10. The Lord's Vineyard

The Belarusian community in the West after the Second World War consisted mainly of  refugees, i.e.people who were forced to leave their country because of the oppressive Communist regime there. Initially they hoped that soon they would be able to return home. With the passage of time this hope receded, but they were still determined to retain their national identity and maintain links with their native country. There was nothing new in this. History knows several examples of people in exile retaining their identity, the most famous being the Jews who survived the Babylonian captivity and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. In more recent times one may recall the Polish "Great Emigration" after the uprising against Russian domination in 1830, which counted among its members Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki and Frederick Chopin. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 there was a Russian emigration in the West which included Berdayev, Bulgakov, Loski, Evdokimov and others who became well known in the West for their contribution to the development of philosophical and theological thought.

Belarus was among the countries  least known in the West. This created additional difficulties for the Belarusian refugees who had to explain to their hosts who they were. Among them there were the well known writers and poets (Arsiennieva, Siadniou, Salaviej), composers (Kulikovich, Ravenski, Karpovich), scholars (Tumash, Adamovich, Haroshka, Stankievich) artists (Miranovich, Zhauniarovich, Naumovich, Rusak) etc. Their contribution to the development of Belarusian culture has only recently been acknowledged and appreciated in Belarus.

The religious situation was very difficult in Belarus. Under the Soviet Communist regime, which was hostile to any form of religion, all religious activity was severely restricted. But even within this restricted sphere there was not much which could bring comfort to a Belarusian. The Orthodox Church, the largest of all religious bodies, formed part of the Russian Moscow Patriarchate, and the use of any language other than Russian in sermons, teaching of cathechism etc. (the liturgical language was Church Slavonic) was unthinkable. As to the Roman Catholics, no sooner had the Second Vatican Council allowed the use of vernacular in church services, than they introduced... Polish. The use of Belarusian was not exactly forbidden, but those few who dared to do so incurred the opprobrium of their confreres and accusations of harming the Catholic Church. The situation of the Belarusian Catholic Church of Byzantine Rite, usually known as Greek Catholic, or Uniate Church, was most tragic of all. Once the church of the vast majority of Belarusian people, in 1839 it was suppressed by the Russian authorities and forcibly incorporated into the Russian Orthodox Church. Attempts at reviving it early in the 20th century, and especially after 1918, found support among many priests such as Adam Stankievich and Constantine Stepovich (the poet Kazimier Svaiak), and also lay persons, the most prominent of them being Princess Magdalena Radzivill. They were opposed by the Polish political and ecclesiastical authorities who were afraid that a strong Belarusian Greek Catholic Church would present a serious obstacle to their policy of polonisation. For this reason they favoured the policy of "converting" Orthodox Belarusians to the Roman rite, or failing this, trying to make "Orthodox Poles" out of them. The Commission "Pro Russia" also did not like the idea of Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, but for different reasons: for them Belarusians were simply Russians, and they feared the effect which  Belarusian "separatism" could have on the "conversion" of Russia. As for the Orthodox Belarusians, more than a century of the official Russian propaganda made its effects felt among them, and they viewed the Greek Catholic Church with apprehension and suspicion. All this, and especially the official Vatican policy as represented by the Commission "Pro Russia", made some former supporters of the Greek Catholic Church disheartened. The others, on the other hand, were more than ever determined to assert their right as faithful members of the Holy Church to remain what they were, and worship God in the manner most suited to their spiritual needs. In this way the attitude towards the Greek Catholics had become (and still is today) a sure indicator of the degree of freedom and tolerance within the Church. After the fall of Poland in September 1939, Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky, Archbishop of L'viv, established a Greek Catholic Exarchate (Diocese) in Belarus. The Exarch, Father Antony Niemantsevich, died in a German prison in 1942. The Soviet Communists, after they reoccupied Belarus and Ukraine in 1944, singled out the Greek Catholic Church as their particular target for a campaign of hate and persecution. In 1945 the 4-million strong Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine was destroyed and forcibly incorporated into the Russian Orthodox Church. Thus the Belarusian scenario of 1839 was repeated in Ukraine with this difference that this time the champion of the Russian Orthodox Church was not the Orthodox tsar but the godless Communist regime. The small, weak Belarusian Church had no chance of survival.

It was up to the Belarusian community outside Belarus to defend the right of their people to hear the Message of Salvation and to praise God in their native tongue, and to the few Greek Catholics among them to keep the idea of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church alive.

Haroshka and Sipovich were both priests of Byzantine (Greek Catholic) rite, but their backgrounds and characters could not have been more different. Father Haroshka was not only born into, but also received his priestly formation in the Byzantine rite at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Academy in L'viv. As a priest he had worked in various Greek Catholic parishes in Belarus. Unlike many other priests he had never been, or had any wish to be a "biritualist", i.e. to have the right to officiate in both the Byzantine and Roman rites. A man of unshakable faith, Haroshka was very demanding to himself but understanding with others. He had an astonishing capacity for hard work, and the extent of his knowledge was really impressive. By temperament and inclination he was a scholar and worked best alone. He could be stubborn and uncompromising in his views.

Sipovich, on the other hand, was born into, and brought up in the Roman rite. There is no evidence that he showed any interest in the Byzantine rite before 1938, when at the age of 24 he took up Tsikota's offer to go to Rome. He had his "oriental" training in the somewhat artificial atmosphere of the Russian College where a genuine Russian was a rarity, and narrowly missed being sent to Manchuria to "convert" Russians.

Sipovich belonged to a religious congregation which was not known for its "oriental" spirit. In many respects he had remained "Latin" in his outlook and spirituality. In fact until he became a bishop, Sipovich often celebrated Mass in the Roman rite, especially during his travels. His loyalty to the Marian Congregation was the cause of some difficulties and clashes of interests. The religious life did not always come easy to him. During his annual retreat in October 1944 he made the following resolutions: 1) keep the timetable most conscientiously; 2)  do nothing without the knowledge of the superiors or against their wishes; 3) try to love the virtue of obedience. In September 1945 it was the turn of examining his relations with the Superior General, i.e. Buchys: "Because of Father Superior General's advanced age, and because perhaps not everything he tries to do is an unqualified success, I must never criticise his views and his orders in front of the others. I must never take an uncompromising stand, as I have been known to do". He returned to the question of obedience in October 1950 and made the following remark in his retreat notes: "I find obedience very difficult, especially in matters when my reason shows me their foolishness".

The problem of how to reconcile the universal character of Christ's Message with the love of one's people evidently troubled Sipovich. It became acute after the failed attempt of two different institutions at Marian House – Belarusian and Russian – to find a way to work together. One of his meditations during the the same retreat in 1950 was on the words of Saint Paul, known as the Apostle of the Gentiles: "I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood" (Rom 9:3-4). Under this quotation Sipovich made the note: "Israelites (= Belarusians)".

Intelligent rather than intellectual, Sipovich had many statesmanlike qualities. In other circumstances he could have been a succesful businesman or politician. And yet his faith was so sincere and evident that one could not imagine him as anything other than a priest.

With Father Sipovich established permanently at Marian House, its chapel of SS Peter and Paul had become a "parish church" for Belarusians in London. This was very important, because one of the main difficulties for Belarusians in organising their religious life was the absence of their own place of worship. The chapel was blessed on Sunday 16 May 1948. It was a modest place, consisting of one fairly large room, in which there was an altar and a few most necessary items of church furnishing, no iconostasis and very few icons. But the people who came there for Sunday Liturgy, felt it was their place. They were free to stay after the Service, to talk and have a cup of tea, to sit in the garden in the summer and have a rest, and watch the more energetic having a game of volleyball. Soon other religious activities began to take place – day retreats, religious talks, prayers for Unity Octave etc. There was a small but well organised choir. Although it was a Catholic Byzantine rite chapel, it was frequented by Roman rite Catholics and the Orthodox.

Father Sipovich was determined to have the chapel in a traditional Byzantine style. The Oriental Congregation approved his project and promised to pay for it. The iconostasis was constructed specially for the chapel in summer 1951. Father Jerome Leussing, a monk from the well known Benedictine monastery at Chevetogne in Belgium, was commissioned to paint the icons. He painted the principal icons (Christ, Mother of God, Last Supper, four evangelists and Annunciation) but unfortunately died in 1952 without completing his work. It was continued by his pupil, Sister Ludgardis, the Benedictine nun from the Schotenhof abbey near Antwerp, who also painted a set of small icons for major feasts. The chapel itself was enlarged in 1952 by knocking down the wall separating it from the adjoining room. By early 1953 the chapel assumed the look which has remained basically unchanged to the present day.

Marian House became the centre of various activities. In particular there was the Belarusian Catholic University Union "Run'", which was founded in 1949, with its headquarters in London at Marian House. Its membership consisted of Catholic university students and graduates, but their events were open to all. In particular their meetings in London every last Sunday of the month were very popular and well attended. The meeting lasted all day, starting with the Liturgy, a common meal and one or two lectures. From 1951 onwards "Run'" organised study weeks during the summer vacation with participants from various countries. Each study week had a special theme, e.g. "To be at one with Christ and the Church (Sentire cum Christo et Ecclesia}", "Christ – the Way, the Truth and the Life", "Christian elements in Belarusian Culture" etc. Usually one day was reserved for a retreat, which on a few occasions was conducted by Bishop Sloskans, Apostolic Visitor for Belarusians. One of the most memorable study weeks was the third one, which took place in London at Marian House on 27 July – 2 August 1953. It  concluded on Sunday 2 August with the ceremony of blessing the icon of the heavenly patrons of Belarus. The Icon, of the type called "Deisis" (Supplication), represented Christ enthroned as Pantocrator, flanked by his Blessed Mother and Saint John the Baptist in the upper row, and a group of five Belarusian saints in the lower. It was commissioned for the chapel of SS Peter and Paul at Marian House by Andrew Bahamolec, a descendant of the ancient princes of Minsk, and painted by the Ukrainian artist Iryna Korostovets. The blessing was performed by Archbishop William Godfrey, Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, who was assisted by Bishop Boleslaus Sloskans. The icon now hangs behind the altar in the sanctuary of the chapel of SS Peter and Paul at Marian House. The next study week was held during the Marian Year on 24 October - 1 November 1954 in Rome and was combined with participation in the International Mariological Congress. The programme was somewhat curtailed to give the participants the chance to take part in general events: the Congress itself, at which Father Tatarynovich read a paper; the multinational procession (where Belarusians formed their own group) with the famous icon of the Mother of God "Salus Populi Romani" from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to Saint Peter in the Vatican, and subsequent coronation of the icon by the Holy Father; the international concert in honour of the Mother of God, which included a solo performance by the Belarusian bass singer Peter Koniukh etc.

Incidentally after the first study week in July 1951 at the Benedictine monastary of Chevetogne in Belgium, some members went on to Reims to take part in the Congress of "Pax Romana". It was at this Congress that "Run'" was admitted as an ordinary member of this world-wide Catholic University organisation.

The study weeks of "Run'" proved very popular and attracted participants from England, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. They were open to non-members, both Catholics and Orthodox. For Belarusian priests working in various countries of Western Europe they presented an unique opportunity to meet and discuss their problems.

Father Sipovich took an active part in the cultural and social activities of the Association of Belarusians and the newly founded Anglo-Belarusian Society. The aim of the latter was to make Belarus, its culture, history and present-day problems, known among the English speaking people. One of the first important joint ventures was the celebration of the Belarusian National Day (25 March) in 1954, with the participation of the Belarusian student choir from Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium, the composer Ales Karpovich from Oldenburg in Germany and the singer Peter Koniukh from Rome. The celebration began on 25 March with a concert in Christ Church Hall in Finchley, the London borough in which Marian House was situated. Among those present  was the Mayor of Finchley, as well as practically all members of the council. On Saturday 27 March there was a second concert in Westminster Cathedral Hall in the presence of the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Griffin, and many church and civil dignitaries. The following day was Sunday, and the Liturgy at the chapel of SS Peter and Paul was concelebrated by Father Sipovich and the chaplain of Belarusian students at Leuven (Louvain) University, Father Robert van Cauvelaert.

At the above celebration there the Belarusian Orthodox priest, Father Alexander Kryt was also present. As there was no Belarusian Orthodox church in London, he celebrated the Liturgy in the hall of the house of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain.

Alexander Kryt (1901-1983) came to England in 1948 from Germany as a European Volunteer Worker. He was active in Belarusian life in Germany, where he was known as a a hard and conscientious worker, a pious Orthodox and a man to be trusted. In 1948 the Belarusian Autocephalic Orthodox Church was restored. On 25 June 1950 Bishop Vasil (Tamashchyk), on a visit to England, ordained Kryt a priest. He seems to have agreed to become a priest under some sort of moral pressure. On 29 June 1950, four days after his ordination, he wrote to Father Sipovich: "The final choice of this way (of life) happened somehow against my will, because there was simply not enough strength left to refuse". Nevertheless, once ordained, he became a good and conscientious priest. In 1961 he went to the United States, was consecrated bishop in 1968 (assuming the name of Andrew)  and three years later, in 1971, became the head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church in Exile. His last years were marred by quarrels and splits in that Church. Father Sipovich was on friendly terms with Father Kryt when he was in England, both before and after his ordination. In particular he helped him obtain essential liturgical books.

In 1953 Lavon Rydleuski, chairman of the Belarusian Union in France "Khaurus", fell ill. Initially it was thought that he had been working too hard and that he needed simply a good rest. All his life Rydleuski had selflessly helped others without a thought for himself, and as a result was penniless. Father Sipovich was asked to take him to Marian House. On his arrival it was discovered that Rydleuski was terminally ill with cancer. He died in London on 24 October 1953. Father Sipovich heard his confession before his death and gave him Holy Communion. However, since Rydleuski was Orthodox, he asked Father Kryt who lived in Bradford some 200 miles away from London, to come and conduct the funeral service, offering to cover his travelling expenses. This happened long before the Catholic Church discovered ecumenism.

Two other events took place towards the end of 1953. Alexander Nadson who for many years had worked closely with Father Sipovich in London, began studying for the priesthood at the Greek College in Rome. John Sadouski, who was admitted by Sipovich in 1948 as his first candidate for the Marian Fathers and sent to Rome to study, decided not to renew his vows and left the Marian Congregation. He also changed his rite from Byzantine to Roman. With the help of Bishop Sloskans a place was found for him at the French College where he continued his theological studies. He was ordained priest on 17 December 1955.

After the death of Stalin in 1953 there was a certain relaxation of the regime in the Soviet Union. The first to feel its effects were the inmates of the innumerable prisons and forced labour camps. Some of them, especially those holding foreign passports, were released. Among them were the surviving Belarusian Marian Fathers from Harbin. Father Hermanovich was released in April 1955 and deported against his will (according to his words, he wanted to be allowed to go to Belarus) to Poland. He was soon joined there by Father Thomas Padziava. Father Andrew Tsikota did not live to see freedom: he died in a prison hospital near lake Baikal on 11 February 1952. The details of his death were brought West by Father Paul Chaleil, a French priest who had worked alongside the Belarusian Fathers in Harbin and was arrested together with them. He was released in September 1955. Father Sipovich met him in Rome on 12 October 1955 and wrote down all Father Chaleil told him about the fate of Father Tsikota.

Father Sipovich came back to London early in November 1955 with his new assistant, Father Constantine Maskalik. He was a pious man, who before the war had liked to visit various Orthodox and Catholic sanctuaries in Western Belarus and Ukraine, and who had spent some time in the Zhyrovitsy (Orthodox) and Univ (Greek Catholic) monasteries. Early in 1941 he was drafted into the Soviet army, but after the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, as a Polish citizen, was discharged and permitted to join the Polish army which was then being formed in the Soviet Union. With the Polish Army he eventually reached Italy via Iran and Middle East. After the end of the war and demobilisation in 1946 he remained in Italy and was admitted to the Russian College (Russicum) in Rome as a candidate for the priesthood. It took him nine years instead of the usual six to achieve his goal, because before beginning his theological studies he had to obtain the secondary education he lacked. He was ordained priest on Easter Sunday 10 April 1955.

Father Maskalik proved to be something of a disappointment. On 16 November 1955 Father Sipovich wrote to Father Haroshka: "Father Constantine M. is getting used to us and we to him. A country boy in everything!". There is more about him in the letter of 28 December: "Fr Constantine M. is all right. But when shall I have some real help from him? God only knows. I don't see in him any initiative, and when you give him something to do, there is no knowing whether he will do it. He has a healthy appetite... Is very nervous. It seems that Russicum for him was not a seminary, but a prison, where they also teach you something... We shall see".

Nearly two years later, on 15 April 1957, Sipovich wrote to Tatarynovich: "...as I have been alone, so I am now. My assistant... is growing a beard! A narrow-minded, stubborn man... Nearly two years have passed, and he cannot speak a word of English. He is inept in dealing with people. I write this to you and cry silently, because I have not seen anything similar among all priests whom I have chanced to meet in my life".

Father Maskalik, a man of unquestionable and sincere piety, might have been a good assistant priest in a normal parish with an established routine of work. However, in a situation, in which much depended on the initiative of the individual, he lacked the necessary drive and vision. Another serious drawback was his lack of the a good general cultural background which one  usually acquires in secondary school and which no amount of "cramming" could make up. These and other factors made relations between him and Father Sipovich somewhat uneasy.

Father Maskalik might not have been of much help, but at least his presence assured the continuity of services at SS Peter and Paul chapel at Marian House during Father Sipovich's frequent absences, in particular during the trip to the United States and Canada which lasted three months from 10 September to 13 December 1957. This was Father Sipovich's first visit to the American continent, and there is little doubt that one of its aims was to collect money towards the purchase of Marian House. But there were also other reasons. The post-war Belarusian community in  America had by now solved the basic problem of survival and had begun organising their national life. Soon there began to spring up national organisations such as the Belarusian-American Association with branches in all major cities. In 1950 the Association began to publish a paper Belarus (The Belarusian). On 16 December 1951 the Belarusian Institute of Arts and Sciences was founded, with its seat in New York. In 1952 the first issue of the Institute's official publication, Zapisy (Proceedings), appeared. This was followed in 1954 by the literary journal Konadni (Vigils). The most numerous Belarusian community was in and around New York, with a large number of writers and poets (Natalla Arsiennieva, Masiej Siadniou, Iurka Vitsbich, Mikhas Kavyl), literary critics and journalists (Stanislau Stankievich, Anton Adamovich), artists (Piotra Miranovich), scholars (Vitaut Tumash, Ianka Stankievich) etc. The other centres were Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, also Toronto in Canada. The Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church was well organised, with a bishop (Vasil Tamashchyk) in New York and a number of parishes in various towns (New York, New Brunswick, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto). There were also parishes which depended directly on the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Catholics, on the other hand, had practically nothing, except the nucleus of a Greek Catholic parish in Chicago. In March 1957 Father Francis Charniauski came to the United States and made an attempt to organise a religious life among the Roman (Latin) rite Catholics who were particularily numerous in and around New York. He was hampered by the fact of being alone and having to work as assistant priest in a Polish American parish at a considerable distance from where the majority of Belarusians lived.

Father Sipovich spent much time in New York. He stayed there with Mr and Mrs Francis Kushal. Mrs Kushal is better known as Natalla Arsiennieva, one of the most outstanding Belarusian poets of the 20th century. The Belarusian community held a reception in his honour on 28 September. On 26 October there was a meeting of members of the Catholic University Union "Run'" (many of them had emigrated recently from England) and friends, at which Father Sipovich spoke on the new trends in the Catholic Church and the importance of religion in private life. The highlight of his stay in New York was Mass for Belarusians at St Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday 27 October, the feast of Christ the King in the Roman calendar. There were also private meetings with Archbishop Basil and fathers Voitanka and Daniluk from the Belarusian Orthodox Autocephalic Church; Dr Vitaut Tumash, president of the Belarusian Institute of Arts and Sciences, and others. On 25 October Father Sipovich paid a visit to the "Russian Centre" at the Jesuit Fordham University, and had an interesting conversation with its director, Father Maillleux. Here is what he wrote in his diary: "Father Mailleux draws his own conclusions: 73 Jesuits have dedicated themselves to work in the Byzantine rite. There are 18 parishes. And the results? Apostasies of priests, there are no Russian Catholic families. What to do?... I draw the attention of Father M. to the fact that Jesuit Fathers direct all their efforts to work exclusively among Russians. They have forgotten about Ukrainians and Belarusians. Father M. said: 'If England becomes Catholic, there will be no difficulty in converting Northern Ireland'. What he wanted to say was that when Russia becomes Catholic, there will be no trouble with Ukraine and Belarus. I replied to this strongly and indignantly: 'This is the talk of a missionary theoretician, for whom Belarus and Ukraine are of no consequence. The Belarusian people is foremost in the mind of a Belarusian priest'".

In Chicago there had been a Belarusian organisation as early as 1920s. One of its founders was Joseph Varonka, the first Prime Minister of the Belarusian National Republic during the short period of its independence in 1918. There was a great number of emigres from Belarus, most of them Orthodox. In the absence of their own priests, they usually joined the Russian Orthodox parishes, where they lost all traces of their separate identity. In an attempt to regain those "lost souls" Varonka began to publish, in Russian, a paper called Belorusskaia tribuna (Belarusian Tribune). He also saw the need for a similar publication in the Polish language to reach Belarusian Catholics who were swelling the ranks of Polish Catholic parishes. He wrote about this on 17 July 1929 to a Belarusian Catholic priest, Father John Tarasevitch, a member of the La Salette Missionary Congregation, who had come to the United States as a young man in 1911. Incidentally the two men considered the possibility of establishing a Uniate Catholic parish in Chicago, for which purpose Father Tarasevitch was prepared to change from the Roman to the Byzantine rite. Varonka wrote to him on 25 August 1931: "About your changing to the Eastern rite it is impossible to give a satisfactory answer in a letter. The matter is too important. In general I have been interested in the Orthodox-Catholic problem in Belarus (and for Belarus) for a long time... If we could meet soon, we could discuss all aspects of this problem". It was not till five years later that Father Tarasevitch changed to the Byzantine rite. In 1936 he left the La Salette Congregation and entered the Benedictine novitiate. One year later he became a monk at Saint Procopius Benedictine abbey at Lisle near Chicago. The abbey was founded in 1885 by Czech benedictines and was named in honour of Procopius, an 11th-century Czech (Bohemian) saint. In 1930s, under abbot Procopius Neuzil the abbey became the centre for the Slavonic Apostolate in the United States, the word "Slavonic" being for all practical purposes synonymous with "Russian". The official organ of the Apostolate was a monthly journal called Tserkovnyi golos – Voice of the Church. It was a bilingual publication, its title and all articles being printed both in Russian and in English. Father Tarasevitch, who assumed the monastic name of John Chrysostom, became its editor. Hardly an issue of the journal appeared without a leading article by him. Of particular interest is his article in Sept.-Oct. 1939 issue, entitled "A Catholic's Duty towards the Orthodox".The title was somewhat misleading, because the author had in mind not the Orthodox in general, but the Orthodox Russians. According to him, the great obstacle preventing them from coming into the fold of the Catholic Church were Western priests in Eastern clerical garb but with a Western mentality and speaking Russian with an atrocious accent. Father Tarasevitch proposes a sure remedy: "... This great impediment to the reunion in question can be removed – namely, by sending among them priests and missionaries who are Russian themselves... 'And where are the Catholics among the Russians?' one may ask. There are very many excellent Catholics among the White-Russians. It is therefore from their midst that we should choose ardent missionaries for Russia... There are countless youths of their ranks in Russia who desire to become priests, missionaries, monks and nuns, but are unable to realise their high callings because they are poor... Catholics should bethink themselves of these excellent youthful Christians and enable them to realise their holy aspirations of becoming apostles for the unfortunate Russian people and workers for the rebirth and reestablishment of Christ's Church throughout Russia. Already a group of White-Russian Catholic priests and monks are successfully working among the Russians in Harbin, Manchuria. White-Russian priests and monks and nuns could work with equal success among the Russians everywhere if only the Catholics would come to the aid of the White-Russian lads and girls to enable them to become religious"[34]. The picture, painted by this latter-day follower of d'Herbigny and Buchys, of masses of Belarusian ("White Russian") young people who could not wait to go to "convert" Russia, is truly staggering...

Father Tarasevitch was joined in Lisle by another Belarusian priest, Joseph (Athanasius) Reshats, who came to the United States in 1938. The third member of their group was Father John's nephew, Uladyslau (Uladzimir) Tarasevitch, the future pastor of the Belarusian parish in Chicago and bishop, but at that time still a young student. In autumn 1941 Father John Tarasevitch became chairman of the newly founded organisation, the "White Russian American National Council". It was the year when the armed conflict became truly world-wide, with the United States and the Soviet Union being forced into it, both on the same side. Thus the "Bad red Soviet bear" became overnight "Our gallant Russian ally". The general feeling of goodwill towards the Soviet Union in the West did not last long, and disappeared soon after the end of hostilities and the beginning of the "cold war". Only a few people persisted in displaying their pro-Soviet sympathies, and Father Tarasevitch was one of them. He did not hide his views and wrote about them freely in his correspondence with various Belarusians. As chairman of the "White Russian American National Council" he established contact with the head of the Belarusian Soviet delegation at the United Nations Conference in San Francisco. On 6 December 1945 he and the Council's secretary, Ihnat Lobach, wrote a letter to Archbishop Alexei, Representative of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow in the United States. In it they stated that "Almost all Russians in Chicago are Belarusians", and then continued: "The Chicago Belarusians with all their heart greet the great and dear Church Representative (of the Moscow Patriarch – A.N.) in the person of His Grace Alexei, Archbishop of Iaroslav and Rostov, and wish him success in his great and difficult task for the glory of God, the wellbeing of the Church of Christ and the good of the peoples of the Soviet Union". Archbishop Alexei answered on 24 January 1946. Addressing his letter to "The Belarusians, dear to my heart" he wrote: "I hope that Belarusians, as genuinely Orthodox people, will listen to the voice of the Mother Church, come back to her fold, and thus make it easier for me to fulfill the mission which has been entrusted to me by His Holiness Alexi, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia". The "Mother Church" was, of course, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the archbishop's mission was to persuade all Russians (among whom he included Belarusians and Ukrainians) in the United States to accept the authority of the Patriarch of Moscow. One may wonder what  the reaction of this Russian prelate would have been if he had known that it was a Belarusian Catholic priest who wrote to him. What adds to the poignancy of this bizarre episode is the fact that at that time the Russian Orthodox Church, with the help of the Soviet Communist authorities, was on the point of destroying the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Eight months earlier, on 11 April 1945, the Communists had imprisoned Archbishop Joseph Slipyi and all Ukrainian Catholic bishops. There was no way Father Tarasevitch could have been unaware of this.

The behaviour of Father John Tarasevitch dismayed many Belarusians, especially the newly arrived refugees who had had first-hand experience of the "benefits" of the Soviet regime. In 1947 he resigned his post as chairman of the "White Russian American National Council", or perhaps was told to do so by his ecclesiastical superiors. He did not change his views, but kept them to himself and did not let them interfere with his priestly duties.

The bulk of new Belarusian emigres arrived in Chicago about 1950. For their benefit in 1952 Father Tarasevitch began publishing a bulletin, entitled modestly Listok k belarusam (A Letter to Belarusians). The contents were purely religious, consisting of his homilies and religious poems which were remarkable mainly for their length. Among the new arrivals there was a number of Catholics. Some of them had known each other before 1939 when they were together at the university or at the Belarusian high school in Vilna. They all understood the importance of restoring the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church. Thanks to their efforts the nucleus of the future Belarusian parish of Christ the Redeemer was established in 1955, with its first pastor Father Chrysostom Tarasevitch. Initially, before they acquired their own church, the Liturgy was celebrated in the chapel of a Convent High School. Incidentally, in 1956 a "Unionistic Congress" was held at St Procopius Abbey. One of the monks of that abbey, Father Claude G. Viktora, presented a paper entitled "The Apostolate for Reunion at St Procopius Abbey", in which among other things he said: "A most interesting development of the Apostolate in recent times has been the organization of a group of Orthodox Russian people in Chicago and vicinity, who under the able guidance of Father Chrysostom Tarasevitch, O.S.B., have been formed into a unit which soon promises to become a self-sustaining parochial organization with a Church and rectory of its own. For over a year, each Sunday, the Divine Liturgy is offered in the chapel of Josephinum High School in Chicago at 1515 N. Oakley Blvd"[35].

Father Sipovich was met by two of those "Orthodox Russians" when he came for the first time to Chicago on 2 November 1957. They were Anthony Bielenis and Vatslau Panutsevich. They were both Catholic-born Belarusians, as were their wives, Luise and Irene, sisters whose father, Edward Budzka, had been actively involved in the Belarusian national movement since before the First World War. Bielenis was educated by the Salesian Fathers. He was a man of upright character and profound but unostentatious piety. His steadying influence had a beneficial effect on the development of the parish. Panutsevich in 1956 started the journal Belaruskaia Tsarkva (Belarusian Church). Later Father Sipovich was to express criticism of this publication, both with regard to its title which smacked of nationalism, and the unnecessarily controversial nature of some of its articles.

Bielenis and Panutsevich took Father Sipovich to St Procopius Abbey. Father Chrysostrom Tarasevitch was away in Chicago, but they met Father Athanasius (Joseph) Reshats, a gentle and scholarly priest, author of several religious works in Belarusian. In 1925, soon after the resignation of Bishop George Matulewicz, he was dismissed from the post of professor at Vilna Diocesan Seminary. Prevented from working among his own people Father Reshats emigrated in 1938 to the United States and joined St Procopius Abbey, where his qualities as spiritual director and teacher were highly appreciated. Soon after his meeting with Father Sipovich he was diagnosed terminally ill with cancer. He died on 15 February 1958.

Later on the same day they met Father Chrysostom in Chicago, and he agreed for Father Sipovich to concelebrate and preach a sermon at the Liturgy for the Belarusian community on the following day, which was Sunday. Father Sipovich left the following description of this liturgy in his diary: "Bielenis took me to the chapel where we were going to celebrate the Liturgy. Father Tarasevitch was already there... He made the preparation (proskomidia) and, as the principal celebrant, began the liturgy. I was surprised that he did not offer to me, the guest, the first place, but then I realised that he was ill and for him to celebrate meant to live... After the consecration Fr Tarasevitch suddenly said: 'I made a mistake. What shall I do?' I told him that everything was in order and he should not worry. I don't know when he thought he had made the mistake... After the Communion Fr Tarasevitch preached a short sermon which can be summarised in a few words: 'We must love everyone... Thank you to all, especially the choir... I welcome Fr Sipovich... who will preach a sermon'. Indeed, in such circumstances I had no wish to say anything; nontheless I spoke as well as I could about the church, that it should not be empty, that in addition to the choir there should be also the faithful..."

Apart from New York and Chicago, Father Sipovich visited Washington, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit in the United States, and, in Canada, Toronto, London and Barrie. He celebrated Liturgy, preached sermons, gave talks, met old friends (a number of Belarusian families had emigrated to America from England), made new acquaintances etc. The three months spent in America helped him to form a good idea of the needs and problems of the Belarusian Community there. He became convinced of the need in the United States of a strong religious centre similar to Marian House. It seems that this idea had also occurred to other people. On 27 December 1957 Sipovich wrote to Tatarynovich about Father Charniauski: "He (and not only he!) tried to convince me to come to America and to establish there something similar to Marian House". By a strange coincidence on the same day Father Reshats also wrote to Father Tatarynovich: "Father Sipovich on American soil is a meteorite (in modern parlance "sputnik"), a bird of passage. He has his own Marian plans. Very probably, if he remains in America, he can do much good among Belarusians".

The American project was the subject of discussion in February 1958, when Father Haroshka came to London. The main reason for his visit was his intention to join the Marian Fathers. It is not known what made him take this momentous step. It is doubtful whether he suddenly felt a call to the "monastic" life. Most probably after years of strenuous work alone he had come to the end of his strength and became more receptive to the persuasions of Father Sipovich that it would be better all round if they joined forces.

The problem of who would take the place of Father Haroshka in Paris was solved by deciding to send Father Constantine Maskalik there, although it was obvious that he was unsuitable for this post. The efforts to keep the intended changes secret proved unsuccessful. The first person to have his suspicions was Mikola Abramtchyk, President of the Belarusian National Council. On 18 March 1958 Sipovich wrote to Haroshka: "It happened as you foresaw, and our secret has been discovered. I don't know by whom and how, but it is not important. Sooner or later the matter must become known to all. Understandably, Mr Abramtchyk is defending his interests. I fully agree with everything he writes about your, and that Fr Maskalik will be incapable of doing half of the work you are doing. But Abramtchyk does not know our plans about America and about the Marian Fathers. I think it is sufficient to give him a general answer: we are fully conscious of our responsibility and are making the changes for the greater good of our people. What pains me is that Abramtchyk does not care about the Belarusian Catholics in the United States, for whom nothing has been done, and would be happy if we remained here and did not get in the way of the autocephalists (i.e. the Orthodox). Did you receive a similar letter? With Mr Abramtchyk and our other (political) leaders we must be very tactful, but without any deviations from our plans".

Abramtchyk communicated his suspicions to some Belarusians in the United States. One of them, Anthony Shukeloyts from New York, on his Easter greeting card, dated 1 April 1958, made the following note: "Please tell me what sort of changes you are planning, and what is their purpose? The President (Abramtchyk) is very worried about the (intended) transfer of Father Haroshka to London, fearing this might be the ruin of the Belarusian community in Paris". Sipovich answered on 11 April: "There is good hope that Marian House will remain in the hands of Belarusian Marian Fathers. But where are they? Hermanovich and Los' are not allowed to leave Poland. This means something must be done here so that I don't have to remain alone... You say that the departure of Father Haroshka from Paris will cause the ruin of our community there. One person does not constitute a community. And if it (the community) is such that everything depends on one person, then it is a pity to waste Father Leo on it. He is needed for a more numerous public... You well know the situation of Belarusian Catholics in America and who is there to serve their needs. We must not forget about them, irrespective of whether we are wanted there or not. Personally I feel best in London, where life is well ordered, we have our own place and there is plenty of work. But 'the time will come, when somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go...' (Jn 21:18). In our priestly life we go where there is greater need".

The purpose of the changes proposed by Father Sipovich and Haroshka was the establishment of a religious house of Belarusian Marian Fathers in London, with its possible extension at a later date to the United States. Obviously two priests were not enough, and so Father Sipovich tried to bring to London some Belarusian Marian Fathers from Poland. His previous attempts in this respect had brought no result. This was strange, since, despite the Communist regime in their country, Polish priests were coming and going with comparative ease, especially after 1956. Father Sipovich decided to concentrate his efforts on two priests, Joseph Hermanovich and Anthony Los'. Father Los', who was comparatively young and practically unknown to Belarusians (he had been ordained in 1946 in Poland), would have been a valuable addition to the Belarusian Marian community in London because of his youth. However, he seemed not very keen to come to work in the West. Father Hermanovich, on the other hand, was well known among Belarusians throughout the world both as a priest and a writer. After his release from a Soviet prison camp in 1955 he was deported against his will to Poland, but had no intention of remaining there any more than he had in 1938. The attempts to get Hermanovich out of Poland started in 1957, but his applications for permission to go to Rome, ostensibly for a visit, were consistently rejected by the authorities who were suspicious of his true motives. But it was not only the civil authorities who made difficulties. Father Tatarynovich wrote to Sipovich on 6 September 1957: "A moment ago I telephoned to Via Corsica (the general headquarters of the Marian Fathers – A.N.) and asked how the things stood about the coming of Fr Hermanovich and Los'. In the absence of the Superior General, it was Father Lysik who answered, saying that he had received no reply to several of his letters. When I suggested that the cause of difficulties were the civil authorities, he tried to explain that there was some sort of your (i.e.Marian – A.N.) internal monastic complications: they have a different point of view there (i.e. in Poland – A.N.) on who should go. Sapienti – sat...". Father Sipovich wrote in a similar mood to Father Haroshka on 6 November 1959: "When Father Mroczek was in Rome, he was always finding some reasons why Belarusian Fathers should not be moved from Poland, although Polish students and priests were coming and going, and no harm was done to anyone". Father Wladyslaw Mroczek, a Pole, was Superior General of the Marian Fathers from 1951 to 1957.

One of the first "casualties" of Father Haroshka's decision to join the Marian Congregation was the journal Bozhym shliakham. The patterns of its publication reflected the degree of exhaustion of the editor who produced it practically single-handedly. It began in 1947 as a monthly, only to become bimonthly after one year. In 1955 there appeared three issues, and in 1956 only one. Father Haroshka was late with the 1957 issue but was determined to get it ready for publication before entering the novitiate.

There was no study week of "Run'" in 1958. Instead, Belarusians (practically all members of "Run'") took part in the Marian Congress in Lourdes on 14-18 September. They formed their own separate section there, which, in addition to taking part in general events, had its own programme. In particular Father Sipovich read a paper on "Francis Skaryna's devotion to the Mother of God".

The most important event in 1958 which affected the whole Catholic Church was the death on 9 October of the Pope Pius XII. He had ruled the Church at the most difficult time of the Second World War and the postwar period of confrontation between the Soviet Union and the West. On 28 October a new Pope was elected. He was John XXIII who initiated the period of greater openness in the government of the Church, and astonished the world by announcing his intention to call a new General Council. Although the Belarusians did not realise it at the moment, these momentous changes in the Catholic Church would have an important impact on their affairs.

On Sunday 21 December 1958 in Paris, after the liturgy there was a party at which Belarusians said farewell to Father Haroshka and welcomed Father Maskalik. On 30 December Father Haroshka wrote to Sipovich: "There was a considerable number of people at the farewell Liturgy and party... In general it was noticeable that everyone tried to make Father Constantine welcome, and invited him to visit them. Now we visit together those whom we can, but my impression is that after my departure he will not find his way to their homes". This impression proved to be true...

Father Haroshka left Paris by train on Sunday 4 January 1959 and arrived in Rome the following day.

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