Roman Catholicism in Belarus

The Roman Catholic Church in Belarus is one of almost a million Catholic Christians ( as of 2004). It is divided into four dioceses, one of which is Metroplie.

History

The missionary work of the Slavs on the territory of present-day Belarus began in the 9th century by the brothers Cyril and Methodius, the so-called Slavic saints.

The Roman Catholic Church was hated in the Tsarist empire from time immemorial, as the government feared an influence of the Pope over the Catholic Kingdom of Poland. Peter I in 1705 for the first time allowed the construction of a Roman Catholic church. The Catholics were under very strict state controls during the reign of the Tsar. Before the partition of Poland only a few Catholics lived in Russia. This changed from 1772, came as suddenly hundreds of thousands of Catholics under Russian rule. During the 19th century, Catholicism was exposed to fierce persecution in Russia, especially during the reign of Nicholas I and Alexander II ( 1825-1881 ).

On 21 September 2007 Pope Benedict XVI appointed. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz Archbishop of Minsk - Mogilev.

Apostolic Nuncio since 2011 Claudio Gugerotti.

List of Dioceses

• Archdiocese of Minsk - Mogilev
• Diocese of Grodno
• Diocese of Pinsk
• Diocese of Vitebsk