Servant of God Archmandrite Andrew Cikoto (1891-1952) Vilnius. Subsequently, he studied at the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg, where he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Wincenty Kluczyński on June 13, 1914. He graduated from the Academy in 1917, with a degree in Theology. For two years he served as the pastor of the Molodeczno parish, where he opened a Polish elementary school. In February of 1919, he requested Bishop Matulewicz’s permission to leave the parish and go to Minsk to join the staff at the newly opened seminary of the Minsk Diocese under Bishop Zygmunt Lozinski. Bl. George Matulewicz granted his permission and Fr. Cikoto took over the office of the seminary procurator and teacher of fundamental and dogmatic theology. When the Bolsheviks moved the seminary away from Minsk, Fr. Cikoto contacted Bishop Matulewicz again. Blessed George saw an urgent necessity for establishing monasteries in the Vilnius diocese in order to make it easier for the Belorussian youth to live their Christian life. To complete this plan, he chose two people: Fr. Cikoto and Fr. Abrantowicz, former rector of the seminary of the Minsk Diocese. Bishop Matulewicz planned to found a religious congregation of women for Belarussian candidates as well as a Belarussian branch of the Congregation of Marians. Father Cikoto entered the novitiate on September 1, 1920, in Mariampole, Lithuania, and completed it under the direction of Fr. Justyn Novickas. He made his first vows on September 24, 1921. Blessed George, who was then the Superior General of the Congregation, sent him to the Lithuanian Marians in the United States to conduct retreats and parish missions for Lithuanian, Polish, and Belarussian immigrants. Possible donations were to go towards the foundation of a new Marian religious house, especially having in mind the Belarussians in Druya. On September 20, 1924, he made his perpetual vows before Blessed George in the private chapel of the Bishop in Vilnius. The Marian novitiate was opened in Druya in 1925. On May 18, 1925, Fr. Andrzej became the monastery superior and Novice Master. He was much concerned with the cultural and economic development of the region. He supervised the complete electrification of the town, established a mutual support fund, and made sure that middlemen would not exploit the local farmers. He worked in Druya for 10 years: from 1923 to 1933. In summer of 1933, Fr. Cikoto went to the General Chapter in Rome, where he was elected the Superior General. Significant development of the Congregation came about during his six-year term in office. In February 21 – March 13, 1937, Fr. Cikoto conducted a visitation of the Marian House in Harbin. As a result of this visitation, a novitiate in the Eastern Rite was opened on October 11, 1937. When Fr. Cikoto’s term of office as Superior General was over and the General Chapter elected Bishop Peter Francis Buczys in his place, he stayed in Rome for a while to meet with the Archmandrite Fabian Abrantowicz, who was returning from Harbin to Poland. When the news reached Rome about the Archmandrite disappearing near Lviv and undoubtedly falling into the hands of the Bolsheviks, the new Pope, Pius XII, appointed in his place as exarch and Apostolic Administrator for Catholics of the Eastern Rite in Manchuria, Archmandrite Citoko. He then switched over to the Eastern Rite and left for Harbin to continue the work previously conducted by Fr. Abrantowicz. At that time the missionary community in Harbin included four priests and two Marian brothers as well as two diocesan priests: one of which was Russian and the other French. All these schools were still open: one – ofMarians, one – of the Franciscan Fr. Andrew was born on December 5, 1891 in Tupalszki district near Oszmiana in the Lithuania Vilnius province, of Michael and Rozalia Cikoto. He was baptized on December 15, 1891. He attended the gymnasium in Oszmiana. Between 1909-1913, he completed his seminary studies in
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