Catholic Church in Belarus

Cathedral of Saint Stanislaus in Mahilioŭ

The Catholic Church in Belarus is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The first Latin Rite diocese in Belarus was established in Turaŭ between 1008 and 1013. Catholicism was a traditionally dominant religion of Belarusian nobility (the szlachta) and of a large part of the population of West Belarus.

Description

As of 2009, there are 1,632,605 Catholics in the country, about 17% of the total population. Most of these belong to the Latin Rite dioceses. A small minority are of Byzantine Rite, forming the particular Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, which is in union with the Holy See and follows the Byzantine Slavonic ritual.

Polish and Lithuanian minorities in Belarus are predominantly Latin-Rite Catholics, but over 1 million Latin-Rite Catholics are ethnic Belarusians (over 15% of ethnic Belarusians total). The Greek Catholics are mostly ethnic Belarusians, with some Ukrainians.

Church of Saint Barbara in Viciebsk

Hierarchy

One metropolitan archdiocese:

• Minsk-Mohilev – 610,490 Catholics

Three suffragan dioceses:

• Grodno – 591,000 Catholics
• Pinsk – 50,115 Catholics
• Vitebsk – 151,000 Catholics

Metropolitan Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz is the leader of the Latin-Rite Catholic Church in Belarus.

History

The first Latin Rite diocese in Belarus was established in Turaŭ between 1008 and 1013.

Catholicism was a traditionally dominant religion of Belarusian nobility (the szlachta) and of a large part of the population of western and northwestern parts of Belarus.

There was once an archbishopric in Polotsk. St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was archbishop from 1618-1623, succeeding another archbishop.

See also

• Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
• Catholic Church by country

External links

• The Catholic Church in Belarus - official website and the central Belarusian catholic web-portal
• The Apostolic Nuntiature in Belarus
• Partał Maładych Katalikoŭ - Young Catholics of Belarus