MOHILEV, ARCHDIOCESE of. - It was erected in 1773 by the Empress Caterina II of Russia and in 1783 by the Holy See for the Latin Catholics of the entire former Russian Empire, excluding Ukraine. In the time of the tsars it extended beyond Siberia as far as the Pacific Ocean.
In 1798 the titular of M. obtained the privilege of wearing cardinalatial dress. An academy for the formation of the clergy of M. existed in Petersburg from 1841. The titulars of M. had to suffer greatly because of the abusive interference of the tsars in the internal affairs of the diocese and in its relations with the Holy See. There were never tolerable relations between the State and the Catholics of M.
Even after the Edict of Toleration of 1905, Catholics continued to be regarded as foreigners in the country. Under the Bolsheviks the situation worsened still further. The administrator of M., Mons. Cieplak (v.), was condemned to death in 1923 and was then exchanged and expelled from Russia. In 1926 the archdiocese of M. was divided by a delegate of the Holy See into six administrations, after Siberia had already been separated as an apostolic vicariate in 1923. At present no one is able to administer these jurisdictions. It is not known how many Latin Catholics survive in the former territory of M. Officially, there is only one church open in Moscow for foreign Catholics.