Grodno Diocese: Orthodox and Catholic

To date, there is an Orthodox and Catholic Grodno diocese. They are in the city of Grodno in Belarus. Each of them has its own history of formation and formation. Today Catholics and Orthodox live together pretty peacefully, but there were other times. About all this you can learn from the material below.

Education of the Catholic Diocese

The modern Grodno Catholic eparchy has its roots in the distant past, at the time of the Lithuanian prince Jagiello. It is with him that the spread of Catholicism in Belarus begins. The Brest Union of 1596 contributed to an increase in the number of believers. Of course, things did not go so easily and smoothly, but by 1791 the number of Catholics had increased. This was further promoted by the Jesuit-based schools, which gave quite good education at the time.

Whatever it was, but in 1773 the first Catholic diocese was created in Byelorussia. During its existence, it was often renamed, divided. So it was until the time when the Soviet Union appeared. During this period, as is known from historical reports, any religion was forbidden, it was fought in all possible ways.

Only in 1991 the Grodno diocese took the form that we know now. It was singled out from the Minsk-Mogilev diocese.

Diocese today

To date, the deans and parishes of the Grodno diocese are quite numerous. It is believed that the number of parishioners is the largest among the Catholics in Belarus. The following deans are in the diocese:

• Oshmyansky;
• Ostrovetsky;
• Berestovitsky;
• Vaukavysk;
• Western and Eastern Grodno;
• Dyatlovsky;
• Lida;
• Ivy;
• Mostovsky;
• Radunsky;
• Novogrudok;
• Sopotkinsky;
• Slonimsky;
• Smorgon;
• Shchuchinsky.

Also the Grodno diocese in its board has the Catechism Institute in the city of Grodno and the seminary, which is located there. In each of the aforementioned deans there are at least six or eight parishes.

Education of the Orthodox Diocese

In addition to the Catholic diocese, there is an Orthodox church in the city of Grodno. It was formed in 1900 on January 23rd. The Grodno Orthodox Diocese was singled out from Vilnius and Lithuania. It was under their command that it was until 1900.

If we talk about the history of the emergence of Orthodoxy in this place, the chronicles tell us that in the twelfth century stone temples appeared here. The most ancient, which have survived to this day, are the Upper and Lower Churches.

Initially, this place belonged to the Kyiv Metropolis, and in the fourteenth century passed under the rule of the Lithuanian-Novogrudok Metropolis. Its center was in Novogrudok. The Brest Union revoked some Orthodox plots, and after its adoption this department of the metropolia became a Uniate. This went on until the eighteenth century, when Rech Pospolita experienced several sections. Orthodoxy began to gradually return to these places.

The first bells were the request of the Orthodox to restore the church and re-consecration of him to St. Sophia Cathedral. This happened in 1804. Then, in 1843, a women's monastery was built in Grodno. During this period, the diocese had in its government churches, monasteries, church schools.

Already in 1923, a part of this diocese moved to the Polish Orthodox Church. This was the beginning of the loss of the controlled churches. Some of them were given to Catholics, and some were simply closed. This period was marked by the opacity of Orthodoxy: the service was read in Polish.

The history of the diocese until 1992 is rather chaotic. It several times passed from one submission to another, only in the early nineties of the last century it began to recover.

Diocese today

To date, it is the Volkovysk and Grodno diocese of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. On its territory it is quite extensive and includes the entire western part of the Grodno region. These are the following areas:

• Grodno;
• Berestovitsky;
• Vaukavysk;
• Zelvensky;
• Mostovsky;
• Svislochsky;
• Shchuchinsky;
• Voronovsky (part).

Also, the diocese includes a nunnery, which was built in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Malomogeikovskaya church (consecrated in the same honor).

Conclusion

So, there is a short information about when and how the Grodno Diocese was formed, which we see today. A long history, filled with various events and changes, is quite interesting for study. Both the Catholic part of the population and the Orthodox part of the population today have their deep roots, which should be honored. Today every believer should respect and know the history of the formation and formation of his religion, and not repeat the mistakes of the past and adequately treat the decision of another to follow another faith.