Alexander Nadson

Who is Alexander Nadson?

Father Alexander Nadson is the Apostolic Visitor for Belarusian Greek-Catholic faithful abroad and a notable Belarusian émigré social and religious leader.

Born Aliaksandar Bochka in the village Haradzieja near Niasvizh, he studied at the Niasvizh seminary. In 1944 he emigrated from Belarus, and in 1945 was a soldier in the 2nd Polish Corps fighting in northern Italy, where he was wounded. In 1946 he moved to Great Britain where he studied at the University of London. Nadson was one of the founders of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain and its chairman in 1951-1953. He was editor of the periodicals Biełarus na čužynie and Na šlachu, and took part in the activities of the Belarusian Christian academic society Ruń and the Belarusian People's Independent Christian Movement.

From fall 1953 he studied at the Pontifical Greek College in Rome. He was ordained priest on 23 November 1958. In July 1959 Fr Nadson returned to London where he resumed his activities in organizations of the Belarusian diaspora.

Since 1971 Fr Nadson has been the director of the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London, the largest Belarusian library abroad.