The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mohilev (or Mogilev or Mahilyow) was a territorial

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 onc ...

division of the

Roman 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 ...

, covering a significant western proportion of the territory of the Tsarist

Russian empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

History

It was erected as Diocese of Mohilev in 1772 by the Russian empress

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

, in a unilateral action independent of Rome. Its territory was split off from the Dioceses of Inflanty and

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

. Its initial see was the imperial capital city

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 1782 Catherine elevated the diocese to non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev, and in 1783 these actions were recognised by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

in the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

''Onerosa pastoralis officii''. On 9 August 1798, it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Minsk (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 ...

); the same year it was raised to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev. The archdiocese remained the Latin Metropolitan see for Russia throughout imperial times and the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period, although for much of the latter period it was the subject of repression and had no incumbent archbishop. In 1818 it gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of

. It repeatedly lost territory, to establish successively the Cherson on 3 July 1848, the Apostolic Exarchate of Russia in 1917, the

Diocese of Riga The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga is an archdiocese administered from the capital city of Riga in Latvia.Apostolic Vicariate of Finland on 8 June 1920 and the Apostolic Vicariate of Siberia on 1 December 1921. It was suppressed on 13 April 1991. Mogilev is a city in present-day

, and with the demise of the Soviet Union the Archdiocese's territory and title were merged into its former daughter-

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

(which had often been governed ad interim by its Metropolitan, as

Apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

), in the newly independent country's capital, to create the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev. The territorial boundaries of the new archdiocese were redrawn to include only territory within Belarus. Territories of the former archdiocese falling within present-day Russia were reassigned, first to the

Apostolic Administration of European Russia The Archdiocese of Moscow, also known as Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow ( la, Moscovien(sis) Matris Dei, russian: Архиепархия Матери Божией в Москве) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdioc ...

, and subsequently to what are now the Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow in the north and the Diocese of Saint Clement at Saratov in the south.

Episcopal ordinaries

All Latin,

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while di ...

. ;Suffragan Bishops of Mohilev ;Metropolitan Archbishops of Mohilev *1783–1826: Stanisław Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz, previously

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of Mallus (1773.07.12 – 1783.12.11), Auxiliary Bishop of

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 urba ...

(

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

) (1773.07.12 – 1783.12.11) *1828–1831: Kasper Cieciszowski, previously Titular Bishop of

Theveste Theveste was a Roman colony situated in the present Tébessa, Algeria. History In 146 BC, the Romans conquered the region, where existed an old city called " Tbessa". Theveste was founded by the Romans in 75 AD near an old Berber village located ...

(1775.05.29 – 1784.08.07),

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

of Kyiv–Černihiv (

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

) (1775.05.29 – 1784.08.07), succeeding as Bishop of Kyiv–Černihiv (1784.08.07 – 1798.11.17), Bishop of Lutsk and Zytomierz (Ukraine) (1798.11.17 – 1828.06.23) *1841: Ignacy Pawłowski, previously Titular Bishop of

Megara Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being take ...

(1828.06.23 – 1841.03.01), Auxiliary Bishop of

Kamyanets-Podilsky Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

(Ukraine) (1828.06.23 – 1841.03.01) *1849–1851: Kazimierz Dmochowski, previously Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius (Lithuania) (1840.12.17 – 1848.07.03), Titular Bishop of Meloë in Lycia (1840.12.17 – 1849.07.17), Auxiliary Bishop of Žemaitija (Lithuania) (1848.07.03 – 1849.07.17) *1851–1855: Ignacy Hołowiński, succeeding as previous Titular Bishop of Carystus &

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coa ...

of Mohilev (1848.07.03 – 1851.01.24) *1856–1863: Wacław Żyliński, previously Bishop of

(Lithuania) (1848.07.03 – 1856.10.27) *1872–1883:

Antoni Fijałkowski Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of th ...

, previously Titular Bishop of Tanasia & Auxiliary Bishop of Kamyanets-Podilsky (Ukraine) (1858.06.25 – 1860.03.23), succeeding as Bishop of Kamyanets-Podilsky (1860.03.23 – 1872.02.23); also

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of Minsk (Belarus) (1872.02.23 – 1883.02.11) *1883–1889: Aleksander Gintowt-Dziewałtowski, previously Bishop of Lutsk and Zytomierz (Ukraine) (1883.03.15 – 1891.12.14) and Apostolic Administrator of Kamyanets-Podilsky (Ukraine) (1883.03.15 – 1891.12.14); also Apostolic Administrator of Minsk (Belarus) (1891.12.14 – 1899.11.26) *1891–1899: Szymon Marcin Kozłowski, previously Bishop of Lutsk and Zytomierz (Ukraine) (1883.03.15 – 1891.12.14), Apostolic Administrator of Kamyanets-Podilsky (Ukraine) (1883.03.15 – 1891.12.14); also Apostolic Administrator of Minsk (Belarus) (1891.12.14 – 1899.11.26) *1901–1903: Bolesław Hieronim Kłopotowski, previously Titular Bishop of

Eleutheropolis Eleutheropolis (Greek, Ἐλευθερόπολις, "Free City"; ar, إليوثيروبوليس; in Hebrew, בית גוברין, Beit Gubrin) was a Roman and Byzantine city in Syria Palaestina, some 53 km southwest of Jerusalem. After the Mu ...

(1897.08.02 – 1899.12.14), Auxiliary Bishop of Lutsk and Zytomierz (Ukraine) (1897.08.02 – 1899.12.14), then Bishop of Lutsk and Zytomierz (Ukraine) (1899.12.14 – 1901.04.15), Apostolic Administrator of Kamyanets-Podilsky (Ukraine) (1899.12.14 – 1901.04.15); also Apostolic Administrator of Minsk (Belarus) (1901.04.15 – 1903.02.24) *1903–1905: Jerzy Szembek, previously Bishop of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

(Poland) (1901.04.15 – 1903.11.09); also Apostolic Administrator of Minsk (Belarus) (1903.11.09 – 1905.08.07) *1908–1909: Apolinary Wnukowski, previously Bishop of Płock (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) (1904.04.01 – 1908.11.29); also Apostolic Administrator of Minsk (Belarus) (1908.11.29 – 1909.06.04) *1910–1914: ; also Apostolic Administrator of Minsk (Belarus) (1910.04.07 – 1914.09.22); later

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Philippopolis (modern (Sofia and)

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

) (1914.09.22 – 1917.02.23) *1917–1926:

Eduard von der Ropp Eduard Michael Johann Maria Freiherr von der Ropp (1851–1939) was a Polish nobleman of Baltic German origins and Roman Catholic metropolitan archbishop. He was born 14 December 1851 near Līksna in present-day LatviaJānis Svilāns and Alber ...

, previously Bishop of

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

(

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

) (1902.06.09 – 1903.11.09), Bishop of

(Lithuania) (1903.11.09 – 1917.07.25); also Apostolic Administrator of Vilnius (Lithuania) (1917.07.25 – 1918.10.23) *1923.07.05 – 1925.12.14 Jan Feliks Cieplak, as

; previously Titular Bishop of Evaria (1908.07.12 – 1919.03.28), Auxiliary Bishop of Mohilev (Belarus) (1908.07.12 – 1925.12.14), Titular Archbishop of Acrida (Epirus) (1919.03.28 – 1925.12.14); later Metropolitan Archbishop of

(Lithuania) (1925.12.14 – 1926.02.17) *1926–1981:

Boļeslavs Sloskāns Boļeslavs Sloskāns (1893-1981) was a Latvian Roman Catholic bishop. He was born 31 August 1893 near Stirniene and died on 18 April 1981 in Leuven, Belgium. Biography In 1911 Boļeslavs Sloskāns entered the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholi ...

, as

, also Titular Bishop of Cillium (1926.05.05 – 1981.04.18); also Apostolic Administrator of Minsk (Belarus) (1926.08.13 – 1981.04.18).

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohilev, Catholic Metropolitanate Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Ex-Soviet Europe Roman Catholic dioceses in Belarus Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 18th century 1772 establishments in the Russian Empire

History

Episcopal ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links