The Catholic Church in
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 ...
is part of the worldwide
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, under the spiritual leadership of the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
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 ...
. The first
Latin Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
diocese in Belarus was established in
Turaŭ
Turov (, russian: Туров, lt, Turava, uk, Ту́рів, pl, Turów, yi, טוראָוו, Turov) is a town in the Zhytkavichy District of Gomel Region of Belarus and the former capital of the medieval Principality of Turov and Pinsk.
Hist ...
between 1008 and 1013. Catholicism was a traditionally dominant religion of Belarusian
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
(the
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
) and of a large part of the population of West Belarus.
Description
As of 2015, there are 674,500 Catholics in the country, about 7.1% of the total population.
Most of these belong to the
Latin Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
dioceses. A small minority are of
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople.
Th ...
, forming the particular
Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church ( be, Беларуская грэка-каталіцкая царква, ''Bielaruskaja hreka-katalickaja carkva'' BHKC; la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Belarusica) sometimes called in reference to its By ...
, which is in union with the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
and follows the Byzantine
Slavonic ritual.
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and
Lithuanian minorities in Belarus are predominantly Latin-Rite Catholics. The Greek Catholics are mostly ethnic
Belarusians
, native_name_lang = be
, pop = 9.5–10 million
, image =
, caption =
, popplace = 7.99 million
, region1 =
, pop1 = 600,000–768,000
, region2 =
, pop2 ...
, with some
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
.
History
The first
Latin Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
diocese in Belarus was established in
Turaŭ
Turov (, russian: Туров, lt, Turava, uk, Ту́рів, pl, Turów, yi, טוראָוו, Turov) is a town in the Zhytkavichy District of Gomel Region of Belarus and the former capital of the medieval Principality of Turov and Pinsk.
Hist ...
between 1008 and 1013.
Catholicism was a traditionally dominant religion of Belarusian
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
(the
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
) and of a large part of the population of western and northwestern parts of Belarus.
There was once an archbishopric in
Polotsk
Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...
. St.
Josaphat Kuntsevych
Josaphat Kuntsevych, OSBM ( – 12 November 1623) was a Basilian monk and archeparch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church who on 12 November 1623 was killed by an angry mob in Vitebsk, in the eastern peripheries of the Polish–Lithuanian ...
was archbishop from 1618 to 1623, succeeding another archbishop.
In August 2020, the leader of the Roman Catholic church in Belarus
Tadevuš Kandrusievič
Tadevuš Kandrusievič ( be, Тадэвуш Кандрусевіч; pl, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz; born 3 January 1946) is a Belarusian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Minsk–Mohilev from 2007 to 2021. He has been a bish ...
was banned from returning to Belarus from Poland for several months after condemning violence during the
mass protests.
He was forced to resign soon after the return 5 months later.
[Карикатура, которая будет дорого стоить: как белорусский режим делает из католиков врагов. Мнение]
/ref> In July 2021, Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука ...
tried to intervene in the prayer schedule warning Catholic priests not to perform the religious song " The Almighty God" ( be, Магутны Божа).[Смотрите, нарветесь – Лукашенко предостерег от молитвы под «Магутны Божа»]
/ref> In September 2021, ''Minskaya Pravda'' (an official newspaper of Minsk Oblast
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, ...
) published a cartoon depicting Roman Catholic priests as Nazis wearing swastika instead of crosses.Belarus church denounces anti-Catholic cartoon depicting priests as Nazis
/ref>
See also
*Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church ( be, Беларуская грэка-каталіцкая царква, ''Bielaruskaja hreka-katalickaja carkva'' BHKC; la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Belarusica) sometimes called in reference to its By ...
*Catholic Church by country
The Catholic Church is "the Catholic Communion of Churches, both Roman and Eastern, or Oriental, that are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome (the pope)." The church is also known by members as the People of God, the Body of Christ, the " ...
* Religion in Belarus
References
External links
The Catholic Church in Belarus
- official website and the central Belarusian catholic web-portal
The Apostolic Nuntiature in Belarus
Partał Maładych Katalikoŭ
- Young Catholics of Belarus
{{Catholicism in Europe, state=collapsed
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 ...
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 ...