Aggravation of interfaith relations in the Belarusian provinces of the Russian Empire (late 19th – early 20th century) in the light of archival documents

Abstract

The article analyzes various aspects of the relationship between the largest confessional groups of the Belarusian provinces of the Russian Empire (Orthodox and Catholics) in the late 19th – early 20th centuries in the context of the implementation of the models of self-identification «our – other» and «our – alien». Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of the activities of Catholic clergy and fanatical parishioners to incite interfaith hostility (insults to representatives of another confession, unfounded calls for conversion to Catholicism, erroneous interpretation of the Decree «On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance» and the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, and etc.). The authority that Catholic priests had among the parishioners often caused the latter to be hostile to their neighbors of other faiths. The article provides many examples of the fact that the appearance of fanatical priests in a certain area often disrupted the peaceful, conflict-free course of religious life. At the same time, there were cases when the erroneous actions of Orthodox priests and ordinary parishioners became a catalyst for the exacerbation of interfaith relations. The article provides factual evidence of the propaganda activities of Catholic priests in the Polish national spirit, analyzes the reaction of the authorities to it. The most resonant conflict between Catholics and Orthodox at the beginning of the twentieth century is described in detail – an episode in the town of Zelva, Volkovysk district, Grodno province. The basis of the source base of the article was made up of documents of the National Historical Archives of Belarus and the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno. This article can be useful for specialists in history, students, everyone interested in the problems of religious and national relations in European countries. We see prospects for further research in this area in a comparative analysis of the situation in Belarus and other regions of Central and Eastern Europe of the 20th – 21th centuries, mixed in confessional and ethnic terms.