THE RUSSIAN CONTINGENT
Frederick the Great and the "Philosophers"--Protection of the
Jesuits--Death of Voltaire--Catherine of Russia--The Four
Colleges--The Empress at Polotsk--Joseph II at Mohilew--
Archetti--Baron Grimm--Czerniewicz and the Novitiate--
Assent of Pius VI--Potemkin--Siestrzencewicz--General
Congregation--Benislawski--"_Approbo; Approbo_"--Accession
of former Jesuits. Gruber and the Emperor Paul--Alexander I--
Missions in Russia.
Even before the general suppression of the Society, Frederick II of
Prussia had given a shock to the politicians of Europe and to his
friends the _philosophes_ of France, by welcoming the exiled Jesuits
into his dominions and employing them as teachers. Hence d'Alembert
wrote to remonstrate; though at first glance he appears to approve of
the king's action, his insulting tone when speaking of the Pope reveals
the animus of this enemy of God. It ran as follows:
"They say that the Cordelier, Ganganelli, does not promise ripe pears to
the Society of Jesus and that St. Francis will very likely kill St.
Ignatius. It appears to me that the Holy Father, Cordelier though he be,
would be very foolish to disband his regiment of guards to please the
Catholic princes. Such a treaty would be very like that of the sheep and
the wolves; the first article of which was that the sheep should deliver
their dogs to the wolves. But in any case, Sire, it will be a curious
condition of affairs, if while the Most Christian, the Most Catholic,
the Most Apostolic, and the Most Faithful kings are destroying the
grenadiers of the Holy See, your Most Heretical Majesty should be the
only one to protect them." A little later he writes: "I am assured that
the Cordelier Pope needs a good deal of plucking at his sleeves to get
him to abolish the Jesuits. I am not surprised. To propose to the Pope
to destroy this brave troop is like asking Your Majesty to disband your
body guards."
D'Alembert was playing double. He was as anxious as any one to bring
about the Suppression, and on April 3, 1770, Frederick wrote him that,
"The Philosophy which has had such vogue in this century is bragged
about more brazenly than ever. But what progress has it made? 'It has
expelled the Jesuits,' you tell me. Granted, but I will prove, if you
want me to do so, that the whole business started in vanity, spite,
underhand dealing and selfishness."
On July 7, 1770, Frederick wrote to Voltaire and said: "The good
Cordelier of the Vatican lets me keep my dear Jesuits whom they
persecute everywhere. I will guard the precious seed so that some day I
may supply it to those who may want to cultivate this rare plant in
their respective countries." Frederick had annexed Silesia which was
entirely Catholic, while the part of Poland which was allotted to him at
the time of the division had remained only half faithful. To gratify
them and keep them at peace, he thought he could do no better than to
ask the Jesuits to take care of the education of the youth of those
countries, "let the _philosophes_ cry out against it as they may."
Hence, on December 4, 1772, he wrote to d'Alembert: "I received an
ambassador from the General of the Ignatians, asking me to declare
myself openly as the protector of the Order; but I answered that when
Louis XV thought proper to suppress the regiment of Fitzjames (the
Jansenists), I did not think I could intercede for that corps; and
moreover, the Pope is well able to bring about such a reformation
without having heretics take a hand in it."
A Jesuit named Pinto had, indeed, presented himself to Frederick to ask
for his protection, but he had no warrant to do so. Someone in Rome had
suggested it, and he was encouraged in his enterprise by Maria Theresa.
When apprised of it, the General sent a very severe reprimand to the
volunteer ambassador, and that disposed of Father Pinto. No more was
heard of him.
Frederick showed himself a very vigorous protector of the Society. When
the Brief was published he issued the following decree: "We, Frederick
by the Grace of God, King of Prussia, to all and every of our subjects,
greeting:
"As you have already been advised that you are not permitted to
circulate any Bulls or Briefs of the Pope, without our approbation of
the same, we have no doubt that you will conform to this general order,
in case the Brief of the Pope suppressing the Society of Jesus arrives
at any department within your jurisdiction. Nevertheless, we have deemed
it necessary to recall this to your memory, and as, under the date of
Berlin, the sixth of this month, we have resolved, for reasons prompting
us thereto, that this annihilation of the Society which has recently
taken place shall not be published in our states, we graciously enjoin
upon you to take all necessary measures in your district to suppress the
aforesaid Bull of the Pope; for which end you will, in our name, as soon
as you receive this communication, issue an explicit order, under
penalty of rigorous chastisement, to all ecclesiastics of the Roman
Catholic religion domiciled in your territory not to publish the
aforesaid Bull annulling the Society of Jesus. You are commanded to see
carefully to the execution of this order, and to inform us immediately
in case any high foreign ecclesiastics endeavor to introduce any Bulls
of this kind into our kingdom surreptitiously."
This mandate had the effect of protecting the Jesuits who were in his
dominions; for as canon law made the promulgation of the Brief an
indispensable condition of the suppression, it followed that the Jesuits
in Prussia could conscientiously continue to live there as Jesuits.
Indeed, the king had previously notified the Pope that such would be his
course of action, and an autograph dispatch to the Prussian
representative at Rome, dated Potsdam, September 13, 1773, reads as
follows: "Abbé Columbini: You will say to whomsoever it may concern, but
without any ostentation or affectation, and indeed you will endeavor to
find an opportunity to say naturally, both to the Pope and his prime
minister, that with regard to the affair of the Jesuits, my resolution
is taken to keep them in my States as they hitherto have been. I
guaranteed in the treaty of Breslau the _statu quo_ of the Catholic
religion, and I have found no better priests than they under every
aspect. You will add that as I am a heretic, the Pope cannot dispense me
from the obligation of keeping my word nor from nullifying my obligation
as an honest man."
The last phrase, of course, is very insulting, but there was no help for
it. It was the king's. When d'Alembert heard of the letter, he revealed
his true colors, and warned Frederick that he would regret it, reminding
him that in the Silesian War, the Jesuits had been opposed to him; that
is to say, the Silesian Jesuits were faithful to Silesia. Frederick
replied, on Jan. 7, 1774: "You need not be alarmed for my safety. I have
nothing to fear from the Jesuits; they can teach the youth of the
country, and they are better able to do that than any one else. It is
true that they were on the other side, during the war, but, as a
philosopher, you ought not to reproach me for being kind and humane to
every one of the human species, no matter what religion or society he
belongs to. Try to be more of a philosopher and less of a metaphysician.
Good acts are more profitable to the public than the most subtle systems
and the most extravagant discoveries, in which, generally speaking, the
mind wanders wildly without ever finding the truth. In any case, I am
not the only one who has protected the Jesuits. The English and the
Empress of Russia have done as much." This correspondence with
d'Alembert continued for a year or so; and in 1777, when Voltaire was
dying, the king wrote to advise him to think of his old school days at
Louis-le-Grand. "Remember Father Tournemine, who was your nurse and made
you suck the sweet milk of the Muses. Reconcile yourself with the Order
which in the last century gave to France its greatest men." To all
appearances Voltaire did not take the advice of his royal friend.
The politicians of Spain were particularly irritated at this action of
Frederick, but he paid no attention to their anger. It is even said that
the Pope ordered his nuncio at Warsaw to suspend all the Jesuits in
Prussia from their ecclesiastical and pedagogical function and that a
request was made to the King to have it done _pro forma_, with a promise
to lift the ban immediately afterwards, a proposition which seems too
silly to have ever been seriously made. But when Clement XIV died, Pius
VI, after a few perfunctory protests, so as not to exasperate the other
powers, let it be known that he was not dissatisfied with the status of
the Jesuits in Prussia, and he not only wrote in that sense to
Frederick, but encouraged him to continue his protection of the
outcasts. Whereupon Frederick dispatched the following letter to the
superior of Breslau. It is dated September 27, 1775:
"Venerable, dear and faithful Father: The new Pontiff having declared
that he left to me the choice of the most suitable means to be employed
for the conservation of the Jesuits in my kingdom, and that he would put
no obstacle in my way by any declaration of irregularity, I have in
consequence enjoined on my bishops to leave your Institute _in statu
quo_, and not to trouble any of your members or to refuse ordination to
any of your candidates to the priesthood. You will therefore conform to
this arrangement and advise your confrères to do likewise."
Until the death of Bishop Bayer of Culm, who was the staunch friend of
the Fathers, there was no cloud on the horizon; but he was succeeded by
Bishop Hohenzotten, who belonged to the House of Brandenburg. He had
been extremely friendly before his installation as bishop, but
immediately afterwards he advised the king to secularize the Jesuits and
to forbid the establishment of a novitiate. The king, however, would not
yield any further than to permit of their dressing as secular priests,
and until his death in 1786 they continued to live in community under
the name of the "Priests of the Royal Institute." His successor was not
so benignant, for he seized all the revenues of the houses and thus put
an end to their existence in Prussia, and they, like their brethren
elsewhere, took the road of exile. Some joined the secular clergy and
others made their way to Russia.
More surprising still was the protection accorded to them by the
terrible Empress Catherine II of Russia. Indeed, it was she who made it
possible to preserve unbroken the link between the old and the new
Society. On the other hand, not a few Pharisees have reproached the
Society for having accepted the protection of this imperial tigress. For
the same reason, they might have found fault with Daniel in the lion's
den. He could not get out of it; and, the animals were kinder than the
humans above ground.
Catherine of Russia was not a Russian but a Prussian. Her name was
Sophia Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. She and her unfortunate husband had
been adopted by the czarina, Elizabeth, as her successors on the
imperial throne of Russia, on condition that they would change their
name and religion. There was no difficulty about either, especially the
latter. According to Oliphant, Kohl, Döllinger and others who have
described the state of the empire as it was about forty years later,
sixteen millions or about one fourth of the entire population of Russia
did not profess the Greek faith. The educated classes neither cared nor
affected to care for the state religion. From the mercantile classes and
most of their employees and the landed aristocracy all faith had
departed. The peasants were divided into about fifty sects, and hatred
and contempt for one another and the enmity of all of them for the
Orthodox Church were extreme. No two Russian bishops had any spiritual
dependence or connection with any other. They were simply paid officials
of a common master who appointed, degraded or discarded them at
pleasure. De Maistre who lived in Russia about that time says. "The
words: "Oriental Church" or "Greek Church" have no meaning whatever." "I
recognize," said Peter the Great, "no other legitimate Patriarch than
the Pope of Rome. Since you will not obey him you shall obey me only.
Behold your Pope." On that basis the Russian Church was built.
Strictly speaking the Jesuits were not entering Russia but merely
staying in their old establishments which were still Polish, though
geographically labelled Russia. Nevertheless, with Russia proper they
had already a considerable acquaintance. Thus, as early as 1612, Father
Szgoda had allowed himself to be taken by the Tatars to the Crimea, so
as to evangelize the Cossacks. Later, Father Schmidt had appeared at the
court of Peter the Great as chaplain of the Austrian embassy. In 1685,
Father Debois brought a letter to the czar from the Pope Innocent XI,
and in 1687 Father Vota, encouraged by several Russian theologians of
note, was bold enough to propose to Peter the Great a union with Rome.
Peter's sister Sophia was favorable to the project and the moment seemed
propitious, but a brace of fanatical monks backed by the patriarch,
fiercely denounced the scheme and it was dropped. A school, however, was
established at Moscow, but when Sophia died, Peter drove out the
Fathers. In 1691, however, he returned to a better state of mind and
permitted the Catholics of Moscow to build a church and to invite the
Jesuits to take charge of it. But in 1719 he again expelled them, for he
had conceived the idea of a Church of his own; not only independent of
Rome but of Constantinople, and absolutely under his own control--a view
it is said that was suggested to him by the French Jansenists whom he
met in Paris on a visit there in 1717.
That ended all hopes of Catholicity in Russia, but in 1772 when Poland
was dismembered, a large number of Catholics were added to the
population of Russia and Catherine II, who had murdered her husband in
order to be supreme in the State, addressed herself to the task of
constituting these Russianized Poles into an independent Catholic
Church. She found an ambitious Polish bishop, named Siestrzencewicz who
entered into her views, and on May 23, 1774, by an imperial ukase she
established the Diocese of White Russia. Zalenski, S. J., the author of
"Les Jésuites et la Russie Blanche" is strong in his denunciation of
Siestrzencewicz, as are Pierling and Markowitch, but Godlewski is more
benignant and tries to excuse the bishop as a man who did indeed resort
to questionable methods, but was striving to stave off an open
persecution of the Catholics. Zalenski has the more likely view.
This name of "White" Russia is a puzzle to most people, as are the
opposite descriptions of "Black" and "Red" Russia. Indeed Okolski, who
wrote in 1646, has a book entitled "Russia Florida," a name not in
accordance with the popular notions about that country. There is also a
"Greater" and a "Little" and a "West" Russia. The geographical limits of
White Russia may be found in any encyclopedia. It is the region in which
are Polotsk, Vitebsk, Orsha, Mohilew, Motislave and Gomel, and is
bounded by the rivers Duna, Dnieper, Peripet and Bug. It was Russia's
share in the first spoliation of Poland, and had a population of
1,600,000. Moscow is not far to the east but St. Petersburg (Petrograd)
is at a great distance to the north.
In 1772 Catherine made known her intention regarding the Jesuits whom
she found teaching in the section of Poland which had passed under her
sceptre. They were even to retain their four colleges of Polotsk,
Vitebsk, Orsha and Dunaberg besides their two residences and fourteen
missions. She needed them as teachers and as they were the first to
declare their acceptance of the new conditions, and had thus set an
example to their countrymen, she revoked the ancient proscription of
Peter the Great against the Society in Russia proper, and also apprised
the other provinces of Europe that she would be their guardian in the
future.
When the Brief of Suppression was announced, the Fathers felt perfectly
sure that, like Frederick II, she would not permit it to be promulgated,
both because the Russian Church refused allegiance to Rome, and also
because she had already bound herself by a promise to protect them.
Nevertheless, through their superior, they addressed to her "Sacred
Imperial Majesty" the following letter:
"It is to Your Majesty that we owe the privilege of professing
publicly the Roman Catholic Religion in your glorious states,
and of depending in spiritual matters on the Sovereign Pontiff
who is the visible head of our Church. That is the reason why we
Jesuits, all of whom belong to the Roman Rite, but who are most
faithful subjects of Your Majesty, now prostrate before your
august imperial throne, implore Your Majesty by all that is most
sacred to permit us to render prompt and public obedience to the
authority which resides in the person of the Sovereign Roman
Pontiff and to execute the edict he has sent us abolishing our
Society. By condescending to have a public proclamation made of
this Brief of Suppression, Your Majesty will thus exercise your
royal authority, and we by promptly obeying will show ourselves
obedient both to Your Majesty and to the Sovereign Pontiff who
has ordered this proclamation. Such are the sentiments and the
prayers of all and each of the Jesuits, which are now expressed
by me to Your Majesty, of whom I have the honor to be, with the
most profound veneration and the most respectful submission, the
most humble, the most devoted and the most faithful subject,
"Stanislas Czerniewicz."
"Her Sacred Majesty" absolutely refused to accede to the request. On the
contrary she insisted that the Brief should not be proclaimed in her
dominions. She showed them the greatest consideration and insisted that
her nobles should imitate her example, so that it became the fashion
for the dignitaries of the empire to visit the various Jesuit
establishments; on their part, the Jesuits never failed to show their
appreciation of such an honor in as splendid a fashion as possible. The
most memorable of all such visits was one in which the "Semiramis of the
North" was the central figure. Catherine left St. Petersburg, on May 20,
1780, and reached Polotsk ten days later. In her suite were Potemkin,
Tchernichef, de Cobentzel, the Prince Marshal Borjantynski, and Prince
Dolkowiouki. On her arrival, while surrounded by all the notables who
had hastened to meet her, the Jesuits were pointed out to her and she
graciously saluted them. In the evening, the college was splendidly
illuminated in her honor, and on the following morning she came to the
church, for she was burning with a desire to witness a Catholic
ceremonial. After Mass she went through the house, and both at her
arrival and departure the rector celebrated her glory in an epic poem.
From thence she set out for Mohilew where Joseph II of Austria awaited
her. He had already visited the college at this place, and was received
with proper honor by the rector and provincial. He made all sorts of
inquiries about the reason why the suppressed Jesuits were permitted to
exist in Russia, and the bishop told him laconically: "The people need
them; the empress ordered it and Rome has said nothing." "You did well,"
replied the emperor, "you should not, and could not have done
otherwise." With the emperor on this occasion appears the unexpected
figure of one of the suppressed Jesuits: Father Francis Xavier Kalatai.
He was his majesty's travelling companion, and has left a letter telling
us what happened on this occasion.
"At Mohilew," he writes, "at the farthest extremity of the recently
dismembered provinces of Poland, the Jesuits still remain on their
former footing. They are protected by the empress, because of their
ability in training the youth of the country in science and piety. I
asked to be presented to the superior when we visited the college and
found him to be a very venerable old man. I questioned him and other
members of the community on what they based their non-submission to the
Brief of Suppression, and they replied in the same formula as the
bishop: "Clementissima imperatrice nostra protegente, populo derelicto
exigente, Roma sciente et non contradicente;" (i. e. on the protection
of our most clement empress, the needs of the abandoned people, and the
knowledge and tacit consent of Rome). They then showed me a letter from
the Pope expressing his affection for them, and exhorting them to remain
as they were until new arrangements could be made. He insisted upon
their receiving novices and admitting Jesuits from other provinces, who
desired to resume with them the sweet yoke of Christ from which they had
been so violently torn. The provincial added that all the Jesuits of
Russia were willing to relinquish everything they had, at the first
authentic sign of the will of the Pope, and that they waited only a
canonical announcement to that effect. Thus, I found that the true
spirit of the Society had kept its first fervor among these scattered
remnants of it in Russia."
The empress arrived, after making fifty leagues a day on the trip from
Polotsk; killing ten horses on the journey. The meeting of the two
sovereigns was unusually splendid; ten thousand soldiers stood on guard
in the city, and besides state receptions, there were theatrical
performances, public sports, banquets and the rest. The Jesuits of other
establishments paid their respects, and were presented to the empress by
the governor. On the 12th of June, "Semiramis" left for St. Petersburg.
Such a favor, of course, made the Jesuits still more popular and, at the
same time, checked the papal nuncio, Archetti, who had not yet recovered
from his failure to have the suppression made effective. Nevertheless,
he still persisted in his efforts, in spite of the threats of the
empress. But she never yielded.
Father Brucker writing in the "Etudes" (tom. 132, 1912, 558-59) gives a
characteristic letter of the empress to Baron Grimm who was a friend and
associate of Rousseau, Diderot, d'Alembert, Holbach and the rest. At
that time, Grimm was the envoy of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, at the court
of France, and later on, Catherine's own plenipotentiary to Lower
Saxony.
The letter is dated May 7, 1779 and runs as follows: "Neither I nor my
_coquins en titre_ (my honorable rogues) _les Jésuites de la R. Bl._
(the Jesuits of White Russia) are going to cause the Pope any worry.
They are very submissive to him and want to do only what he wishes. I
suppose it is you who wrote the article in the 'Gazette de Cologne'
about the hot house (the Jesuit novitiate). You say that I am amusing
myself by being kind to them. Assuredly, you credit me with a pretty
motive, whereas I have no other than that of keeping my word and seeking
the public good. As for your grocers (the Bourbon kings) I make a
present of them to you; but I know one thing, namely, they are not going
to visit me and sing the song: 'Bonhomme! you are not master of your
house while we are in it.'"
As early as 1776, that is only three years after the Suppression, the
Jesuits of White Russia already numbered 145 members, and had twelve
establishments: colleges, residences, missions, etc. In 1777 the
question was discussed about opening a novitiate and the Fathers had
sufficient evidence that Pius VI would be glad of it and that even
Clement XIV had not been averse. Moreover, the letter sent to Bishop
Siestrzencewicz had been found on examination not to be the "formidable
decree," as friends in Rome had described it, for it left to him the
right of creating and renewing only "what he might find necessary."
Finally, as it was not couched in the usual form of Apostolic documents,
the superior, Father Czerniewicz, set aside his doubts and wrote both to
the bishop and to the firm friend of the Society, Governor General
Tchernichef, that he had determined to open that establishment.
Tchernichef's support must have been very strong, for when Father
Czerniewicz arrived at Mohilew to arrange matters with the bishop, he
received from the prelate a decree dated June 29, 1779, authorizing him
to carry out his purpose. This decree began with the words: "Pope
Clement XIV, of celebrated memory, condescending to the desire of the
Most August Empress of the Russias, our Most Clement Sovereign, had
permitted the non-promulgation in her dominions of the Bull 'Dominus ac
Redemptor;' and Our Holy Father Pope Pius VI, now happily reigning,
shows the same deference to the desires of Her Imperial Majesty, by
refraining from all opposition to the retention of their habit, name and
profession by the Regular Clerks of the Society of Jesus, in the estates
of her Majesty, notwithstanding the Bull 'Dominus ac Redemptor.'
Moreover as the Most August Empress to whom both we and the numerous
Catholic churches in her vast domains are under such grave obligations
has recommended to us both verbally and by writing to do all in our
power to see that the aforesaid Regular Clerks of the Society of Jesus
may provide for the conservation of their Institute, we hasten to
fulfil that duty which is so agreeable to us and for which we should
reproach ourselves did we stint our efforts in carrying it out.
Hitherto, they have not had any novitiate in this country, and, as their
numbers are gradually diminishing, it is evident that they cannot
exercise their useful ministry unless a novitiate is accorded them."
In virtue of this permission, a novitiate was established at Polotsk on
February 2, 1780, and ten novices entered and began community life under
the direction of Father Lubowicki. On that occasion, according to de
Mürr, a formidable Latin poem of 169 hexameters was composed by Father
Michael Korycki in honor of Bishop Siestrzencewicz. Thus was the house
established; and in spite of the importunities of the Bourbon
ambassadors at Rome, the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius VI, never gave
utterance, either personally or through his nuncio in Poland, to any
public protest against it. All the denunciations of the alleged
"refractory Jesuits" were either letters of private individuals or
secret official correspondence, written doubtless in the name of the
Pope, but indirectly, that is through the channel of the secretaryship
of State and the nunciature; and never going outside the narrow
diplomatic circle. Nor is there the slightest positive proof that the
Pope regarded the Jesuits of White Russia except as religious.
"On the contrary," says Zalenski (I, 330), "Pius VI knew very well, as
did everyone else in Rome, that Clement XIV had published the Brief of
Suppression in spite of himself, and only after four years of hesitation
and conflict with the diplomats. Moreover, Cardinals Antonelli and
Calini, eye-witnesses of what had happened, represented to Pius VI in
personal memorials that the suppression was invalid. Pius himself had
belonged to that section of cardinals which disapproved of the
destruction, and, as has been already said, when he was Pope, he set
free the prisoners of the Castle Sant' Angelo, rehabilitated their
memory, and ordered Father Ricci to be buried with the honors due to the
general of an Order. In brief, Pius VI, as both Frederick II and
Tchernichef insisted, was really glad that the Society had been
preserved, and his silence was an approbation of it. Indeed, he could
not, as the Father of Christendom, exclude the Jesuits from the
protection of the general law of the Church and regard them as
suppressed and freed from their vows, before the Brief of Clement XIV
had been properly made known to them by the ordinary of the diocese. Of
course, their enemies systematically rejected this axiom although
accepted both by common and canon law. They denounced it as "a vain
subterfuge," and even the Apostolic nuncio, in one of his dispatches
declared it to be such; but the Holy Father could not, in conscience,
accept that view.
In February, 1782, Tchernichef, the great friend of the Society, fell
from power, but his successor Potemkin showed himself even a more
devoted defender. Fortunately, Father Benislawski, a former Jesuit, but
now a canon, was very intimate with him and induced him to give his aid
to the Society. As Bishop Siestrzencewicz had meantime become Archbishop
of Mohilew, the fear was again revived that he would claim to be the
religious superior of the Jesuits. Indeed, by sundry appointments to
parishes, he began to reveal that such was his intention, and Archetti,
the nuncio at Warsaw, urged him to persist in his attacks. To head off
the danger, the Fathers had determined to proceed to the election of a
Vicar General, and they obtained permission from the empress to that
effect. She issued a ukase, on June 23, 1782, in which she said that the
Jesuits were to be subject to the archbishop, in things that pertained
to his rights and duties, but that he should be very careful not to
interfere with any of the rules of the Order which were to remain intact
"in as far as they agree with our civil constitutions." Siestrzencewicz
was quite upset by this order, and not knowing that it had been obtained
through the intervention of Potemkin, he asked the Prince Wiaziemski,
who was then president of the Senate, to obtain a decree from that body
subjecting the Jesuits to his jurisdiction. The Senate so ruled by a
rescript dated September 12, 1781, but it was a very ill-advised
proceeding on their part, for it set them in opposition both to the
empress and the powerful Potemkin, besides making a rebel of the
archbishop and a meddler of the nuncio.
While a spirited correspondence was going on between those two
distinguished ecclesiastics about the matter, the Fathers met at
Polotsk, on October 10, 1782, which happened to be the feast of St.
Francis Borgia, to hold the twentieth congregation of the Society.
Everything was done according to the rule which governs such assemblies,
and Father Stanislaus Czerniewicz, the vice-provincial, was chosen Vicar
General of the Society. In the following session, it was decreed that
for those who re-entered the Society, the years spent involuntarily and
by compulsion, in the world, would count as so many years in religion.
With this the congregation ended, because orders had come to Polotsk,
for the Vicar General to report immediately to the Empress at St.
Petersburg. Accordingly, after naming Father Francis Kareu,
vice-provincial, he set out for the capital and was welcomed by
Catherine with the words: "I defended you thus far, and will do so till
the end."
The question now arose how would the archbishop receive the delegates of
the congregation which had ignored his claim to control the internal
affairs of the Society. The all-powerful Potemkin had attended to that.
He had called the prelate to task for daring to oppose the explicit
command of the empress, and warned him of the danger of such a course of
action. As Siestrzencewicz was primarily a politician, he had no
difficulty in modifying his views. Moreover, Canon Benislawski, who had
studied him at close range and knew his peculiarities, had taken care to
prepare him for the visit of the delegates. When they arrived, he
received them with the greatest courtesy and sent a letter of
congratulation to the newly-elected vicar. The future of the Society was
thus assured. A successor to Father Ricci had been elected; a general
congregation had convened and its proceeding had been conducted in
strict conformity with the Constitution. Besides, a novitiate had been
established, members of the dispersed provinces had been officially
recognized as belonging to the Society; and all this had been done with
the tacit consent of the Sovereign Pontiff.
Father Czerniewicz remained in St. Petersburg more than three months,
during which time he was frequently summoned to discuss with the empress
and Potemkin matters pertaining to education, but chiefly to make
arrangements for negotiations in Rome, in order to obtain the Pope's
express approval of the election. The matter called for considerable
diplomatic skill, for in the Acts of the congregation, some very bold
expressions had been employed which might cause the failure of the whole
venture. Thus, it had declared that "the Brief of Clement XIV destroyed
the Society outside of Russia;" and again, that "the Vicar was elected
by the authority of the Holy See." The second especially was a dangerous
assertion, since the papal nuncio, Archetti, regarded the election as
illegal, and even a few of the Jesuits themselves were doubtful as to
the correctness of the claim. There was fear, also, about the personal
disposition of the Pope on that point.
To dispose of all these difficulties Catherine sent Benislawski as her
ambassador to Rome, with very positive instructions not to modify them
in any way whatever. He was not to stop at Warsaw, but might call on the
nuncio, Garampi, at Vienna, and also on Gallitzin, the Russian
ambassador. He was to go by the shortest route to Rome, to visit no
cardinals there, but to present himself immediately to the Pope. In his
audience, he was to make three requests. They were: first, the
preconization of Siestrzencewicz as archbishop; second, the appointment
of Benislawski himself as coadjutor; and third, the approbation of the
Jesuits in White Russia, and especially the recognition of the Acts of
the congregation. The refusal of anyone of them was to entail a rupture
of negotiations with Russia.
On February 21, 1783, Benislawski arrived in Rome, and saw the Pope on
the same day. He was received most graciously; his own nomination as
bishop was confirmed; but, said the Pope: "Siestrzencewicz had no right
to open the novitiate." "That was done," replied Benislawski, "by order
of the empress." "Since that is the case," said the Pope, "I shall
forget the injury done to me by the bishop." He then asked about the
Jesuits and their General, and whether the election had been formally
ordered by the empress. When assured upon the latter point, he answered,
"I do not object." After an interview of two hours Benislawski withdrew.
At the second audience the attitude of the Pope was cold and
indifferent, for the Bourbon ambassadors had influenced him meantime.
Noticing the change, Benislawski fell upon his knees and asked the
Pope's benediction. "What does this mean?" he was asked. "My orders are
to withdraw immediately, if my requests are not granted." That startled
the Pope, and he immediately changed his tone; he spoke kindly to
Benislawski and told him to put his requests in writing. All night long
the faithful ambassador labored at his desk formulating each request and
answering every argument that might be alleged against it. Zalenski
gives the entire document (I, 386), which substantially amounted to
this: "The failure of the bishop to abolish the Society in Russia; the
establishment of the novitiate, and the election of the General were all
due to the explicit and positive orders of Catherine. As she had
threatened to persecute the Catholics of Russia and to compel the Poles
to enter the Orthodox Church, it was clear that there was no choice but
to submit to her demands.
"With regard to the objection that the Bourbon Princes would be angry at
Catherine's support of the Jesuits, Benislawski made answer, that, 'as
the empress had offered no objections to the suppression of the Order in
the dominions of those rulers, she failed to see why they had any right
to question her action in preserving it. She owed those kings no
allegiance.' Secondly, the approval of the Society would not be a
reflection on the present Pope, who had as much right to reverse the
judgment of Clement XIV, as Clement XIV had to reverse the judgment of
thirty of his predecessors. If none of the kings and diplomats had
blamed Clement for acting as he did, why should they blame Pius VI for
using his own right in the premises? Moreover, the Brief was never
published in Russia, and there was not the slightest prospect that it
ever would be. Finally, the empress had made a solemn promise not to
harm her Catholic subjects; but she was convinced that she could not
inflict a greater injury on them than to deprive their churches of
priests and their schools of teachers who in her opinion were
invaluable." As to the charge that the whole course of the empress was
due to the suggestion of the Jesuits, Benislawski replied that "everyone
knew they had petitioned her to have the Brief promulgated, and that she
had told them they were asking what was not agreeable to her."
The next day the Pope read the statement, smiled and said, "You want to
arrange this matter by a debate with me. But there can be no answer to
your contention. Your arguments are irrefutable." Very opportunely, a
letter arrived from the empress who expressed her willingness to receive
a papal legate to settle the case of the Uniate Archbishop of Polotsk,
and asking to have Benislawski consecrated in St. Petersburg. The letter
was read to the Pope, in the presence of a number of Cardinals, to whom
Benislawski was presented. The Holy Father then gave his assent to the
preconization of the archbishop, and the consecration of Benislawski.
"As to the third," he said, raising his voice: "Approbo Societatem Jesu
in Alba Russia degentem; approbo, approbo" (that is I approve of the
Society of Jesus, now in Russia; I approve, I approve). As the verbal
utterances of Popes in public matters of the Church, have the same force
as when they are in writing, and are designated by canonists and
theologians as _vivæ vocis oracula_, Benislawski contented himself with
this approval. Besides, fearing the machinations of the Bourbon
politicians, he could not ask for more. He had won his case, and had
received the Pope's assurance that the Society in Russia was not and
never had been suppressed. No more was needed.
Against the immense majority of historians of every shade of opinion,
Theiner in his "Pontificate of Clement XIV" denounces this account of
the embassy as "a fabrication of the Jesuit Benislawski," though
Benislawski was not then a Jesuit, nor did he ever re-enter the Society.
Besides, although Theiner characterizes the distinguished canonist whom
the Pope had just made a bishop as "a liar" and "an intriguer," he
admits at the same time that he was "a virtuous man" and "a pious
priest." If the account of the audience had been untrue, the Pope would
certainly have been compelled to denounce it; for it was published
immediately in the Florence Gazette; and the falsifier would assuredly
never have received his mitre. Nevertheless, to settle the matter
definitely and to allay all doubts and suspicions, Benislawski, after he
was installed as Bishop of Gadara, was invited to the second
congregation of the Jesuits. It met at Polotsk, on July 25, 1785, and he
there made the following declaration under oath:
"Having been sent to Rome by the Most Illustrious Empress of all the
Russias to interview the Pope with a view of settling the difficulty
about the Archbishopric of Mohilew and of the Co-adjutorship of that
see, as well as to obtain from the Pope the approval of the Society of
Jesus in White Russia, I represented to His Holiness the state of the
Jesuits living there in conformity with the laws of their Institute, and
I acquainted him with the fact that they had elected a General in
obedience to the command of the Most Illustrious Empress. After having
heard me, His Holiness kindly approved of the manner of life which the
Jesuits were leading in White Russia, and ratified the election of the
General, repeating three times, '_approbo, approbo, approbo_.' I affirm
under a most solemn oath, the truth of this verbal approbation; in
confirmation of which I hereunto affix my seal and signature."
Theiner adduces three Briefs of Pius VI to offset this affidavit of
Benislawski, but two of them antedate the episode at Rome; the third was
issued a month later, and has nothing in common with the question at
issue. Besides this, a few years subsequent to this approval, when
Father Joseph Pignatelli, who may one day be among the canonized saints
of the Church, asked permission of the Pope to go to White Russia "if
the Society existed there," His Holiness answered: "Yes, it exists
there; and if it were possible I would have it extended everywhere
throughout the world. Go to Russia. I authorize you to wear the habit of
the Jesuits. I regard the Jesuits there, as true Jesuits and the Society
existing in Russia as lawfully existing." (Bonfier, Vie de Pignatelli,
196.)
As their status was now settled, the Fathers addressed themselves to the
educational reform which the empress wanted to introduce into the
schools of Russia. It consisted mainly in giving prominence to the
physical sciences. They had no difficulty in complying with her wishes,
and Father Gruber, who was an eminent physicist, immediately established
a training-school for the preparation of future professors, and in March
1785, a number of Jesuit scientists were summoned by Potemkin to St.
Petersburg.
On June 20, of that year, the Vicar General Czerniewicz died. He was
born in 1728, and had entered the Society at sixteen; after teaching at
Warsaw, he was called to Rome as secretary to Father Ricci; later he was
substitute assistant of Poland. He was then sent to be rector of
Polotsk, and was at that post when Clement XIV issued the decree of
Suppression. At the congregation which was called on October 1, Father
Lenkiewicz was elected to succeed him.
By this time, many of the old Jesuits were sending in their requests for
admission. Among them were such distinguished personages as the
astronomer Hell; two of Father Ricci's assistants, Romberg and Korycki
and others. All could not be received in Russia itself, but wherever
they were, in America, Europe, China, the East and West Indies, etc.,
they were all gladly welcomed back and their names were inscribed in the
catalogue. It is of especial interest for Americans to find those of
Adam Britt of Maryland and of several who were sent from White Russia to
the United States when Carroll was empowered to re-establish the Society
in 1805. They are Anthony Kohlmann, Malevy, Brown, Epinette and others.
Those who, for one reason or another, were unable to go to Russia in
person, were informed that they were duly recognized as Jesuits and were
given permission to renew their vows. This arrangement was made
especially for the ex-members who had been appointed to bishoprics, or
were employed in some important function, such as royal confessors,
court preachers, scientists, etc., or again, who were prevented by age
and infirmity from making the long and difficult journey.
In the "Catalogus mortuorum," or list of deceased members, which covers
the period between 1773 and 1814, Zalenski counts 268 who are _extra
provinciam_; all nations under the sun are represented. From everywhere
gifts were sent by former Jesuits. Thus, Father Raczynski who had become
Primate of Poland gathered together at various auctions as many as 8000
Jesuit books and sent them to the College of Polotsk. Others followed
his example, and in 1815 the college library had 35,000 volumes on its
shelves. Other contributions came in the form of money. As early as
1787, Polotsk had a printing-press, and produced its own text-books,
besides publishing a number of works which were out of print. Fr. Gruber
kept at work forming a corps of able scientists, and he even made many
coadjutor brothers architects, painters and skilled artificers in
various crafts. The institution soon became famous for its physical and
chemical laboratories, its splendid theatre, its paintings, sculpture,
etc. The minor colleges soon followed its example, and the Jesuit
churches resumed their customary magnificence. Sodalities were
established, distant missions were undertaken, and among the neighboring
Letts, Jesuit missionaries created a veritable Paraguay.
Catherine reigned for thirty-five years, and until her death, as she had
promised, she had never failed to protect the Society. Her word alone
counted in Russia. She was alone on the throne for she had murdered the
czar, her husband, because of his repudiation of her son Paul, and also
because of her natural intolerance of an equal. It is true that Father
Carroll, in far-away America, was lamenting that his brethren had such a
protectress, but that was beyond their control. It can at least be
claimed that they had never yielded an iota in their duties as Catholic
priests. During the whole of her reign she kept her unfortunate heir
almost in complete seclusion. He was confided to the care chiefly of
Father Gruber, who besides being a saint was a man of wonderful ability.
He was a musician, a painter, an architect, a physicist and a
mathematician. One of his oil paintings adorns the refectory of
Georgetown today; brought over, no doubt, by some of the Polish Fathers.
It is very far from being the work of an amateur. Naturally, therefore,
Paul took to him kindly, and the affection continued till the end. When
on the throne, he multiplied the colleges of the Society, enlarged the
novitiate, installed the Fathers in the University of Vilna, and even
persuaded the Grand Turk to restore to the Jesuits their ancient
missions on the Ægean Archipelago.
The intimacy was so great that Gruber was supposed to be able to procure
any favor from Paul and hence his life was made miserable by the swarm
of suitors who beset him; but he was not foolish enough to forfeit the
favor of the prince by being made a tool to further the selfish aims of
the petitioners. He did, however, request the czar to ask the
newly-elected Pope Pius VII for an official recognition of the Society
in Russia. The Pope was only too willing to grant it, but the lingering
hostility to the Jesuits, even in Rome itself, made it somewhat
difficult. Indeed, a certain number of the cardinals pronounced very
decidedly against it, and only yielded, when the Pope made them take all
the responsibility of a refusal. He appointed a committee of the most
hostile among them to report on the imperial request, thus bringing them
face to face with the consequences of opposing the ruler of a great
empire and converting him from a friend into a persecutor of the Church.
Looking at it from that point of view, they quickly came to a favorable
conclusion, and on March 7, 1801, the Bull "Catholicæ Fidei" was issued,
explicitly re-establishing the Society of Jesus in Russia. It was the
first great step to the general restoration throughout the world
thirteen years later. The approbation arrived very opportunely, for
sixteen days after its reception Paul I was assassinated.
At his accession, Alexander, though less demonstrative than Paul, showed
his esteem for the Society to such an extent that when the General,
Father Kareu, was at the point of death, the czar went in person to
Polotsk to offer his condolence. This condescension was so marked that
Father Gruber availed himself of the opportunity to solicit the
publication of the Papal Bull which the turmoil consequent upon Paul's
assassination had prevented from being officially proclaimed. The
emperor made no difficulty about it, and issued a ukase to that effect.
He even went further in his approval, for when Gruber was elected
General in place of Father Kareu, he was summoned to St. Petersburg to
occupy a splendidly equipped College of Nobles which Paul had
established in the city itself. It was there that Gruber met the famous
Count Joseph de Maistre who was at that time Ambassador of Sardinia at
the imperial court. A deep and sincere affection sprung up between the
two great men, and in the storm that, later on, broke out against the
Society, de Maistre showed himself its fearless and devoted defender.
Catherine II had, in her time, attempted the colonization of the vast
steppes of her empire, and Paul I had been energetic in carrying out her
plans. Alexander I, also, was anxious to further the project which
called for not a little heroism on the part of those who undertook it.
Incidentally, it would relieve the government of considerable anxiety
and worry; for as the new settlers came from every part of Germany, and
professed all kinds of religious beliefs, it was considered to be of
primary importance politically, to establish some sort of unity among
them and to accustom them to Russian legislation and ways of life. The
Jesuits were selected for the task, and in spite of the hardships and
the isolation to which they were subjected, and in face, also, of the
hatred and opposition of their enemies as well as the usually surly mood
of the brutalized immigrants who had been driven out of their own
country by starvation and oppression, order was restored within a year,
and the government reported that these few priests had achieved what a
whole army of soldiers could never have accomplished. The missions of
Astrakhan were said to be similarly successful. But it appears in the
light of subsequent events, that no solid or permanent results had been
effected.
A glance at the map will show us that these two fields of endeavor were
at the extreme eastern and western ends of Russia's vast empire. The
Riga district is on the Baltic or, more properly, on the Gulf of Riga.
Below it, are the now famous cities of Köningsberg and Dantzic.
Astrakhan is on the Caspian Sea into which the great River Volga
empties. On both sides of this river, as in the city itself, the Jesuits
had established their mission posts. But from both the Baltic and the
Caspian they had to withdraw, when driven out of Russia by Alexander in
1820.
The present condition of these two sections of the now dismembered
empire is most deplorable. Indeed, as early as 1864 Marshall (Christian
Missions, I, 74) says of them: "Let us begin with the Provinces of the
Baltic. The Letts who inhabit Courland and the southern half of Livonia,
though long normally Christians and surrounded by Lutherans and
Russo-Greeks, sacrifice to household spirits by setting out food for
them in their gardens or houses or under old oak trees. Of the
Esthonians, Kohl says: 'The old practices of heathenism have been
preserved among them more completely than among any other Lutheran
people. There are many spots where the peasants yet offer up
sacrifices.' Let us now accompany Mr. Laurence Oliphant down the Volga
to the Caspian Sea. Everywhere his experience is uniform. The Kalmuks
whom he discovered are still Buddhists. Near the mouth of the Volga he
visits a large and populous village in a state of utter heathenism and
apparently destined to remain so. At Sarepta near Astrakhan, the
Moravians had attempted to convert the neighboring heathen but the Greek
clergy prevented them. One tribe is made up of followers of the Grand
Lama; another of pagans; a third of Mahometans. In the city of Kazan,
once the capital of a powerful nation, there are 20,000 Mahometans, and
the immense Tatar population of the entire region reaching as far as
Astrakhan has adopted a combination of Christianity, Islamism and
Shamanism, or are as out and out pagans as they were before being
annexed to the Russian Empire."
Among these degraded peoples the Jesuits were at work while they were
directing their colleges at Polotsk, St. Petersburg and elsewhere until
1814.