Viktor Pavlovich Novikov (, 1905 – 14 May 1979) was a Russian Jesuit and Catholic bishop who was designated to serve as the vice-

exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

of the

Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a ''sui juris, sui iuris'' (self-governing) Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church that is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Hi ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Biography

Novikov was born in 1905 in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

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 ...

. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, the

Catholic Church 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 ...

established centers in eastern

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 ...

for the purpose of bringing Russian emigres 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 ...

, and these were often run by " Russian rite" priests of 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 ...

. In 1934 Novikov was ordained as a Jesuit priest and was officially a member of the

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n province of the Society of Jesus. As of 1939 he was working at a Catholic seminary in

Dubno Dubno (, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the capital city, administrative center of Dubno Raion ...

, Poland. Sometime before the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

in June 1941 Novikov had been consecrated as a bishop. After the start of

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 ...

he was sent as a Catholic missionary into 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 ...

, though there is some uncertainty around the exact details. Novikov's own account states that he was made "

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

" by

Andrey Sheptytsky Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; ; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Galicia and Archbishop of Lviv from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure in office spanned two world wars and six political r ...

, the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a major archiepiscopal '' sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. ...

Archbishop of Lviv The Latin Church Archdiocese of Lviv was erected on August 28, 1412 in the city of Lwów (today Lviv). It serves as a metropolitan see of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. The principal patron of the Archdiocese is the Blessed Virgin Mary Mo ...

who had been given authority by 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 ...

to look after the

due to its difficult situation. Pavel Parfentyev wrote that this is inaccurate, and that

Klymentiy Sheptytsky Klymentiy Sheptytsky (, ; 17 November 1869 – 1 May 1951) also known as Klymentiy of Univ () was the archimandrite of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Order of Studite Monks and a hieromartyr. He was also the Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarch ...

, who was appointed by Andrey Sheptytsky as Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarch of Great Russia and Siberia in 1939, had given Novikov the subordinate role of Vice-Exarch of Siberia. At some point after arriving in the Soviet Union, Novikov was arrested by the government and sent to a prison camp. In 1950, while they were both in a Soviet camp, Novikov ordained

Pavlo Vasylyk Pavlo Vasylyk (; 8 August 1926 – 12 December 2004) was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch. He was clandestine bishop from 1974 to 1991, an auxiliary bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk from 1991 to 1993 and the first ep ...

as a deacon. Otherwise, he did not have much opportunity to do his work as the vice-exarch of Siberia, though he wrote that relations among the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Eastern Catholic 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 ...

, and

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

clergy in the camp were good. When he was released from the camp in 1954, Novikov was sent to

Belebey Belebey (; , ''Bäläbäy'') is a town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located on the bank of the Usen River, from Ufa. Population: History Belebey was established in 1715 and granted town status in 1781. Between 1865 and 1919 it ...

in the

Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, also historically known as Soviet Bashkiria or simply Bashkiria, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR. ...

, where he became a

Latin language Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

teacher at a medical school. He died in Belebey on 14 May 1979. His autobiography, which he wrote in Latin, is kept at the

Collegium Russicum The Collegium Russicum (; ; ') is a Catholic college in Rome, originally founded by Pope Pius XI and dedicated to training priests for the newly organized Russian Greek Catholic Church. It is located near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, se ...

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, ...

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Novikov, Viktor 1905 births 1979 deaths White Russian emigrants to Poland Russian Greek-Catholics Jesuit bishops Jesuits from the Russian Empire Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union Bishops of the Russian Greek Catholic Church