Eastern Orthodoxy in Poland

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. The church was established in 1924, to accommodate Orthodox Christians of Polish descent in the eastern part of the country, when Poland regained its independence after the First World War.

In total, it has approximately 500,000 adherents (2016).Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Mały Rocznik Statystyczny Polski 2016, Warszawa 2017, tab. 18(80), s. 115. In the Polish census of 2011, 156,000 citizens declared themselves as members.

History

Before 1945

The establishment of the church was undertaken after Poland regained independence as the Second Polish Republic following World War I in 1918. Following the Polish–Soviet War and the Treaty of Riga of 1921, Poland secured control of a sizeable portion of its former eastern territories previously lost in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland to the Russian Empire. Eastern Orthodoxy was widespread in the eastern provinces of interwar Poland. The loss of an ecclesiastical link, due to the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union, left the regional clergy in a crisis, and in 1924, the Ecumenical Patriarchate took over establishing several autonomous churches on territories of the new states that were formerly wholly or partially part of the Russian Empire (Finland, the Baltic states, and Poland). Earlier, in January 1922, the Polish government had issued an order recognizing the Orthodox church and placing it under the authority of the state. At that time a Ukrainian, Yurii Yaroshevsky, was appointed Metropolitan and exarch by the patriarch of Moscow. When Yaroshevsky began to reject the authority of Moscow Patriarchate, he was assassinated by a Russian monk.Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine
Polish Autocephalous Orthodox church
accessed 2 June 2020. Nonetheless, his successor, Dionizy (Waledyński), continued to work for the autocephaly of the Polish Orthodox church, which was finally granted by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in his Tomos of 13 November 1924. Most of the parishioners were Ukrainians and Belarusians living in the eastern areas of the newly independent Polish Second Republic. The Patriarch of Constantinople has the only canonical basis to grant the Tomos to new autocephalous churches. Moscow Patriarchate interpretes this otherwise though and considers itself being a successor of the Kyiv Metropolia, the former territory of Kyivan Rus' which Constantinople continued to see as its canonical territory (having agreed to allow Moscow to be its caretaker in 1686). The Russian Orthodox Church at the time did not recognise Constantinople's granting of Polish autocephaly. See History of Christianity in Ukraine#Territories gained by Pereyaslav Rada.

During the interwar period, however, the Polish authorities imposed severe restrictions on the church and its clergy. In the most famous example, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Warsaw was destroyed in the mid-1920s. In Volhynia a total of 190 Eastern Orthodox churches were destroyed and a further 150 converted to Roman Catholicism. Several court hearings against the Pochaiv Lavra also took place.

Since 1945

After the Second World War, the pre-war eastern territories of Poland were annexed by the Soviet Union and included within the Lithuanian SSR, Lithuanian, Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian and Ukrainian SSR, Ukrainian SSRs. The annexed territories contained up to 80% of the PAOC's parishes and congregation, which were united with the recently re-instated Moscow Patriarchate. The remaining parishes that were now on the territory of the Polish People's Republic were kept by the PAOC, including most of the mixed easternmost territories such as around Chełm and Białystok. In 1948, after the Soviet Union established political control over Poland, the Russian Orthodox Church recognised the autocephaly, autocephalous status of the Polish Orthodox Church.

Although most of the congregation is historically centered in the Eastern borderland regions with considerable Belarusian and Ukrainian minorities, there are now many parishes across the country, as a result of Operation Vistula and other diaspora movements. There are also some adherents in Brazil, resulting from the 1989 canonical union between the hierarchy headed by Metropolitan Gabriel of Lisbon, formerly under the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece, and the Polish Orthodox Church.Eparquia Ortodoxa do Brasil
/ref> The European bishops, however, have left the jurisdiction in 2000, which eventually resulted in senior Bishop Chrysostom (Muniz Freire), Chrysostom being raised to archepiscopal dignity. There are now parishes in the states of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco and Paraíba, plus a monastery in João Pessoa, Paraíba, João Pessoa.

In 2003, following the decision of the Holy Sobor of Bishops of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the New Martyrs of Chelm and Podlasie suffering persecution during the 1940s were canonized.

Primates of the Church

The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church was established in 1924. Traditionally the primate of the church has the title Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland.
* (Jerzy Jaroszewski) – Archbishop of Warsaw (1921–1923) (Predecessor for establishment of the structure of Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church)
*Dionizy (Waledyński), Metropolitan Dionizy (Dionizy Waledyński) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1923–1948)
* (Makary Oksijuk) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1951–1959)
* (Tymoteusz Szretter) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1961–1962)
* (Stefan Rudyk) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1965–1969)
* (Bazyli Doroszkiewicz) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1970–1998)
*Sawa (Hrycuniak), Metropolitan Sawa (Sawa Hrycuniak) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1998–present)

Administration

The church is headed by the Archbishop of Warsaw and Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan of All Poland: Sawa (Hrycuniak), Sawa (Michał) Hrycuniak (1998–). It is divided into the following dioceses:

Archdioceses and Archbishops

*Archdiocese of Warsaw and Bielsk Podlaski, Bielsk : Sawa (Hrycuniak)
*Archdiocese of Białystok and Gdańsk : Jakub (Kostiuczuk) (2008–)
*Archdiocese of Łódź and Poznań : Szymon (Romańczuk), Simon (Romańczuk) (1993–)
*Archdiocese of Wrocław and Szczecin : George (Pańkowski) (2017–)
*Archdiocese of Lublin and Chełm : Abel (Popławski) (2001–)
*Archdiocese of Przemyśl and Gorlice : Paisius (Martyniuk) (2016–)
*Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro and Olinda-Recife : Chrysostom (Muniz Freire), Chrysostom (Freire) (1992–)
*Diocese of Recife : Ambrose (Cubas) (1996–)

Titular Dioceses and Bishops

*Titular Diocese of Supraśl: Gregory (Charkiewicz) (2008–), Vicar Bishop for Białystok and Gdańsk Orthodox Diocese of Białystok and Gdańsk
Abp Jakub i Bp Grzegorz
/ref>
*Titular Diocese of Siemiatycze: George (Mariusz) Pańkowski (2007–), Ordinary for the Polish Orthodox Military Ordinariate and Vicar Bishop for Warsaw and Bielsk

Other entities

*Polish Orthodox Military Ordinariate

See also

*Eastern Orthodox Communion
*Supraśl Orthodox Monastery, Supraśl Lavra
*Union of Brest
*Warsaw Icon Museum

References

External links

Polish Orthodox Church
official site
Polish Orthodox Church Unofficial Site
(English)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Przemyśl-Nowy Sącz
(Polish)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Lublin-Chełm
(Polish)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Białystok-Gdańsk
(English)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Wrocław-Szczecin
(Polish)
Polish Orthodox Military Ordinariat
(Polish)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Brazil
(Portuguese)
Article by Ronald Roberson on the Polish Orthodox Church on CNEWA websiteorthodoxwiki:Church of Poland

{{Authority control

Polish Orthodox Church,
Eastern Orthodoxy in Poland
Eastern Orthodoxy in Europe
Members of the World Council of Churches
Christian organizations established in 1924
Christian denominations established in the 20th century
Eastern Orthodox organizations established in the 20th century
1924 establishments in Poland