The Jesuit College in Polotsk () was a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

established by the

Jesuit Order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

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 ...

, then part of 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, ...

and later occupied by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, and now in

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 ...

. It was established in 1580 and continued to function until 1820 when Jesuits were banished from the Russian Empire.

History

Polish King

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

captured Polotsk in 1579 during the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

and invited

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

to the city in hopes to lessen the influence of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. The Jesuits established a college (equivalent to a secondary school), modeled after the Jesuit Academy in Vilnius, in 1580. Its first rector was Piotr Skarga. A faculty of philosophy was added in 1649 and a faculty of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in 1737. After the first partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772, Polotsk became part of the

. That saved the college from the

suppression of the Jesuits Suppression may refer to: Laws * Suppression of Communism Act *Suppression order a type of censorship where a court rules that certain information cannot be published * Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand aimed ...

as Russian Empress

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

did not follow papal decrees. After lobbying by

Joseph de Maistre Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, diplomat, and magistrate. One of the forefathers of conservatism, Maistre advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immedi ...

, the college was elevated to an academy (equivalent to a university) in 1812 by Tsar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

only to be closed eight years later when Alexander I banished the Jesuits from the Russian Empire and closed their schools. Academy's library, which held up to 60,000 volumes, was dispersed among various institutions in Eastern Europe. The Polotsk State University and the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Warsaw, established in 1998, both claim historical heritage of the Polotsk College. In 2005, former buildings of the college were partially reconstructed and transferred to the Polotsk State University.Учреждение образования «Полоцкий государственный университет»

Notable faculty

* Very Rev. Franciszek Kareu * Gabriel Gruber * Stanislaus Czerniewicz * Gabriel Lenkiewicz * Adam Krupski

Notable alumni

* Stanisław Czerski, priest, graphic artist, translator * Giovanni Antonio Grassi, academic administrator and president of Georgetown College * Jan Roothaan, Jesuit Superior General * Maksymilian Stanisław Ryłło, missionary * Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, artist * Walenty Wańkowicz, painter

References

{{Coord, 55, 29, 10, N, 28, 45, 51, E, region:BY_type:edu, display=title 1580 establishments 1580 establishments in Europe 1820 disestablishments

* * Universities and colleges in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polotsk Defunct schools in Poland Education in Belarus Educational organizations based in Belarus Former universities and colleges of Jesuits

History

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

See also

References