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Kostomłoty
1/ Excerpt from: http://www.cin.org/archives/cineast/200110/0277.html
CINEast Archives: Poland St. Nikita Byzantine-Slavonic Catholic Church Parafia Kostomloty & Sanktuarium Unitow Podlaskich Kostomloty 15 21-508 Dobratycze, Poland Tel: (48-83) 375-5227Fr. Archimandrite Roman Pietka, MIC email: Parafia_Unicka_Kostomloty@siedlce.opoka.org.pl
Additional Contact for St. Nikita's, Kostomloty: Fr. Archimandrite Jan Sergiusz Gajek, MIC Tel: (48-81) 743-3774 Fax: (48-81) 743-3770 URL: http://www.kostomloty-parafia-unicka.siedlce.opoka.org.pl
Situated in Kostomloty two hundred meters due west from the River Bug which forms the border between Poland and Belarus, St. Nikita's was founded in 1631 and has been in continuous operation since then. The present church building dates to 1922. One of the parishes which "became" Orthodox during the Czar's Russification program in 1874-5, St. Nikita's returned to communion with the Holy See in 1927. The Sanktuarium Unitow Podlaskich at St. Nikita's commemorates, inter alia, the recently beatified thirteen Byzantine Catholic martyrs of Pratulin who were killed while defending their church from forcible seizure by the authorities during the Russification program of 1874-5. The only Byzantine-Slavonic parish now remaining in Poland, St. Nikita's has become a center for ecumenical dialogue, cooperating with the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Koden and the Orthodox monastery at Jableczna, and has been both a symbol and a beacon of hope for the Belarussian Byzantine Catholics across the border.
The icon of the Holy Martyrs of Pratulin For another icon of the Holy Martyrs and a picture of Father Roman Pietka at his installation to the rank of archimandrite, visit this second "Kostomloty Page." You may also wish to visit an older webpage in Polish about St. Nikita's. If you are interested in more information about the Greek Catholic martyrs of the Podlaski region, there is some useful information and photos on the Roman Catholic site concerning the cause of these martyrs and there is also an informative article about the history of Greek Catholics in this region of Poland and how their witness and presence was honored by His Holiness Pope John Paul II during his recent pilgrimage to Poland by Mr. Peter Siwicki of Lublin.
2/ Excerpt from: http://www.omiobcom.org/reflection/postings/post031.htm
The Religious Mix: Uniate - Roman Catholic - Orthodox
In Eastern Poland there are a substantial number of Orthodox Churches and Monasteries. The people in this "Polish" side of Belarus are mainly catholic and those from the original Belarus are Orthodox. To be Belarusian is to be Orthodox. On the outskirts of Koden there is also a Uniate Church, whose pastor is the Archimandrite Roman Pietka M.I.C. Between 1945 and the collapse of communism in 1990, this was the only Neo-Uniate church in the world.
The history of the Uniate Church is very complicated. The Uniate Church was developed by Orthodox Bishops living in former Polish territory which today is divided between Ukraine, Belarus and Poland. These Bishops wanted to be linked to Rome while keeping their own traditions. They became known as Greco-Catholic. Under the Soviet government they were told to become Catholics with the Latin Rite or Orthodox under Moscow’s control. Some of the Uniates forced to become orthodox wished to re-unite with Rome, but retain their Byzantine Liturgy. These were called Neo-Uniates. The existence of the Uniate Church has caused friction with the Orthodox, and does not help ecumenical relationships between Catholics and Orthodox Churches.
3/ see also: http://www.stmichaelruscath.org/kostomloty.htm
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