The Holy Protection Orthodox Brotherhood in Erzhepol, Polotsk and Vitebsk Diocese, in the Early XX Century

The article describes the parish brotherhood in Erzhepol, Polotsk and Vitebsk Diocese. Priest Kirill Zaits, a local parish rector and founder of the brotherhood, encountered the problem that in the 1860 s most of his parishioners had previously converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy without proper catechesis. This caused both the local peasants’ formalistic attitude towards the church life and their large-scale reconversion from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. To cope with the crisis, in 1900 the priest opened a parish school for girls. Later on, in 1903, with the bishop’s blessing he founded a parish brotherhood, aimed primarily at supporting the parish school and its students. From the outset, the Erzhepol parish brotherhood engaged into educational, enlightening and charitable work, not restricting itself by the denominational criterion but assisting people of all religions in the neighbourhood. Since priest Kirill Zaits was appointed as diocesan missionary in 1911 and moved to Vitebsk, the brotherhood gradually faded away