Polish Orthodox Church

Polish Autocephalous
Orthodox Church
Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół
Prawosławny

Coat of arms
Classification Eastern Orthodox
Primate Archbishop of
Warsaw and
Metropolitan of
All Poland, Sawa
Hrycuniak.
Bishops 12
Dioceses 8
Deaneries 28
Parishes 278
Language Polish
Church Slavonic
Headquarters Warsaw, Poland
Territory Poland
Possessions Brazil
Founder Ss. Cyril and
Methodius
Independence 1924, 1948
Recognition Autocephaly
recognised in
1924 by the
Ecumenical
 Patriarchate of
Constantinople,
and in 1948 by
the Russian
Orthodox
Church.
Members 504,400 (2016)[1]
Official website www.orthodox.pl
(http://www.ortho
dox.pl/)

The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (Polish: Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny),
commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church of Poland, is one of the
autocephalous Eastern Orthodox 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.

In total, it has approximately 500,000 adherents (2016).[1] In the Polish census of 2011, 156,000 citizens
declared themselves as members.[2]

History

Before 1945

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

the Second Polish Republic, following World War I in 1918. After the
Polish–Soviet War 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 to the Russian Empire. 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 in the Soviet Union, left the regional clergy in a crisis,
and in 1924 the Ecumenical Patriarchate took over, establishing several
autonomous churches on territories of the new states that were formerly
wholly or partially part of the Russian Empire: Finland, the Baltic states,
and Poland.[3] Earlier, in January 1922, the Polish government had issued
Cathedral of St. Mary an order recognizing the Orthodox church and placing it under the
Magdalene, Warsaw, the
authority of the state. At that time a Ukrainian, Yurii Yaroshevsky, was
main Polish Orthodox
appointed Metropolitan and exarch by the patriarch of Moscow. When
Church
Yaroshevsky began to reject the authority of Moscow Patriarchate, he was
assassinated by a Russian monk.[4] 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.[5] 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).[6] The Russian Orthodox Church at the time did not
recognise Constantinople's granting of Polish autocephaly. See History of
Christianity in Ukraine#Territories gained by Pereyaslav Rada.

During the interwar period, 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 a total of 190 Eastern Orthodox churches were destroyed and a
further 150 converted to Catholicism.[7] Several court hearings against the
Pochaiv Lavra also took place.[8]

Supraśl Orthodox Monastery

Since 1945
in Supraśl founded by
Aleksander Chodkiewicz
After the Second World War, the pre-war eastern territories of Poland were
annexed by the Soviet Union 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 Moscow
Patriarchate. The remaining parishes that were now on the territory of the Polish People's Republic were
kept by the PAOC, including most of the mixed easternmost territories such as around Chełm and
Białystok. In 1948, after the Soviet Union established political control over Poland, the Russian Orthodox
Church recognised the autocephalous status of the Polish Orthodox Church.[4][9]

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 and other diaspora movements. There are also some adherents in Brazil,
resulting from the 1989 canonical union between the hierarchy headed by Metropolitan Gabriel of Lisbon,
formerly under the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece, and the Polish Orthodox
Church.[10] The European bishops, however, have left the jurisdiction in 2000, which eventually resulted in
senior Bishop Chrysostom being raised to archepiscopal dignity. There are now parishes in the states of Rio
de Janeiro, Pernambuco and Paraíba, plus a mission in Ceará[11] and a monastery in João Pessoa.[10][12]

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.[13]

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) – Archbishop of Warsaw (1921–1923)

(Predecessor for establishment of the structure of Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church)
Metropolitan Dionysius (Konstanty Waledyński) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland
(1923–1948)
Metropolitan Macarius (Michał Oksijuk) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1951–
1959)
Metropolitan Timotheus (Jerzy Szretter) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1961–
1962)
 Metropolitan Stephen (Stepan Rudyk) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1965–
1969)
Metropolitan Basil (Włodzimierz Doroszkiewicz) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland
(1970–1998)
Metropolitan Sabbas (Michał Hrycuniak) – Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland (1998–
present)

Administration
Polish Orthodox Cathedrals (examples)

Alexander Nevsky Saint Nicholas Transfiguration Nativity of Mary

Cathedral, Łódź Cathedral, Cathedral, Lublin Cathedral, Wrocław
Białystok

The church is headed by the Archbishop of Warsaw and

Metropolitan of All Poland: Sawa (Michał) Hrycuniak (1998–). It is
divided into the following dioceses:[14]

Archdioceses and archbishops

Archdiocese of Warsaw and Bielsk: Sawa (Hrycuniak)
Archdiocese of Białystok and Gdańsk: Jakub
(Kostiuczuk) (2008–)
Archdiocese of Łódź and Poznań: Atanazy (Nos)
(2017–)
Archdiocese of Wrocław and Szczecin: George
(Pańkowski) (2017–)
Dioceses of the Church before the
Archdiocese of Lublin and Chełm: Abel (Popławski) World War II
(2001–)
Archdiocese of Przemyśl and Gorlice: Paisius
(Martyniuk) (2016–)
Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro and Olinda-Recife: Chrysostom (Freire) (1992–)
Diocese of Recife: Ambrose (Cubas) (1996–)

Titular dioceses and bishops

Titular Diocese of Supraśl: Gregory (Charkiewicz) (2008–), Vicar Bishop for Białystok and
Gdańsk[15]
 Titular Diocese of Siemiatycze: 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
Diocese of Warsaw and Chełm (eastern portions) → Ternopil and Galicia (Aleksy
(Gromadzki))
Diocese of Wołyń → Lutsk and Volhynia (Nicholas (Yarushevich))
Diocese of Grodno and Nowogródek → Grodno (Pantelejmon (Rożnowski), acting)
Diocese of Pinsk and Polesie → Pinsk (Pantelejmon (Rożnowski))
Diocese of Wilna and Lida → Wilna (Eleuteriusz (Bogojawleński))

Following the Soviet invasion of Poland, most of dioceses except for Warsaw were
annexed by the Moscow Patriarchate as so called Western Exarchate centered in Lutsk.

See also
Religion in Poland
Catholic Church in Poland
Protestantism in Poland
Eastern Orthodox Communion
Supraśl Lavra
Union of Brest
Reformation in Poland
Warsaw Icon Museum

References
1. Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Mały Rocznik Statystyczny Polski 2016, Warszawa 2017, tab.
18(80), s. 115.
2. Paweł Ciecieląg, Andrzej Datko, Bożena Łazowska, Piotr Łysoń, Paweł Milcarek, Wojciech
Sadłoń: 1050 lat chrześcijaństwa w Polsce. Warszawa: GUS, 2016, s. 73. ISBN 978-83-
7027-606-5.
3. M. Papierzyńska-Turek, Między tradycją a rzeczywistością. Państwo wobec prawosławia
1918–1939.
4. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Polish Autocephalous Orthodox church (http://www.encycl
opediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CO%5CPolishAutocephalousOr
thodoxchurch.htm), accessed 2 June 2020.
5. "Tomos" (http://oca-uaoc.org/tomos.html). Orthodox Church of America - UAOC - Standing
Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
 6. "Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: "As the Mother Church, it is reasonable to desire the
restoration of unity for the divided ecclesiastical body in Ukraine" - News Releases - The
Ecumenical Patriarchate" (https://www.patriarchate.org/-/oikoumenikos-patriarches-einai-log
ikon-na-epithymomen-os-meter-ekklesia-ten-apokatastasin-tes-enotetos-tou-en-oukrania-di
eremenou-ekklesiastikou-somat). www.patriarchate.org. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
7. Healy, R. and Dal Lago, E. The Shadow of Colonialism on Europe’s Modern Past.
8. (in Ukrainian) ІСТОРИЧНА ВОЛИНЬ: Спроби ревіндикації луцького Свято-Троїцького
собору (http://istvolyn.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7193:2017-01-
14-13-12-36&catid=25&Itemid=17)
9. Russian Orthodox Church Department for External Church Relations (14 September 2018).
"Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the uncanonical
intervention of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the canonical territory of the Russian
Orthodox Church" (https://mospat.ru/en/news/47198/). Retrieved 17 February 2021.
10. (in Portuguese) Eparquia Ortodoxa do Brasil (http://igrejaortodoxadobrasil.org.br/eparquia.p
hp)
11. "Saint John the Precursor Orthodox Church · CE-040, 39 - Patacas, Aquiraz - CE, 61700-
000, Brazil" (https://goo.gl/maps/UY9KM9J8p4NAq7w67).
12. (in Portuguese) Mosteiro Ortodoxo da Dormição da Santa Mãe de Deus (http://www.mosteir
oortodoxo.natureba.org/enderecos.htm)
13. J. Charkiewicz, Męczennicy XX wieku. Martyrologia Prawosławia w Polsce w biografiach
świętych.
14. (in Polish) Polish Orthodox Church: Adminstracja (http://www.orthodox.pl/administracja/)
15. (in Polish) Orthodox Diocese of Białystok and Gdańsk: Abp Jakub i Bp Grzegorz (http://ortho
dox.bialystok.pl/arcybiskup)

External links
Polish Orthodox Church (http://www.orthodox.pl/), official site
Polish Orthodox Church Unofficial Site (http://cerkiew.pl/index.php?id=ang) (English)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Przemyśl-Nowy Sącz (http://www.eparchia.prv.pl) (Polish)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Lublin-Chełm (http://lublin.cerkiew.pl) (Polish)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Białystok-Gdańsk (http://orthodox.bialystok.pl/en/) (English)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Wrocław-Szczecin (http://www.diecezjawroclawsko-szczecinsk
a.pl/) (Polish)
Polish Orthodox Military Ordinariat (https://web.archive.org/web/20080423061429/http://ww
w.ordynariat.republika.pl/) (Polish)
Polish Orthodox Diocese of Brazil (https://web.archive.org/web/20120112095401/http://igrej
aortodoxadobrasil.org.br/) (Portuguese)
Article by Ronald Roberson on the Polish Orthodox Church on CNEWA website (https://cne
wa.org/eastern-christian-churches/toc/orthodox-church/the-autocephalous-churches/the-orth
odox-church-of-poland/)

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