Vladimir Skrabatun
It was 1997. At that time, an opportunity arose for a week-long stay in Warsaw. A Polish foundation covered all related expenses so that the author of these lines could visit libraries and museums to gather necessary documents for the book “Głębokie in Old Postcards.” Among the potential sites where something might be found on this topic, I was offered to visit the National Museum (Muzeum Narodowy), the iconography department.
There were no postcards with images of Głębokie and Berezvechcha there. Not a single one. Instead, I was brought several albums of photographs and drawings of ancient Głębokie. I asked, “If there are any of Berezvechcha, please bring them!”
They brought Berezvechcha. But the album was almost empty. I asked: where did the images of Berezvechcha go?
“Belarusians came once and took everything. They said they would restore the church in Berezvechcha,” the department staff member reported.
Among the albums, I was particularly interested in one that contained drawings from 1920, executed in pencil and dedicated to Koptsyovka. At that time, there was a wooden tent chapel in the local cemetery, and in front of the cemetery entrance, there was a wooden gate.
One drawing caught my eye, a photograph from nature that can still be seen today – a small brick chapel on the slope of a burial hill, and nearby – a slightly shorter gravestone-chapel.
I recalled that in the past, during my school years, in the niche of the left chapel, there was still a statuette of Christ. A little lower, at the foot of the burial hill, on Horky Street, but within the cemetery, stood an old leaning house where, as people said, two elderly nuns lived.
I hold the drawing in my hands and read its annotation: “Tomb of J. Korsak at the cemetery in the locality of GŁĘBOKIE in Belarus,” inv. D.I. 185 53. In the drawing itself, it is visible that on the right monument, in the niche, it is written: “D.O.M. KORSAK…”
– What does D.O.M. mean? – I ask the museum staff member.
– Oh God, remember me – in Latin, – she replied, even repeating it in the original language.
Korsak? Which one? Under the letter “J,” anyone could be hiding: Jan, Jerzy, Józef…
And even if it is Józef (Iosif, Yazep), it is still not a fact that it is indeed Józef Korsak, the Voivode of Mstsislaw and the starosta of Dysna, the owner of the northeastern part of Głębokie and Berezvechcha, the founder of three Głębokie churches (the third was in Berezvechcha). There could be another namesake by name and surname.
The Mysterious Grave at Koptsyovka
The drawing of the gravestone is executed rather schematically, not in detail, and the inscription on the plaque is presented in an abbreviated form. However, a short description is attached to the drawing. The inscription read: “D.O.M. I. Korsak of the divine year…” Further – it is no longer readable.
The title above the drawing stated: “Głębokie. The grave of I. Korsak. From the collections of Ryszard Bilski, April 1927.” A separate text was attached to the drawing, written in ink on a sheet of “school paper with lines”: “Głębokie, Dysna district, 1920. The grave of I. Korsak at the cemetery.” The author of the drawing describes the monument as follows: “This is a type of chapel with a tin roof. The column at the bottom transitions into a faceted quadrilateral, in which there is a tin plate with a barely readable inscription: ‘I. Korsak of the divine year…’
It is noteworthy that the drawing was made in 1920. This was not yet the so-called “Polish time” for Głębokie. However, military actions between Poland and Soviet Russia had already been suspended, and preparations for the conclusion of a peace treaty were underway. The Poles were confident that Głębokie would pass to them, and likely, they had already begun conducting historical and local studies here. The “Polish time” for Głębokie began on March 18, 1921, when the Treaty of Riga was signed. Głębokie passed to Poland for 18 years. However, after the “Polish time,” this monument – to someone from the Korsaks – had not “surfaced” anywhere. Likely, nothing was readable on the plaque anymore. The monument was forgotten. The drawings ended up in a private collection (Ryszard Bilski’s), and later in the National Museum in Warsaw.
Naturally, we are interested in whether this could be the burial of the renowned Głębokie patron – Józef Korsak?
What do we know from history? The ashes of Józef Korsak were located in the vaults of the Głębokie Carmelite church. After the suppression of the uprising of 1863, hard times ensued…
“For more than two centuries, the voivode I. Korsak rested here. But the crypt was empty; the ashes did not survive the cruelty of man. Rumbalt Polatski reported that during the reconstruction of the church into a temple, the ashes were thrown out of the catacomb. Wrapped in a crimson cloak, which was well preserved, for two days he lay under the open sky in the cemetery until the master from the nearby estate of Litovshchyna took pity on the ashes of the Polish senator and buried them in the ground. Where? Unknown! Today, all this is forgotten; Korsak’s will is unrecognized,” – such a sad note was made by Aton Hedeiman, the author of a book on the history of Głębokie during the times of the Commonwealth. Why is nothing known about the burial place of J. Korsak? Hedeiman answers: “It was a terrible time. Even the closest relatives had to remain silent.”
In the above text, there are two key phrases…
The first: “For two days he lay under the open sky in the cemetery.” And where is that cemetery where he “lay under the open sky”? I lean towards the idea that it was Koptsyovka. It is clear that it was not at the Orthodox cemetery of Dubrova. Logically – at the Catholic cemetery, at Koptsyovka.
The second key phrase – “until the master from the nearby estate of Litovshchyna took pity on the ashes… and buried them in the ground.” And who owned Litovshchyna? The Korsaks!
The master of the estate could have buried the ashes of Józef Korsak in Litovshchyna! Whatever “terrible times” there were – well, they didn’t bury the patron in the forest! Clearly, in the cemetery. But where? At Koptsyovka, or still in Litovshchyna? Litovshchyna is now part of the village of Myaretski, just like Berezvechcha – Głębokie.
For the first time, material on this topic – “The Grave of the Patron” – was published in the newspaper “Vesnik Hlybochchyny” No. 49 (7631) on June 27, 1997. I will say right away: it did not cause any resonance in society. And there are many reasons for that. In the church, priests change “like gloves.” This was mentioned to Krzysztof Mikolajczyk. He promised to continue searching for further information while visiting Warsaw. However, Krzysztof went off to the Negroes in Africa… He told other Głębokie priests, but they also scattered…
Another reason is ideological. No, the district ideology department is not to blame here. The ideology is in people’s heads! Many call Józef Korsak a traitor. They say he converted from Orthodoxy to Uniatism. Much can be debated on this topic, but try to convince someone that in the times of Józef Korsak there was no Belarus here, but there was Lithuania, and Belarusians were called Lithuanians. The Muscovites raided our land, burned cities and villages, killed our people. It is no wonder that all Lithuanians (Belarusians) mostly converted to Uniatism. What Orthodox brotherhood is there when other Orthodox came into your house to kill you!
For greater piquancy, I will add a few facts that for some reason are omitted in our books and newspaper publications. In 1610, Józef Korsak participated in the battles for Smolensk, then in the campaigns of Władysław IV against Moscow. In 1633, during the war for Smolensk, he hired an army at his own expense and defended the Dysna castle from the Muscovites. Władysław IV sent him letters and universals from the convoy near Smolensk for help with soldiers, provisions, and ammunition… And, by the way, at the 1638 Sejm, J. Korsak received a reimbursement for the costs he incurred on soldiers and the defense of Dysna. Well, here J. Korsak appears, if not as a staunch Belarusian nationalist, then certainly as a hero and patriot of the Commonwealth.
However, let’s return to the topic. The author does not claim that Józef Korsak, the Voivode of Mstsislaw and the starosta of Dysna, the owner of the northeastern part of Głębokie, is buried at Koptsyovka. There are not enough facts to assert this unequivocally. Someone J. Korsak is buried. The likelihood that this grave belongs to the renowned patron is not so small.
New searches and studies are needed. It would be good if our compatriots living abroad joined the search.
“Free Głębokie,” No. 20 (580), May 19, 2011.