“Priest” Jan Lewiarz – an Organiser and Restorer of the Orthodox Church in South-Eastern Poland

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present the activities of Jan Lewiarz as the organiser and restorer of the Orthodox Church in south-eastern Poland. There are several versions of the biography of Jan Lewiarz, which do not make it possible to say whether he actually was ordained a priest. However, he became one of the most important people in the Orthodox Church in Poland. His activity, joined with close cooperation with state authorities, led to the taking over of many properties and temples which belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. Many of them became the basis for the creation of new Orthodox parishes in south-eastern Poland.