Stanislaw Czerniewicz, SJ (15 August 1728 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

– 7 July 1785) was a Lithuanian-Polish

Jesuit 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 ...

priest. He was Rector of the Jesuit College in Polotsk when the

Society of Jesus 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 ...

was suppressed in 1773; in 1782, he was elected vicar general for the Jesuits in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1782 and ''de facto'' Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

Early career

After his Jesuit training in Lithuania – philosophy (1747–50) and theology (1753–57) at Academy of Vilnius – Czerniewicz taught grammar and poetry in the Kražiai College (1750–53) before being called 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, ...

where he was secretary for the Polish Assistancy of the Society of Jesus (1759–68). There he got familiarised with the governance of the society. He returned to his country where he was made rector of the Jesuit College in Polotsk (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 ...

) in 1770.

After the suppression of the Society of Jesus

The brief of

Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV (; ; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in September 1774. At the time of his elec ...

suppressing the Society (July 1773) could not be promulgated in the Jesuit houses of 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 ...

, as the Czarina Catherina the II of Russia, a non-Catholic, strictly forbade it. She has no wish to see the Jesuits leaving their schools. There were at the time 201 Jesuits in the Russian Empire and they carried on their work as before. As rector of the largest community and school, Czerniewicz was a "reference of authority" in the group. Perplexed as to how to proceed, he sought in 1775, through indirect contacts, approval from

's successor of on the papal throne,

Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

. He rather cryptically, gave Czerniewicz to understand that he was not displeased with the situation. Czerniewicz then began receiving Jesuits from other countries in Europe (1776) and soon also received permission (1779) to open a

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

for new recruits in Polotsk.

Regional (Polish) Congregation I

As this was rather unofficial and he had no legal authority over the Jesuits, Czerniewicz requested the local bishop (in charge of religious affairs) and Catherine II permission to call a Regional Congregation to elect a vicar general of the society. This was granted. The Congregation met in 1782. On 17 October, Czerniewicz was elected vicar general with the full authority of a superior general. The opening of the novitiate and then the election of a vicar general created a diplomatic crisis between Russia and the Bourbon's courts in Europe, but Catherine defended "her Jesuits" with the silent approval of Pius VI.

The vicar general

Faithful to the Constitutions of Saint Ignatius, Czerniewicz quietly prepared the rebirth of the society, conducting a correspondence with many ex-Jesuits in a number of European countries and keeping them informed of Russian developments. His understanding of Russian mentality helped him also, as did the Society to find the right course through very difficult times. He died on 7 July 1785.

References

*S. Zalenski: ''Les jésuites de la Russie blanche'' (2 vol.), Paris, 1886. {{DEFAULTSORT:Czerniewicz, Stanislaw 1728 births 1785 deaths 18th-century Lithuanian Jesuits Vilnius University alumni Clergy from Kaunas