Szeptycki (in

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 ...

spelling; or (Sheptytsky) in

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

spelling) was a major noble family in

Ruthenia Ruthenia or , uk, Рутенія, translit=Rutenia or uk, Русь, translit=Rus, label=none, pl, Ruś, be, Рутэнія, Русь, russian: Рутения, Русь is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin as one of several terms ...

(

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

, later

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

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 populous ...

and

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 inv ...

). They used the

Szeptycki coat of arms Szeptycki (feminine:Szeptycka) is a Polish-language surname. It belongs to the Polish noble Szeptycki family. The Ukrainian-language spelling of the surname is Sheptytsky (Sheptytskyi) / Sheptytska. Notable people with the surname include: *Andrey ...

. The family was related to a number of other noble families, such as the

Wiśniowiecki family The House of Wiśniowiecki ( uk, Вишневе́цькі, ''Vyshnevetski''; lt, Višnioveckiai}) was a Polish-Lithuanian princely family of Ruthenian-Lithuanian origin, notable in the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. They we ...

, the Ledóchowski family and the

Fredro family Fredro is a surname or given name. It may refer to: * Aleksander Fredro (1793–1876), Polish poet, playwright, and writer * Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro (1620–1679), Polish nobleman * Fredro Starr, rapper See also * Fredro (Bończa), Polish no ...

. The family history dates to the 15th century in the

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (Latin: ''Palatinatus russiae'', Polish: ''Województwo ruskie'', Ukrainian: ''Руське воєводство'', romanized: ''Ruske voievodstvo''), also called Rus’ voivodeship, was a voivodeship of the Crown of ...

of the

, with a document from 1469, issued by

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Casimir Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the ...

, confirming the family's right to Szeptyce (today Sheptychi, Ukraine). Originally

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

, some time after 1596 the family joined 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 ...

following the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest (; ; ; ) was the 1595–96 decision of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church eparchies (dioceses) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to break relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church and to enter into communion with, and place i ...

. From the 16th century, the family's members started to acquire important

offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth This article discusses the organizational and administrative structure of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a confederative aristocratic republic of the period 1569–1795, comprising the Kingdom of ...

, including ecclesiastical, with several advancing to the rank of a bishop in the

(bishop Barlaam Szeptycki (d. 1715) was originally a bishop of the Eastern Orthodox rite, before converting to the Greek rite; other Greek rite bishops in the family included Atanazy Antoni Szeptycki (d. 1746), Atanazy Andrzej Szeptycki (d.1779) and Leon Ludwik Szeptycki (d. 1779).). In 1772 the family received the

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

title from the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. Around that time some members of the increasingly

polonized 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� ...

family also converted to the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith, and one member of the family became a Roman Catholic bishop ( Hieronim Szeptycki, d. 1773). Notable 20th-century members included the Austro-Hungarian and then Polish general

Stanisław Szeptycki Count Stanisław Maria Jan Teofil Szeptycki (3 November 1867 – 9 October 1950) was a Polish count, general and military commander. Biography Born in 1867 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary to the aristocratic Szeptycki family, he was the grandson of ...

, and Ukrainian monk and blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky and Metropolitan Archbishop

Andrey Sheptytsky Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; uk, Митрополит Андрей Шептицький; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure spann ...

. The family continues to be active, and has created a foundation (Fundacja Rodu Szeptyckich) in modern Poland.

References

External links

Fundacja Rodu Szeptyckich
{{Authority control Polish noble families Ruthenian noble families

References

Further reading

External links