www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Byzantine-Rithenian Church in Poland

Good Afternoon:

I'm contemplating a trip to Poland. Can you please tell me where the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church is located in Poland? If not in Poland, then where? Any churches or monasteries (active) that I should visit?

Regards,

Andy

Dear Andy,

I traveled to Poland briefly in '99 and again in '00, I stayed for most of a week in '00. The Eastern Christians, Greek Catholic and Orthodox are mostly in the geographic East along the border with Belorussia and Ukraine on the East and Slovakia on the South.

If by Byzantine-Ruthenian you mean Ruthenian as commonly understood in the North American scene, the situation is rather complex in Poland.

The Greek Catholic Church in Poland is officially the Byzantine-Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ( http://www.archidiecezja-gr.opoka.org.pl/ ). Certainly in the area of Przemysl the primary identity of the Greek Catholics is Ukrainian, at least when I was there there was a sign on the Cathedral that identified it as Ukrainian Greek Catholic and the man we spoke to there spoke in what seemed to be Ukrainian.

Since the event known as "Akcja Wisla" the situation for Lemkos, Rusyns and Ukrainians has been, at best, difficult. In the South in the area of Sanok the identity of the Greek Catholic faithful there seemed to be more Rusyn. Although, again, officially they are part of the larger GC Church in Poland. We visited some Orthodox parishes in the South, the identity there seemed somewhat Rusyn, not so Ukrainian but again it does not seem as well defined as in other places.

In the North in and around Bialystok the ethnic identity of the Orthodox it markedly Russian and Belorussian.

As far as I recall the only (that I could find) Greek Catholic monastery was Basilian but I can't recall its location. It was just rebuilding and restoring. The older historical monasteries like Suprasl, Jableczna and Grabarka are Orthodox.

I don't know if any of this helps.

Tony

Status of Byzantine Catholic Church in Poland...I just came across this on the Web...I want to know more about this church in Poland:

The Byzantine Catholic Church in Poland:

The Byzantine Catholic Church was never officially liquidated in Poland as it was in neighboring Czechoslovakia and Soviet Ukraine. This Church was illegal in Poland from 1947 until 1957; most of its properties were given to the Roman Catholic Church or abandoned. The Byzantine Catholic Church began to revive itself in 1957 after the deported Ukrainians and Lemkos were permitted to return to Poland. However, the government made it very difficult for the church to operate, and any activity was permitted only under the auspices of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Peremyshl was vacant until January 1991, when Bishop Ivan Martynjak (consecrated 1989 by Polish Cardinal Jozef Glemp to serve as auxiliary bishop and "vicar" for Byzantine Catholics) was named its Eparch (ruling bishop and ordinary).181

The first parish to be reestablished was Komancha (1962), followed by Novycja/Pryslop (1967), Ustje Ruske (1967), and Losje, Gorlice county (1968). The main parishes are Komancha and Krynica (1982), from which other localities are served on a periodic basis. The wooden church in Komancha is in use by the Orthodox parish; therefore, a church from the village of Szybist�w/Dudynci (built in 1802 and probably the oldest wooden church in Poland of the Greek cross floorplan) was to be transferred to Komancha to serve the Byzantine Catholic parish. Instead, the church was demolished sometime in 1984182 so the Komancha parish constructed a new wooden church in 1987, pictured in Appendix XI. A similar fate befell the Church of Saint Paraskeva built 1872-74 in Rajskie/Rajs'ke (Lesko county); it was blown up with dynamite by the local authorities in 1990 when the few Byzantine Catholic Lemkos in nearby Wolkowyja/Volkovyja requested that it be opened for their use.183 The wooden cedar church in Stavysha built in 1818 was intentionally burned down in 1966.184 Tragically, many other historic Lemko churches have similarly been destroyed; many others are abandoned and falling into decay. In fact, of all Byzantine Catholic and Orthodox wooden churches in southeast Poland (both Lemko and Bojko territory) as of 1956, 164 had been destroyed, 101 of which had been designated "monuments of architecture".185

Byzantine catholic services in the Lemko Region are conducted generally in the Old Church Slavonic language (whereas the church in Ukraine is adopting modern Ukrainian as a liturgical language).

QUOTE]Originally posted by Andy:
Good Afternoon:

I'm contemplating a trip to Poland. Can you please tell me where the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church is located in Poland? If not in Poland, then where? Any churches or monasteries (active) that I should visit?

Regards,

Andy[/QUOTE]

Thanks Tony...can you please help me further?

1.) What's the origin of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholics in the U.S.? It seems that its not Poland...is it Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria or Romania? Where in Eastern Europe is the center or seat of this church?

2.) Can you please give me approximate locations in Poland of these Orthodox Monasteries: Suprasl, Jableczna and Grabarka. Are they still active?

3.) What Roman Catholic Manasteries in Poland should I visit?

Regards,

Andy

Andy, we have a poster on this forum who is a Greek Catholic subdeacon in Lublin, Poland...Subdeacon Piotr Siwicki. Why don't you send him a private message asking him for more information. I'm sure he can help you out more than anyone else on this forum. I am hoping to visit Poland one day myself and look up the village a dear friend of mine here in Topeka is from...it is down near Sanok. By the way, she has both Lemko and Boyko blood, but considers herself to be Ukrainian Hope this helps. Don

Andy,

1) I suggest you get the book "Our People" by Magocsi. Other than that, perhaps someone else will tackle this one sooner than I am able to. I have class and need to finish some work before it.

2) Suprasl, Jableczna and Grabarka are all still active I visited them in the summer of '00.

3) I don't know anything about Roman Catholic monasteries in Poland. Perhaps a guidebook or another poster can help you with that. I was at Czestachowa that's about all I know about RCs in Poland.

Tony

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I was in Przemysl in 1999 or 2000. There is are some Basilian Fathers there. I forget the address, but they are in the centre of town.

God bless,
Christopher

It would seem the Byzantine Catholic Church owes a great debt of thanks to the efforts of the Hapsburg Queen Maria Theresa of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Her daughter, Marie Antoinette, has been widely libeled by Masons and never uttered her often cited quote.

My maternal family came from Bielsko-Biala, anyone know anything? Montani Semper Liberi

Christ is Risen,
Carpathian