Jan Cieplak
|
His Excellency Jan Feliks Cieplak |
|
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Vilnius | |
 |
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| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Archdiocese | Vilnius |
| Appointed | 14 December 1925 |
| In office | 1925-1926 |
| Predecessor | Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius |
| Successor | Romuald Jałbrzykowski |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 24 July 1881 |
| Consecration | 20 December 1908 by Apolinary Wnukowski |
| Rank | Metropolitan Archbishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 17, 1857 Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland |
| Died | February 17, 1926 (aged 68) |
| Buried | Vilnius Cathedral |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Previous post |
Auxiliary Bishop of Mohilev (1908-1919) Apostolic Administrator of Mohilev (1923-1925) |
Servant of God Archbishop Jan Cieplak (born 17 August 1857 in Dąbrowa Górnicza - 17 February 1926 in Passaic, New Jersey) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest and bishop.
Jan Cieplak was born in Congress Poland in 1857 to an impoverished family of the Polish nobility. He attended the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy during the 1880s. After several years as a seminary instructor, in 1908 he became the auxiliary bishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev and titular bishop of Evaria. He remained in this position until his superior, Archbishop Edward von der Ropp, was deported after the October Revolution.
During the reign of Nicholas II of Russia, Bishop Cieplak was under surveillance by the Okhrana, which suspected him of Polish nationalism. On 29 March 1919 he was named the titular archbishop of Achrida. As the highest ranking representative of Roman Catholic Church in the new Soviet Union he was often harassed and persecuted. The Archbishop was arrested twice by the CHEKA, but was released amidst massive protests by the Catholics of Petrograd. At the same time, he was also instrumental in arranging for the relics of Saint Andrew Bobola to be permanently transferred from the Soviet Union to Rome. Otherwise, the Archbishop was certain that the remains of the Saint would have been subjected to desecration.
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