Fabian Ivanovich Abrantovich (Fabijan Abrantovič; zh, 龐懷德, , , ; September 14, 1884 – January 2, 1946) was a prominent religious and civic leader from

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Abrantovich was a significant figure in the struggle for the recognition of the

Belarusian language Belarusian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language. It is one of the two Languages of Belarus, official languages in Belarus, the other being Russian language, Russian. It is also spoken in parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Polan ...

by the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

, the revival of Catholicism within

Belarusian culture Belarusian culture is the product of a millennium of development under the impact of a number of diverse factors. These include the Geography of Belarus, physical environment; the ethnographic background of Belarusians (the merger of Slavic new ...

, and to the further revival of Belarusian nationalism.

Biography

Abrantovich was born in Vieraskava, in the Novogrudsky Uyezd of

Minsk Governorate Minsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Minsk. It was created from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland and existed from 1793 until 1921. Its territory covered th ...

(present-day Navahrudak District,

). He first studied there and then in

Saint-Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

at the Roman Catholic seminary and the Imperial Theological academy. He graduated with the degree of Master of Theology and was ordained to the priesthood on November 9, 1908. As one of the best students at the academy, Abrantovich received scholarship for study at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, where he received Ph.D. in 1912. Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Abrantovich was a faculty member at the Catholic Ecclesiastical Academy in St. Petersburg. There he became very active in the Belarusian movement. He organized several groups of students and initiated numerous

publications. Abrantovich was the founder of the Belarusian Christian Movement and was the head of the first Belarusian Christian Union (Chryścijanskaja Demakratyčnaja Złučnaść) which was established in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

(ex St. Petersburg) in May 1917. He was one of the Belarusian Roman Catholic priests who initiated the organization of the Belarusian political conference in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

in March 1917 and the conference of the Belarusian Roman Catholic Clergy, May 24–25, 1917. When a Roman Catholic Seminary finally opened in Minsk during the fall of 1918, Abrantovich was appointed rector of this institution. His time was divided between pastoral obligations, teaching, and Belarusian activities in Minsk. Father Abrantovich was convinced that the

Catholic Church in Belarus The Catholic Church in Belarus is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The first Latin Church diocese in Belarus was established in Turaŭ between 1008 and 1013. In the subsequent centuries, ...

should embrace

and the

language revival Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community group ...

rather than continue to be a tool of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

and

Polonization Polonization or Polonisation ()In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэяй. Польскі ...

. After the partition of Belarus between the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1921, Abrantovich moved to Polish-ruled

West Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus (; ; ) is a historical region of modern-day Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period. For twenty years before the 1939 invasion of Poland, it was the northern part of th ...

: first to the city of

Pinsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of t ...

, and in 1926 to the town of Druja where the

Congregation of Marian Fathers The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary () is a Catholic male clerical religious congregation founded, 1670, in Poland. It is also known as Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Its members ...

had opened a ''Gymnasium'' and also settled in 1923. However, his political activities did not stop there: he vigorously protested the Concordat between the

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 ...

and the Polish government and supported numerous Belarusian cultural and political programs. At the request of the Polish-speaking Hierarchy of the

, Abrantovich was removed from Druja and reassigned to missionary work among anti-communist Russian political refugees in

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

. Abrantovich transferred to the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

and was promoted to Apostolic Exarch of Harbin for the

Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a ''sui juris, sui iuris'' (self-governing) Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church that is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Hi ...

. In 1939 he was in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to elect a new Superior, and decided afterwards to visit his colleagues in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(Belarus and Galicia), but in September the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

invaded the East part of Poland, and the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

invaded the West part. Father Abrantovich was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

in October during an attempt to flee toward German-occupied Poland. He was imprisoned in

Lwow Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and tortured. Later on he was transferred to the

Butyrka prison Butyrskaya prison (), usually known simply as Butyrka ( rus, Бутырка, p=bʊˈtɨrkə), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia it served as the central transit prison. During the Soviet Uni ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Death and legacy

The place and the date of his death are not established with 100% certainty, although it is thought that he died from torture in the

on January 2, 1946. In 2003, the Causes for

Beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

of six Soviet-era martyrs and confessors of the

: Fabijan Abrantovich, Anna Abrikosova, Igor Akulov,

Potapy Emelianov Potapy Emelianov Потапий Емельянов (c. 1889, Ufa Governorate, Russian Empire – 14 August 1936, Nadvoitsy, Segezhsky District, Karelian ASSR, USSR) was a Russian clergyman and Eastern Catholic martyr under Stalinism. Pyotr Emel ...

Halina Jętkiewicz Halina is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Halina Aszkiełowicz (1947–2018), Polish former volleyball player and 1968 Olympic medallist * Halina Balon (born 1948), Polish fencer * Halina Biegun (born 1955), Polish luger who ...

, and Andrzej Cikoto, were submitted to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

by the Bishops of the

Catholic Church in Russia The Catholic Church in Russia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. According to the 2016 Annuario Pontificio, there are approximately 773,000 Catholics in Russia, which is 0.5% of the t ...

.News from the Catholic Newmartyrs of Russia Program
(June 16th, 2002). His current title is

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

Biography

Death and legacy

References

See also