Father Yan Matusevich (, 24 July 1946 – 2 September 1998) was a bi-ritualist Belarusian Catholic priest, and the first dean of the modern

Belarusian Greek Catholic Church The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, or the Belarusian Byzantine Catholic Church, is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular churches that are in full communion with the Holy See. It is the heir within Belarus to the Union of ...

, "

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

revival n the late 20th century... in Belarus and especially in Minsk began with him".

Early years

Matusevich was born in the village of Komenka, Minsk Region,

Soviet Belarus The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

, into an

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 ...

family with

Uniate 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 ...

roots. After high school, he studied at the Belarusian State Theatre and Art Institute, in the directing department. In 1972, he entered into the Orthodox Seminary in

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

. From 1974 to 1979, Matusevich worked in Smolensk, and then in the village of Markovo, Maladziečna District, in the Minsk region. In 1979, Matusevich joined 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 ...

. For the next 11 years, he was rector of the Catholic parish in Barun.

Involvement in the revival of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church

In 1988, he became one of the first to preach in the

Belarusian language Belarusian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language. It is one of the two Languages of Belarus, official languages in Belarus, the other being Russian language, Russian. It is also spoken in parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Polan ...

, the practice which attracted a number of intellectuals and young people from all over Belarus on the wave of the national revival. On 12 November 1989, Barun commemorated Saint Josaphat, the event is considered the first action of the modern

Uniate Church 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 ...

in Minsk. Starting in 1990, he was the rector of the Greek-Catholic parish of Saint Joseph, in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. Matusevich consecrated a cross in

Kurapaty Kurapaty (, ) is a wooded area on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, where a vast number of people were executed between 1937 and 1941 during the Great Purge by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD and in particular, during the Soviet repressions i ...

, the site of mass executions of citizens by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

in the 1930s. In April 1989, he took part in the action of the Belarusian opposition, " Chernobyl Way". Matusevich was a board member of the Association of the Belarusian Language in Minsk, a board member and one of the founders of the Belarusian Bible Society and a pastor in the local Scout movement. Matusievich is regarded as someone who "brought up a whole cohort of Belarusian Uniate priests".

Death and resting place

Matusevich died in

, Belarus, on 2 September 1998. The funeral service was held in the

Church of Saints Simon and Helena The Church of Saints Simon and Helena (; ); ), also known as the Red Church (; ; ), is a Roman Catholic church on Independence Square, Minsk, Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus. This neo-Romanesque church was designed by Polish architects Tom ...

and he was buried in the local Calvary Cemetery.

Notable quotes

"If you do something with God, this work will advance, and if without God, this work will perish."

References

Other sources

*"Pamyatsі svyatara" / / Ave Maria. - Minsk: 2008. - number 10. - S. 27. *Aytsets Ian Matusevіch. adchuў I Boskae paklіkanne / / Tsarkva . - Berastse: 1998. - No. 2 (17). - pp. 8–9.

External links

Svjazep.org

Churchby.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matusevich, Yan Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Belarusian Eastern Catholic priests Former Belarusian Orthodox Christians 1946 births 1998 deaths