Stanisław Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz (, 1731–1826) was a Polish
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
clergyman who became the first
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev (
Mogilev
Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...
), an
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
from 1784 and a prominent member of the
Russian Academy (1807), who had earlier converted from
Calvinism
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
.
Biography
Stanisław Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz was born in Zanki, Troki Province (now
Svislach District
Grodno Region). His father was a
Calvinist
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
.
and his mother was a Catholic.
[ Brill website, ''The Russian Bible Society and the Catholic Church'', by Judith Cohen Zacek, published in the Canadian Slavic Studies, Volume 1, Spring 1971 page 36]
/ref> Stanisław studied at the , and later at the University of Frankfurt. After traveling through Europe, he visited Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and served in the Prussian Infantry and the Lithuanian Cavalry. In 1761, he retired with the rank of captain.
He then worked as a tutor for the Radziwiłł family, at which point he converted to Catholicism. In 1762, Siestrzeńcewicz developed a course of theology in Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
.
In 1763, he received holy orders. He served as rector in Gomel
Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...
and Bobruisk and later, a canon in Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. On 2 July 1773, he was appointed 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 an ...
of Mallus. On 3 October 1773, Monsignor Gyultsen, representing the Bishop of Smolensk, officially consecrated him as a bishop. After that, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Vilnius, for the territory that was ceded to Russia. In early December 1773, Catherine II
Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...
announced the creation of a Belarusian Catholic diocese with headquarters in Mogilev
Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...
and Siestrzeńcewicz's appointment as Belarusian bishop.Latin Church
The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
Catholics in Russia (including Moscow and Saint Petersburg). In 1774, Siestrzeńcewicz brought a printing press to Mohilev in order to publish spiritual and secular literature. On 14 February 1782, Catherine II transformed the diocese to the Belarusian Archdiocese of Mohilev and Siestrzeńcewicz became Archbishop. He took office after a ceremony on 20 February 1782. From this year until the end of the century, he lived in Mohilev.
His appointment was made without the consent of Pope Pius VI,Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, Giovanni Andrea Archetti, was sent to Saint Petersburg settle the conflict. Following the talks, in exchange for certain concessions, the pope approved Siestrzeńcewicz's nomination and the post of archbishop and handed him the pallium on 22 February 1784.
In 1783, he founded the theater in Mohilev. From 1798 to 1800, he chaired the collegium of the Catholic Justice Department. From 1801 to 1810 he was Chairman of the Catholic Theological Board. He died in on December 1, 1826 at the age of 95 and was buried in St. Stanislaus Church, Saint Petersburg.
/ref>
Honours
Order of the Russian Empire
* Order of St. Andrew
* Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
* Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree
* Order of St. Anna, 1st degree
* Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller (1798)
Order of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
* Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
* Order of Saint Stanislaus
The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...
Works
* ''Ustawy cesarzowej Katarzyny na gubernije'' (Mogilev, 1777)
* ''Gocya W Taurydzie, tragedyja wierszem polskim'' (Mogilev, 1783)
* ''On Western Russia'' (in Polish ) (1793)
* ''Diarium congregationis Synodalis utriusque Cleri Romani Catolici in Imperio Rossico'' (Mogilev, 1794)
* ''History Tavrii'' (1800)
* ''On the origin of the Slavs, and Sarmatians'' (1812)Google Books website, ''Précis des Recherches historiques sur l'origine des Slaves et des Sarmates'' (online copy)
/ref>
References
Sources
* Amara M. Buan-Ambassador of His Holiness. St. Petersburg, ''The verb'', 1996, .
* Nadtoka GM ''Roman Catholicism in Ukraine at the end of XVIII — early XXI century: church-state, inter-denominational and ethnic aspects'' - Gilea: Research Journal of Scientific Papers — Issue 65 (2012).
* Lyudmila Novikova ''Crimean factor in the history of the Cossacks in the image historians of the first half of the nineteenth century. - Black Sea past. Memoirs of the history of the Cossacks in the south of Ukraine'' Scientific Research Institute of the Cossacks of the Institute of History of Ukraine: Proc. Science. etc. - Vyp.5. - A.: SAP Brovkin OV-2010. - 180 c.
* Piotr Nitecki, ''The Bishops of the Church in Poland in the years 965-1999''. Biographical Dictionary, Oxford University Press "Pax", Warsaw 2000.
* Christopher R. Prokop ''Suksceja ordination and episcopal ordination of Pastors Vilnius with the second and third period of the eighteenth century'', the Catholic Theological Yearbook Vol V, Bialystok 2006, ISSN 1644-8855, pp. 240.
* ''Hierarchy of Catholica medii et recentioris'' Aevi, Volume VI, Patavii 1958, p 274 (Latin).
* Prokop, 2006, p 224.
*
Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland
' and other Slavic countries, Volume XIV (Worowo — Żyżyn) of 1895.
* ''Hierarchy medii Catholica et recentioris Aevi'', Volume VI, Patavii 1958, p 293 (Latin).
* Paul Czerwinski, ''The Order of Malta and its relations with the Polish over the centuries'', p 163.
* Zbigniew Dunin-Wilczynski, ''Order of Saint Stanislaus'', Warszawa 2006, p 181.
* ''Knights and the statutes of the Order of the White Eagle'', 1705–2008, 2008, p 222.
* Ivanovsky, Eustace
Rozmowy o polskiéj koronie
Kraków 1873, on page 677 Siestrzeńcewicz a philosopher and a broken spirit; Protestant brash, immoral man, the enemy of the Church, has been completely removed.
* Kochanowski, Gennady, Bogush-Sestrentsevich Stanislav Ivanovich ''Encyclopedia of History of Belarus''. At 6 vols 2 Belitskaya — Anthem / Belarusian. Encyclopedia.; Editorial Board.: BI Sachenko (ed.). Etc..; Sett. EE Zhakevich. - Mn.: BelEn, 1994. S. 52.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 13 December 2005.
* Kochanowski, ''Archaeologists and local history of Belarus in the 16th-19th centuries''. - Mn., 1984. - S. 11–22.
* Philippovich I. ''Myths and truths about Mogilev''. - Mogilev, 1993. - S. 77–79.
* ''Encyclopedia''. At 6 vols 2 Belitskaya — Anthem / Belarusian. Encyclopedia.; Editorial Board.: BI Sachenko (ed.). Etc..; Sett. EE Zhakevich. - Mn.: BelEn, 1994. - 537 p., k: ill. .
* Jackiewicz S. ''Stanislav Bogush-Sestrentsevich'' / "Bulletin of Mogilev," 11 December 1992.
External links
Catholic hierarchy
* ttp://belchrist.narod.ru/pages/2_cark_lid/use/19-20/bogush.htm Станіслаў Богуш-Сестранцэвіч
Первый Митрополит Могилевский Архиепископ Станислав Иоанн Сестренцевич-Богуш
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siestrzencewicz, Stanislaw Bohusz
1731 births
1826 deaths
Belarusian Roman Catholic archbishops
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism
19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Russian Empire
18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Russian Empire