Alexander Nadson | |
|---|---|
 Nadson in 2009 | |
| Born | Aliaksandar Bočka (1926-08-08)8 August 1926 |
| Died | 15 April 2015(2015-04-15) (aged 88) London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Priest, historian |
Alexander Antonovich Nadson (Belarusian:Аляксандар Антонавіч Надсан,romanized: Aliaksandar Antonavich Nadsan; 8 August 1926 – 15 April 2015) was theApostolic Visitor forBelarusian Greek-Catholic faithful abroad, scholar, translator and a notableBelarusian émigré social and religious leader.
Fr Nadson was born Alyaksandar Bochka (Belarusian:Аляксандар Бочка,romanized: Aliaksandar Bočka) in the village ofHaradzyeya nearNyasvizh, in theSecond Polish Republic (now inMinsk Region, Belarus) into a middle-class family. His father Anton had served as an officer in the army of the Russian tsar inWorld War I, and had participated in the 1920 anti-BolsheviksSlutsk Uprising. Nadson studied at the Teacher Training College in Nyasvizh seminary. In 1944, he emigrated from Belarus, and in 1945 was a soldier in the2nd Polish Corps fighting in Italy, where he was wounded.[1]
In 1946, along with theAnders army he moved toGreat Britain where he studied at theUniversity of London. Nadson was one of the founders of theAssociation of Belarusians in Great Britain and its chairman from 1951 to 1953. He was editor of the periodicalsBiełarus na čužynie andNa šlachu, and took part in the activities of the Belarusian Christian academic societyRuń and theBelarusian People's Independent Christian Movement.[2]
From autumn 1953, he studied at thePontifical Greek College inRome. He was ordained priest of the Eastern Rite on 23 November 1958. Nadson "had been guided on to this [ecclesiastical] path by (later Bishop)Ceslaus Sipovich, who himself had been sent by the Vatican to establish a Belarusian Catholic Mission in the UK". In July 1959, Nadson returned toLondon, where he resumed his activities in organizations of the Belarusian diaspora. It was at this time that the "Belarusian village" inNorth Finchley, London was beginning to expand. A property was acquired to house a boarding school for the sons of Belarusian immigrants in Western Europe; he was appointed headmaster in 1961.[1][2]
From 1971 Nadson was the director of theFrancis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London, the largest Belarusian library abroad. Nadson "developed the institution to the point where it could justifiably be regarded as the foremost collection in the world, outside Belarus itself, of books (including many rare publications), maps, journals and artefacts relevant for the study of the complex area east of Poland once known as theGrand Duchy of Lithuania" with "a world-wide reputation" which "attract[ed] scholars from a wide range of countries".[1]
The library also provided Nadson with many opportunities for research. He gave several lectures to theAnglo-Belarusian Society. He published pioneering articles in the Society'sJournal of Belarusian Studies on such topics as the life and writings of the early BelarusianSaint Cyril of Turau and a manuscript tefsir (a commentary on the Qur’an) that he had acquired for the library, written in Arabic script by Muslim Tatars living in Belarus who had retained their religion but used Belarusian as their everyday language. He was also a long time editor of the Journal. The high regard in which his scholarship was held was shown by the award in 2008 of an honorary doctorate of theEuropean Humanities University based inVilnius. Nadson was also very active in translating liturgical texts into Belarusian.[1][3][4]
From 1981, he was head of the Belarusian Catholic mission in Great Britain, and from 1986, Apostolic Visitor to all BelarusianGreek-Catholic faithful abroad. He actively supported the recreation of theGreek Catholic Church in Belarus that had been suppressed in that country since the 1830s.[2][5]
He was the author of several books on the history of Belarus and the head of aChernobyl charity fund aimed at alleviating the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.[1][4]
Nadson died inLondon on 15 April 2015, aged 88, and is buried inSt Pancras and Islington Cemetery in East Finchley, North London.[6]
Media related toAliaxandar Nadsan at Wikimedia Commons
