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The '''Diocese of Lublin-Chełm''' is a [[diocese]] of the [[Church of Poland]], located in the eastern part of Poland. The diocese traces its origins to the times of the [[Baptism of Rus'|baptism of the Rus]] in the tenth century. The present day diocese was established in the last decades of the twentieth century as the Church of Poland reorganized after the chaos of World War II and communist domination. The patron [[saint]] of the Diocese is St. [[Athanasius of Bretsk]].

By tradition the area, of which of the Diocese of Lublin-Chełm is a part, was an Orthodox bishopric in Włodzimierz Wołyński, present day Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Ukraine, in the late tenth century. In 1072, a [[Bishop]] John of Chełm is mentioned. By 1205, a diocese existed in Uhrusk-upon-Bug under Bishop Joasaf. During this period the area was in a state of flux as rulers and their domains changed. During the early thirteenth century, Prince Daniel of Galicia[[w:Daniel of Galicia|Daniel of Galicia]] established the town of Chełm and moved the bishopric of Uhrusk to Chełm. As the area of the diocese included the Belsk region, the bishops were titled Bishops of Chełm and Bełsk. During these year the diocese was part of the Metropolis of Kiev.

The [[Union of Brest]], in 1596, however, change the situation greatly as most of the Orthodox bishops of Volhynia-Galicia accepted the Roman Catholic faith and papal authority. While Dionizy Zbirujski, Bishop of Chełm, was among those who signed the Union the majority of the people did not want to accept it. The churches and properties of the Orthodox were confiscated, even if the Orthodox believers were the majority of the inhabitants of the towns. All though most of the Orthodox people in Chełm resisted the Union, they did not have any churches as all of them were taken by the Uniates. Only in towns that were owned by Orthodox noblemen were there functioning Orthodox churches. The Orthodox people, in general, were persecuted, their churches robbed, and priests forced out of their [[parish]]es. The [[martyr]], St. Athanasius (Atanazy ) of Brest became a symbol of resistance to the Union.

After 1956, exiled Orthodox believers from the Chełm region began to return, and life among the Orthodox faithful was partly restored. By 1989, the Orthodox presence had grown such that the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Poland reestablished, by a resolution of [[March 25]], 1989, the diocese in the Chełm region with the title of Lublin-Chełm Diocese with Bishop [[Abel (Poplavsky) of Lublin and Kholm|Abel (Poplavsky)]] as the ruling hierarch. His residence was established in Lublin.

At the time of its reestablishment the diocese included the central-eastern Polish voivodeships of Biała Podlaska, Chełm, Lublin, Siedlce, Tarnobrzeg, Zamość, and part of Rzeszów. At the time there were sixteen parishes grouped in two deaneries. St. Onufry Monastery in Jabłeczna, under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland , and its Orthodox the [[seminaryOrthodox Theological Seminary (Warsaw, Poland)|Orthodox Theological Seminary]] were also within the territory of the reestablished diocese.

As the Diocese ==Organization==The diocese consists of 28 [[parish]]es, organized into five deaneries:* Lublin-Chełm* Zamosc* Chelm* Biala Podlaska* Terespol Additionally, led by Abpthe diocese includes two monasteries[http://www.lublin.cerkiew.pl/page. Abel, has grown php?id=275]:*St. Seraphim of Sarov in Kostomłoty for men*The Protection of the twenty first century, the diocese nows includes 31 parishes Most Holy Theotokos in four deaneries, a male monastery, a female monastic house, and 48 churches, as restoration and renovation continues. Turkowice for Women