9. "New Druia"

On 5 November 1952 Father Sipovich wrote the following letter to the General Council of Marian Congregation:

"After careful consideration before God, having in mind the greater glory of God and of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the better attainment of the aims of our Congregation among Belarusians who now live in exile, namely to present the possibility (of the establishment) of the religious House of Belarusian Marian Fathers (ut possibilitas domui religiosae Marianorum Alboruthenorum praeberetur), the undersigned proposes the following.

Acquisition, i. e. purchase, for the Belarusian Mission of the house situated at Holden Avenue, London N.12 bearing the name 'Marian House', together with the garden and all furniture for the price of £8200.

The conditions of the purchase are: the sum of £4000 should be paid within three years  from the time of approval of the proposal by the General Council. After the sum of £4000 has been paid to the Lithuanian Fathers of our Congregation, the title of the ownership of 'Marian House' formally passes to the Belarusian Mission. The remaining £4200 should be paid during the next three years, together with interest of 2.5% for the sum not paid.

After the purchase of 'Marian House' the ownership of the Byzantine-Slavonic chapel passes definitely to the Belarusian Mission".

The idea of buying Marian House from the Lithuanians had germinated in Sipovich's mind earlier, but he did not disclose it, except to a few friends whom he could trust. On 11 September 1952 he wrote to Father Haroshka: "It is necessary to buy Marian House for the Belarusian Mission. It is a very important but difficult task".

There is no record of the reaction of the Superior General and the Council to this bold proposal. And it was bold, considering that at that time the Belarusian Marian "community" consisted of one priest with no funds except a small annual grant from the Oriental Congregation, and no immediate prospects for this situation to improve. But that was very much in the character of Father Sipovich, who, if anything, was a man of vision and courage.

There was, however, a flaw in the proposal which was likely bound to create in the future serious difficulties, or even a conflict.

Two important points can be distinguished in the letter, namely:

1.The house is to be bought for the Belarusian Mission;

2. This is being done in pursuance of the aims of the Marian Congregation with regard to Belarusians, namely in order eventually to establish a religious house of Belarusian Marian Fathers.

The Belarusian Catholic Mission in England was established to provide pastoral care of Belarusian Catholics of Byzantine rite in that country. The head (or Rector) of the Mission was at that time Father Ceslaus Sipovich who happened to be also a member of the Congregation of Marian Fathers. There is nothing in the terms of his appointment which  said that his successor should also belong to the Marian congregation. Thus if the house belonged to the Mission and Belarusian Marian Fathers succeeded in establishing their religious community in it, what would happen if the next rector of the Mission did not belong to their community? On the other hand if the house belonged to the Marian Fathers, the Mission could find itself without a house. Thus the proposal of Father Sipovich presupposes that the rector of the Belarusian Mission in England would always be a member of the Marian Congregation.

Having received no answer for nearly one year, Sipovich renewed his request in a modified form. On 30 October 1953 in a letter to the Superior General he wrote: "I have maintained and continue to maintain that the cohabitation and cooperation of two institutions, namely Belarusian and Russian, in one house is practically impossible... To resolve this question I proposed to consider Marian House as the nucleus of a Religious House of Belarusian Marian Fathers (Ad solvendam questionem proposui 'Marian House' qua cellulam Domus Religiosae Marianorum Alboruthenorum considerare), and as such to purchase it from the Lithuanian Marian Fathers during the period of four years for the sum of £8200. If this is approved, in order to achieve this end, I humbly ask the Superior General and General Council for permission to collect money".

This time he did not have to wait long for the answer. On 31 December 1953 the following letter, signed by the Superior General Wladyslaw Mroczek and Secretary General John Sakievicius, was sent to Father Sipovich: "To satisfy your request of 30 October 1953, after having obtained consent of our Council on 25 November 1953, we grant you permission to acquire the London property of the Lithuanian Province, called 'Marian House' for the purpose of establishing there in the future a religious house of Belarusian Marian Fathers (ut ibi in futuro Domus Religiosa Marianorum Alboruthenorum fundetur), and in order to achieve this end we give you leave to collect money, provided that everything is done in accordance with the requirements of the norms of the Sacred Canons and our Constitutions".

The last two documents make it clear that the proposed purchase of Marian House was an internal affair between the Belarusian and Lithuanian Marian Fathers: the Belarusian Catholic Mission is not even mentioned.

Having received the permission of his superiors, Father Sipovich applied himself with his usual energy to raise the necessary sum of money. A "Whiteruthenian (i.e. Belarusian – A.N.) Catholic Mission Fund" was founded under the patronage of Cardinal Bernard Griffin, Archbishop of Westminster. An Honorary Committee was formed with members drawn from among Belarusians and their friends from different countries, and headed by Bishop Boleslaus Sloskans. Subscription lists were printed, with short explanatory notes in English, French and Belarusian. Here is the English text: "Founded in 1947, the Whiteruthenian (Byelorussian) Catholic Mission has carried out many good works of an apostolic, charitable and cultural nature among Whiteruthenians (Byelorussians) exiled in Gt. Britain, and until now these works have been carried out under the burden of our not having a regular House for this purpose. Therefore with the blessing of the church authorities we have started in this year of 1954 – which is dedicated to Our Lady – a fund for the acquisition of premises to be known – likewise in honour of Our Holy Mother – MARIAN HOUSE. For this purpose it is necessary to raise the sum of £8000. Whiteruthenians (Byelorussians), exiled from their native land, cannot by themselves reach this figure, and we therefore address our appeal to all our many friends who understand our needs, to help us in this charitable work. For all benefactors of Marian House Mass will said each year on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 15th".

The texts in two other languages are the same, except that in the Belarusian version the appeal for help is directed "to our Belarusian countrymen and all those who understand the needs of Belarusian life in exile".

Apart from this official fund-raising campaign, Father Sipovich appealed personally to some people, asking for help. On 30 July 1954 he wrote to Ambrose Ondrak, Abbot of St Procopius Benedictine Abbey at Lisle near Chicago: "Unfortunately up to the present moment the premises of my Mission have been rented. This year with the permission and benediction of my Superiors in Rome, His Eminence Cardinal Griffin and Bishop Sloskans, Apostolic Visitor for Byelorussians I have started a Subscription Fund for the purpose of purchasing a house for the Byelorussian Catholic Mission in London. With it I take the liberty in addressing my appeal to you...".

On 25 October 1954 Father Sipovich wrote the following letter to the Belarusian priest  in Germany, Father Uladzislau Salaviej: "I give many thanks to you for the assistance hitherto given to the Belarusian Catholic Mission. The development and success of the Mission is doubtless near to your heart, and that is why I take the liberty to ask you, Reverend Father, another favour, namely to help acquire a house for the Mission (ut adiutorio in emenda domo pro Missione venias). To buy this house which would meet the needs of the Mission, £8000 are required. The action of collecting money under the patronage of His Eminence Cardinal Griffin, Archbishop of Westminster, has already started".

He also sought the help of Father Werenfried van Straaten, founder of the "Oostpriesterhulp" (Help to priests from the East). In his letter of 31 August 1956 he wrote: "The next and the most important thing is the purchase of a house specifically for the Belarusian Catholic Mission in England (Die nachste and auch sehr wichtige Sache ist der Ankauf des eigenen Hauses fur die Weissruthenische Katholische Mission in London)... We turn to you, dear Father, and through you to all your benefactors with the request to help us... The purchase of the house for the Belarusian Catholic Mission will not only assure the existence of the Mission, but also constitute a spiritual centre  for all Belarusians in England and in the whole of  Europe".

In response to Father Sipovich's appeal, Father van Straaten sent him £357, which at that time was a considerable sum. But he was an exception. In general the direct appeal to prominent Catholic figures, such as Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, Stritch of Chicago and Lercaro of Bologna was a failure. This was to be expected: ten years after the end of the war most refugees had had time to get settled and start looking after their own affairs. Perhaps the wording of the letter itself had also something to do with it. Father Sipovich began his (identical) letters of 31 July 1954 to Spellman and Stritch (also in Spanish to Cardinal Copello of Buenos Aires) with the following sentence: "In consequence of religious persecution in our fatherland Whiteruthenia (Byelorussia) a great number of exiles of my compatriots... settled in Gt Britain". Now although there was genuine religious persecution in the Communist-dominated Eastern Europe, the reasons why most refugees were unable or unwilling to return to their native countries were political and economic, and religion played little or no part in their decision. Father Sipovich's statement sounded at best unconvincing, and at worst it looked like an attempt to exploit the religious feelings of persons to whom the letters were addressed.

In his letter to Cardinal Lercaro of 29 June 1955 Father Sipovich, after having asked for help "to acquire a house for my Mission (per acquistare la casa per mia Missione)", continues: "...my initiative has been favourably received and approved by my immediate superiors, namely His Eminence Cardinal Griffin and His Excellency Boleslaus Sloskans". In fact his immediate superiors were the Superior General of the Marian Fathers and the Secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, whose names were conspicuous by their absence among the members of the Honorary Committee for the purchase of Marian House...

Significantly in all the above appeals for funds there is no mention of the Marian Fathers. Thus the potential benefactors were led to believe that the house would be the property of the Belarusian Catholic Mission. Even those near to Father Sipovich were not aware of all the facts. On 24 December 1954 a letter appeared in the Catholic Herald  entitled "A London Mission" and signed by the chairman of the Belarusian Catholic Unversity Union "Run'", J. Pazniak. The author, after praising the work done by the "White Ruthenian Catholic Mission, temporarily established at Marian House, Holden Avenue, London N.12... under the enlightened and ever available guidance and sympathy of Fr Sipovich", goes on to say: "To continue this good work, an urgent appeal for help is made to the kind hearts of all people of good will... Especially, funds are necessary to acquire Marian House as a permanent  headquarters for this Mission. For this purpose the Marian House Fund was inaugurated during the year under the gracious patronage of His Eminence Cardinal Griffin and His Excellency Bishop Sloskans, Apostolic Visitor for White Ruthenians, who has already generously contributed". Most of the members of the Honorary Committee are no longer alive, so it is difficult to know whether they were aware of the true state of affairs, but the letter of 2 December 1998 by one of them, Dr Vitaut Romuk from Chicago, to A. Nadson seems to suggest that they were not. Dr Romuk writes: "In 1953-54 I was living in London... In 1954 Father Sipovich asked me whether I would agree to put my name on the Committee for the purchase of Marian House as a permanent seat for the Belarusian Catholic Mission in England. I agreed readily, because the idea of having our own permanent religious centre appealed very much to me and to many other Belarusians... It was therefore with considerable shock that I recently learned that Marian House has remained the property of the Marian Fathers, and not of the Belarusian Catholic Mission in England. It seems to me that at the beginning I and the others were not given the true facts. I am sure that if we had known the truth, our response to the appeal would have been different... As a Catholic and a Belarusian I am very disturbed by what I have learnt. It has been my firm belief that the wishes of benefactors should be respected at all costs. It is not my aim to accuse anyone, but it seems that Belarusians were deceived. As for myself personally, I cannot help feeling that I have been used".

Some of Father Sipovich's Belarusian private correspondents received still more scanty information. In his letter of 12 September 1953 to A. Kastsiukievich in Buffalo (USA) he wrote: "Now allow me to ask you a favour. After long deliberations I have decided to buy Marian House from the Lithuanians... Having considered the matter with all compatriots known to me, I have decided to start a collection for the purchase in order to establish in it (i.e. the house) a Belarusiam library, archives, and a place for meetings".

Unlike the benefactors, the church authorities were informed of the true state of affairs. Father Sipovich wrote on 30 December 1954 to the Secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Cardinal Eugene Tisserant: "It was decided to establish in London a 'New Druia', but in order to do this it is first necessary to buy an appropriate house. This problem was solved easily, because the Lithuanian Fathers came to our help and expressed their willingness to sell on favourable terms their property 'Marian House', in which I have been living since 1949... In view of this, with the approval of the Superior General and the General Council of Marian Regular Clerics, and with the blessing of His Eminence Cardinal Griffin, Archbishop of Westminster, I was granted permission to collect money for the purchase of 'Marian House' for the Belarusian Marians... To make things clear I enclose the necessary documents and humbly ask Your Eminence's assistance in buying the house, leaving it to your consideration and generosity".

Tisserant answered on 25 February 1955: "With regard to the purchase of the House for the Mission, since the contract is going to be an internal affair within the same Religious Congregation (between Lithuanian Marian Fathers of Latin rite and Belarusian Marian Fathers of Byzantine rite), this Sacred Congregation (for the Eastern Churches – A.N.) has no particular interest in it; if, on the other hand, the purchase were made for the Belarusian Catholic Mission of Byzantine rite in England 'sic et simpliciter' (thus and simply), then and only then would this Sacred Congregation  examine its possibilities with the view of making a contribution".

The Belarusian community abroad after the Second World War consisted mainly of "new" emigrés, i.e. those who remained in the West as refugees, unable to return to Belarus which was then part of the Soviet Union. Most of them were young, and in the early 1950s they were just beginning to build new lives in the countries of their final settlement. They worked hard and, if not exactly suffering extreme hardship, certainly needed every penny they earned. At the same time they showed great understanding of matters concerning Belarusian interests and the preservation of their national identity. Many of them appreciated the value of a permanent Belarusian religious centre, and that was the reason for their generous response to the appeal for the purchase of Marian House, not only from the Catholics, but also from the Orthodox. However, if the appeal had been made on behalf of the Marian Fathers, the Belarusians response would have been no different from that of Cardinal Tisserant. For the younger generation of Belarusians who grew up during the war, the Marian Fathers meant nothing. Older people, on the other hand, might have remembered the fate of Druia and that would have made them cautious.

The life of Father Sipovich was closely bound up with the Congregation of Marian Fathers since the moment when as a young peasant boy he joined the juniorate at Druia. He remained faithful and emotionally attached to them to the end. The years spent at Druia left a deep impression on him. With the passage of time the importance of that establishment in the religious life of Belarus grew in his imagination out of all proportions. Marian House, in Sipovich's plans, was to become a continuation of Druia, at least in spirit, or a "New Druia", as he wrote to Cardinal Tisserant. On the whole, however, he kept the idea of "New Druia" to himself and shared it only with a few persons who in his opinion would appreciate it. Thus on 27 August 1954 he wrote to Father Michael Urbanovich, a Belarusian Marian Father who spent practically all his life working among Poles and Lithuanians in the United States: "Marian House is going to be a New Druia which, ruined and profaned by the atheists, will always glory in the fact that our holy Fathers Abrantovich, Tsikota and Hermanovich, who gave their lives and shed blood for the faith, worked there. I, the only survivor, would like  to continue with the help of God the traditions of Druia, of my dear Fathers who educated me. That is why it is necessary to establish a house of Belarusian Marian Fathers in exile".

A little more succintly Sipovich wrote on 1 October 1954 to Dr Stanislaus Hrynkievich in Cleveland: "Marian House is a New Druia. Here a place must be found for Belarusian archives, museum etc. It is very difficult to make this plan come true, but with the help of God everything is possible".

Since the potential benefactors knew nothing about the plans to make Marian House a new Druia, it is difficult to avoid accusations of deception, or at least of what the moral theologians call "mental reservation", i. e. witholding part of the truth. In this case the fact made public was the intention to make Marian House the permanent seat of the Belarusian Catholic Mission. What remained unsaid was that the house would be owned not by the Mission but by Belarusian Marian Fathers. Thus the "permanency" would be conditional on the Marian Fathers remaining in charge of the Mission. The line which divides mental reservation from a lie is very fine, and for this reason it must be used with great caution, usually in cases when someone has no right to be told the truth. And benefactors naturally have the full right to know the truth about the intended use of their money, and demand that their wishes should be respected.

In 1954 the Belarusian Marian community at Marian House consisted of two persons: Father Sipovich and Brother Nicholas, aged 40 and 51 years respectively. Realistic prospects for growth were practically nil. The only candidate, John Sadouski, who came in 1948 and went to Rome to study, left the Marian Congregation in autumn 1953. There was no hope of getting Belarusian Marians from Poland, and in any case they all belonged to the Roman rite and were no longer young. This did not discourage Father Sipovich. He began collecting money in 1953 without waiting for official approval. Thus in June of that year he made visits to Belarusian communities in Coventry, Birmingham, Nottingham, Newark and Newport (in Wales) and came home with the enormous sum of... £6. In September 1954 Father Sipovich paid a visit to Ireland. His trip was organised by a group of members of the Legion of Mary, most of them Irish, who since 1950 had been coming regularily to Marian House. It was not a pastoral visit because there were no Belarusians in Ireland. As an attempt to raise money for Marian House it was a disappointment. The second visit in May 1957 was no better, although Father Sipovich saw the founder of the Legion of Mary, Frank Duff who gave £2 for Marian House, and was received by President de Valera who said that all requests for help should be addressed to the Irish bishops. He failed to obtain an audience with the Archbishop of Dublin, while the Vicar General received him "politely but coldly".

The link with the Legion of Mary started in 1950 on the instruction of Buchys. An "Eastern praesidium" of the Legion was established, with its seat at Marian House. Its members were pleasant and pious young people, with more enthusiasm than knowledge, full of good will and ready to help. Some of them later developed a serious interest in Eastern Christianity and helped to revive the Society of Saint John Chrysostom.

The fund-raising campaign started seriously late in 1954. Belarusians and their friends  responded most generously to Father Sipovich's appeal. Early in 1956 he was already able  to pay the first £1000 to the Lithuanian Marian Fathers. This was followed by another £1000 a year later. In September of 1957 he embarked on a three-months tour of the United States and Canada. Although fund-raising for Marian House was not the only reason for his going there, it figured prominently in his plans. He visited Belarusian communities in New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit in the United States, and Toronto and London (Ontario) in Canada. He came back on 13 December with nearly $6500 ($3000 of which was a grant from the National Catholic Welfare Conference), or over £2000 according to the rate of exchange at that time. With more donations coming, by February 1959 the total sum paid to the Lithuanians was £5200. On 8 July of that year the Lithuanian Fathers made the following decision: "Since the greater part of the money for 'Marian House' has been paid to Lithuanian Fathers by Fr Ceslaus Sipovich, MIC (hitherto £5200 has been paid, there remains still £3000 to pay), it was unanimously decided to transfer the title of ownership of 'Marian House' to the Belarusian Marian Fathers". The Marian General Council in Rome on 21 July approved "the transfer of the title of ownership of the house called 'Marian House' from the Lithuanian Province to the Marian Fathers of Belarusian origin".

Thus the campaign to acquire Marian House as the permanent seat for the Belarusian Catholic Mission came to its conclusion. But the Mission was no nearer to owning the house: it remained the property of its former owners, the Congregation of Marian Fathers who thus achieved the impossible feat of having their cake and eating it. The so-called "transfer of the title of ownership" from Lithuanian to Belarusian Marian Fathers was a purely internal affair within that Congregation. This fact was unknown to many good Belarusians and their friends (some of them non-Catholics) from all over the world, who remained convinced that with their contributions they helped to secure a permanent place for the Belarusian Mission. A few people, however, seemed to have their doubts. On 1 June 1955 Sipovich wrote to Mr and Mrs Victor Ivanouski in London (Ontario): "Under separate cover I am sending a subscription list  for Marian House. When you see it, you will understand how much effort it has cost me to secure the exalted patronage of the Cardinal of Westminster and other persons... I shall be grateful if you could find at least a few benefactors who would wish to put their names on the list...". Unimpressed by the "exalted patronage" Ivanouski answered (letter without date): "Until now I have collected $21... If the money is not urgently needed, then I would like to wait and send (later) a larger amount, say 50 dollars, because I hope to collect a considerable sum when you publish in the newspaper Batskaushchyna (Native country) an explanation who will be the owner of the house etc. You see, people are asking me, and Dr B. Rahula demands categorically a fuller explanation".

It is not known whether there were other similar demands. Be it as it may, the Munich-based Belarusian paper Batskaushchyna (Native country) published the following letter of Father Sipovich  in its issue of 3 June 1956: "At the request of some Belarusians I would like to declare publicly the following: the house in London (Holden Avenue N.12), known as 'Marian House", in which since 1948 there has been a Belarusian Catholic chapel, is designed to serve the following purposes:

1. To provide accommodation to Belarusian Marian monks;

2. To carry out religious work among Belarusian Catholics in Great Britain;

3. To house a library, archives and museum, exclusively Belarusian or related to Belarusian studies.

From the legal point of view the matter stands thus: the General Council of Marian Fathers gave formal permission for the purchase of Marian House for the above mentioned purposes, obviously, on condition that the means to cover the cost of the purchase could be found. There is no doubt whatsoever, that Marian House is intended for Belarusians, and will remain theirs forever. Today there are 12 Belarusian Marian priests in Europe, but until now they have had no opportunity to meet and work together. But even if there were such a possibility, they have nowhere to meet until Marian House is acquired. Older Belarusians who remember the monastery of Marian Fathers in Druia and their work among Belarusian young people and peasants, will know that Marian House will serve the same ends, although in different, more difficult circumstances of exile..."[33]. The rest of the letter consists of an appeal for donations.

One reads these lines with mixed feelings, because what they imply is the complete opposite of what was said in the Belarusian Catholic Mission Fund appeal. They give the impression of being written by a worried man, trying to limit the damage caused by the leakage of unwelcome news. The Belarusian Catholic Mission is not mentioned at all, and that is perhaps the most striking feature of the whole letter. The first of the three chief purposes of Marian House mentioned was to provide accommodation (the author stops short from saying who would own the house) for Belarusian Marian Fathers, whose record of work at Druia should serve as sufficient proof of their future intentions. The talk about twelve Belarusian Marian Fathers in Europe with no place to meet was nothing but a smoke screen. First of all they were not twelve but ten, of whom only one, Ceslaus Sipovich, was in the West. The remaining nine were in Communist-dominated Poland, and there was little hope of them being allowed to come to London. Moreover, at least three of them (Dashuta, Khamionak and Smulka) were elderly and infirm. Others (Apiachonak, Sarul, Los'), apart from being polonised, at least in the cultural sense, had never expressed any wish to come and work among Belarusians in the West. In fact one of them, Anthony Los', wrote (in Polish) to Bishop Sipovich as late as 5 June 1969, expressing his wish to dedicate the rest of his priestly life to work "among brothers in the East". Then he continued: "It might be useful to come abroad to broaden one's outlook, but never to work". The letter was also signed by Francis Apiachonak.

The key idea of Sipovich's letter to Batskaushchyna was to assure the readers that there should be no doubt whatsoever about the fact that Marian House was intended for Belarusians. This begs the question, why should there have been any doubt in the first place? On the whole the letter explains nothing and leaves the reader more confused than before.

Something must be said about £3000 owed by Belarusian Marian Fathers to their Lithuanian confreres after 1959. The flow of donations by that time had almost dried up, and the debt was paid out of the annual grant of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches for the Belarusian Catholic Mission. The following table compiled from the account books of the Marian Fathers (no separate accounts for the Mission were kept), leaves little room for doubt:

Grant of the Oriental Congregation	Payment for Marian House
Jan 1960   £500	25 Jan 1960 £500
10 March 1961   £500	10 March 1961   £500
3 Apr. 1962 £500	3 Apr. 1962 £500
1 Jan. 1963   £500	1 Jan. 1963   £500
10 Feb. 1964 £500	11 Feb. 1964 £500
23 Jan. 1965   £750	26 Jan. 1965   £250
9 Feb. 1966 £500	9 Feb. 1966    £250
TOTAL £3750	TOTAL £3000

Thus the Oriental Congregation, against its will and without its knowledge, became a  benefactor of Marian Fathers.

Ceslaus Sipovich was a man of vision and courage which had its source in his profound and sincere faith. He was also loyal to the Congregation of Marian Fathers to which he owed so much. Sadly this loyalty often took the form of an emotional attachment which clouded his usually sound judgments and prevented him from seeing things as they really were. His dream was to have a community of Belarusian Marian Fathers who would continue the Druia tradition and be "forever" in charge of the Belarusian Catholic Mission in England. In his mind there was no clear distinction between those two institutions, and this in time was bound to create considerable difficulties and misunderstanding. Right to the end he refused to entertain the idea that the time might come when there would be no Belarusian Marian priest left at Marian House. But that exactly is what happened, and the question of the ownership arose with new urgency.

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