Alexander Nadson
{{short description|Belarusian Greek priest and historian (1926–2015)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| image = File:Fr Alexander Nadson.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Nadson in 2009
| birth_name = Aliaksandar Bočka
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|8|8|df=y}}
| birth_place = Haradzyeya, Second Polish Republic (now Belarus)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|4|15|1926|8|8|df=y}}
| death_place = London, United Kingdom
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = Priest, historian
| organization =
| awards =
}}
Alexander Antonovich Nadson ({{langx|be|Аляксандар Антонавіч Надсан|Aliaksandar Antonavich Nadsan}}; 8 August 1926 – 15 April 2015) was the Apostolic Visitor for Belarusian Greek-Catholic faithful abroad, scholar, translator and a notable Belarusian émigré social and religious leader.
Early life
Fr Nadson was born Alyaksandar Bochka ({{langx|be|Аляксандар Бочка|Aliaksandar Bočka}}) in the village of Haradzyeya near Nyasvizh, in the Second Polish Republic (now in Minsk Region, Belarus) into a middle-class family. His father Anton had served as an officer in the army of the Russian tsar in World War I, and had participated in the 1920 anti-Bolsheviks Slutsk Uprising. Nadson studied at the Teacher Training College in Nyasvizh seminary. In 1944, he emigrated from Belarus, and in 1945 was a soldier in the 2nd Polish Corps fighting in Italy, where he was wounded.{{Cite web|last=Dingley|first=Jim|date=2015-05-27|title=Mgr Alexander Nadson: obituary|url=https://www.skaryna.org.uk/mgr-alexander-nadson-obituary/|access-date=2021-05-11|website=Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum|language=en-GB}}
In 1946, along with the Anders army he moved to Great Britain where he studied at the University of London. Nadson was one of the founders of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain and its chairman from 1951 to 1953. He was editor of the periodicals Biełarus na čužynie and Na šlachu, and took part in the activities of the Belarusian Christian academic society Ruń and the Belarusian People's Independent Christian Movement.[http://nn.by/?c=ar&i=147863 Памёр духоўны лідар беларускай эміграцыі, айцец Аляксандр Надсан], Nasha Niva 16.04.2015
Later life
From autumn 1953, he studied at the Pontifical Greek College in Rome. He was ordained priest of the Eastern Rite on 23 November 1958. Nadson "had been guided on to this [ecclesiastical] path by (later Bishop) Ceslaus Sipovich, who himself had been sent by the Vatican to establish a Belarusian Catholic Mission in the UK". In July 1959, Nadson returned to London, where he resumed his activities in organizations of the Belarusian diaspora. It was at this time that the "Belarusian village" in North Finchley, London was beginning to expand. A property was acquired to house a boarding school for the sons of Belarusian immigrants in Western Europe; he was appointed headmaster in 1961.
From 1971 Nadson was the director of the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London, the largest Belarusian library abroad. Nadson "developed the institution to the point where it could justifiably be regarded as the foremost collection in the world, outside Belarus itself, of books (including many rare publications), maps, journals and artefacts relevant for the study of the complex area east of Poland once known as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" with "a world-wide reputation" which "attract[ed] scholars from a wide range of countries".
The library also provided Nadson with many opportunities for research. He gave several lectures to the Anglo-Belarusian Society. He published pioneering articles in the Society's Journal of Belarusian Studies on such topics as the life and writings of the early Belarusian Saint Cyril of Turau and a manuscript tefsir (a commentary on the Qur’an) that he had acquired for the library, written in Arabic script by Muslim Tatars living in Belarus who had retained their religion but used Belarusian as their everyday language. He was also a long time editor of the Journal. The high regard in which his scholarship was held was shown by the award in 2008 of an honorary doctorate of the European Humanities University based in Vilnius. Nadson was also very active in translating liturgical texts into Belarusian.{{Cite web|title=Alexander Nadson (1926–2015) – in Memoriam {{!}} The Journal of Belarusian Studies|url=http://belarusjournal.com/article/alexander-nadson-1926%E2%80%932015-%E2%80%93-memoriam-264|access-date=2021-05-11|website=belarusjournal.com}}{{Cite web|title=Father Alexander Nadson dies in London|url=https://euroradio.fm/en/father-alexander-nadson-dies-london|access-date=2021-05-11|website=euroradio.fm|date=16 April 2015 |language=en}}
From 1981, he was head of the Belarusian Catholic mission in Great Britain, and from 1986, Apostolic Visitor to all Belarusian Greek-Catholic faithful abroad. He actively supported the recreation of the Greek Catholic Church in Belarus that had been suppressed in that country since the 1830s.{{Cite web|title=Alexander Nadson died|url=https://charter97.org/en/news/2015/4/16/147806/|access-date=2021-05-11|website=charter97.org|language=en}}
He was the author of several books on the history of Belarus and the head of a Chernobyl charity fund aimed at alleviating the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.
Death
Nadson died in London on 15 April 2015, aged 88, and is buried in St Pancras and Islington Cemetery in East Finchley, North London.{{Cite web|title=Arrangements for Fr Alexander's Funeral {{!}} Anglo-Belarusian Society|date=20 April 2015 |url=http://www.absociety.org.uk/2015/04/20/arrangements-for-fr-alexanders-funeral/|access-date=2021-05-12|language=en-US}}
References
External links
{{Commonscatinline}}
- [http://www.skaryna.org.uk/en/ Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London]
- [http://online.skaryna.org.uk/items/show/61 Fr. Nadson - Ceslaus Sipovich: The first Belarusian Catholic Bishop in the 20th Century (1914–1981)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511175639/http://online.skaryna.org.uk/items/show/61 |date=11 May 2021 }}
- [https://belbritain.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/nadson-mahdalena_radzivill/ Fr. Nadson - Princess Magdalena Radzivill and the Greek Catholic Church in Belarus]
- [http://belarusjournal.com/article/writings-st-cyril-turau-15 Fr. Nadson - Spiritual Writings of St Cyril of Turau]
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Category:People from Nyasvizh district
Category:People from Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–1939)
Category:Belarusian Eastern Catholic priests
Category:20th-century Belarusian historians
Category:Belarusian Home Defence personnel
Category:Polish military personnel of World War II
Category:Belarusian emigrants to England
Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Category:British Eastern Catholics
Category:British religious leaders
Category:Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery