Supraśl

Supraśl
Supraśl Lavra
Flag Coat of arms
Supraśl
Coordinates: 53°13′N 23°20′E / 53.217°N 23.333°E / 53.217; 23.333Coordinates: 53°13′N 23°20′E / 53.217°N 23.333°E / 53.217; 23.333
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Podlaskie
County	Białystok
Gmina	Supraśl
Area
• Total	5.68 km2 (2.19 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	4,578
• Density	810/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Postal code	16-030
Website	http://www.suprasl.pl

Supraśl [ˈsupraɕl] is a town and former episcopal see in north-eastern Poland.

Supraśl is in Podlaskie Voivodeship (province) since 1999, previously in Białystok Voivodeship (1975-1998) (1975–1998), and is in Białystok County, about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) northeast of Białystok. It is the seat of the Gmina of Supraśl. Its population is 4,526 (2004).

Ecclesiastical History

• On 6 March 1798 was established the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy (Eastern Catholic Diocese) of Supraśl / Supraslien(sis) Ruthenorum (Latin adjective), on presently Polish territory not previously served by that particular church sui iuris (Byzantine Rite in Ruthenian language). Pope Pius VI's papal bulla Susceptam a Nobis di papa^[1], thus canonically executed its erection, which was devised by the Prussian kingdom (Fredrick William II) in January 1797 for the parts of the Eparchy of Brėst and Archeparchy of Kiev that became Prussian in the Third partition of Poland. The Pope made it exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province, and installed a cathedral chapter comprising a provost and four canons. ^[2]
• It was suppressed on 1809.02.14, without Catholic successor, by imperial edict of the Czar Alexander I of Russia, annexing it to the Eparchy of Brest, after the Convention of Bartenstein (April 1807) and Peace of Tilsit (July 1807) transferred its territory from Prussia to the Russian empire.

It has had only three incumbents :

Exempt Eparch (Bishops) of Supraśl of the Ruthenians

• Teodozy Wisłocki, Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (O.S.B.M.) (1797 – death 1801.05.18)
• Mikołaj Duchnowski (1803.05.16 – death 1805.06.25)
• Bishop-elect Father Leon Ludwik Jaworowski (1807 – 1809 not possessed lacking confirmation by Rome), next Auxiliary bishop of Eparch Jozafat Bułhak in Brest and titular bishop of Volodymyr.

Supraśl is also a titular bishopric of the Polish Orthodox Church.

Culture and heritage

It is the home of the Supraśl Lavra, one of six Eastern Orthodox monasteries for men in Poland. The Codex of Supraśl, the oldest Slavic literary work in Poland and one of the oldest of its kind in the world, is named after the Supraśl Lavra. Since September 2007 it has been on Unesco's Memory of the World list.

Supraśl Lavra

Supraśl Monastery founded by Aleksander Chodkiewicz

International relations

See also

• List of Catholic dioceses in Poland

References

Sources and external links

• Official town webpage
• GCatholic

Bibliography - ecclesiastical history

• Augustin Theiner, Die neuesten Zustände der Katholischen Kirche beider Ritus in Polen und Rußland seit Katharina II. bis auf unsere Tage, Augsburg 1841
• Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 6, p. 389
• Alfred Ignatowicz, Greckokatolicka diecezja supraska (1796-1807), in "Wiadomości Kościele Archidiecezji w białymstoku" 1976, r. 2, nr 4, pp. 105–116.
• Radosław Dobrowolski, Opat Supraski Biskup Leon Ludwik Jaworowski, Supraśl 2003, p. 333.
• Nikolaj Dalmatov, Supraslskij Blagowescanskij Monastyr, St. Peterburg 1892, p. 611.
• Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, vol. 71, Venice 1855, pp. 76-78

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