Sylvester, born Stefan Chetvertinsky (died 14 February 1728), was an Orthodox bishop in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
He came from the princely Chetvertinsky family. In 1702, he became the superior of the Transfiguration Monastery in Stara Czetwertnia. In 1707, thanks to the intervention of Tsar Peter the Great, he assumed the management of the (in Belarus). He received the royal privilege for the bishopric six years later, also under the pressure of Russian diplomacy. A year after assuming office, in 1708, he found himself in sharp conflict with the Metropolitan of Kyiv, , as he sought to bring the stauropegial monasteries in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under his control and enforce proper discipline. In particular, he focused on the Holy Trinity Monastery in Slutsk and the Kuteinski Monastery in Orsha. The prolonged dispute over control of the monasteries ended with a status quo being maintained.
During his time as bishop of Belarus, Sylvester Chetvertinsky defended the property rights of the Orthodox Church, demanded the Polish king respect the rights of Orthodox people, prevent forced conversions to Catholicism, and stop the confiscation of Orthodox religious buildings. Due to the unfriendly policies of Augustus II the Strong, he maintained regular correspondence with Tsar Peter the Great, particularly after 1721. In 1725, he stated in a letter that without Russian support, he would be unable to continue leading the eparchy. However, Russian interventions were unsuccessful; Sylvester died in 1728, shortly after sending another letter to Russia asking for assistance. After his death, Augustus II the Strong prevented the installation of a new bishop of Belarus, and the bishopric remained vacant until 1737.
Biography
Youth and early activity Sylvester (born Stefan Chetvertinsky) came from the princely Chetvertinsky family. His grandfather, Grzegorz Chetvertinsky, held the position of chamberlain of Luck. His father, Wacław Chetvertinsky, was also the chamberlain of Luck and the huntsman of Volhynia from 1662, later becoming the standard-bearer of Zhytomyr and starosta of Zyzyn and Danichiv from 1666. His mother, Ludwika (née Wojna-Orańska), was the daughter of a vice-judge of Chernihiv. The secular name of the future bishop was Stefan; F. Titow lists the secular name as Sergiusz.
At home, he received a solid education. He also frequently accompanied his father to meetings of the Orthodox nobility opposed to the union. Although much of the Chetvertinsky family converted to Catholicism, Stefan Chetvertinsky retained the Orthodox faith. Following the example of his paternal cousin Grzegorz, after taking monastic vows, he entered the Transfiguration Monastery in Stara Czetwertnia. There, he took eternal monastic vows under the name Sylvester and became the superior of the community in 1702. His contemporaries described him as "a man of great learning and pastoral zeal". Numerous meetings with the Orthodox nobility allowed him to establish personal contacts with some of its most influential representatives.
Bishop of Mogilev, Mstsislaw and Orsha
1707–1713
Sylvester Chetvertinsky was appointed bishop of Mogilev, Mstsislaw and Orsha in 1705, a year after the death of the previous bishop, . According to another source, his appointment happened as early as 1704. His selection was influenced not only by his abilities but also by his connections with the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Gedeon, and his prestigious lineage. Sylvester was also an accomplished preacher. His episcopal consecration as archimandrite took place in Kyiv in 1707, with Metropolitan Warlaam of Kyiv as the main consecrator. Bishop Sylvester arrived at his residence in Mogilev in August of the same year, at a time when the city was occupied by Russian troops. His appointment was made with clear support from Tsar Peter the Great, marking a Russian intervention in the religious affairs of the Commonwealth. The illegal introduction of an Orthodox bishop into Mogilev by the tsar was part of Peter the Great's anti-Uniate actions following his entry into the Commonwealth, which also included hindering religious practices of the Uniate population, expelling Uniate Metropolitan Lev Zalenskyj, and the murder of Basilian monks in Polotsk.
Sylvester's enthronement was not officially sanctioned with the appropriate royal privilege, meaning the Commonwealth authorities did not recognize him as a legally operating bishop. Bishop Sylvester stayed in Mogilev only until March 1708, when he left for his family estate in Stara Czetwertnia, as he considered it dangerous to remain in Mogilev due to the ongoing Great Northern War. The war almost entirely prevented him from managing his diocese.
In October 1708, Bishop Sylvester filed a complaint with the municipal records of Mogilev against the Russian troops, accusing them of plundering the city. As a member of a delegation of Mogilev citizens, he traveled to Tsar Peter the Great's temporary headquarters in Voronezh that same year. The delegation asked the tsar for permission to rebuild the city and protect it from further destruction. Sylvester's participation in the mission contributed to Peter the Great's mistrust of the bishop, accusing him of disloyalty to Russia. On the other hand, the Belarusian bishop was unwilling to support the tsarist policies towards the Kyiv metropolis and was critical of many actions of the tsarist administration.
Competency disputes with the Metropolitan of Kyiv
When Sylvester Chetvertinsky received his episcopal consecration, he was appointed bishop of Mogilev, Mstsislaw and Orsha. He also promised not to extend his jurisdiction beyond the boundaries of his diocese. This was especially important given that his predecessor, Bishop Serapion, held the title of Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in the Commonwealth, as well as the Vicar of the Metropolis of Kyiv. As a result, he had control over Orthodox monasteries in the Commonwealth that, by the will of their founders, were under the authority of the Metropolitan of Kyiv, despite the fact that the residence of the latter was outside the country. Metropolitan Warlaam of Kyiv demanded this commitment, particularly regarding the canonical status of the former Diocese of Turov. The Orthodox structures in this area, remnants of the creation of the Uniate Diocese of Turov in 1596, were under the vicar of the Metropolitan of Kyiv, usually the superior of the Trinity Monastery in Slutsk or the Slutsk and Kopyl protopope. Despite this, Bishop Sylvester unilaterally added to his title the position of Vicar of the Metropolitan in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which reflected his private ambitions rather than his actual jurisdiction.
Practically immediately after taking office, Bishop Sylvester found himself in conflict with the Trinity Monastery in Slutsk. Taking advantage of a division within the community – some of its members were leaning towards joining the jurisdiction of the Belarusian bishop – he declared the monastery and all its affiliated institutions free from the authority of the Metropolitan of Kyiv and placed them under his own control. He did this despite the fact that the monastery's superior, Archimandrite , and most of the monks wanted to maintain the status quo. In response to the bishop's actions, in January 1708, the Brotherhood of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Slutsk sent a protest to Metropolitan Joasaph of Kyiv. They accused the bishop of not only disregarding the privileges of the monastery but also of beating monks, looting the archimandrite's palace, and taking valuable documents and items from the monastery.
In 1709, the metropolitan condemned the Belarusian bishop's actions in a letter, prohibited him from using the title of vicar, and suspended all clergy ordained or rewarded by him. He also announced that Sylvester would be tried by a synod of bishops to be held in Kyiv. Despite this, Bishop Sylvester not only retained control over the Trinity Monastery in Slutsk and continued to appropriate its income, but also took control of the Kuteinski Monastery near Orsha. In January 1710, the monastery's superior, together with the heads of six smaller monasteries, filed a complaint against Sylvester with Tsar Peter the Great.
On 11 February 1710, Tsar Peter the Great sent a commissioner to the Kuteinski Monastery, officially to investigate the merits of the complaint against the bishop. The true intention of the Russian ruler was to gather evidence of persecution by Catholics and Commonwealth authorities, but the monastery presented him with the already known complaint against Bishop Sylvester. Meanwhile, the locum tenens of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky, confirmed in a letter dated 3 March 1710 the Metropolitan of Kyiv's rights to govern the stauropigial monasteries and prohibited the Belarusian bishop from interfering with their activities.
Until 1715, Bishop Sylvester resided permanently in Stara Czetwertnia. He returned to Mogilev only after the cessation of hostilities.
Conflicts over church property
Case of the monastery in Stara Czetwertnia and the estate in Pechersk In 1711, , who had purchased Stara Czetwertnia that same year from Bishop Sylvester's brother, Gabriel Chetvertinsky, transferred the Elevation of the Holy Cross nunnery in Stara Czetwertnia – originally founded by the Chetvertinsky family – to Uniate nuns. In response, Archimandrite Sylvester organized an armed raid on the convent. In retaliation, Horain seized the men's monastery operating in the same town. Over the next several years, the bishop, together with his brother, was involved in a legal dispute over the properties of both monasteries. He ceased pursuing the matter only in 1715, when he permanently relocated to Mogilev.
At the same time, Sylvester was also engaged in a legal battle with the Carmelite order over the Pechersk estate, which housed the residence of the Belarusian bishop. The Carmelites had unlawfully seized part of the estate in 1703.
1713–1724: Continuation of the conflict with the Metropolitan of Kyiv
In 1713, Augustus II the Strong issued a privilege granting Sylvester Chetvertinsky the right to manage the Belarusian eparchy as well as the stauropegial institutions located within it. This decision was made under strong pressure from Russian diplomacy, and the extension of the bishop's authority aimed to minimize contact between Orthodox clergy in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the metropolitan residing in Russia. Historian Antoni Mironowicz suggests that Augustus II the Strong deliberately sought to further antagonize both hierarchs, while part of the Orthodox clergy and nobility in the Commonwealth supported this arrangement. Disregarding the privilege's provisions, Metropolitan Joasaph once again forbade the Belarusian bishop from styling himself as his deputy in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Instead, he reaffirmed the rights of the Slutsk archimandrite to oversee all Orthodox structures in Slutsk and Kopyl.