Fr. Jazep Hermanovich MIC (also Yazep Germanovich,

Belarusian Latin alphabet The Belarusian Latin alphabet or Łacinka (from be, лацінка or łacinka, BGN/PCGN: ''Latsinka'', ) for the Latin script in general is the common name for writing Belarusian using Latin script. It is similar to the Sorbian alphabet a ...

: Jazep Hermanovič; be, Язэп Гэрмановіч (sometimes also spelled Германовіч), pl, Józef Hermanowicz, 4 March 1890 - 26 December 1978) was a

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

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...

priest, poet and

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

survivor.

Early life

Hermanovich was born in

Halshany Halshany ( be, Гальшáны, lt, Alšėnai or Galšia, russian: Гольшáны, pl, Holszany, yi, אלשאן ''Olshan'') is a village and former town in the Grodno Region of Belarus. It is known as the former seat of the Olshanski pri ...

into a Belarusian Roman Catholic peasant family. He studied at schools in

and

Ashmiany Ashmyany ( be, Ашмя́ны; Łacinka: ''Ašmiany''; russian: Ошмя́ны; lt, Ašmena; pl, Oszmiana; yi, אָשמענע, ''Oshmene'') is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus, located at 50 km from Vilnius. The town is Ashmyany District' ...

. In 1913, he graduated from a Catholic

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

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 ...

and was ordained priest.

Work in West Belarus

In 1921, he became a member of the Society of the Belarusian School, an organization promoting Belarusian-language education in

West Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus ( be, Заходняя Беларусь, translit=Zachodniaja Bielaruś; pl, Zachodnia Białoruś; russian: Западная Белоруссия, translit=Zapadnaya Belorussiya) is a historical region of mod ...

which was then part of 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 ...

and where ethnic Belarusians faced active

polonization Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя� ...

by the Polish state. For some time, he held Belarusian language services at the Church of St. Nicholas in Vilnius (then Wilno). In 1924, Hermanovich joined the

Congregation of Marian Fathers The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary ( la, Congregatio Clericorum Marianorum ab Immaculata Conceptionis Beatissimae Virginis Mariae) is a Catholic male clerical religious congregation fou ...

. He moved to the town of Druja where he was part of the community of Belarusian Marian Priests which was influential among Belarusian Catholics in interwar Poland. While in Druja, Hermanovich started publishing his literary works under the pseudonym Vincuk Advažny (''Vincuk the Brave'').

Missionary work in Harbin, Gulag captivity

In 1932, Hermanovich was sent to

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, to do missionary work among the community of

Harbin Russians The term Harbin Russians or Russian Harbinites refers to several generations of Russians who lived in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. Russians and other Europeans settlers were responsible for turning Harbin into a European city with th ...

with the

Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin The Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin (or Harbin 哈爾濱 of the Russians) is a dormant apostolic exarchate of the Russian Byzantine Catholic Church based in the city of Harbin in China. The cathedra of the apostolic exarchate was ...

. He was head of the Catholic Lyceum of St Nicolas in Harbin, taking care of Russian orphans who lost their parents in the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

.Ірына Багдановіч «Зайграю для Божае хвалы...» Да 120-годдзя з дня нараджэння Язэпа Германовіча (Вінцука Адважнага)
ryna Bahdanovič. "I shall play for God's glory..." - to the 120th anniversary of the birth of Jazep Hermanovič (Vincuk Advažny)- Наша вера asha_viera,_official_magazine_of_the_Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Minsk-Mohilev.html" ;"title="Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev">asha viera, official magazine of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev">asha viera, official magazine of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev №3/2010 In 1936, Hermanovich returned to Poland because of health reasons. In 1938, he and other Belarusian Marian fathers were deported from Druja to central Poland as part of a wave of repressions by the Polish state against Belarusian national activists. After this, Hermanovich returned to Harbin. In 1948, Hermanovich was arrested by the communist Chinese authorities and handed over to the Soviet NKVD. After several months of interrogations and tortures, Hermanovich and other teachers of the Marian lyceum of Harbin were sentenced to 25 years of incarceration and labour in the

concentration camps. Hermanovich was deported to concentration camps near

Tayshet Tayshet ( rus, Тайшет, p=tɐjˈʂɛt, lit. ''cold river'' in the Kott language) is a town and the administrative center of Tayshetsky District in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Irkutsk, the administrative center of the obla ...

and then near

Bratsk Bratsk ( rus, Братск, p=bratsk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. Etymology The name sounds like the Russian word for "brother" ("", '' ...

.Biography on the website of the Marian Congregation
(in Polish) While in the Gulag, Hermanovich held secret religious services among other inmates.

Emigration to the United Kingdom

After Stalin's death in 1953, Hermanovich was released and as a former Polish citizen deported to

communist Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

in 1955. From there he was able to move to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

and then 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 joined the community of Belarusian Catholic priests ( Ceslaus Sipovic, Leo Haroshka,

Alexander Nadson Alexander Nadson ( be, Аляксандар Надсан, Aliaksandar Nadsan, 8 August 1926 – 15 April 2015) was the Apostolic Visitor for Belarusian Greek-Catholic faithful abroad, scholar, translator and a notable Belarusian émigré social ...

and others) who had settled there after the Second World War. Since 1960, Father Hermanovich resided at the Marian House in North Finchley, London, until his death on 26 December 1978. He is buried at St. Pancras and Islington Cemetery along with his Marian confreres. While living in London, Hermanovich was teaching at St Cyril of Turau Belarusian school and was also an editor-in-chief of the Belarusian emigre Catholic journal ''Božym šlacham'', sent to subscribers all over the world. In London he published a number of literary works as well as translated the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

External links

Selected works online
(in Belarusian)
Memoirs by Fr. Jazep Hermanovich
- audio (in Belarusian)

Literary works

* Як Казюк сабраўся да споведзі (''How Kaziuk prepared for the confession''), Vilnius, 1928; Minsk, 2011 * Казюковае жанімства (''Kaziuk’s wedding''), Vilnius, 1929 * Як Гануля зьбіралася ў Аргентыну (''How Hanula prepared to go to Argentina''), Vilnius, 1930. * Адам і Анелька (''Adam and Anelka''), Vilnius, 1931 * Канёк-Гарбунок (''The Little Humpbacked Horse'', adaptation of the tale by

Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov (russian: link=no, Пётр Павлович Ершов; – ) was a Russian poet and author of the famous fairy-tale poem ''The Little Humpbacked Horse'' (''Konyok-Gorbunok''). Biography Pyotr Yershov was born in the vil ...

), Vilnius, 1932. * Бэтлейка (''The batleyka''), Vilnius, 1932. * Унія на Палесьсі (''The Church Union in Polesia''), Albercin, 1932; Brest, 2004 * Беларускія цымбалы (''The Belarusian cymbalo''), Vilnius, 1933 * Казка аб рыбаку і рыбцы (''The tale of the fisher and the fish''), Vilnius, 1935. * Хлапец (''The boy''), Vilnius, 1935. * Гануліны клопаты (''Hanula’s worries''), Vilnius, 1935. * Кітай-Сібір-Масква (''China - Siberia - Moscow (memories)''), Munich, 1962; Minsk-St. Petersburg, 2003 * Пакутныя псальмы (''Penitential Psalms'', versed translation), Rome, 1964. * Przeżyłem sowieckie łagry. Wspomnienia (''I survived the Soviet concentration camps. Memoirs''), 1966 * Князь і лапаць. Сучасная казка (''The king and the

bast shoe Bast shoes are shoes made primarily from bast — fiber taken from the bark of trees such as linden. They are a kind of basket, woven and fitted to the shape of a foot. Bast shoes are a traditional footwear of the forest areas of Northern E ...

''), London, 1964. * Байкі і іншыя вершы (''Fables and other verses''), London, 1973. * Выбраныя творы (''Selected Works''), Minsk, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermanovic 1890 births 1978 deaths People from Ashmyany District People from Oshmyansky Uyezd Belarusian Eastern Catholic priests Belarusian poets Belarusian educators Gulag detainees 20th-century Eastern Catholic clergy Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception History of Christianity in China Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery