Anton Anastas Sielava (, , ) (1583 – 5 October 1655) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the

Ruthenian Uniate Church The Ruthenian Uniate Church (; ; ; ) was a Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church of the Catholic Church in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was created in 1595/1596 by those clergy of the Ea ...

— a ''

sui juris ''Sui iuris'' (), also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both the Catholic Church's canon law and secular law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Canon ...

Eastern Catholic Church The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

with 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 ...

. He reigned from 1641 until his death in 1655.

Life

Anastas Sielava was born on about 1583 in the

Polotsk Voivodeship Polotsk or Połock Voivodeship (; ; , ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) since the 15th century until the partitions of Poland in 1793. History The voi ...

from a family of Cossack origin and belonging to the Orthodox religion. In 1612 he entered in the

Order of Saint Basil the Great The Order of Saint Basil the Great (; , abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is a Greek Catholic monastic order of pontifical right that works actively among Ukrainian Catholics and other Greek-Catholic churc ...

, in the monastery of the Holy Trinity 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 ...

, taking the religious name of Anton (Antony). He lived for some time in the same cell with Saint Josaphat Kuntsevich and he was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1617. He studied in the Greek College in Rome from 1617 to September 1619. On 12 November 1623 the bishop of

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

, Josaphat Kuntsevich (later declared a

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

), was killed by an Orthodox mob. After him, Anton Sielava was appointed to the See of Polotsk. He was consecrated a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in early 1624 by Metropolitan Joseph Velamin-Rutski and enthroned on 14 February 1624. To Metropolitan Joseph Rutski succeeded Metropolitan

Rafajil Korsak Rafajil Nikolai Korsak (, , ) (c. 1599 – 28 August 1640) was the " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church — a ''sui juris'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. He reigned fr ...

, who, when in 1639 left

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 ...

to go to

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, ...

for Visit ad Limina, appointed Sielava as

Vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in " deputy"), used as part of th ...

for the Church. Rafajil Korsak died in Rome in August 1640 and, according to his last will,

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

confirmed Sielava as new Metropolitan after the usual process of eligibility. Anton Sielava was so formally appointed Metropolitan of Kiev on 18 March 1641. His patriarchate was initially marked by the

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 ...

, on 16 May 1643, of Josaphat Kuntsevich. As with his predecessor, he continued to negotiate with the prelates of the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia who remained loyal to the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

. In particular, he engaged with Metropolitan

Peter Mogila Petro Mohyla or Peter Mogila (21 December 1596 – ) was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1633 to 1646. Family Petro Mohyla was born into the ...

, seeking a way to unify the Church in Ukraine. However, he was not a person of the stamp of his predecessors; after Mogila's death in 1646, the discussions ended without results. Sielava left much part of the administration of the Church to others, and he was of a sickly disposition and quite

hypochondriac Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. Hypochondria is an old concept whose meaning has repeatedly changed over its lifespan. It has been claimed that th ...

, and in the last part of his life he was seriously ill and blind. Since 1648, the political situation in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

underwent years of crisis due to the

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...

, a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

rebellion in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

fiercely anti-Catholic, followed by the Russo-Polish War (1654-1667) and

Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

. The Greek-Catholic Church was seriously threatened, many churches, monasteries and schools were destroyed, and priests and monks killed. Sielava had to leave Polotsk and died on 5 October 1655, when already (since 1653) the Greek-Catholic Church was in the resolute hands of Gabriel Kolenda.

Works

Anton Sielava was also a writer and a

polemist Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

. Among his works we have his "''Antelenchus''", against the "''Elenchum''" of Meletius Smotrytski, and his "''Vitam Servi Dei Josaphat, Archiepiscopi Polocensis''" (Life of the Servant of God Josaphat, bishop of Polotsk) edited in 1624.

Notes

References

External links

Antonii Atanasii Seliava
at

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sielava, Anton 1583 births 1655 deaths People from Polotsk Voivodeship Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Ukrainian Orthodox Christians Ukrainian Eastern Catholics Order of Saint Basil the Great Metropolitans of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia (Holy See) Archbishops of Polotsk (Ruthenian Uniate Church) Ruthenian people People with hypochondriasis Leaders of the Ruthenian Uniate Church