Bishop Sipovich new file

24 4. Eternal City The expulsion of the Belarusian Marian Fathers from Druia was a turning point in the life of Ceslaus Sipovich. With no hope of returning to Druia, and not relishing the prospect of remaining indefinitely in Poland, he and another cleric, Casimir Aniskowicz, accepted the offer of Father Tsikota to go to Rome, on condition that they should adopt the Byzantine rite and on completion of their studies be sent to Harbin to join other Marian Fathers who worked among the Russians. Later in life Sipovich was reticent on this point. When once asked by the present writer, he answered curtly that, if ordered, he would have refused to go to Harbin. The documents which have since come to light tell a different story. But in 1938 the prospect of going to Harbin might have seemed far away in comparison with the immediate attraction of being in Rome. It thus happened that in October 1938 two ex-Druia clerics came to the Eternal City. Apart from being the See of the successor of St Peter, Rome is also a major centre for theological education. There are several Pontifical universities and institutes, the largest being the Gregorian University, directed by the Jesuits. Students live in their national colleges – French, German, Brazilian, Polish, Ukrainian etc, and members of the religious orders in their houses of studies. The Marian Fathers have their house, or, as it is called, college in Rome at Via Corsica. It serves as the residence for the Superior General and the Council, and as the house of studies for their clerics. Sipovich and Aniskowicz did not reside there, but were sent to the Russian College or "Russicum". Founded in 1929, this was not a Russian national college (although there were Russian students from time to time), but a place where students of various nationalities were trained for prospective missionary work among Russians. Sipovich put it fairly well in a letter to Anthony Tsviachkouski of 28 July 1939: "I live in a college, where Russians, Germans, French, a Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Slovaks, Estonians etc. form a fairly harmonious group, whose aim is to work for Russia today abroad, and get ready for the future after the fall of the bolsheviks". The direction of the Russicum was entrusted to the Jesuits. Russicum Students frequented the Gregorian University. Sipovich in the letter quoted above writes: "On the whole the Gregorian (university) did not disappoint (me). I had a high opinion of it before, and now this opinion has been strengthened... There are professors of world fame, but often it is quite a strain to listen to them... Latin does not present to us any particular difficulties, except that one must get used to the French or English pronounciation. We passed the exams for the Bachelor’s degree with better than average results..." Apart from university studies, Sipovich made an effort to learn languages, in particular Russian, German and Italian. He even, under the pen name Vasil Kryvichanin, sent to Chryscijanskaja dumka his translation of a short poem by Goethe 22 . Italian he studied during school hours, absenting himself from certain lectures. This was, as he himself admitted, against the rules, but brought the necessary results. He did not neglect Belarusian. He had a copy of a Belarusian grammar (most probably by Tarashkievich) and other books which he studied when time permitted (in the F. Skaryna Library in London there is a copy of the reader in Belarusian modern literature by I. Dvarchanin with penciled marginal notes by Sipovich). He 22 "Mignon", z Goethe pierarabiu Vasil Kryvicanin. Chryscijanskaja dumka , No.36, Vilna, 20.12.38, p.7