Supraśl (; be, Су́прасль; ) is a town and former episcopal see in north-eastern

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 ...

. Supraśl is in

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest c ...

(province) since 1999, previously in Białystok Voivodeship (1975-1998) (1975–1998), and is in

Białystok County __NOTOC__ Białystok County ( pl, powiat białostocki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It was created on 1 January 1999 as a result ...

, about northeast of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...

. It is the seat of the Gmina of Supraśl. Its population is 4,526 (2004).

History

The settlement was founded in the 16th century. After the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

in 1795, it was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

. In 1807 it passed to the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition ( pl, zabór rosyjski), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Po ...

of Poland. In 1823, a 10th-century manuscript, the oldest Slavic literary work in Poland, named the ''

Codex of Supraśl The Codex Suprasliensis is a 10th-century Cyrillic literary monument, the largest extant Old Church Slavonic canon manuscript and the oldest Slavic literary work in Poland. As of September 20, 2007, it is on UNESCO's Memory of the World list. The ...

'' was discovered in the Supraśl Monastery by Michał Bobrowski. After 1831, the textile industry developed. In 1834 manufacturer Wilhelm Fryderyk Zachert came from

Zgierz Zgierz is a city in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź, and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2021 it had a population of 54,974. Zgierz is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previousl ...

to Supraśl and significantly contributed to the development of the village into a town. Until the mid-19th century, it was the largest center of the textile industry in the region, before it was surpassed by nearby

. In the 19th century, mostly Catholics lived there, but also Protestants, Orthodox and Jews. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

from 1915 to 1919 it was occupied by the Germans. After 1919, in independent Poland. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

it was

occupied ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...

by the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in ...

from 1939 to 1941 and by the Germans from 1941 to 1944. The Soviets destroyed part of the monastery's interior, and the Germans destroyed most of the industrial plants. In 2001 Supraśl was recognized as a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, B ...

Ecclesiastical History

* On 6 March 1798 was established the Ruthenian Catholic

Eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

(

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 ...

Diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

) of Supraśl / Supraslien(sis) Ruthenorum (Latin adjective), on presently Polish territory not previously served by that

particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with universals. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to a ...

''sui iuris'' (

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 Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours a ...

Ruthenian language Ruthenian ( Belarusian: руская мова; Ukrainian: руська мова; Ruthenian: руска(ѧ) мова; also see other names) is an exonymic linguonym for a closely-related group of East Slavic linguistic varieties, particularl ...

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 ...

's papal bulla ''Susceptam a Nobis di papa'', thus canonically executed its erection, which was devised by the Prussian kingdom (Fredrick William II) in January 1797 for the parts of the Eparchy of Brėst and Archeparchy of Kiev that became Prussian in the

Third partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

. The Pope made it exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

, and installed a

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. ...

comprising a provost and four canons.Augustin Theiner, ''Die neuesten Zustände der Katholischen Kirche beider Ritus in Polen und Rußland seit Katharina II. bis auf unsere Tage'', Augsburg 1841, pp. 296-300. * It was suppressed on 1809.02.14, without Catholic successor, by imperial edict of the Czar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

, annexing it to the Eparchy of Brest, after the Convention of Bartenstein (April 1807) and

Peace of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...

(July 1807) transferred its territory from Prussia to the Russian empire. It has had only three incumbents : ;''Exempt Eparch (Bishops) of Supraśl of the Ruthenians * Theodosius Wislocki,

Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

(O.S.B.M.) (1797 – death 1801.05.18) * Nicholas Duchnowski (1803.05.16 – death 1805.06.25) *''

Bishop-elect In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of Holy orders in the Catholic Church, holy orders and is responsible ...

Father Leo Jaworowski (1807 – 1809 not possessed lacking confirmation by Rome), next Auxiliary bishop of Eparch Jozafat Bułhak in Brest and

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 ...

Volodymyr Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, Volodýmyr, , orv, Володимѣръ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ...

. Supraśl is also a

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of the

Polish Orthodox Church The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church ( pl, Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny), commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church of Poland, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches in full communion. T ...

Culture and heritage

It is the home of the

Supraśl Lavra Supraśl (; be, Су́прасль; ) is a town and former episcopal see in north-eastern Poland. Supraśl is in Podlaskie Voivodeship (province) since 1999, previously in Białystok Voivodeship (1975-1998) (1975–1998), and is in Białystok C ...

, founded by

Aleksander Chodkiewicz Aleksander Chodkiewicz ( lt, Aleksandras Chodkevičius, , ; ca. 1475 – 28 May 1549) was a Ruthenian noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia, founder of the Supraśl Orthodox Monastery. He inherited vast possessions fro ...

, one of six Eastern Orthodox monasteries for men in

. The

, the oldest Slavic

literary work Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and one of the oldest of its kind in the world, is named after the

. Since September 2007 it has been on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Memory of the World Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

list. The Museum of Icons is located in the Chodkiewicz Palace within the monastery complex. Other historic landmarks include the Buchholtz Palace, which now houses the Art High School, the Catholic churches of Our Lady Queen of Poland and of the Holy Trinity, the town hall, cinema, a 19th-century park and historic wooden architecture. File:Pałac Buchholtza w Supraślu.jpg, Buchholtz Palace File:Suprasl kosciol NMP Krolowej Polski 1.jpg, Our Lady Queen of Poland church File:Supraśl Dom ludowy 01 Al.JPG, Cinema File:PałacArchimandrytów.jpg, Chodkiewicz Palace File:Pomnik Suprasl park 01.jpg, Monument to the Polish victory in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

in 1920 in the city park File:Supraśl Pałac Buchholtza - wozownia 01 Al.JPG, Coach house of the Buchholtz Palace

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Supraśl is twinned with: *

References

Sources and external links

Official town webpage

; Bibliography - ecclesiastical history * Augustin Theiner, ''Die neuesten Zustände der Katholischen Kirche beider Ritus in Polen und Rußland seit Katharina II. bis auf unsere Tage'', Augsburg 1841 * Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 6, p. 389 * Alfred Ignatowicz, ''Greckokatolicka diecezja supraska (1796-1807)'', in "Wiadomości Kościele Archidiecezji w białymstoku" 1976, r. 2, nr 4, pp. 105–116. * Radosław Dobrowolski, ''Opat Supraski Biskup Leon Ludwik Jaworowski'', Supraśl 2003, p. 333. * Nikolaj Dalmatov, ''Supraslskij Blagowescanskij Monastyr'', St. Peterburg 1892, p. 611. * Gaetano Moroni, ''Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica'', vol. 71, Venice 1855, pp. 76–78 * Leonard Drożdżewicz, Overheard in Suprasl Academy, „Znad Wilii”, Viešoji įstaiga „Znad Wilii” kultūros plėtros draugija, ISSN 1392-9712 indeks 327956, nr 1 (81) z 2020 r., pp. 91–97, (in Polish)http://www.znadwiliiwilno.lt/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Znad-Wilii-1-81m-1-1.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Suprasl Cities and towns in Podlaskie Voivodeship Białystok County Belostoksky Uyezd Białystok Voivodeship (1919–1939) Belastok Region