{"id":203653,"date":"2026-09-14T17:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/203653\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T17:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:21:11","slug":"pope-leo-appoints-new-apostolic-administrator-for-greek-catholics-in-belarus","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/203653\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo appoints new apostolic administrator for Greek Catholics in Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n Lia\u016doncij Tumouski (left) and Jan Siarhiej Hajek (right)\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (vaticannews.va)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

September 14, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Archimandrite Jan Siarhiej Hajek as apostolic administrator of the Greek Catholic Church in Belarus and appointed Lia\u016doncij Tumouski as his successor, the Holy See\u2019s press office announced<\/a> on September 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lavoncij (Aliaksandar) Tumouski was born in 1973 in Po\u0142ack, Viciebsk region. In 1995 he entered the Monastery of the Studite Monks at the Lavra of Univ, Ukraine. He studied philosophy and theology at the major seminary of Lviv and the Ukrainian Catholic University, earning a master\u2019s degree in theology. Between 2008 and 2018, he continued his studies in Rome, obtaining a licentiate and later a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Oriental Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tumouski was ordained a deacon in 2002 and a priest in 2003. He served as superior of the Greek\u2011Catholic Monastery of Saints Barys and Hlieb in Po\u0142ack between 2003 and 2008. In 2015, he served as head of pastoral care for Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Greece, and in 2022 he was ordained to lead the pastoral ministry of the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church in Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan Siarhiej Hajek (Jan Sergiusz Gajek), born in 1949 in \u0141yszkowice, Poland, served as head of Belarus\u2019 Greek Catholic Church for more than 30 years. In 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed him apostolic visitor for Greek Catholics in Belarus, and in 1996 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, tracing its origins to the 1596 Union of Brest. It faced severe persecution in the 19th century by Russian Czar Nicholas I and again after World War II under Soviet rule, without a functioning hierarchy for decades. In March 2023, Pope Francis took a major step toward restoring its structure by establishing an apostolic administration for Byzantine rite Catholics in Belarus, serving a community of about 5,000 faithful and 16 communities as of January 2024. Several communities were formally dissolved in 2025 and 2026 as part of Belarusian authorities\u2019 re-registration campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n \"\"
\n

Belarus to expel veteran Catholic priest<\/h3>\n
August 28, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have refused to extend a permit for long-serving Roman Catholic priest Janusz Pulita, a citizen of Poland, to continue his ministry in Belarus. In comments on the Pinsk Diocese\u2019s website, Bishop Antonij Dziamjanka describes Pulita …<\/div>\n \n