"Ukrainian" as "Non-Orthodox": How Greek Catholics Were "Reunited" with the Russian Orthodox Church, 1940s-1960s

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2015
Authors
Shlikhta, Natalia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Drawing upon archival, published and oral sources, as well as recent studies on the correlation between religion and nationality, this article argues that the formal "reunification" of the Greek Catholics with the Russian Orthodox Church became a successful "subaltern strategy", ensuring the survival of the Greek Catholic Church through the Soviet period. The article demonstrates that the "Church within the Church", which came into existence because of "reunification", for decades preserved its separate identity within the Russian Orthodox Church. The "Church within the Church" did not oppose the regime’s assimilation policy directly, yet positioned itself as Ukrainian and therefore as non-Orthodox (because non-Russian) and even as non-Soviet. This article examines these specific issues within the wider context of the survival of the Church in the Soviet state.
Description
Keywords
Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Church within the Church, national Church, Communist (Soviet) regime, reunification, ecclesiastical nationalism, article
Citation
Shlikhta N. "Ukrainian" as "Non-Orthodox": How Greek Catholics Were "Reunited" with the Russian Orthodox Church, 1940s-1960s / Natalia Shlikhta // State, Religion and Church. - 2015. - No. 2 (2). - P. 77-98.