Alexander Nadson ( be, Аляксандар Надсан, Aliaksandar Nadsan, 8 August 1926 – 15 April 2015) was the

Apostolic Visitor In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor (or ''Apostolic Visitator''; Italian: Visitatore apostolico) is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is depute ...

for Belarusian Greek-Catholic faithful abroad, scholar, translator and a notable

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian émigré social and religious leader.

Early life

Fr Nadson was born Aliaksandar Bočka ( be, Аляксандар Бочка) in the village of Haradzieja near Niasviž, the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

(nowadays

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

of Belarus) into a middle-class family. His father Anton had served as an officer in the army of the Russian Tsar in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and had participated in the 1920 anti-Bolsheviks

Slutsk Uprising The Slutsk uprising () or the Slutsk defence ( be, Слуцкі збройны чын, links=no, translit=Slucki zbrojny čyn) was an unsuccessful armed attempt to establish an independent Belarus. It took place in late 1920, near the end of the ...

. Nadson studied at the Teacher Training College in Niasviž seminary. In 1944 he emigrated from Belarus, and in 1945 was a soldier in the

2nd Polish Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...

fighting in Italy, where he was wounded. In 1946 along with the

Anders army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understandi ...

he moved to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

where he studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Nadson was one of the founders of the

Association of Belarusians in Great Britain The Association of Belarusians in Great Britain ( be, Згуртаваньне беларусаў у Вялікай Брытаніі, ''Zhurtavańnie bielarusaŭ u Vialikaj Brytanii'') is the oldest Belarusian organisation in the United Kingdom un ...

and its chairman in 1951–1953. He was editor of the periodicals ''Biełarus na čužynie'' and ''Na šlachu'', and took part in the activities of the Belarusian Christian academic society ''Ruń'' and the ''Belarusian People's Independent Christian Movement''.Памёр духоўны лідар беларускай эміграцыі, айцец Аляксандр Надсан
Nasha Niva 16.04.2015

Later life

From autumn 1953 he studied at the Pontifical Greek College in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was ordained priest of the Eastern Rite on 23 November 1958. Fr Nadson "had been guided on to this cclesiasticalpath by Fr (later Bishop)

Ceslaus Sipovich Ceslaus Sipovich ( be, Чэслаў Сіповіч, Łacinka: Česłaǔ Sipovič) (December 8, 1914 – October 4, 1981) was a bishop of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church and a notable Belarusian émigré social and religious leader. Early ...

, who himself had been sent by the Vatican to establish a Belarusian Catholic Mission in the UK". In July 1959 Fr Nadson returned to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he resumed his activities in organizations of the Belarusian diaspora. It was at this time that the "Belarusian village" in

North Finchley North Finchley is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Barnet, situated 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Charing Cross. North Finchley is centred on Tally Ho Corner, the junction of the roads to East Finchley, Church End, Friern Ba ...

, London was beginning to expand. A property was acquired to house a boarding school for the sons of Belarusian immigrants in Western Europe; he was appointed headmaster in 1961. From 1971 Fr Nadson was the director of the

Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum (Belarusian: ; also referred to as Skaryna Library and ''Skarynaŭka'') in north London, England, is the only library outside Belarus to collect exclusively in the field of Belarusian studies. It wa ...

in London, the largest Belarusian library abroad. Fr Nadson "developed the institution to the point where it could justifiably be regarded as the foremost collection in the world, outside Belarus itself, of books (including many rare publications), maps, journals and artefacts relevant for the study of the complex area east of Poland once known as the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

" with "a world-wide reputation" which "attract dscholars from a wide range of countries". The library also provided Fr Nadson with many opportunities for research. He gave several lectures to the

Anglo-Belarusian Society The Anglo-Belarusian Society () is one of the oldest Belarus-related organisations in the UK with an object of “diffusion, interchange and publication of knowledge relating to the Belarusian people, their land, history and culture”. History ...

. He published pioneering articles in the Society's

Journal of Belarusian Studies The ''Journal of Belarusian Studies'' (formerly the ''Journal of Byelorussian Studies'') is an English language academic journal in the field of Belarusian studies. It was described as “one of the longest lasting Belarusian publishing projects i ...

on such topics as the life and writings of the early Belarusian Saint Cyril of Turau and a manuscript tefsir (a commentary on the Qur’an) that he had acquired for the library, written in Arabic script by Muslim Tatars living in Belarus who had retained their religion but used Belarusian as their everyday language. He was also a long time editor of the Journal. The high regard in which his scholarship was held was shown by the award in 2008 of an honorary doctorate of the

European Humanities University be, Еўрапейскі гуманітарны ўніверсітэт , image_name = European Humanities University 2019 3.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = , latin_name = , motto ...

based in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

. Fr Nadson was also very active in translating liturgical texts into Belarusian. From 1981 he was head of the Belarusian Catholic mission in Great Britain, and from 1986, Apostolic Visitor to all Belarusian

Greek-Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

faithful abroad. He actively supported the recreation of the

Greek Catholic Church The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

in Belarus that had been suppressed in that country since the 1830s. He was the author of several books on the history of Belarus and the head of a

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...

charity fund aimed at alleviating the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.

Death

Nadson died at 88 on 15 April 2015 and is buried in

St Pancras and Islington Cemetery St Pancras and Islington Cemetery is a cemetery in East Finchley, North London. Although it is situated in the London Borough of Barnet, it is run as two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, Camden (formerly St Pancras) and Isling ...

in East Finchley, North London.

References

External links

Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London

Fr. Nadson - Ceslaus Sipovich: The first Belarusian Catholic Bishop in the 20th Century (1914–1981)

Fr. Nadson - Princess Magdalena Radzivill and the Greek Catholic Church in Belarus

Fr. Nadson - Spiritual Writings of St Cyril of Turau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadson, Alexander 1926 births 2015 deaths People from Nesvizh District People from Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–1939) Belarusian Eastern Catholic priests 20th-century Belarusian historians Belarusian male writers Byelorussian Home Defence personnel Polish military personnel of World War II Belarusian emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom British Eastern Catholics British religious leaders British historians Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery Eastern Catholic bishops in the United Kingdom Male non-fiction writers