George Matulaitis Journal

peace. Now it is impossible to communicate with anyone or to find out what is going on. March 13 Three delegates from Idolta, in the parish of Druja, 1 came to see me. They asked me to let them start a new parish. There is a small chapel in Idolta, and they are planning to build a rectory soon. After conferring with my secretary, I gave them permission to have a mission at Idolta for the time being and promised to let them have a real parish as soon as I could arrange everything as required by Canon Law. One of the men spoke broken Polish, but it was very awkward for them—probably as difficult as Belorussian is for me. The other two kept silent. Realizing that they were true Belorussians, I asked them to talk in “simple speech,” 2 that is, in Belorussian. The men changed completely: their faces lit up; they became talkative, jovial, and uninhibited. I asked them to tell me about their troubles and worries. I learned that Father Bolich teaches catechism in Belorussian and preaches in Polish and Belorussian by turns. “Which language do you prefer; which is easier to understand,” I asked them. “The simple speech, of course” (i.e., Belorussian), they replied. I told them not to be ashamed of their own lan- guage because it was just as much God-given as Russian, Polish, or Lithuanian. I blessed these people and let them to go home, telling them to give my greetings to their pastor and fellow parishioners. They left elated. After all, everyone prefers to speak his own language. And here the Polish nationalist priests are adamantly trying to convince us that the Belorussians understand Polish perfectly well and do not like to be spoken to in Belorussian and so on. I can see that I must learn Belorussian myself as soon as possible. A priest, Father Lubianiec, vice-rector of the seminary, had told me yesterday that a certain Mr. Dybowski, an engineer and mathematician, 219 1 Druja: a Belorussian town near the northeastern border of Lithuania with Belorussia. At this time it belonged to the diocese of Vilnius. Soon Bishop Matulaitis would permit the Marians to open a monastery there and also a convent for Belorussian sisters. 2 The original is “po prostemu,” which may be translated as “common” or “simple” speech.