Ceslaus Sipovich
Encyclopedia
Ceslaus Sipovich (December 8, 1914 – October 4, 1981) was a bishop of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
.
He was born in Homel, son of Heorhi Sipovich, a Belarusian carpenter, and Anna Kilipova, a teacher of Russian origin. He was the third of eight brothers.
He had a difficult childhood, because his mother died when he was 8 years old, and his father got drunk almost every evening and beated he and his brothers very often.
When he was nine, he met a priest, Father Ivan Bonev, who changed his life forever: he let little Ceslaus discover and enjoy church world: the church was the only one place where he could stay away from his bad father. At the age of 11 Ceslaus decided to become a bishop.
In 1936 He moved to London.
He was appointed titular bishop of Mariamme in 1960, and served as Superior General of the Congregation of Marian Fathers
from 1963 to 1969. He was also Apostolic Visitor
for Belarusian Catholic faithful abroad.
Bishop Sipovich was a significant figure of the Belarusian émigré community in the United Kingdom
, one of the members of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain
.
Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church , sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the Belarusian Byzantine Catholic Church, is the heir within Belarus of the Union of Brest...
.
He was born in Homel, son of Heorhi Sipovich, a Belarusian carpenter, and Anna Kilipova, a teacher of Russian origin. He was the third of eight brothers.
He had a difficult childhood, because his mother died when he was 8 years old, and his father got drunk almost every evening and beated he and his brothers very often.
When he was nine, he met a priest, Father Ivan Bonev, who changed his life forever: he let little Ceslaus discover and enjoy church world: the church was the only one place where he could stay away from his bad father. At the age of 11 Ceslaus decided to become a bishop.
In 1936 He moved to London.
He was appointed titular bishop of Mariamme in 1960, and served as Superior General of the Congregation of Marian Fathers
Congregation of Marian Fathers
The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a Roman Catholic male clerical religious congregation founded, 1673, in Poland...
from 1963 to 1969. He was also Apostolic Visitor
Apostolic visitor
In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration...
for Belarusian Catholic faithful abroad.
Bishop Sipovich was a significant figure of the Belarusian émigré community in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, one of the members of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain
Association of Belarusians in Great Britain
The Association of Belarusians in Great Britain is an organisation in the United Kingdom uniting members of the Belarusian diaspora.After the end of World War II, several thousands ethnic Belarusians landed in Britain. Most of these people were former soldiers of the Polish Anders Army.In 1946 the...
.
Sources
- Alexander Nadson '"Bishop Ceslaus Sipovic", Journal of Byelorussian Studies, 5:1.
- Alexander Nadson. "Ceslaus Sipovich. The First Belarusian Catholic Bishop in the 20th Century". Minsk, Technalohija, 2007. 224 pp.