Yazep Rutski
(1574-1637)

Yazep Rutski, an eminent writer, pedagogue and religious figure, was born in the estate of Ruta, not far from Navaharodak. He got his education at Prague and Wurtsburg Universities, at the Greek Collegium in Rome. Upon coming back home, he was appointed director of the Vilnya theological seminary. It is there that Y. Rutski wrote a pedagogical treatise "Discursus", in which he substantiated the need of reforms in the field of training and education. He was urging to learn from the experience of Latin and Roman teachers, but to exercise training and education mainly at home country, raising the tuition level.

On January 1, 1608 Rutski took monastic vows and was bestowed the name of Yazep. From this moment, his life was totally connected with the Uniate Church. He was educating young monks, was delivering theological lectures to them, and teaching them Latin and Church Slavonic languages. Quite soon Yazep Rutski became a very influential person among the Vilnya members of the Uniate Church, and shortly after he became the Uniate metropolitan. His prominent deeds also include construction of new chapels, foundation of cloisters, transfer of the Miensk Ascension monastery to the Uniate Church.

Yazep Rutski carried on active work on consolidation and reforming of the Uniate Church and, first of all, of cloisters. An important step in this direction was creation of the Order gathering all spiritual forces of the church. Rutski obliged all the cloisters to allocate money for the maintaining of education establishments, hospitals and printing houses.

The multifaceted activity of the Order and of its Metropolitan was aimed at opening education establishments wherever the Uniate communities existed. It is with the participation of Rutski that the first complete Uniate catechism in Belarusian was published. It was titled "Science of the True Faith." Yazep Rutski showed his worth in many fields: literature, church life, and school matters. He died on January 5, 1637 and was buried with great honour in the Vilnya St. Trinity monastery