Olga Fotinich

VASSILIY KHARLAMPOVICH

Vassiliy Kharlampovich, my great-grandfather died in 1890 when he was only 52 – not an age nowadays! He was born in 1839, graduated from Lithuanian Christian Academy and for 25 years served as a priest in a village of Rogacze. It is Poland now, but at that time it was Russian Empire. He married – to Maria Taranovich, priest’s daughter. Her father Rev. Josef Taranovich was graduate from the same Lithuanian Academy, as Vassiliy was. I believe it was in Vilno – nowadays’ capital of Lithuania. The list of graduates has a few last names Taranovich, as well as Kharlampovich. I've found Iosef, Stephan, Alexander, Phoma and Avgustin Taranovich, and Ivan, Josef, Pantelejmon, Josef again, Vikentij, Antonij and Pavel Kharlampovich. I don’t know if they were relatives.

Vassiliy was a simple village priest, didn’t do much for his carrier, only fulfilled his priest’s duty for the peasants of Rogacze and neighboring villages – Medvezhiki, Mikulichi, Gruzka, Borovki. All together there were more than a thousand of parishioners.

He fought drinking, taught peasants with gardening and bee-keeping – he was a skillful bee-keeper by himself. Was modest and patient, gentle and friendly. He took good care of the church, rebuilt it after the fire of 1882. To my mere surprise – despite all the misfortunes that shook this unhappy land – that church is still there, and his grave, too. Maria was buried there as well; she died in 1915.