Alexander Antonovich Nadson (; 8 August 1926 – 15 April 2015) was the

Apostolic Visitor In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor (or ''Apostolic Visitator''; Italian: Visitatore apostolico) is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is deputed ...

for Belarusian Greek-Catholic faithful abroad, scholar, translator and a notable

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 ...

ian émigré social and religious leader.

Early life

Fr Nadson was born Alyaksandar Bochka () in the village of Haradzyeya near

Nyasvizh Nyasvizh or Nesvizh is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Nyasvizh District. Nyasvizh is the site of Nesvizh Castle, a World Heritage Site. In 2009, its population was 14,300. As of 2025, it has a populati ...

, in 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 ...

(now in Minsk Region, Belarus) into a middle-class family. His father Anton had served as an officer in the army of the Russian tsar in

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 ...

, and had participated in the 1920 anti-Bolsheviks

Slutsk Uprising The Slutsk uprising () or the Slutsk defence () was an unsuccessful armed attempt to establish an independent Belarus. It took place in late 1920, near the end of the Polish-Soviet War, in the region of the town of Slutsk. It involved a series of ...

. Nadson studied at the Teacher Training College in Nyasvizh seminary. In 1944, he emigrated from Belarus, and in 1945 was a soldier in the 2nd Polish Corps fighting in Italy, where he was wounded. In 1946, along with the

Anders army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understand ...

he moved to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

where he studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Nadson was one of the founders of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain and its chairman from 1951 to 1953. He was editor of the periodicals ''Biełarus na čužynie'' and ''Na šlachu'', and took part in the activities of the Belarusian Christian academic society ''Ruń'' and the ''Belarusian People's Independent Christian Movement''.Памёр духоўны лідар беларускай эміграцыі, айцец Аляксандр Надсан
Nasha Niva 16.04.2015

Later life

From autumn 1953, he studied at the Pontifical Greek College 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, ...

. He was ordained priest of the Eastern Rite on 23 November 1958. Nadson "had been guided on to this cclesiasticalpath by (later Bishop) Ceslaus Sipovich, who himself had been sent by the Vatican to establish a Belarusian Catholic Mission in the UK". In July 1959, Nadson returned to

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 ...

, where he resumed his activities in organizations of the Belarusian diaspora. It was at this time that the "Belarusian village" in

North Finchley North Finchley is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Barnet, situated northwest of Charing Cross. North Finchley is centred on Tally Ho Corner, the junction of the roads to East Finchley, Church End, Friern Barnet and Whetstone. ...

, London was beginning to expand. A property was acquired to house a boarding school for the sons of Belarusian immigrants in Western Europe; he was appointed headmaster in 1961. From 1971 Nadson was the director of the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London, the largest Belarusian library abroad. Nadson "developed the institution to the point where it could justifiably be regarded as the foremost collection in the world, outside Belarus itself, of books (including many rare publications), maps, journals and artefacts relevant for the study of the complex area east of Poland once known as the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

" with "a world-wide reputation" which "attract dscholars from a wide range of countries". The library also provided Nadson with many opportunities for research. He gave several lectures to the Anglo-Belarusian Society. He published pioneering articles in the Society's

Journal of Belarusian Studies The ''Journal of Belarusian Studies'' (formerly the ''Journal of Byelorussian Studies'') is an English language academic journal in the field of Belarusian studies. It was described as “one of the longest lasting Belarusian publishing projects ...

on such topics as the life and writings of the early Belarusian Saint Cyril of Turau and a manuscript tefsir (a commentary on the Qur’an) that he had acquired for the library, written in Arabic script by Muslim Tatars living in Belarus who had retained their religion but used Belarusian as their everyday language. He was also a long time editor of the Journal. The high regard in which his scholarship was held was shown by the award in 2008 of an honorary doctorate of the

European Humanities University European Humanities University ( (ЕГУ/EHU), (EHU), (ЕГУ/EGU)) is a private, non-profit liberal arts university founded in Minsk, Belarus, in 1992. Following its forced closure by the Belarusian authorities in 2004, EHU relocated to Viln ...

based 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 ...

. Nadson was also very active in translating liturgical texts into Belarusian. From 1981, he was head of the Belarusian Catholic mission in Great Britain, and from 1986, Apostolic Visitor to all Belarusian

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

faithful abroad. He actively supported the recreation of the

Greek Catholic Church Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

in Belarus that had been suppressed in that country since the 1830s. He was the author of several books on the history of Belarus and the head of a

Chernobyl Chernobyl, officially called Chornobyl, is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, to the north of Kyiv and to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. ...

charity fund aimed at alleviating the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.

Death

Nadson died in

on 15 April 2015, aged 88, and is buried in

St Pancras and Islington Cemetery St Pancras and Islington Cemetery is a cemetery in East Finchley, North London. Although it is situated in the London Borough of Barnet, it is run as two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, London Borough of Camden, Camden (formerl ...

in East Finchley, North London.

References

External links

Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London

Fr. Nadson - Ceslaus Sipovich: The first Belarusian Catholic Bishop in the 20th Century (1914–1981)

Fr. Nadson - Princess Magdalena Radzivill and the Greek Catholic Church in Belarus

Fr. Nadson - Spiritual Writings of St Cyril of Turau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadson, Alexander 1926 births 2015 deaths People from Nyasvizh district People from Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–1939) Belarusian Eastern Catholic priests 20th-century Belarusian historians Belarusian Home Defence personnel Polish military personnel of World War II Belarusian emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom British Eastern Catholics British religious leaders British historians Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery Eastern Catholic bishops in the United Kingdom Belarusian male non-fiction writers