-Owen, professor of Turkish at the University of Toronto who together with Father A. Nadson worked on the Belarusian Tatar manuscripts in Arabic script. The list could be extended.

However, the majority of visitors were Belarusians. Among them the most loyal was Anthony Adamovich (1909-1998), a well known Belarusian literary critic and historian. As a young man in Minsk in 1920s he was closely connected with the famous Belarusian literary group  "Uzvyshsha". It was suppressed by the Communists in 1931, and its members, including Adamovich, were imprisoned or exiled. After the war Adamovich, a political refugee, settled permanently in New York. He took a keen interest in the Francis Skaryna Library, of which he was a major benefactor. He usually visited London at least once a year, and always stayed in "his" room in the library. Other vistors included Stanislau Stankievich, the editor of the Belarusian paper Belarus in New York; the poets Ryhor Krushyna and Masiej Siadniou from Germany, and the writer Kastus Akula from Canada, to mention only a few.

Sometimes Bishop Sipovich had the rare joy of greeting a childhood friend. Such was Victor Zhauniarovich, his schoolmate from Druia, and now a well established painter in Paris and an active member of the Belarusian community there. He came to London in spring 1979 and stayed for one week in Marian House. Some of his fine paintings adorn the conference room in St Peter's House.

Among visitors to Marian House and the Skaryna Library in 1970s, Belarusians from Soviet Belarus formed the smallest group. This was understandable. The travel of Soviet citizens abroad was restricted. In some rare cases a person was allowed to visit their relatives abroad, but was warned against any contacts with "Belarusian bourgeois nationalists" (in short "beburnatsy"). There were also conducted, – and well supervised – tours for certain groups of people, such as writers, artists etc. Despite all this there were some people who found a way to come and visit Marian House. They usually were very cautious and even were reluctant to sign the visitors' book. But all the same this was a contact with Belarus and a source of valuable information. Bishop Sipovich never missed a chance to ask them about the religious situation in Belarus.

Some people managed to evade the vigilance of their "guardian angels" and asked for the asylum in the West. One of these was Mikola Paulouski, a young talented Belarusian painter who in 1979 came with a group of Soviet artists to Paris. As he himself explained, he was not a political dissident, but simply felt suffocated by the ideological constraints imposed on the artist's work by the Communist rulers. Soon after his defection Paulouski got in touch with Father Nadson who invited him to London. Bishop Sipovich wrote in his diary on 20 February 1980: "The painter Mikola Paulouski came from Paris. Born in Druia in 1948. Orthodox. Says that the memory of Belarusian Marian Fathers is still alive among the people there. He himself knows the names of our Fathers Tsikota, Hermanovich, Smulka. Makes the impression of a man calm, concentrated, completely dedicated to his art". On 21 February at the Francis Skaryna Library Paulouski gave a talk on contemporary trends in Belarusian graphic art. There was also an exhibition of his own works, several of which were inspired by the poetry of the early 20th-century Belarusian poet Maksim Bahdanovich. Bishop Sipovich was particularily pleased to have first-hand information from Druia and many of his old acquaintances who were still alive.

Foreign travel from Poland, despite the Communist regime there, was easier than from  the Soviet Union. After the Second World War a small part of Belarusian ethnic territory was left within the borders of the Polish Republic. It was the eastern part of the Bialystok (Bielastok) province, with some 250-300 thousand inhabitants. There were also a number of Belarusians who suceeded in leaving Soviet Belarus soon after the war. They usually settled in central Poland or in the western territories which before the war belonged to Germany. For certain time they had to hide their ethnic identity, but soon began to come into the open. From the middle of 1950s Belarusians had their own schools, organisations (with headquarters in Bialystok and branches in other cities, some of them outside the Bialystok region, such as Warsaw or Gdansk, where there was a concentration of Belarusians). The Belarusian department of Warsaw University trained teachers for Belarusian schools. The weekly paper Niva, with the children supplement Zorka, appeared in Bialystok. Belarusian writers published their almanach Belavezha in addition to works of individual authors.

The only institution which consistently refused to recognise the existence of Belarusians was the Polish Catholic Church. There was nothing new in this. On 25 April 1939, Father Victor Shutovich, assistant priest in Kharoshch in Bialystok region, wrote to Father Chrysostom Tarasevitch in Chicago: "You have no idea about the conditions of our life here! Not a word can be said about Belarus; priests are not allowed to speak or write in Belarusian. This is a forbidden subject. That is how delicate the Belarusian problem has become!"

And yet, despite this pressure (or perhaps because of it) many well known Belarusian Catholics had come from the Bialystok region in the past, including Father Joseph (Athanasius) Reshats (1890-1958), former professor at the Vilna Seminary, and later benedictine monk of St Procopius Abbey at Lisle, U.S.A., author of Short Catechism and History of Christian Apologetics in Belarusian; Father Joseph Dashuta, one of the Belarusian Marian Fathers who were expelled from Druia in 1938; Dr Stanislau Hrynkievich who translated into Belarusian Thomas a Kempis's On the Imitation of Christ. Father Anthony Niemantsevich, the Exarch of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, was born in St Petersburg, but his family came from Sakolka district in the Bialystok region.

Bialystok after 1945 was the centre of that part of the Vilna archdiocese which remained within the Polish republic. It became a separate diocese only in 1991. Before then it had a series of administrators, the first of whom was archbishop Romuald Jalbrzykowski who governed it until his death in 1955. In the changed circumstances after the Second World War one thing remained unchanged, namely his attitude towards Belarusians.

In 1971 Dominic Aniska (1888-1971) died in London. He was  a native of Sakolka district, a pious Catholic, author of several articles and books on religious subjects. He had began writing in the Belarusian papers Nasha niva and Belarus before the First World War, and later became regular contributor to Krynica and Chryscijanskaja dumka. His grand niece came to London from Sakolka in 1972 and stayed for some time at St Cyril's House. She was surprised to hear Catholic priests speak Belarusian, and not Polish, but also relieved, because this meant that she could speak freely "as they do at home".

Belarusian life in Poland has thus become concentrated in the south-eastern part of Bialystok province which in its overhelming majority is Orthodox.

Closer contacts with Belarusians from Poland were established with the arrival in January 1979 of Prof. Alexander Barshcheuski, head of the Belarusian department of the University of Warsaw, a literary historian and a well known poet, writing under the pen-name of Ales Barski. Bishop Sipovich was in Rome at that time, and on his return on 2 February he wrote in his diary: "Soon (after arrival) I met Dr Alexander Barshcheuski. He has made a good impression on everybody and on me personally. He admires my energy". On Sunday 4 February Barshcheuski gave a talk in the library on the life of Belarusians in Poland. He spoke about tcultural and intellectual activities, Belarusian writers, schools, the Belarusian Department at Warsaw University, which in that year had 56 students, some of them Poles. His talk aroused great interest among all present, whose number on that occasion was exceptionally large.

Other Belarusian visitors from Poland followed. Within one year the Francis Skaryna Library saw Dr Iurka Hieniiush, son of the great Belarusian poet Larysa Hieniiush and himself a writer; poets Victor Shved and Ian Chykvin; and arguably one of the most outstanding contemporary Belarusian writers, Sakrat Janovich. Thus a lively contact between London and Belarusians in Poland was established.

A special group of visitors from Poland were students  who usually came West in summer on "working holidays". Many of them found their way to Marian House and the Francis Skaryna Library, and even stayed there for some time. Some of them were Catholics and strongly polonised. Bishop Sipovich always liked to talk with young people. It pained him to discover that many young Catholics did not know the basic truths of their faith, and some declared themselves to be nonbelivers. This was the first encounter with the real Poland, where many went to church as a political manifestation against the Communist regime. Bishop Sipovich did what he could, having long talks on religious subjects with them. For one young student, before she left, he wrote a special prayer, which, as he noted in his diary, was based on his talks with her, but could be used by other young people. It began thus: "Lord Jesus Christ, you said: 'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest (Mt 11:28)'. I come to you, although I don't know you. I grew, matured, enjoying the benefits of your air, sun and many of your general bounties, but there was no one who could teach me your truth, no one introduced me to you. That is why I am afraid to look you in the face. Jesus Christ! Give me the courage and the chance to know you!"

Thus Bishop Sipovich remained first and foremost a priest. Obviously he had no sympathy or patience with Polish priests who, instead of teaching people basic truths of their faith in the language they understood best, insisted on maintaining the Polish character of the Church.

In May 1980 Bishop Sipovich received a letter (in Polish) from an old acquaintance from Druia, a certain Father (or Monsignor) Witold Pietkun who was then visiting Rome. Forty years earlier the Belarusian paper Krynica  had described this priest as follows: "He was born in Ikazn in Braslau district in a Belarusian family. His parents even now speak no language except Belarusian. He studied at the Marian High School in Druia and considered himself then a Belarusian. After finishing the sixth form of the Marian High School, he went on to Dzisna, and then to Vilna Priest Seminary. At the seminary, and after its completion, he became known as a fanatical Polish nationalist. He rejoiced when Bocianski expelled the Belarusians and Lithuanians, and only regretted that the Polish authorities had not done it sooner. In Pietkun's view the Lithuanian and Belarusian territories are Polish, and in the future they will form part of Poland from sea to sea (i.e. from the Baltic to Black sea – A.N.)" (Krynica, No.27, Vilna , 5 April 1940). After the war Pietkun settled in Bialystok where he became a professor in the local seminary. To the letter was attached Pietkun's report of his visit to Minsk, written 2 March 1980, in which, among other things he wrote: "In Minsk more often than not one hears spoken Russian and popular Belarusian (Mow?... ludow? bialorusk?)... the young people don't speak Polish, but generally understand it... Nontheless all the divine services near the church are celebrated exclusively in Polish". There was also some vague talk about the common cultural values of the Bialystok and Vilna regions. Bishop Sipovich took his time over answering this letter. Finally he wrote on 10 August 1980 in Belarusian. Here are a few extracts: "Thank you very much for your short note of 29.4.80 from Rome and for the enclosures. I hope you have not yet forgotten the Belarusian language, and that is why I write in Belarusian. The religious situation in Belarus is very difficult. But whose fault is it? It is well-known fact that the young people there no longer speak Polish, but the priests continue to pray in Polish, and even insist on hearing confessions in that foreign tongue. I known that now in Poland there is a Belarusian paper Niva, Belarusian books are being published, there are well-known Belarusian writers – Sakrat Janovich, Ales Barski, Pauluchuk and others... Why then in the Drohiczyn and Bialystok seminaries the Belarusian language is not taught?... I know that from time to time "missionaries" from Poland are being sent to Belarus, but they think that they do a great thing if they bring to some pious old woman a prayer book in Polish or a rosary. However, I have never heard of any Polish priest who showed the slightest wish to learn history of the Belarusian Church, Belarusian literature, language... You write about the common traits of the Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian culture in the Harodnia and Vilna regions. Before talking about Belarusian culture, it is necessary to learn about Belarus. Unfortunately, your priests show no interest whatsoever..."

Pietkun answered in a letter, dated Christmas 1980/81. In it he wrote: "Thank you from all my heart for this letter and for writing it in Belarusian dialect (sic! – A.N.). It appears that I did not forget it all after so many years, although it sounds somewhat different from how it was spoken many years ago in the Braslau district... Please excuse me, but the ethnic problems in the region where the Western and Eastern Europe meet belong in our days to anachronisms (are completely out dated). We are sent with the Gospel message to all people, and today Our Lord has sent various peoples to us. Here is a historical chance to fulfill the salvific mission, on condition that we leave ethnic and cultural problems to the lay communities, who are better qualified". In other words, let the lay people discuss the "Belarusian dialect", while the priests would continue to spread among Belarusians the message of salvation in Polish.

It was obvious that any further correspondence was useless. In any case Father Pietkun died in April 1981, and Bishop Sipovich followed him five months later. Whether they have found a common language in heaven, must for the moment remain a secret.