Sarah Mitchell
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church predominates in three western oblasts of Ukraine, including Lviv, and has spread to over a dozen countries on four continents. The church was widely supported by Ukrainian clergy and local Christians following the Union of Brest, which was a turning point for the development of Ukrainian national awareness. The church has faced significant damage and threats due to the ongoing conflict, as well as historical suppression during the Soviet era. The Russian Greek Catholic Church was influenced by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and its members, such as Metropolitan bishop Andrey Sheptytsky. The Khmelnytsky Uprising, led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky, fought against the Commonwealth's forces and resulted in mass atrocities committed by Cossacks against prisoners of war and civilians, particularly those of Polish, Jewish, and Catholic backgrounds. Khmelnytsky himself attended a Jesuit school, likely in Lviv, and acquired knowledge of world history, as well as several languages. He remained Orthodox despite his exposure to Catholicism.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| View of the Union of Brest | Widely supported by Ukrainian Christians and clergy |
| View of the Russian Greek Catholic Church | Deep devotion to Metropolitan St. Philip of Moscow |
| View of the Khmelnytsky Uprising | A threat to their Orthodox faith |
| View of the Khmelnytsky Monument | Xenophobic |
| View of the Cossack revolts | Supportive |
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What You'll Learn
The Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Cossacks suffered enormous casualties at Berestechko, which made the idea of creating an independent state impossible. As a result, Khmelnytsky had to decide between staying under Polish-Lithuanian influence or allying with the Muscovites. The uprising was accompanied by mass atrocities committed by Cossacks against prisoners of war and civilians, particularly Poles, Jews, and Catholic and Ruthenian Uniate clergy. The uprising holds symbolic importance in Ukraine's historical relationship with Poland and Russia.
The uprising began a period in Polish history known as The Deluge, which included the Swedish invasion of the Commonwealth during the Second Northern War of 1655-1660. This period temporarily freed Ukrainians from Polish rule but soon subjected them to Russian domination. The Cossacks' alliance with the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, contributed to a large influx of captives in the slave markets of Crimea. Ottoman Jews actively raised funds to ransom their people.
The end date of the uprising is disputed. Russian and some Polish sources cite the Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654, while Ukrainian sources give the date as Khmelnytsky's death in 1657. A few Polish sources mention the Battle of Jezierna or Jeziorna in November 1655 as the conclusion. The uprising's death toll estimates vary, but population losses for the Commonwealth during the broader period of 1648-1667, which includes the uprising, the Polish-Russian War, and the Swedish invasion, are estimated at around 4 million.
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Persecution of Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches, also known as Oriental Churches, have faced persecution from both Fascist and Communist governments. During World War II, Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church was at its most extreme in Occupied Poland. Following the war, the Catholic Church was repressed by the Soviet Union and other Communist states in Eastern and Central Europe. In Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, persecution continued to the point that the Church faced extinction. The Vatican's attempts to prevent governmental usurpation of ecclesiastical offices were largely unsuccessful.
The Eastern Catholic Churches also faced persecution in the Soviet Union, where they were targeted by the state ideology of Marxist-Leninist atheism. The Catholic Church of Ukraine was liquidated, with all properties turned over to the Orthodox Church under the Patriarch of Moscow. Tens of thousands of victims of Soviet persecutions, including bishops, priests, and other religious leaders, were arrested, jailed, or sent to unknown destinations. Many perished within five years, often in Siberia.
In the spring of 1945, the Soviets arrested all Ukrainian Catholic bishops and sent them to the Gulag. The Church went largely underground, with bishops secretly ordaining priests when possible. During this time, the faithful continued to witness to their faith in the underground Church, gathering for divine services in private homes and listening to broadcasts of the Divine Liturgy on Vatican Radio.
The persecution of Eastern Catholic Churches was not limited to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In China, the Catholic Church faced total elimination, with the government successfully installing schismatic bishops and priests. In Yugoslavia, a Concordat was signed in 1935 between the Vatican and the government, but relations were later severed.
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, has faced threats and has been forced to move between safe houses. Historical documents from the Soviet era have shed light on the suppression of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Despite these persecutions, the Byzantine Catholic faithful now reside not only in Ukraine and Romania but all over the world, especially in North America.
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The Union of Brest
Initially, the Union of Brest was widely successful, but over the following decades, it lost support, primarily due to its enforcement on Orthodox parishes, which sparked several significant rebellions. The union was a turning point in the development of Ukrainian national identity, as the separation from Russian-dominated Orthodoxy heightened Ukrainian awareness of their linguistic and cultural differences from Russia.
The Ruthenian (Ukrainian) peasantry in Austrian Galicia, which included modern western Ukraine and southern Poland, had previously been dominated by Polish Catholicism. However, the Austrians granted equal freedom of worship to the Greek-Catholic Church and removed Polish influence. This freedom allowed the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to thrive, and it continues to predominate in three western oblasts of Ukraine, including Lviv.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has faced challenges throughout its history, including suppression during the Soviet era and damage and threats during the ongoing conflict. Despite these difficulties, the church has spread alongside the Ukrainian diaspora and now has a presence in over a dozen countries on four continents.
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The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The church's head, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, has had to take refuge in safe houses to avoid personal threats. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church played a role in the creation of the Russian Greek Catholic Church, with Metropolitan bishop Andrey Sheptytsky of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church playing a pivotal part in its formation.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a Ukrainian military leader, is known for his role in the Khmelnytsky Uprising, where he led the Zaporozhian Cossacks against the Commonwealth's forces. Khmelnytsky, despite attending a Jesuit school, did not embrace Roman Catholicism and remained Orthodox. He demanded that the Commonwealth halt the advance of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and yield the right to appoint Orthodox leaders.
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The Russian Greek Catholic Church
The formation of the Russian Greek Catholic Church was largely driven by Fr. Nicholas Tolstoy, a Russian Orthodox priest who entered into full communion with the Holy See in 1894. Fr. Nicholas renounced all doctrines contrary to Catholic doctrine and accepted the Council of Florence and the First Vatican Council. The key figure responsible for the establishment of the Church, however, was Metropolitan Bishop Andrey Sheptytsky of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In 1907, Pope Pius X appointed Sheptytsky to support Russian Catholics due to their precarious position within Russia.
The emergence of the Russian Greek Catholic Church occurred amidst a backdrop of religious persecution within the Russian Empire. Tsar Peter the Great's anti-Catholicism led to the martyrdom of Greek Catholic Deacon Peter Artemiev at Solovetsky Monastery in 1700. Under Tsarist rule, Eastern Catholic Churches were increasingly treated as illegal, with forced conversions and martyrdoms occurring in the 19th century. This persecution continued until the Russian Revolution of 1905, when Tsar Nicholas II reluctantly granted religious tolerance, allowing communities of Russian Greek Catholics to emerge and organise.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church played a significant role in the development of the Russian Greek Catholic Church. Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church had audiences with Pope Pius X in 1907 and 1908, where they discussed the creation of an underground Byzantine Catholic Church in the Russian Empire. Sheptytsky was granted authority over all Byzantine Catholics living under Tsarism, contributing to the spread of the Catholic Church in Russia.
Blessed Leonid Feodorov, the 20th-century Exarch of Russia, exhibited a deep devotion to Metropolitan St. Philip of Moscow within the Russian Greek Catholic Church. The Khmelnytsky Uprising, the Great Northern War, and the Partitions of Poland resulted in many Eastern Catholics falling under the rule of the House of Romanov, exposing them to escalating religious persecution.
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Frequently asked questions
Bohdan Khmelnytsky was born to a noble family and attended a Jesuit school, probably in Lviv. He joined his father in the service of the Commonwealth, fighting against the Ottoman Empire in the Moldavian Magnate Wars. After being held captive in Constantinople, he returned as a Registered Cossack.
The Khmelnytsky Uprising was an insurgency led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky and the Zaporozhian Cossacks, who were allied with the Crimean Tatars and local Ukrainian peasantry. They fought against the Commonwealth's forces and committed mass atrocities against prisoners of war and civilians, especially Poles, Jews, and Roman Catholic and Ruthenian Uniate clergy.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was viewed as a threat to the Orthodox faith by many Orthodox Ukrainians. During the Uprising, Khmelnytsky and the Rada demanded that the Commonwealth stop the advance of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and yield the right to appoint Orthodox leaders.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has faced significant damage and threats due to the ongoing conflict. Historical documents from the Soviet era also reveal that the church was suppressed during that period.
