| Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church | |
|---|---|
| Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Type | Autocephaly |
| Classification | Christian |
| Orientation | Eastern Orthodox |
| Primate | Archbishop ofWarsaw andMetropolitan of AllPoland,Sawa Hrycuniak. |
| Bishops | 12 |
| Dioceses | 8 |
| Deaneries | 28 |
| Parishes | 278 |
| Language | Polish Church Slavonic Portuguese |
| Headquarters | Warsaw,Poland |
| Territory | Poland andBrazil |
| Founder | Ss.Cyril and Methodius |
| Independence | 1924, 1948 |
| Recognition | Autocephaly recognised in 1924 by theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and in 1948 by theRussian Orthodox Church. |
| Members | 504,400 (2016)[1] |
| Official website | www |
ThePolish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (Polish:Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny), commonly known as thePolish Orthodox Church, orOrthodox Church of Poland, is one of the autocephalousEastern Orthodox churches in full communion. The church was established in 1924, to accommodate Orthodox Christians ofPolish descent in the eastern part of the country, when Poland regained its independence after theFirst World War.
In total, it has approximately 500,000 adherents (2016).[1] In thePolish census of 2011, 156,000 citizens declared themselves as members.[2]
Following thepartitions of Poland and the annexation of Polish territory by theRussian Empire, the administration of Eastern Orthodox communities was carried out by the vicar bishop of Pereyaslav and Boryspil of the Kyiv Eparchy with residence inSlutsk.[3] The Eastern Orthodox population on the territory of modern Poland was very scarce at that time.[3] In 1825 the administration was transferred to the bishop of Minsk and in 1827 – the bishop of Volhynia.[3]
In 1834 the post of vicar bishop of Warsaw of the Volhynian eparchy was established.[3] Establishment of the post was partially due to the 1830–31 Polish uprising (so calledNovember Uprising).[3] The idea to create the post came from theNamiestnik of Poland and Serence Prince of WarsawIvan Paskevich.[3] By 1834 in Vistula Land, there were at least 6 parochial Orthodox temples and theSaint Onuphrius Monastery inJabłeczna.[3] The first bishop was Antoni (Rafalski) who was an archimandrite of thePochaiv Lavra.[3] The new vicar bishop was not only subordinated to the Volhynian eparchy, but also directly to theober-procurator of the Holy Synod.[3]
Starting since 1783, on territories that were annexed in 1793, there were established Minsk Eparchy, Bratslav Eparchy, and Izyaslav Eparchy.[4] In 1839 there was established the eparchy of Wilno and Lithuania following the 1839Synod of Polotsk which liquidatedUniate Church on territory of the Imperial Russia.[5] In 1840, the former Warsaw vicariate was transformed into a separate eparchy of Warsaw covering the wholeCongress of Poland.[6]
Following the 1875conversion of Chełm Eparchy (Eparchy of Chełm–Belz) of theRuthenian Uniate Church, the Eparchy of Warsaw was renamed as Eparchy of Warsaw and Chełm, while Marcel Popiel who played a key role in the process was ordained as a vicar bishop of the merged diocese.
Following the1905 revolution in the Imperial Russia, Tsar issued the manifest "On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance" which gave start to revival of Catholicism.[6] Several parishes en masse were switching back to the Uniate Church.[6]
With start of theWorld War I, in 1915 the Russian Church in Poland was evacuated along with the Russian administration.[6] On territory of what it was "Warsaw Eparchy" remained about 10 priests.[6] The last archbishop of Warsaw Nicholas (Ziorov) died soon after evacuation and during the remaining time ofWorld War I, the diocese was vacant.[6]
Following the1917–18 Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church,Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow finally appointed a new bishop to the eparchy of Warsaw who wasSeraphim (Chichagov). Seraphim (Chichagov) was never able to actually arrive to his appointed diocese due to unstable situation. To fix that in September 1921, the Archbishop of Minsk George (Yaroshevsky) was appointed as Patriarchal Exarch in Poland.[6]
The church was established in 1924 after Poland regained independence, as theSecond Polish Republic, followingWorld War I in 1918. After thePolish–Soviet War and theTreaty of Riga of 1921, Poland secured control of a sizeable portion of its former eastern territories previously lost in the late-18th-centuryPartitions of Poland to theRussian Empire. Eastern Orthodoxy was widespread in the eastern provinces of interwar Poland. The loss of an ecclesiastical link, due to the persecution of theRussian Orthodox Church in theSoviet Union, left the regional clergy in a crisis, and in 1924 theEcumenical 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, theBaltic states, and Poland.[7] In 1922 a conflict ensued due intervention of theRussian Orthodox Church that approved appointment of bishops in Poland without agreement from Metropolitan of WarsawGeorge (Yaroshevsky).[8] The conflict was led by the Bishop of Wilno and Lida Eleftherios.[8] Several diocesan bishops along with Eleftherios of Wilno including Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky),Vladimir (Tikhonitsky) and others took stance against seeking autocephalous status for the Orthodox Church in Poland. Most of them were expelled from Poland. Bishops Eleftherios and Vladimir were also against ordination ofAlexander (Inozemtsev) who was ordained as a vicar bishop of Lublin byGeorge (Yaroshevsky) andDionizy (Waledyński) on 4 June 1922.[9]
Earlier, in January 1922, the Polish government had issued an order recognizing the Orthodox church and placing it under the authority of the state. At that time a Ukrainian,George (Yaroshevsky), was appointed Metropolitan and exarch by the patriarch of Moscow. When Yaroshevsky began to reject the authority of Moscow Patriarchate, he was assassinated by a Russian monk.[10] 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.[11] The Russian Orthodox Church at the time did not recognise Constantinople's granting of Polish autocephaly. Most of the parishioners were Ukrainians and Belarusians living in the eastern areas of the newly independentPolish Second Republic.
During theinterwar period, however, the Polish authorities imposed severe restrictions on the church and its clergy. In the most famous example, theAlexander Nevsky Cathedral in Warsaw was destroyed in the mid-1920s. InVolhynia a total of 190 Eastern Orthodox churches were destroyed and a further 150 converted toCatholicism.[12] Several court hearings against thePochaiv Lavra also took place.[13]
Following the start of theWorld War II on 1 September 1939 and theSoviet invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939, Poland was divided between theNazi Germany and theSoviet Union. For support of resistance against the Nazi Germany, the Metropolitan Dionisius was arrested, while the Church territories (dioceses) were mostly taken over by theMoscow Patriarchate and the rest were transferred under temporary administration by the Metropolitan of BerlinSeraphim (Lade) of theROCOR, who also was assisted by Vasily (Pavlovsky).[14] At the end of 1940, Metropolitan Dionisius signed a loyalty declaration for the General Governor of PolandHans Frank and was released from his arrest.[14] On 30 September 1940 the Bishop Council of the Polish Orthodox Church led by Metropolitan Dionisius reformed the Church considering the new realities and constituted new dioceses which were 3: Diocese of Warschau and Radom, Diocese of Cholm and Podlachia, Diocese of Krakau and Lemkos.[14] On territories that became part of theReichskommissariat Ukraine, there was established separate "Orthodox Autocephalous Church on liberated territory of Ukraine" under auspices of the Polish Orthodox Church led byPolycarp (Sikorsky), a vicar bishop of Lutsk. Along withAlexander (Inozemtsev), Polycarp (Sikorsky) started to develop what later would be known as theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
Another member of the Polish Orthodox Church clergy, Archbishop Alexiy (Hromadsky) inPochaiv Lavra created in August 1941 an opposition organization, loyal to theMoscow Patriarchate, known asUkrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church.
After theSecond World War, the pre-war eastern territories of Poland were annexed by theSoviet Union and included within theLithuanian,Byelorussian andUkrainian SSRs. The annexed territories contained up to 80% of the PAOC's parishes and congregation, which were united with the recently re-instatedMoscow Patriarchate. The remaining parishes that were now on the territory of thePolish People's Republic were kept by the PAOC, including most of the mixed easternmost territories such as aroundChełm andBiałystok. In 1948, after the Soviet Union established political control over Poland, the Russian Orthodox Church recognised theautocephalous status of the Polish Orthodox Church.[10][15]
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 ofOperation Vistula and other diaspora movements. There are also some adherents inBrazil, resulting from the 1989 canonical union between the hierarchy headed by Metropolitan Gabriel ofLisbon, formerly under theChurch of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece, and the Polish Orthodox Church.[16] The European bishops, however, have left the jurisdiction in 2000, which eventually resulted in senior BishopChrysostom being raised to archepiscopal dignity. There are now parishes in the states ofRio de Janeiro,Pernambuco andParaíba, plus a mission inCeará[17] and a monastery inJoão Pessoa.[16][18]
In 2003, following the decision of the Holy Sobor of Bishops of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, theNew Martyrs of Chelm and Podlasie suffering persecution during the 1940s were canonized.[19]
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church was established in 1924. Traditionally theprimate of the church has the title Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland.
The church is headed by theArchbishop ofWarsaw andMetropolitan of AllPoland:Sawa (Michał) Hrycuniak (1998–). It is divided into the following dioceses:[21]
Dioceses and bishops upon the issue of the tomos in 1924
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