The Catholic Church's first seminary on Siberian soil opened in Siberia's capital city of Novosibirsk, Oct. 15.
Bishop Joseph Werth, S.J., apostolic administrator for Latin-rite Catholics in the Asian part of Russia, was joined in dedication ceremonies by Father Alexander Kahn, S.J., rector of the new "diocesan" seminary; Father Janez Michelcic, S.J., vice rector; and several other priests from around Novosibirsk.
Also present were the institution's fust two students. 17-year-old Vyacheslav Klokov and 19-year-old Veitaliya Orlovsky, ethnic Russians from Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk.
Major seminaries existed in both St.Petersburg and Saratov till the time of the Communist revolution, and a new one opened in Moscow Sept. 1; but the new minor seminary at Novosibirsk is the first ever in the vast lands beyond the Urals.
Like Bishop Werth's chancery, which is crammed into a three-room apartment, Siberia's first Catholic seminary shares its historical significance with its simplicity and need for much hard work.
The seminary is located in a two-story house, much in need of repair. The electricity, walls, doors, staircases, bathrooms, furnace and garage all need attention, according to Fr. Michelcic, the vice rector. "The first week was classic," Vyacheslav Klokov recalled. "There was no furniture, only three beds."
Fr. Michelcic arrived in Siberia only two months ago, to begin what was called a sabbatical. He will be largely responsible, however, for running the school, since its rector, Fatherr Kahn (like Bishop Werth a native of Kazakhstan) is also the vicar general, rector of the cathedral parish of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and responsible for the building of the new cathedral.
"It's a completely new job for me and for anyone else here," Father Michelcic said. "So everything has to be learned from zero."
"People have the impression that things will just happen," Father said, "but they don't, they have to be done."
"There is a latin saying," he said, "that he who wants the ends, must also want the means. Here they just want the ends. There's a lot of carrying the bucket around here. It's not so much the Church's problem, as that of the whole country."
For example, the seminary needs a telephone. But to apply for a phone line, it has to show registration of the house; but to do that, the previous owner must first deregister.
The main task of the diocesan seminary, however, will not be caring for the building where Fr. Michelcic and the seminarians live and attend classes. The seminary's main task, according to Fr. Michelcic, "will be to teach the seminarians how to pray." Asked how that will be done, he quietly responded, "with God's help."
"I've wanted for a long time to give more time to study and prayer," said Veitaliya Orlovsky, the older of the two candidates. He attended Mass with his Polish great-grandmother and grandmother while a child in the Ukraine, but was baptized only six years ago. Though Veitaliya's mother is a Catholic, his father will not consent to his becoming a Catholic priest: he wants him to become an Orthodox priest so he can marry.
Neither of Vyacheslav's parents are churchgoers. He was baptized in the Orthodox church five years ago, but asked to be received into the Catholic Church because he "likes the Catholic view of life." After preparation at the seminary, he hopes to become a Dominican novice. The Dominicans presently have houses in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Fr. Michelcic said the new seminary is technically a pre-seminary, as its courses will emphasize languages and spirituality rather than theology. Young men, some of whom have had but little religious education within their families, will receive a good formation in the spiritual life. Russian language and literature will also be studied, as well as German and Latin.
Currently two candidates live at the seminary, but they expect to be joined by one or two more. With only three or four seminarians, Fr. Michelcic expects that after two years they will be sent abroad for further study. But if vocations warrant, he added, the facility will become a major seminary.
A native of Slovakia, Fr. Michelcic spent the past 25 years teaching Russian and linguistics in Tokyo. He will be assisted by Fr. Alexis Strycek, S.J., who arrived earlier this month from Paris. Fr. Strycek will teach Latin and Church history.
In light of the tasks ahead, the help Fr. Michelcic seeks is
simple. "Ask the people to pray. Without prayer this will not
work." But like most Church developments here, with prayer
and hard work, its significance will be readily apparent.
(extracted by Fr. Blaine from letters from Dan McNeil,
Franciscan lay missionary, and Fr. Jerzy Karpinski, S.J.)
Fr. Alexis Strycek, S.J., Ph.D. (Sorbonne), arrived in Novosibirsk Nov. 3, to begin teaching in the diocesan seminary. Author of several books published in Russian and French, including A Manual of Russian Accentology and The Russian Enlightenment: Denis Fonvizin, Fr. Strycek worked at the Jesuit Center of Russian Culture in the suburbs of Paris. His interest in Russia dates back a quarter of a century to when he was a guest of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. A spry 77 years old, he said, "If they need me, I will stay here permanently."
Fr. Robert Bradshaw, 64, priest of the Irish diocese of Cashel in Tipperary, died of cancer at Krasnoyarsk, Sept. 23. Author of Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary (Montfort 1984), and a former missionary in Iceland, Fr. Bradshaw had been working with two lay members of the Legion of Mary in Krasnoyarsk for the last year and a half. Bp. Werth celebrated Mass for Fr. Bradshaw in Krasnoyarsk on Sept. 26.
The Bishop consecrated a plot of ground 270 by 100 feet as Novosibirsk's first Catholic cemetery on Nov. 2.
After a long process of studying documents and historical materials, we were able to prove the church building in Vladivostok belonged to the Catholic Church and that it should be given back to the currently registered Catholic organization, the Roman Catholic Parish of Vladivostok.
The krai [regional] small council passed a decision authorizing the administration to give the building to us, as soon as we have concluded a dogovor [contract] between ourselves and the krai archive department.
We agreed on the terms earlier, and are now working on the final written version. In short, the agreement will require us to immediately pay for the repair of the heating system to prepare it for winter (maybe $8,000). Then we will have to pay a big part of the expenses of moving the archives from our building to another building which has been designated for that purpose.
Our share of the expenses for this will be about 21 million rubles, inflatable if we don't act quickly. We should pay about 10 million rubles before the end of October, and the rest about a month after that.
Then we must repair the building. It has three concrete and steel floors built within, and we plan to remove these.
The whole building is in terrible condition and stripped of all religious items. We are hoping to receive as much as possible of the interior things from churches closing in America and Europe, like a pipe organ, bells, altars, statues, benches, windows, etc. Because the building is an historical monument we want to repair it according to its historical period (1922), and not in a modern way.
The repair of the building will take time, of course, so meanwhile we must be using other locations for our Masses and other services.
We want to recover and renovate the building for several important reasons:
First, it is a cathedral. Vladivostok was the seat of the Far Eastern diocese after the revolution, and our first bishop lived and suffered here.
Secondly, as a huge brick church, it will be a reminder of and monument to the faith of Catholics during the time of repression. It is one of the largest in Asian Russia - four times bigger than the one in Krasnoyarsk. I haven't seen all the others, but it is certainly the largest east of central Siberia.
Thirdly, it is a sign that Jesus and his people will flourish again, in spite of repression.
Fourthly, we are hoping our Holy Father will make this church dedicated to Mary a papal basilica and a place of pilgrimage to honor those who suffered for their faith. Many relatives of our parishioners are included, and several of our priests.
So our initial expenses will be about $29,000. Then we must begin the renovation!
An American just wrote me a letter via E-mail from the
States saying that she and her husband offer up every Friday
for us working here in Vladivostok. We need this kind of
support, too.
Werner Hauri, from near Winnipeg, who planned to attend the dedication of the new church in Marx Oct. 7, landed in Moscow during the recent revolution and learned the dedication had been postponed thereby until Nov. 21. Werner visited Marx, nonetheless, as well as the Catholic churches in Karaganda, Novosibirsk, and Barnaul. His much-anticipated visit with Bishop Werth was cut short by the latter's being summoned "immediately" to Moscow on Oct. 18 by President Boris Yeltsin to help put the finishing touches on the new Russian constitution's sections dealing with religion.
Followers of the great Catholic social worker and expositer of Russian spirituality, Catherine, Baroness de Houek, 1896-1985, began their first house in Russia Sept.23. Marie Javora, Miriam Stuhlberg, and Alma Coffman, all North Americans, opened the world's 24th Madonna House as a house of prayer-presence in Magadan. Catherine left Russia in 1918 and, after founding Friendship Houses in Toronto, Harlem, and Chicago, left them in 1947 to found Madonna House at Combermere, Ont. Apostolate members take private vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
A few words on donations to Bishop Werth's work in Siberia. To quote him, the best way is to take them there yourself. The next best way is to send it to one of the addresses given below. These agencies have ways of getting the money to him safely. We have not listed the Bishop's address, because it is not safe to send him cash by mail and impossible for him to cash a check of any kind in Siberia. Thanks for your help.
Bishop Werth's picture appeared in the L'Osservatore Romano for Sept. 29 in the full-page article announcing the opening of the major seminary (with 12 seminarians) at Immaculate Conception Church in Moscow. He attended the dedication on Sept. 1.
From Father Michael Walsh of Englewood CO we learned that another Irish priest from the Cashel diocese is planning to take Father Bradshaw's place at Krasnoyarsk.
The 1993 Annuario Pontificio reveals that Bishop Werth is a member of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for dealing with Non-Believers.
Bishop Werth is temporarily part of the Japanese hierarchy, since part of his territory was recently restored to Japan.
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