Early Life
Born in the town of Blois, on the Loire River in central France, René-Francois, as he was called, received an upbringing typical for a boy from a wealthy and respected family of that time. From his first lessons with the local curé, he went on to seminary and completed the graduate program. Even then he sensed the error of the scholasticapproach, a
Disaffection with Roman Catholicism
With the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin in 1854, which likewise troubled many other clergy and laity, Guettée began publication of The Catholic Review, a journal in which he tried to refute this error. As he himself later recalled, the issue forced him to reexamine the grounds for the Roman Catholic teachi
Conversion to Orthodoxy
If Fr. Guettée had any lingering doubts concerning Orthodoxy, they were dispelled by Bishop Leonty of Petersburg, who came to Paris for the consecration of the Russian church. By this time no half-way solution such as Jansenism or Old Catholicismcould satisfy Fr. Guettée. He saw that outside of Orthodoxy, everything else simply wandered around or n
Trip to Russia
Fr. Vladimir became Orthodox from within, from study and reflection. Apart from the services in the Russian Church in Paris, he was still not acquainted with the external aspects of Orthodoxy. Then he went to Russia, where he found himself immersed in a thoroughly Orthodox milieu. 1. "Everything in the conduct of the services was majestic, solemn,
Emigration to Luxembourg
In order to work in peace, Fr. Guettée was compelled to emigrate from his native France. He moved to Luxembourg, and there managed to produce seven of the ten proposed volumes of his History. His missionary accomplishments also include translation into French of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, with explanatory notes, and publication of A
Death
Guettée died March 10/23, 1892, at the age of 76. His remains were brought back to Paris for the funeral and were buried in the Batignole cemetery. On the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent, 1992, in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of his repose, clergy of the Russian Church Abroad served a memorial serviceat his grave.
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List of Works
Periodicals Edited 1. L' Observateur Catholique (The Catholic Review) 2. L' Union Chretienne (The Christian Union) Books in English Translation 1. Abbé Guettée (D.D.). The Papacy: Its Historic Origin and Primitve Relations with the Eastern Churches. Transl. from the French, with an introduction by Arthur Cleveland Coxe (Bp. of Western NY). New York
Further Reading
Jean-Paul Besse, (Préface De l'Archimandrite Serge (Yazadjiev) de l'Eglise Patriarcale Bulgare). Un précurseur : Wladimir Guettée (1816-1892), du Gallicanisme à l'Orthodoxie. Lavardac, Monastère Or
See Also
Timeline of Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic relationsPatriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western EuropePierre Leclerc
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