The Situation of the Uniate Community Within the Russian Empire on the Eve of the Synod of Polotsk of 1839

Drawing from sources of both personal and official origin, the article delves into the condition of the Uniate community in the decades leading up to the Unification Synod of Polotsk in 1839. The position of the Uniates and the state of their religious life at that time exhibited several characteristics that significantly contributed to the success of the project for their collective reunification with the Orthodox Church. The Uniates’ low social status, dismal economic conditions, moral reliance on Latin Catholic landlords, and a notably inadequate level of religious education are highlighted. The conclusion drawn is that the condition of the Uniate community was exacerbated by the legacy of the confessional policy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which aimed at fostering religious ignorance among Uniate believers, alongside the socio-economic oppression inflicted upon the common people by the Catholic gentry. The prevailing situation within the Uniate church association failed to foster a conscious commitment among ordinary believers to the union by the end of the 18th century through the second quarter of the 19th century. Additionally, the union, where clericalism prevailed over the course of two centuries, was critically dependent on the most educated and energetic segment of its clergy—the ruling clergy and educators of spiritual youth. There was no assurance that among these individuals, who were subjects of the Russian state, the notion of converting to the dominant religion would not emerge. A significant threat to the Uniate church association stemmed from the discontent among the people regarding the confessional division that emerged following the reunification of the Uniates with the Orthodox Church in 1794–1795. The division severed neighborly, kindred, and even economic ties, prompting a desire among the people to restore a shared affiliation within a single religious denomination.

1. Adrianov, I., priest. (2002). Pravoslavnaia otsenka Unii [Orthodox Assessment of the Union]. In VII Mezhdunarodnye Kirillo-Mefodievskie chteniia, posviashchennye Dniam slavianskoi pis’mennosti i kul’tury, Minsk, 22–24 maia 2001 g. : v 2 ch. (Part 1, book 1). Minsk : OOO “Kovcheg”, 2002. [In Russian].

2. Afanasy (Martos), archbishop. (1990). Belarus’ v istoricheskoi gosudarstvennoi itserkovnoi zhizni [Belarus in the Historical State and Church Life]. Minsk : Belorussky Ekzarkhat Russkoi Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi. [In Russian].

3. Vasily (Luzhinsky), archbishop. (1885). Zapiski Vasiliia Luzhinskogo, arkhiepiskopa Polotskogo i Vitebskogo, chlena sviateishego pravitel’stvuiushchego Vserossiiskogo sinoda o nachale i khode okonchatel’no sovershivshegosia dela vossoedineniia greko-Uniatskoi Tserkvi v Belorussii i Volyni s pravoslavnoiu rossiiskoiu tserkov’iu, napisannye v kontse tysiacha vosem’sot shest’desiat shestogo goda [Notes by Vasily Luzhinsky, Archbishop of Polotsk and Vitebsk, a Member of the Most Holy Governing All-Russian Synod on the Beginning and Progress of the Finally Accomplished Reunification of the Greek Uniate Church in Belarus and Volhynia with the Orthodox Russian Church, Written at the End of one Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-Sixth Year]. Kazan : Kazanskaia Dukhovnaia akademiia. [In Russian].

4. Vigel, F. F. (1865). Vospominaniia F. F. Vigelia : v 7 ch. [Memories of F. F. Vigel: in 7 Parts]. Moskva : V Universitetskoi tipografii (Katkov i Kº). [In Russian].

5. Vysochaishe utverzhdennyi Ustav dlia prikhodskikh Uchilishch v Guberniiakh Volynskoi, Kievskoi i Podol’skoi [The Most Highly Approved Charter for Parish Schools in the Provinces of Volyn, Kiev and Podolsk]. (1830). In Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi imperii. Sobranie 1 (Vol. 29 (1806–1807), № 22605, pp. 1250–1259). [In Russian].

6. Zapiska ot 1 dekabria 1838 g., o sposobakh poreshit’ okonchatel’no vossoedinenie uniatov s Pravoslavnoi Tserkov’iu [Note Dated December 1, 1838, on Ways to Finally Resolve the Reunification of the Uniates with the Orthodox Church]. (1883). In Zapiski Iosifa Mitropolita Litovskogo (Vol. 2, pp. 78–84). Saint Petersburg : Tip. imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk. [In Russian].

7. Iz bumag generala I. S. Zhirkevicha [From the Papers of General I. S. Zhirkevich]. (1892). Istorichesky vestnik. Istoriko-litereturnyi zhurnal, (XLVIII). [In Russian].

8. Iz zapisok F. Ia. Mirkovicha. Fedor Iakovlevich Mirkovich: 1786–1876. Ego zhizneopisanie, sostavlennoe po sobstvennym ego zapiskam [From the Notes of F. Y. Mirkovich. Fyodor Yakovlevich Mirkovich: 1786–1876. His Biography, Compiled According to his Own Notes]. (1890). Russky arkhiv, (3), 395–435. [In Russian].

9. Ipaty (Potei), metropolitan. (1887). Gramota Kievskogo mitropolita Misaila k pape Sikstu IV, 1476 goda. 1605 g. [The Letter of the Kiev Metropolitan Misail to Pope Sixtus IV, 1476. 1605]. In Arkhiv IugoZapadnoi Rossii, izdavaemyi komissieiu dlia razbora drevnikh aktov (Vol. 7, part 1, pp. 193–231). Kyiv. [In Russian].

10. Korzo, M. A. (2007). Ukrainskaia i belorusskaia katekhiticheskaia traditsiia kontsa XVI — XVIII vv.: stanovlenie, evoliutsiia i problema zaimstvovany [Ukrainian and Belarusian Catechetical Tradition of the Late XVI–XVIII Centuries: Formation, Evolution and the Problem of Borrowings]. Moscow : “Kanon+” ROOI “Reabilitatsiia”. [In Russian].

11. Koialovich, M. O. (1999). Istoriia vossoedineniia zapadnorusskikh uniatov starykh vremen [The History of the Reunification of the Western Russian Uniates of Old Times]. Minsk : Luchi Sofii. [In Russian].

12. Makary (Bulgakov), metropolitan. (1997). Istoriia Russkoi Tserkvi : v 9 t. [Russian Church History: in 9 volumes] (Book VI: Period samostoiatel’nosti Russkoi Tserkvi (1589–1881). Moscow : Izd-vo Spaso-Preobrazhenskogo Valaamskogo monastyria. [In Russian].

13. Malyshevsky, I. (1860). Neskol’ko zamechany po povodu krest’ianskikh pri tserkviakh shkol v Minskoi eparchy [A Few Remarks about Peasant Schools at Churches in the Minsk Diocese]. Trudy Kievskoi dukhovnoi akademii, book 1, 167–241. [In Russian].

14. Moroshkin, M., priest. (1867). Iezuity v Rossii, ot tsarstvovaniia Ekateriny ІІ-i i do nashego vremeni : v 2 ch. [The Jesuits in Russia, From the Reign of Catherine II to Our Time: in 2 parts] (Part 1: Obnimaiushchaia istoriiu iezuitov v tsarstvovanie Ekateriny Velikoi i Pavla I). Saint Petersburg : Tip. Vtorogo otdeleniia sobstvennoi ego imperatorskogo velichestva kantseliarii, 1867–1870. [In Russian].

15. Nazimov, I. V. (1885). Vladimir Ivanovich Nazimov: ocherk iz noveishei letopisi Severo-Zapadnoi Rossii [Vladimir Ivanovich Nazimov: an Essay from the Newest Chronicle of Northwestern Russia]. In Russkaia starina, (Vol. XLV, ianvar’-fevral’-mart, pp. 385–410, pp. 555–580, Vol. XLVI, aprel’-mai-iiun’, pp. 323–338). [In Russian].

16. Ob ustranenii vsiakikh prepiatstvii k obrashcheniiu Uniat k Pravoslavnoi Grecheskoi Tserkvi [On the Elimination of All Obstacles to the Conversion of the Uniate to the Orthodox Greek Church]. (1830). In Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi imperii. Sobranie 1 (Vol. 23, No 17199, pp. 509–511). Saint Petersburg : Pechatano v Tipografii II Otdeleniia Sobstvennoi Ego Imperatorskogo Velichestva Kantseliarii. [In Russian].

17. Opisanie dokumentov arkhiva zapadnorusskikh uniatskikh mitropolitov. 1701–1839. T. 2 [Description of the Documents of the Archive of the Western Russian Uniate Metropolitans. 1701–1839. Vol. 2]. (1807). Saint Petersburg : Sinodal’naia tipografiia. [In Russian].

18. Pirling, P. (1912). Rossiia i papsky prestol [Russia and the Papal Throne]. Moscow : Pechatnia A. L. Budo. [In Russian].

19. Raport Minskogo gubernatora Korneeva imp. Pavlu o Pravoslavii v Minskoi gubernii. 6 iiulia 1797 g. [The Report of the Minsk Governor Korneev to Imperor Paul about Orthodoxy in the Minsk Province. July 6, 1797]. (1869). In Russky arkhiv (Vol. 12, column 1559–1566). [In Russian].

20. Rusina, E. V. Poslanie Misaila 1476 g.: bytovanie, retseptsiia, informatsionnye resursy [Misail’s Epistle of 1476: Existence, Reception, Information Resources]. (2021). Issledovaniia po istorii Vostochnoi Evropy. Seriia “Studia Historica Europae Orientalis”, 14, 57–77. [In Russian].

21. Chebodko, P. Ia. (1910). Iz vospominanii belorusa Ia. A. Chebodko [From the Memoirs of the Belarusian Ya. A. Chebodko]. Kyev : Pechatnia Iv. Vasil’chenko. [In Russian].

22. Shevkun, P. V. (2019). Formirovanie natsional’noi identichnosti v Belarusi (XIX — nachalo XX v.) [Formation of National Identity in Belarus (XIX — early XX Century)]. In “Dolgy XIX vek” v istorii Belarusi i Vostochnoi Evropy: issledovaniia po Novoi i Noveishei istorii: sb. nauch. tr. (Vol. 3, pp. 176–192). Minsk : RIVSh. [In Russian].

23. Iankovsky, P., priest. (2004). Zapiski sel’skogo sviashchennika [Notes of a Village Priest]. Minsk : Sviato-Petro-Pavlovskii sobor. [In Russian].

24. Galadza, P., priest. (1997). Lіturgіchne pitannia і rozvitok bogosluzhen’ naperedodnі Beresteiskoі unіі azh do kіntsia XVII stolіttia [Liturgical Nutrition and the Development of Divine Services in Advance of the Beresteysky Union Right up to the End of the XVII Century]. In Beresteis’ka unіia ta vnutrіshne zhіttia Tserkvi v KhVII stolіttі: materіali Chetvertikh Beresteis’kikh chitan’, L’vіv, Luts’k, Kiіv, 2–6 zhovtnia 1995 r. (pp. 5–6). Lvіv : Іnstitut Іstorіі Tserkvi L’vіvs’koі Bogoslovs’koі Akademіі. [In Ukrainian].

25. Gramadska-palіtychnae zhytstse ў Belarusі, 1772–1917 gg. [SocioPolitical Life in Belarus]. (2019). Mіnsk : Belaruskaia navuka. [In Belorussian].

26. Іpaty Potei І, metropolitan. (1996). Oborona Florentіiskogo soboru vos’mogo proti fal’shіvogo (soboru), nedavno vidanogo vorogami z’edineniia — u Vil’ni — 1604 roku [The Defense of the Florence Cathedral of the Eighth against the False (Cathedral), Recently Seen by the Gates of Unification-in Wilni-1604]. In Analecta Ordinis S. Basilii Magni. Sectio II (Vol. XV, pp. 396–459). Rome. [In Ukrainian].

27. Marozava, S. V. (2001). Unіiatskaia tsarkva ў etnakul’turnym razvіtstsі Belarusі (1596–1839 gady) [The Uniate Church in the Ethnocultural Development of Belarus (1596–1839)]. Grodno : GrDU. [In Belorussian].

28. Poplatek, J. (1994). Alumnat papieski w Wilnie. Z dziejow szkolnictwa jezuickiego w Polsce [A Papal Graduate in Vilnius. From the History of Jesuit Education in Poland]. // In Wybor artykulów. Kraków : Wydawnictwo WAM — Księza Jezuici. [In Polish].