Bishop Sipovich new file

5 "conversion of Russia". To the end of his life he was unwilling to concede that Belarusians were a separate nation. On 11 December 1930 in the report to d’Herbigny of his conversation with the secretary of the Polish embassy to the Holy See he wrote that "White Russians ( i.e. Belarusians) and Little Russians ( i.e. Ukrainians) are all Russians: the (Russian) emperors of old confirmed this in the enumeration of their titles" 3 . With ideas of this kind it was almost inevitable for him to become a firm supporter of the Commission "Pro Russia". He sensed in d’Herbigny a kindred spirit, while the latter found it convenient to use him by entrusting him with various tasks to accomplish. It did not take much time for him to become a d’Herbigny man. On 18 April 1929 he wrote to Father Abrantovich: "Father Bishop d’Herbigny is really favourably disposed towards you, Druia, and towards me. In the present circumstances, considering our actual needs, this cannot be a matter of indifference to us. In all circumstances he is a dignitary worthy of respect and a valiant worker for a great cause". Abrantovich, who was at that time already in Harbin, perhaps could have done with a slightly less favourable disposition from this "dignitary worthy of respect"... One of the first acts of d’Herbigny in 1930, after the Commission "Pro Russia" had become an independent department in the Vatican, was the procurement of episcopal dignity of Byzantine rite for his protegé, and his appointment as Apostolic Visitor for Russians in Western Europe. It was obviously a reward for services rendered, for, as the subsequent events showed, there was no need for such an appointment. Buchys, who was born and brought up in the Roman rite, was nearly 60 years old at the time of his consecration. Father Cyril Korolevski, a keen observer of the Vatican Ostpolitik , wrote about this new Byzantine rite bishop, who, incidentally, in order not to frighten the Orthodox Russians, began to use his second name, Peter, instead of the Latin Francis: "To provide greater solemnity in the divine service... d’Herbigny had Father Peter Buchys appointed Titular Bishop of Olympos... He scarcely knew the Byzantine liturgy, but d’Herbigny was sure that he would set out to it resolutely... He really remained a Roman Catholic in his mentality and practiced the ‘biritual’ system. He could never get accustomed to his new functions which were almost purely ornamental – and almost stopped exercising them" 4 . Long before these events took place, on 6 April 1927 Buchys wrote to the Commission "Pro Russia", – or rather to the Oriental Congregation in Rome, of which the commission then formed part, – stating that when Matulewicz was in Vilna, he "became convinced that our Belarusian members are a more apt instrument for the conversion of Russians than our brethren of any other nationality 5 . For this reason, although our Congregation already had in Poland a novitiate in Rasna, Archbishop Matulewicz, with the gracious consent of the Holy See, established in Druia, which is situated in the archdiocese of Vilna, another novitiate to prepare Belarusians for their special task". This statement raises the question whether Matulewicz was completely sincere with the Belarusians in regard to the aims of Druia. In his letter of 8 June 1923 to the Holy See, requesting permission to establish in Druia a Marian monastery and novitiate "for Belarusians, who in their majority are schismatics and till now have 3 "Le blanc russes et les petits russes sont pourtant les russes. Les empereurs d’autrefois le reconnaissaient dans la nomenclature de leurs titres". Conversation de Mr Stanislas Janikowski, I-er Conseiller de l’ambassade polonaise auprès du St Siège avec Mgr Pierre Bucys, évêque tit. d’Olympe du rite bizantino-slave . Typescript copy in the F. Skaryna Library in London. 4 Korolevski Cyril, Metropolitan Andrew (1865-1944). Transl. S. Keleher. Stauropegion, L’viv, 1993, p.329 5 "persuasum habuit sodales nostros alborussos fieri posse ad convertendos russos instrumentum aptius quam confratres nostri cuiuscumque aliae nationis"