Пратэстанцкая царква i беларускі нацыянальны рух у Заходняй Беларусі (1918–1939)
The protestant church and belarusian national movement in Western Belarus (1918–1939)

Summary/Abstract: Many Belarusian activists in Poland in the interwar period treated Protestantism as a “Belarusian national church.” This article tells about the linguistic and national situation inside the Protestant church. Protestant publications in the Belarusian language are analyzed. The article also deals with important fi gures of the Belarusian evangelical movement, which contributed to the national and spiritual revival of the Belarusians. They are shepherds, Lukaš Dziеkuć-Maliej and Jan Piatroŭski. The authors came to the conclusion that during the interwar period national and evangelical processes took place simultaneously in the territories of Western Belarus. Some representatives of the Protestant movement sought to make Protestantism the national church of the Belarusians. The Belarusian language was used in pastoral activities, and evangelical activity was identifi ed with activities in favor of Belarusian culture and language. Some of the Belarusian intelligentsia treated Protestantism as a church that does not divide the Belarusians into “Poles” and “Russians”, as was often the case with Catholicism and the Orthodox Church. In the end, these plans were not implemented. Among the believers of the Protestant movement, there were not enough people who sympathized with the Belarusian cause. In addition, a significant part of the Belarusian intelligentsia adhered to atheistic views. The links between Protestantism and the Belarusian movement are still poorly understood.

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