The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (), commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church of Poland, is one of the autocephalous

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

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 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 ...

. 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

Early period of Russian Orthodoxy: 1793–1905

Following the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

and the annexation of Polish territory 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 ...

, the administration of Eastern Orthodox communities was carried out by the vicar bishop of Pereyaslav and Boryspil of the Kyiv Eparchy with residence in

Slutsk Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450. Geography ...

. The Eastern Orthodox population on the territory of modern Poland was very scarce at that time. In 1825 the administration was transferred to the bishop of Minsk and in 1827 – the bishop of Volhynia. In 1834 the post of vicar bishop of Warsaw of the Volhynian eparchy was established.ВАРШАВСКОЕ ВИКАРИАТСТВО
www.pravenc.ru (Russian Orthodox Encyclopedia) Establishment of the post was partially due to the 1830–31 Polish uprising (so called

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

). The idea to create the post came from the Namiestnik of Poland and Serence Prince of Warsaw Ivan Paskevich. By 1834 in Vistula Land, there were at least 6 parochial Orthodox temples and the Saint Onuphrius Monastery in Jabłeczna. The first bishop was Antoni (Rafalski) who was an archimandrite of the Pochaiv Lavra. The new vicar bishop was not only subordinated to the Volhynian eparchy, but also directly to the ober-procurator of the Holy Synod. Starting since 1783, on territories that were annexed in 1793, there were established Minsk Eparchy, Bratslav Eparchy, and Izyaslav Eparchy. In 1839 there was established the eparchy of Wilno and Lithuania following the 1839 Synod of Polotsk which liquidated Uniate Church on territory of the Imperial Russia. In 1840, the former Warsaw vicariate was transformed into a separate eparchy of Warsaw covering the whole Congress of Poland.ВАРШАВСКАЯ ЕПАРХИЯ
www.pravenc.ru (Russian Orthodox Encyclopedia) Following the 1875 conversion of Chełm Eparchy ( Eparchy of Chełm–Belz) of 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 ...

, the Eparchy of Warsaw was renamed as Eparchy of Warsaw and Chełm, while Marcel Popiel who played a key role in the process was ordained as a vicar bishop of the merged diocese.

Transitional period: 1905–1924

Following the 1905 revolution in the Imperial Russia, Tsar issued the manifest "On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance" which gave start to revival of Catholicism. Several parishes en masse were switching back to the Uniate Church. With start of the

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 ...

, in 1915 the Russian Church in Poland was evacuated along with the Russian administration. On territory of what it was "Warsaw Eparchy" remained about 10 priests. The last archbishop of Warsaw Nicholas (Ziorov) died soon after evacuation and during the remaining time of

, the diocese was vacant. Following the 1917–18 Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow finally appointed a new bishop to the eparchy of Warsaw who was Seraphim (Chichagov). Seraphim (Chichagov) was never able to actually arrive to his appointed diocese due to unstable situation. To fix that in September 1921, the Archbishop of Minsk George (Yaroshevsky) was appointed as Patriarchal Exarch in Poland.

First period of the autocephalous church: 1924–1939

Warsaw metropolitan orthodox church st Maria Magdalena

The church was established in 1924 after Poland regained independence, as 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 ...

, following

in 1918. After the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

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 The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

to the

. 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 The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, left the regional clergy in a crisis, and in 1924 the

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

took over, establishing several autonomous churches on territories of the new states that were formerly wholly or partially part of the Russian Empire:

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, and Poland. In 1922 a conflict ensued due intervention of the

that approved appointment of bishops in Poland without agreement from Metropolitan of Warsaw George (Yaroshevsky).ЕЛЕВФЕРИЙ
www.pravenc.ru (Russian Orthodox Encyclopedia). The conflict was led by the Bishop of Wilno and Lida Eleftherios. Several diocesan bishops along with Eleftherios of Wilno including Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky), Vladimir (Tikhonitsky) and others took stance against seeking autocephalous status for the Orthodox Church in Poland. Most of them were expelled from Poland. Bishops Eleftherios and Vladimir were also against ordination of Alexander (Inozemtsev) who was ordained as a vicar bishop of Lublin by George (Yaroshevsky) and Dionizy (Waledyński) on 4 June 1922. 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, George (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 . During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, 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 Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

a total of 190 Eastern Orthodox churches were destroyed and a further 150 converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Several court hearings against the Pochaiv Lavra also took place.

World War II: 1939–1944

Following the start of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on 1 September 1939 and the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

on 17 September 1939, Poland was divided between the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and the

. For support of resistance against the Nazi Germany, the Metropolitan Dionisius was arrested, while the Church territories (dioceses) were mostly taken over by the

Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

and the rest were transferred under temporary administration by the Metropolitan of Berlin Seraphim (Lade) of the ROCOR, who also was assisted by Vasily (Pavlovsky). At the end of 1940, Metropolitan Dionisius signed a loyalty declaration for the General Governor of Poland Hans Frank and was released from his arrest. On 30 September 1940 the Bishop Council of the Polish Orthodox Church led by Metropolitan Dionisius reformed the Church considering the new realities and constituted new dioceses which were 3: Diocese of Warschau and Radom, Diocese of Cholm and Podlachia, Diocese of Krakau and Lemkos. On territories that became part of the

Reichskommissariat Ukraine The ''Reichskommissariat Ukraine'' (RKU; ) was an administrative entity of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944. It served as the German civilian occupation regime in the Ukrainian SSR, and ...

, there was established separate "Orthodox Autocephalous Church on liberated territory of Ukraine" under auspices of the Polish Orthodox Church led by Polycarp (Sikorsky), a vicar bishop of Lutsk. Along with Alexander (Inozemtsev), Polycarp (Sikorsky) started to develop what later would be known as the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Another member of the Polish Orthodox Church clergy, Archbishop Alexiy (Hromadsky) in Pochaiv Lavra created in August 1941 an opposition organization, loyal to the

, known as Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church.

Since 1945

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the pre-war eastern territories of Poland were annexed by the

and included within the Lithuanian, Byelorussian and Ukrainian SSRs. The annexed territories contained up to 80% of the PAOC's parishes and congregation, which were united with the recently re-instated

. The remaining parishes that were now on the territory of the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

were kept by the PAOC, including most of the mixed easternmost territories such as around

Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...

and

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

. In 1948, after the Soviet Union established political control over Poland, the Russian Orthodox Church recognised the

autocephalous Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

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 Operation Vistula (; ) was the codename for the 1947 forced resettlement of close to 150,000 Ukrainians in Poland, Ukrainians (including Rusyns, Boykos, and Lemkos) from the southeastern provinces of People's Republic of Poland, postwar Poland to ...

and other diaspora movements. There are also some adherents in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, resulting from the 1989 canonical union between the hierarchy headed by Metropolitan Gabriel of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, 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 John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and po ...

being raised to archepiscopal dignity. There are now parishes in the states of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

and

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

, plus a mission in

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

and a monastery in 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. * Metropolitan George (Grzegorz Jaroszewski) – Metropolitan of Warsaw (1921–1923), Russian Patriarchal Exarch in Poland (Predecessor for establishment of the structure of Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church) * Metropolitan Dionysius (Konstanty Waledyński) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1923–1948) ** locum tenens Timothy (Szretter) (1948–1951) * Metropolitan Macarius (Michał Oksijuk) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1951–1959) * Metropolitan Timotheus (Jerzy Szretter) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1961–1962) ** locum tenens George (Korenistov) (1962–1965) * Metropolitan Stefan – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1965–1969) ** locum tenens George (Korenistov) (1969–1970) * (Włodzimierz Doroszkiewicz) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1970–1998) * Metropolitan Sabbas (Michał Hrycuniak) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1998–present)

Administration

The church is headed by the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and Metropolitan of All

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

: Sawa (Michał) Hrycuniak (1998–). It is divided into the following dioceses:

Archdioceses and archbishops

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

and Bielsk: Sawa (Hrycuniak) *

and

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

: Jakub (Kostiuczuk) (2008–) *

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

and

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

: Atanazy (Nos) (2017–) *

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

and

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

: George (Pańkowski) (2017–) *

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

and

: Abel (Popławski) (2001–) *

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

and

Gorlice Gorlice () is a town and an urban municipality ("gmina") in south-eastern Poland with around 29,500 inhabitants (2008). It is situated south east of Kraków and south of Tarnów between Jasło and Nowy Sącz in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (sinc ...

: Paisius (Martyniuk) (2016–) *

and

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

: Chrysostom (Freire) (1992–) *

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

: Ambrose (Cubas) (1996–)

Titular dioceses and bishops

*Titular

Supraśl Supraśl (; ; ) is a town and former episcopal see in Białystok County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Supraśl. It is situated on the Supraśl (river), Supraśl River, about northeast of Białyst ...

: Gregory (Charkiewicz) (2008–), Vicar Bishop for Białystok and Gdańsk *Titular

Siemiatycze Siemiatycze ( ''Siamiatyčy'') is a town in eastern Poland, with 14,391 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Siemiatycze County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. History The history of Siemiatycze dates back to the mid-16th century, when the vil ...

: George (Mariusz) Pańkowski (2007–), Ordinary for the Polish Orthodox Military Ordinariate and Vicar Bishop for Warsaw and Bielsk

Other entities

*Polish Orthodox Military Ordinariate

Original dioceses

''Dioceses and bishops upon the issue of the tomos in 1924'' * Diocese of

and

(ruling): Dionizy (Waledyński) ** vicar of Lublin: Alexander (Inozemtsev) * Diocese of Wołyń: Dionizy (Waledyński) * Diocese of

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

and Nowogródek: Aleksiy (Hromadsky) * Diocese of

Pinsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of t ...

and Polesie * Diocese of Wilna and

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

: Theodosius (Feodosiev)Феодосий (Феодосиев)
www.ortho-rus.ru (Russian Orthodoxy, archived). :Following the

, most of dioceses except for Warsaw were annexed by the

as so called Western Exarchate centered in Lutsk. Dionizy (Waledyński) was arrested by the Nazi authorities and was placed under arrest. The rest of territories were given to administration of Seraphim (Lade) of the ROCOR, who also was assisted by Vasily (Pavlovsky).ДИОНИСИЙ
www.pravenc.ru (Russian Orthodox Encyclopedia).

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 website
{{Authority control 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