Father Yan Matusevich ( be, Ян Матусевіч, Jan Matusievič, 24 July 1946 – 2 September 1998) was a bi-ritualist Belarusian Catholic priest, and the first dean of the modern

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 ...

, " hichrevival

n the late 20th century N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

... in Belarus and especially in Minsk began with him".

Early years

Matusevich was born in the village of Komenka, Minsk Region,

Soviet Belarus The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, into an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

family with Uniate roots. After high school, he studied at the Belarusian State Theatre and Art Institute, in the directing department. In 1972, he entered into the Orthodox Seminary in Smolensk. From 1974 to 1979, Matusevich worked in Smolensk, and then in the village of Markovo, Maladziečna District, in the Minsk region. In 1979, Matusevich joined the

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 ...

. For the next 11 years, he was rector of the Catholic parish in Barun.

Involvement in the revival of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church

In 1988, he became one of the first to preach in the

Belarusian language Belarusian ( be, беларуская мова, biełaruskaja mova, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language. It is the native language of many Belarusians and one of the two official state languages in Belarus. Additionally, it is spoken in some p ...

, the practice which attracted a number of intellectuals and young people from all over Belarus on the wave of the national revival. On 12 November 1989, Barun commemorated Saint Josaphat, the event is considered the first action of the modern

Uniate Church 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 ...

in Minsk. Starting in 1990, he was the rector of the Greek-Catholic parish of Saint Joseph, in

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

. Matusevich consecrated a cross in Kurapaty, the site of mass executions of citizens by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

in the 1930s. In April 1989, he took part in the action of the Belarusian opposition, " Chernobyl Way". Matusevich was a board member of the Association of the Belarusian Language in Minsk, a board member and one of the founders of the Belarusian Bible Society and a pastor in the local Scout movement. Matusievich is regarded as someone who "brought up a whole cohort of Belarusian Uniate priests".

Death and resting place

Matusevich died in

, Belarus, on 2 September 1998. The funeral service was held in the

Church of Saints Simon and Helena The Church of Saints Simon and Helena ( be, Касьцёл сьвятых Сымона і Алены; pl, Kościół św. Szymona i św. Heleny w Mińsku), also known as the Red Church ( be, Чырвоны касьцёл; pl, Czerwony Kościół ...

and he was buried in the local Calvary Cemetery.

Notable quotes

"If you do something with God, this work will advance, and if without God, this work will perish."

References

Other sources

*"Pamyatsі svyatara" / / Ave Maria. - Minsk: 2008. - number 10. - S. 27. *Aytsets Ian Matusevіch. adchuў I Boskae paklіkanne / / Tsarkva . - Berastse: 1998. - No. 2 (17). - pp. 8–9.

External links

Svjazep.org

Churchby.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matusevich, Yan Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Belarusian Eastern Catholic priests Former Belarusian Orthodox Christians 1946 births 1998 deaths