Archeparchy of Polotsk–Vitebsk (Ruthenian Uniate Church)
The Archeparchy of Polotsk–Vitebsk was a major church territory of the Ruthenian Uniate Church in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1596 to 1839 it was a subordinate diocese under the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia, with the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Polotsk as its main church. It began as an Eastern Orthodox diocese founded in 992 and was led by bishops under the Kiev Metropolis based in Vilnius. In 1596 it joined the Union of Brest, becoming part of the Catholic Church as a Ruthenian Uniate diocese, and was among the first to join (together with Kiev, Pinsk, Lutsk, Volodymyr, and Kholm).
After the union, the Belarusian church was known as the Ruthenian Uniate Church. The archeparchy later absorbed the territories of the diocese of Mstislav and the ancient dioceses of Orsha and Vitebsk. Because of its closeness to Vilnius, many of its bishops later became Metropolitans of Kiev, including Havryil Kolenda, Kyprian Zochovskyj and Lev Zalenskyj. In the 1800s the Catholic Church classified it as a Ruthenian jurisdiction. The Russian Empire united the archeparchy with the Russian Orthodox Church on 25 March 1839 after the Council of Polotsk. There is no official Catholic successor today, although a Belarusian Greek Catholic Church was later founded; the current Apostolic Administrator is Sergiusz Gajek. (Byzantine Rite)
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:33 (CET).