Havryil Kolenda
Encyclopedia
Yuri Havryil Kolenda (1606—1674) was the Administrator of Kiev–Galicia from 1655 and Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and Russia of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
from 1665 to his death in 1674.
. In 1624 he entered in the Order of Saint Basil the Great
taking the religious name of Havryil (Gabriel). He passed his novitiate
in the monastery of Byten. Ended the novitiate, in 1627 he was sent to study in Braniewo
where he remained till 1630. Returned in Vilnius
, he continued his studies here, and on 28 March 1633 he was ordained a priest
. He later studied in Vienna
and in the Greek College in Rome where he studied from 1 December 1636 to 24 November 1639.
Returned in Lithuania
, in 1640 Kolenda became the deputy of the Archbishop of Polotsk, Antin Sielava
, who in 1641 became the Metropolitan of Kiev and head of the Church.
was a Cossack
rebellion in Ukraine
which posed a threat to the existence of the Commonwealth. One of the targets of the Cossacks was the liquidation of the Greek-Catholic Church, and this request was considered acceptable by the Latin Catholic Poles
who, after being defeated by the Cossacks, signed the Treaty of Zboriv
in 1649, only the Papal nuncio
and Greek-Catholic bishops opposed. The Cossacks army arrived to forcedly abolish the Greek-Catholic eparchy
of Chełm, one of the stronghold of the Greek-Catholic Church. In September 1651, due to a temporary defeat of the Cossacks, the new Treaty of Bila Tserkva
was signed and it contained no more statements about the liquidation of the Greek-Catholic Church which was allowed to re-enter in Chełm and Przemyśl
.
In 1652 Havryil Kolenda was consecrated a bishop
with the title of bishop of Mstsislaw by his Metropolitan Antin Sielava
. On 23 June 1563 the coadjutor bishop
of the Metropolitan, Pachomius Oranski bishop of Pinsk
, was killed by the Cossaks, and Kolenda was chosen as new coadjutor with the right of succession.
After a couple of years of truce, in 1654 the Cossacks allied with the Russian tsar in the Treaty of Pereyaslav
which led to the Russo-Polish War (1654-1667), to which added the Second Northern War
(1655–60) with the invasion from Sweden
. These wars led to a period of mass murders and poverty known as the Deluge. The Russian
army from North, and the Cossacks from South, occupied the territories of the Greek-Catholic Church, and destroyed churches, monasteries, schools, killing priests and monks.
On 5 October 1655 the Metropolitan of Kiev, Antin Sielava, died. Kolenda succeeded him as Administrator of the Greek-Catholic Church, but not as Metropolitan, because due to the war it was not possible nor to convene the electoral synod as requested by Rome
, nor to obtain the appointment from the King, who preferred not to displease the powerful Cossacks.
In the meantime the wars went on. Kolenda had to fled Polotsk, bringing with himself the relic
s of Saint Josaphat and moved to Supraśl Lavra. The Treaty of Hadiach
of 1658 signed between Poland and the Cossacks foreseen again the liquidation of the Greek-Catholic Church. This treaty was however not fully enforced because of successive divisions among the Cossacks.
faithful. To obtain some help for his Church, Kolenda sent in 1644 to Rome
the bishop of Chełm, Jacob Souza, who succeeded to convince the papacy to take a stand for Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, reaffirming its independence from the Latin episcopate, obtaining the appointment of Kolenda as Metropolitan, obtaining the confirmation the validity of ordination
s made by Orthodox, ruling about the Basilian Order. Thus on 22 April 1665 Havryil Kolenda was formally appointed as Metropolitan of Kiev.
After the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667 the war ended and the situation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church improved, even if it had to leave the town of Smolensk
and the capital Kiev
. In 1668, and later in 1669, Kolenda succeeded to obtain from the King of Poland the decrees for the restitution of the churches and properties seized during the wars. In 1667 Kolenda became the Proto-Archimandrite
(i.e. Superior general
) of the Basilian Order, ending a ten years of disputes about the heading of the order.
Havryil Kolenda died on 11 February 1674 and was buried on next 18 February in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk
.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
from 1665 to his death in 1674.
Early Life
Yuri Kolenda was born on about 1606 in the Vilnius VoivodeshipVilnius Voivodeship
The Vilnius Voivodeship was one of voivodeships in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, created in 1413, from the Duchy of Lithuania and neighbouring lands.- Geography and administrative division :...
. In 1624 he entered in the Order of Saint Basil the Great
Order of Saint Basil the Great
The Order of St. Basil the Great also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat is an monastic religious order of the Greek Catholic Churches that is present in many countries and that has its Mother House in Rome. The order received approbation on August 20, 1631...
taking the religious name of Havryil (Gabriel). He passed his novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
in the monastery of Byten. Ended the novitiate, in 1627 he was sent to study in Braniewo
Braniewo
Braniewo is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 18,068 . It is the capital of Braniewo County...
where he remained till 1630. Returned in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, he continued his studies here, and on 28 March 1633 he was ordained a priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
. He later studied in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and in the Greek College in Rome where he studied from 1 December 1636 to 24 November 1639.
Returned in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, in 1640 Kolenda became the deputy of the Archbishop of Polotsk, Antin Sielava
Antin Sielava
Antin Atanasij Sielava was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and Russia of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1641 to his death in 1655.-Life:...
, who in 1641 became the Metropolitan of Kiev and head of the Church.
Under the Cossacks wars
Since 1648, the political situation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth underwent years of crisis. The Khmelnytsky UprisingKhmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...
was a Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
rebellion in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
which posed a threat to the existence of the Commonwealth. One of the targets of the Cossacks was the liquidation of the Greek-Catholic Church, and this request was considered acceptable by the Latin Catholic Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
who, after being defeated by the Cossacks, signed the Treaty of Zboriv
Treaty of Zboriv
The Treaty of Zboriv was signed on August 17, 1649, after the Battle of Zboriv when the Crown forces of about 25,000 led by king John II Casimir of Poland clashed against a combined force of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars, led by hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky and khan İslâm III Giray of Crimea...
in 1649, only the Papal nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
and Greek-Catholic bishops opposed. The Cossacks army arrived to forcedly abolish the Greek-Catholic eparchy
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
of Chełm, one of the stronghold of the Greek-Catholic Church. In September 1651, due to a temporary defeat of the Cossacks, the new Treaty of Bila Tserkva
Treaty of Bila Tserkva
The Treaty of Bila Tserkva was a peace treaty between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ukrainian Cossacks in the aftermath of the Battle of Bila Tserkva...
was signed and it contained no more statements about the liquidation of the Greek-Catholic Church which was allowed to re-enter in Chełm and Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
.
In 1652 Havryil Kolenda was consecrated a bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
with the title of bishop of Mstsislaw by his Metropolitan Antin Sielava
Antin Sielava
Antin Atanasij Sielava was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and Russia of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1641 to his death in 1655.-Life:...
. On 23 June 1563 the coadjutor bishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
of the Metropolitan, Pachomius Oranski bishop of Pinsk
Pinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
, was killed by the Cossaks, and Kolenda was chosen as new coadjutor with the right of succession.
After a couple of years of truce, in 1654 the Cossacks allied with the Russian tsar in the Treaty of Pereyaslav
Treaty of Pereyaslav
The Treaty of Pereyaslav is known in history more as the Council of Pereiaslav.Council of Pereyalslav was a meeting between the representative of the Russian Tsar, Prince Vasili Baturlin who presented a royal decree, and Bohdan Khmelnytsky as the leader of Cossack Hetmanate. During the council...
which led to the Russo-Polish War (1654-1667), to which added the Second Northern War
Second Northern War
The Second Northern War was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Russia , Brandenburg-Prussia , the Habsburg Monarchy and Denmark–Norway...
(1655–60) with the invasion from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. These wars led to a period of mass murders and poverty known as the Deluge. The Russian
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
army from North, and the Cossacks from South, occupied the territories of the Greek-Catholic Church, and destroyed churches, monasteries, schools, killing priests and monks.
On 5 October 1655 the Metropolitan of Kiev, Antin Sielava, died. Kolenda succeeded him as Administrator of the Greek-Catholic Church, but not as Metropolitan, because due to the war it was not possible nor to convene the electoral synod as requested by Rome
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, nor to obtain the appointment from the King, who preferred not to displease the powerful Cossacks.
In the meantime the wars went on. Kolenda had to fled Polotsk, bringing with himself the relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of Saint Josaphat and moved to Supraśl Lavra. The Treaty of Hadiach
Treaty of Hadiach
The Treaty of Hadiach was a treaty signed on 16 September 1658 in Hadiach between representatives of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Cossacks...
of 1658 signed between Poland and the Cossacks foreseen again the liquidation of the Greek-Catholic Church. This treaty was however not fully enforced because of successive divisions among the Cossacks.
Metropolitan
The problems for Kolenda's Church in this period came also from the Latin Catholic bishops of Poland, who tried to persuade Rome to get rid of the Greek-Catholic Church and to extend their jurisdiction over the Byzantine RiteByzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
faithful. To obtain some help for his Church, Kolenda sent in 1644 to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
the bishop of Chełm, Jacob Souza, who succeeded to convince the papacy to take a stand for Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, reaffirming its independence from the Latin episcopate, obtaining the appointment of Kolenda as Metropolitan, obtaining the confirmation the validity of ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
s made by Orthodox, ruling about the Basilian Order. Thus on 22 April 1665 Havryil Kolenda was formally appointed as Metropolitan of Kiev.
After the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667 the war ended and the situation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church improved, even if it had to leave the town of Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
and the capital Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. In 1668, and later in 1669, Kolenda succeeded to obtain from the King of Poland the decrees for the restitution of the churches and properties seized during the wars. In 1667 Kolenda became the Proto-Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
(i.e. Superior general
Superior general
A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order or congregation.The term is mainly used as a generic term, while many orders and congregations use other specific titles, notably:* Abbot general...
) of the Basilian Order, ending a ten years of disputes about the heading of the order.
Havryil Kolenda died on 11 February 1674 and was buried on next 18 February in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk
The Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Polotsk was built by Prince Vseslav Briacheslavich between 1044 and 1066...
.