Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

includes the relations between the Pontiff

Pontiff

A pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests . The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".-Etymology:The English term derives...

 and 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...

 during the years 1846-1878.

1847 Accomodamento

The Pontificate of Pius IX began in 1847 with an agreement

1847 Agreement between Holy See and Russia

The 1847 Agreement between the Holy See and the Russian Empire was a diplomatic arrangement entered into on 3 August of that year.-Diplomacy of Pius IX:...

by which both the government and the Holy See played a part in filling vacant Latin-Rite episcopal see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

s in Russia proper and in its Polish provinces.

Pope Pius IX, who faced his own problems with revolutionary movements in his Church State, first tried to position himself in the middle, strongly opposing revolutionary and violent opposition against the Russian authorities, and appealing to them for more Church freedom.

Polish aspirations and avoiding bloodshed

Both the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 and the Russian government expressed heir full satisfaction, which was not shared by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Accomodamento, while facilitating the establishment of new dioceses, did little to improve the situation of the Catholic Church at the local level.

In 1850, some 32 monasteries were closed and others limited in the recruitment of novices. Local priests were replaced with politically correct candidates, and vacant bishop sees were not allowed to be filled. A special problem continued to be the fate of the Oriental Churches, united with Rome, which were under pressure to unify with the Orthodox Church of Russia.

Relations with Russia after 1861

After long negotiations, and possibly because of the lingering Polish crises, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 agreed to diplomatic relations with the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 in 1861.

Tsar Alexander II claimed that only politically revolutionary elements were punished. On August 20, the Pope protested and ordered a prayer

Prayer

Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

 novena

Novena

In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. The prayers may come from prayer books, or consist of the recitation of the Rosary , or of short prayers through the day...

 for the persecuted Church. But the persecutions worsened: 330 priests were deported, a war tax was imposed on the clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

, and 114 Catholic monasteries were closed.

International protest from Pope Pius enraged the Tsar and his regime, and led to an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n intervention, urging the Pope to be silent in the interest of the Polish Catholics. Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 answered with a break of the concordat on December 6, 1863. By 1870, not a single bishop from the Polish area under Russian control was left in his own diocese

Diplomacy of Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

 (1878-1903) attempted to improve the situation with diplomatic overtures, with little success. The nightmare of the Russian Church continued under him, more pleasant atmospherics not-withstanding. The 19th century dilemma, that impressive Papal condemnations may result in suffering , closure of episcopal sees, and decade-long interruption of religious services for, and education of the faithful, haunted Papal diplomacy in the 20th century, especially during the pontificates of Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...

, Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII

The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....

 and Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

.