Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev
Encyclopedia
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev (or Mahilyow or Mogilev) was a territorial division of the Roman Catholic Church
, covering a significant proportion of the territory of the Russian empire
.
It was erected as a diocese in 1772 by the empress Catherine the Great, in a unilateral action independent of Rome. Its see city was the imperial capital Saint Petersburg
. In 1782 Catherine elevated the diocese to an archdiocese, and in 1783 these actions were recognised by Pope Pius VI
in the bull
Onerosa pastoralis officii. The archdiocese remained the metropolitan see for Russia throughout imperial times and the Soviet period, although for much of the latter period it was the subject of repression and had no incumbent archbishop.
Mogilev
is a city in present-day Belarus
, and with the demise of the Soviet Union the Archdiocese was merged with the former suffragan Diocese
of Minsk, to create a new Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev in 1991. The territorial boundaries of the new archdiocese were redrawn to include only territory within Belarus. Territories of the former archdiocese falling within present-day Russia were reassigned, first to the Apostolic Administration of European Russia, and subsequently to what are now the Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow in the north and the Diocese of Saint Clement at Saratov in the south.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, covering a significant proportion of the territory of the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
It was erected as a diocese in 1772 by the empress Catherine the Great, in a unilateral action independent of Rome. Its see city was the imperial capital Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. In 1782 Catherine elevated the diocese to an archdiocese, and in 1783 these actions were recognised by Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...
in the bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Onerosa pastoralis officii. The archdiocese remained the metropolitan see for Russia throughout imperial times and the Soviet period, although for much of the latter period it was the subject of repression and had no incumbent archbishop.
Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
is a city in present-day Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, and with the demise of the Soviet Union the Archdiocese was merged with the former suffragan Diocese
Suffragan Diocese
A suffragan diocese is a diocese in the Catholic Church that is overseen not only by its own diocesan bishop but also by a metropolitan bishop. The metropolitan is always an archbishop who governs his own archdiocese...
of Minsk, to create a new Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev in 1991. The territorial boundaries of the new archdiocese were redrawn to include only territory within Belarus. Territories of the former archdiocese falling within present-day Russia were reassigned, first to the Apostolic Administration of European Russia, and subsequently to what are now the Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow in the north and the Diocese of Saint Clement at Saratov in the south.
Archbishops
- 1783–1826: Stanisław Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz
- 1828–1831: Kasper Cieciszowski
- 1841: Ignacy Pawłowski
- 1849–1851: Kazimierz Dmochowski
- 1851–1855: Ignacy Hołowiński (coadjutor bishopCoadjutor bishopA coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
in 1848–1851) - 1856–1863: Wacław Żyliński
- 1872–1883: Antoni Fijałkowski
- 1883–1889: Aleksander Gintowt-Dziewałtowski (coadjutor in 1882–1883)
- 1891–1899: Szymon Marcin Kozłowski
- 1901–1903: Bolesław Hieronim Kłopotowski
- 1903–1905: Jerzy Szembek
- 1908–1909: Apolinary Wnukowski
- 1910–1914: Wincenty Kluczyński
- 1917–1926: Eduard von der RoppEduard von der RoppEduard Michael Johann Maria Baron von der Ropp was a German-Polish nobleman and Russian Roman Catholic metropolitan archbishop. He was born 15 December 1851 near Līksna in present-day Latvia and died on 25 July 1939 in Poznań, Poland.-Early life:...
- 1926–1981: Boleslas Sloskans (administrator)