W poszukiwaniu własnej tożsamości religijnej
In search of their own religious identity

Organization of religious life of Belarusian refugees in West Germany in 1945–1951

Author(s): Jerzy Grzybowski
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Belarusians; emigrants; Germany; religion; identity
Summary/Abstract: After World War II, approx. 100,000 Belarusian people remained in exile. In the years 1945–1951, the largest concentration of Belarusian emigrants was in West Germany. In terms of religion, the majority were Orthodox (70%) and Catholics (20%). The religious situation was characterized by great disorder and a diversity of various religious organizations. Belarusian leaders strove to organize religious life based on national principles. To this end, an attempt was made to make the Belarusians independent from Russian and Polish influences. In the case of the Orthodox Church, this was done through the creation of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and Belarusian parishes under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Some Belarusian activists also wanted to establish a Belarusian Catholic Church of the Eastern Rite. It was believed that it would become the national church of Belarusians. This idea was not appreciated by the majority of emigrants.

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