PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Ecclesiastical Provisor - Eastern Rites Galicia

galicia seeker — Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:36 pm

Author: galicia seeker

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:36 pm

Dave, as always your knowledge is astounding. I searched the internet and found little information on this topic. I should have known that you would know.

Very, very helpful in closing the loop on one of my questions!

Thanks again,
Kind regards, Gail

Re: Ecclesiastical Provisor - Eastern Rites Galicia

dnowicki — Mon Aug 09, 2021 1:33 pm

Author: dnowicki

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 1:33 pm

galicia seeker wrote:

Hello!

Two of my forebears in Galicia - between 1836 and 1845 were noted on Greek Catholic Church Records (as either a marriage witness or a godparent/Sponsor) as their occupation being Ecclesiastical Provisor.

I am having some difficulty in pinning down exactly what this was. Were they a church patron who provided funds did they assist in the administration of the parish? Were they sponsored/appointed and by whom and was it a paid position.

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated! The record attached is from 1845 - Daniels Fedun is a witness/sponsor to a marriage.

Hi,

The noun provisor, provisoris, m. is an administrator or one who provides for something. The noun ecclesia, ecclesiae, f, is an assembly, gathering, the church (more in the sense of the people/congregation than in the sense of the physical building). A provisor is very similar to a procurator and in Latin as it was used in Poland during the Middle Ages and beyond the position involved the management of the temporal/economic affairs of a parish. The parish priest/pastor was given the parish by the bishop (or eparch, which is the title in Eastern Rite Catholic Churches} as a benefice. The benefice aspect of the parish was the temporal part which provided the living for the parish priest and the temporal things needed to operate and maintain the parish. The short version is that the provisor ecclesiae was the administrator who oversaw the economic/temporal/material affairs of the parish. Whether or not it was a paid position is difficult to determine. However, if that was a person’s main or sole occupation there must have been some recompense for the work done.

I hope this explanation helps to answer your questions.

Dave

Ecclesiastical Provisor - Eastern Rites Galicia

galicia seeker — Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:32 am

Author: galicia seeker

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:32 am

Hello!

Two of my forebears in Galicia - between 1836 and 1845 were noted on Greek Catholic Church Records (as either a marriage witness or a godparent/Sponsor) as their occupation being Ecclesiastical Provisor.

I am having some difficulty in pinning down exactly what this was. Were they a church patron who provided funds did they assist in the administration of the parish? Were they sponsored/appointed and by whom and was it a paid position.

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated! The record attached is from 1845 - Daniels Fedun is a witness/sponsor to a marriage.