Ideological and National Aspects of the Catholic Clergy Activities in Grodno and Minsk Provinces of the Russian Empire in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries (on the Basis of Archival Documents)

Abstract

The article analyzes various aspects of the relationship between the confessional groups in Grodno and Minsk provinces of the Russian Empire (Orthodox Christians, Catholics) in the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries in the context of the implementation of models of self-identification «friend or foe». The article reconstructs the main stereotypes of the Catholic clergy's perception of interfaith relations through the prism of the national factor. Particular attention is paid to the specific features of the activity of Catholic clergy and their sympathetic fanatical parishioners to incite interfaith hostility. The author The basis of the source base of the article was made up of documents from the National Historical gives factual proof of the Catholic clergy propaganda activities for Polish national benefit and analyzes the authorities’ reaction to such propaganda. The research presented in the article is based on the documents of the National Archive of Belarus and the National Historical Archive of Belarus in Grodno (reports of district police officers to the Grodno governor, correspondence of the Grodno governor with the Governor-General of Vilno, Kovno and Grodno, etc.).