Józef Abelewicz
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Józef Abelewicz (; 17 March 1821 – 3 July 1882) was a Lithuanian
Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...
. He was a professor 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
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 ...
.
Vaclovas Biržiška Vaclovas Biržiška (2 December 1884 – 3 January 1956) was a Lithuanian attorney, bibliographer, and educator. He was a member of a notable Lithuanian family; his great-grandfather Mykolas Biržiška was a representative in the Sejm of the Pol ...
includes the person in his book ": biographies, bibliographies and bio-bibliographies of old Lithuanian writers who wrote before 1865". As a writer, he wrote sermons and edited the writings of the Lithuanian bishop
Motiejus Valančius Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius (; , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century. Biograph ...
. He was praised by the Polish priest Czesław Falkowski for his exemplary knowledge of the
Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...
and for his stance against
Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...
.


Biography


Early life

He was born on March 17, 1821, in the
Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see #Name, other names) is a ski resort city in Lithuania, west of Utena, Lithuania, Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščia ...
parish,
Ukmergė County Ukmergė County (, ) was one of the subdivisions of the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the eastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Ukmergė. Demographics At the time of the Russian Empire Census o ...
to Vincentas Abelevičius (Wincenty Abelewicz) and Ona Rukšaitė-Abelevičienė (Anna z Bukszów, 1791–?). He was born into a peasant family, although he claimed to be of noble origin and was considered by others as such. Still, the Polish priest Czesław Falkowski and Lithuanian museum curator wrote that he was of noble origin. He had four siblings: brothers Florijonas Ignotas Abelevičius (1828–?), Konstantinas Juozapas Abelevičius (1834–?) and sisters Karolina Uršulė Ona Abelevičiūtė-Šidlauskienė (1823–?), Angelė Ona Abelevičiūtė-Bražinskienė (1826–?).


Education

In 1833–1838, he studied at the local school in Troškūnai, where he finished five classes. Then, in 1838–1842, he studied at the Vilnius Theological Seminary. Since 1842, he continued his studies at the Roman Catholic Spiritual Academy which was moved that year from
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 ...
to
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 ...
. According to the Lithuanian historian Vytautas Jogėla, he was one of two clerics admitted to the academy that year who were of peasant origin. He was one of the most talented students there. He graduated from it in 1846 with the degree of
Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...
. On April 6, 1846, Abelevičius was ordained a priest in Saint Petersburg. In 1846–47, he worked as a
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
of the
Svislach Svislach or Svisloch is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Svislach District. It is connected with the town Vawkavysk by a railroad branch and with Grodno city by a highway. As of 2025, it has a popula ...
Gymnasium.


Vilnius (1847–1853)

He was the procurator, lecturer and professor of dogmatics at the Vilnius Theological Seminary in 1847–53. He was also a prosecutor (economist). In 1850–53, in the very first years of the episcopate of
Motiejus Valančius Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius (; , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century. Biograph ...
as
Bishop of Samogitia A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
, he oversaw the printing of Lithuanian texts published in Vilnius, was their proofreader and corrected the language. In 1852, he was nominated as a
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
by the
Bishop of Vilnius Bishops of Vilnius diocese from 1388 and archdiocese (archdiocese of Vilnius) from 1925:" ...
Wacław Żyliński Wacław Żyliński (1 March 1803 – 5 May 1863) was a Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mohilev from 1856 to his death in 1863. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Vilnius from 1848 to 1856. Biography Żyliński ...
(Vaclovas Žilinskis) and appointed canon-coadjutor of the
Vilnius Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius, also known as Vilnius Cathedral is the main Catholic cathedral in Lithuania. It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off Cathedral Square. Dedicated to the Christian saints ...
Chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
.


Vawkavysk (1853–1870)

From 1853 he was dean and administrator of the
Vawkavysk Vawkavysk or Volkovysk is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vawkavysk District. It is located on the and rivers, roughly from the city of Grodno and from Minsk, the national capital. As o ...
parish. Then, in 1856–70, he became also Vawkawysk's parish priest. On 19 September 1867, he was fined 100
ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...
s by the governor of Grodno for allowing another priest Šarskis to offer
Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ ...
without the knowledge of the authorities.


Vilnius (1870–1882)

In 1870, he returned to Vilnius, until 1878 he was the inspector of the Vilnius Diocesan Seminary and professor of
homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be ...
. In 1872–78, he taught also the
Holy Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
and, since 1878,
ecclesiastical law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
. On July 30, 1878, he became the rector of the Vilnius Diocesan Seminary. This was because the previous priest Motiejus Harasimovičius (Maciej Harasimowicz) was removed by the
Imperial Russian government 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 ...
. Harasimovičius was dismissed from his position as rector in May 1878, due to the fact that for several days he had omitted the prayers for the
Emperor of Russia The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's ...
during Holy Mass in the Vilnius Cathedral. From 1878 until the end of his life on July 3, 1882, when he died of
apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...
, he was the rector of the Vilnius Priests' Seminary and at the same time he taught ecclesiastical law. In the
Polish Biographical Dictionary ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigner ...
, the Polish priest Czesław Falkowski claimed that he was of noble origin and wrote that:
In the then difficult positions of inspector and rector of the Theological Seminary, he was universally loved and appreciated as a true father of seminarians and a wise guide. He lectured clearly, precisely and in exemplary
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
. He contributed to the improvement of the Theological Seminary and maintaining the ecclesiastical and anti-
Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...
spirit during the gloomy period of Żyliński's rule.
He was awarded the Cross and Medal for the commemoration of the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
of 1853–1856.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abelewicz, Józef 1821 births 1882 deaths People from Anykščiai 19th-century Lithuanian Roman Catholic priests Polish Roman Catholic theologians