| Line 30: |
Line 30: |
| | == Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church == | | == Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church == |
| | {{Main article|Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church}} | | {{Main article|Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church}} |
| − | [[File:St. George's Cathedral, Lviv, Ukraine.jpg|thumb|St. George's Cathedral in [[Lviv]] city, Ukraine, property of the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]], historically persecuted by Russian and Soviet KGB authorities,<ref name=PopeFrancis>{{cite web|url=https://www.breitbart.com/news/pope-beatifies-seven-communist-era-bishops-in-romania/|title=Pope beatifies seven Communist-era bishops in Romania|date=2 June 2019|publisher=[[Breitbart]]}}</ref><ref name=Manipulation>{{cite web|url=https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/01/11/kgb-christians-putin-stalin-kgbs-history-manipulating-orthodox-church/|title=KGB ‘Christians’: Putin, Stalin, and the KGB’s History of Manipulating the Orthodox Church|date=11 January 2016|publisher=[[Breitbart]]}}</ref> was restored in 1990 with the independence of the country.]]
| |
| − | [[File:Interior of St. George's Cathedral in Lviv, Ukraine.jpg|thumb|left|Interior of St. George's Cathedral in [[Lviv]].]]
| |
| − | The final step in the particularity of the Greek Catholic Church was the development of the [[Ukrainian language]] from the language of [[Kievan Rus]] between 1600 and 1800, a language that distinguished itself from Belarusian and Ruthenian.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | During the 16th century, Ukrainian bishops decided to seek official support and protection from Rome. As Russian Orthodox propaganda infiltrated Ukraine, Polish Latinism was also gaining ground, and new sects were emerging, increasing the number of Protestants.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | This desire was achieved in 1596, when with the support of the [[King of Poland]], [[Sigismund III Vasa]], the entire Ukrainian ecclesiastical hierarchy concluded the union with Rome, proclaiming the "official communion" between Kyiv and Rome at the [[Union of Brest]].
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In the 18th century, most of Ukraine came under the rule of the [[Russian Empire|Tsars of Moscow]], who began a systematic persecution of Ukrainian Catholic Christianity. Only the western part of Ukraine, with [[Lviv]] as its capital, which remained under [[Austria]] and later [[Poland]], was able to preserve ecclesiastical communion with Rome. This Church thrived under the charismatic leadership of Metropolitan [[Andrey Sheptytsky]], who served as [[Archbishop of Lviv]] from 1900 to 1944.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | As Orthodox Russia expanded its control over Ukraine, the union was gradually suppressed. In 1839, [[Tsar]] [[Nicholas I of Russia]] abolished the union across Russian territories. By the late [[19th century]], Greek Catholics had almost disappeared.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | With the start of [[World War II]], most of [[Galicia]] was annexed by the [[Soviet Union]]. The new communist administration acted decisively to eradicate the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: in April [[1945]], all its bishops were arrested and sentenced to forced labor. Regime officials detained seven Greco-Catholic bishops in Romania overnight on October 28, 1948, accusing them of "high treason" after they refused to convert to "Orthodoxy".<ref name=PopeFrancis/> The Metropolitan [[Josyf Slipyi]], head of the Church, was sent to prison in [[Siberia]]. He was not released until 1963, after which he was exiled to Rome. In the same year, he was given the title of ''Major Archbishop of the Ukrainians in Lviv'', and in 1965 he was made a cardinal. He died in 1984.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In 1989, towards the end of communism, Ukrainian Greek Catholics were granted the right to register with the Government of Ukraine. With the support of local authorities, Ukrainian Catholics gradually reclaimed their old parishes. This marked the beginning of a strong resurgence of Catholicism in the region.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In 1991, Cardinal [[Miroslav Ivan Lubachivsky]], the exiled head of the Ukrainian Church, was allowed to leave Rome and reside in Lviv. In 1992, Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops from around the world convened for a synod in the city for the first time in several decades. In the same year, the remains of Cardinal Josyf Slipyi were transferred from Rome to Lviv, where they were buried next to Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. In July 1993, four new dioceses were created.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | {{cquote|Only two weeks before the San Francisco conference, on 11 April 1945, a detachment of NKVD troops surrounded the St. George Cathedral in Lviv and arrested Metropolitan Slipyj, two bishops, two prelates and several priests. All the students in the city’s theological seminary were driven from the school, while their professors were told that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church had ceased to exist, that its Metropolitan was arrested and his place was to be taken by a Soviet-appointed bishop. These acts were repeated all over Western Ukraine and across the Curzon Line in Poland. At least seven bishops were arrested or were never heard from again. There is no Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church still free in the area. Five hundred clergy who met to protest the action of the Soviets, were shot or arrested.<ref name=Manipulation/>}}
| |
| − |
| |
| − | [[File:The Faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Demand the Legalization of the Church. Moscow, 1989.jpg|thumbnail|The Faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Demand the Legalization of the Church. Moscow, 1989.]]
| |
| − | [[File:People Demand Freedom of Religion. Lviv, September 17, 1989.jpg|thumbnail|left|People Demand Freedom of Religion. Lviv, September 17, 1989.]]
| |
| − | In the late 1980s, there was a change in the Soviet government's attitude towards religion. In December 1989, as the fall of [[communism]] was approaching, Ukrainian Greek Catholics were granted the right to register with the government and were allowed to function once again. Nearly all of their parishes prior to 1946 and their properties were in the hands of the Orthodox Church. Supported by Ukrainian nationalist groups, the Greek Catholic Church took a firm stance on the return of its lost properties and parishes, even in cases where there were almost no Catholic faithful left. With the support of local authorities, Ukrainian Catholics gradually reclaimed their former parishes. Most of the parishes in Galicia came under Greek Catholic control during the events of a large-scale interconfessional rivalry that was often accompanied by violent clashes. All of this was the prelude to a strong revival of Catholicism in the region. These tensions led to a rupture in relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Holy See.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Since the exile of Slipyj in 1963, the Archdiocese of Lviv was administered by the ''locum tenens'' [[Vasyl Velyckovskyj]] until his exile to [[Canada]] in 1972, and then by [[Volodymyr Sterniuk]] until 1991 when Cardinal [[Myroslav Iván Lubachivsky]], the exiled primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church since 1984, was authorized to leave Rome and take up residence in Lviv. On January 16, 1991, the surviving clandestine bishops were confirmed by the pope. In 1992, Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops from around the world were summoned to a synod in the same city for the first time in several decades, and that same year, the remains of Cardinal Josyf Slipyj were transferred from Rome to Lviv, where they were buried next to Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. The synod took place between May 16 and 31, 1992, and decided on the creation of four new eparchies in Ukraine: Sambir-Drohobych, Ternopil, Zboriv (all separated from the major archdiocese of Lviv), and Kolomyia-Chernivtsi (separated from Ivano-Frankivsk), which were established on April 20, 1993. The territories of the rest of Ukraine were established as the Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Kiev–Vyshhorod on November 25, 1995.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | [[File:St Josaphat Saint of Ruthenia.jpg|thumbnail|Saint Josaphat, Saint of Ruthenia, (1580-1623)]]
| |
| − | After the restoration of this Church in Ukraine, the synod of bishops began to meet regularly. The first general [[council]] of Ukrainian Greek Catholics was held in Lviv in October 1996. Due to Cardinal Lubachivsky's poor health, [[Lubomyr Husar]] was appointed ''Administrator of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church''. In August 2000, a new synod held in Buchach decided on the creation of two new eparchies in Ukraine: Stryi and Sokal, while reorganizing the eparchies of Ternopil and Zboriv into the new eparchies of Ternopil-Zboriv and Buchach. Since 2000, the Church's territory was expanded to all of Ukraine, except for the situation of the Mukachevo eparchy. On December 14, 2000, Cardinal Lubachivsky passed away and was succeeded by Lubomyr Husar, who was later created a cardinal.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In June 2001, [[Pope John Paul II]] made an [[Apostolic Journey]] to Ukraine at the invitation of the president and the Greek Catholic and Latin bishops. The main sites of the visit were Kyiv, the national capital, and Lviv. During his visit to Ukraine on June 27, 2001, the pope beatified 27 martyrs and 3 [[Servant of God|Servants of God]] and blessed the new [[Catholic University of Ukraine]].
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In 2004, the seat of the Major Archbishop was moved back to Kyiv by Pope [[Benedict XVI]]. On March 27, 2011, [[Sviatoslav Shevchuk]] became the new primate.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church embarked on a campaign of liturgical reforms of de-Latinization, which included the removal of [[stations of the cross]], the [[Rosary (Catholicism)|rosary]], and the [[Monstrance (liturgical)|monstrance]] from its liturgy and parishes. This led in 2000 to Father Vasyl Kovpak and a small group of followers opposed to the reforms and ecumenism to organize the [[Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat]], linked to the [[Society of Saint Pius X]]. On November 21, 2007, the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] excommunicated Kovpak.<ref>Catholic World News, November 21, 2007. [http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=54919 Ukrainian priest excommunicated]</ref> In 2008, a group of anti-reform priests from the Basilian monastery in Pidhirtsi declared that four of them had been consecrated as bishops without the pope's or Major Archbishop's permission. They were excommunicated in 2008, and in 2009, they formed the [[Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Orthodox Church]].
| |
| − |
| |
| − | According to the ''[[Pontifical Yearbook]]'' 2016, by the end of 2015, in the 33 jurisdictions of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, there were: 42 bishops, 3,826 [[parish (religion)|parishes]], 2,973 secular priests, 432 religious priests, 843 religious, 1,371 religious women, 126 permanent [[deacon]]s, and 731 seminarians.<ref name="cnewa_1">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat16.pdf|title=Source: The Eastern Catholic Churches (CNEWA)|accessdate=February 18, 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020094357/http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/roberson-Eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat16.pdf|archivedate=October 20, 2016}}</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Currently, this Church has 3,240 parochial communities, 78 monasteries, 755 Sunday schools, 12 educational institutions, 2,721 churches (with 306 more under construction), 16 bishops, 1,976 priests, 590 monks, 729 nuns, and 1,298 seminarians.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | {{cquote|Pope Francis on Sunday beatified seven Greco-Catholic bishops jailed and tortured during the Communist era on the final day of his visit to Romania.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | “The new blessed ones suffered and sacrificed their lives, opposing a system of totalitarian and coercive ideology,” the pontiff told some 60,000 worshippers attending mass on a “Field of Liberty” in the small central town of Blaj.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | “These shepherds, martyrs of faith, garnered for and left the Romanian people a precious heritage which we can sum up in two words: freedom and mercy,” added Francis, while praising the “diversity of religious expression” in mainly Orthodox Romania.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Regime officials detained the beatified bishops overnight on October 28, 1948, accusing them of “high treason” after they refused to convert to Orthodoxy.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Greek-Catholic Church was outlawed under 1948-89 Communist rule.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | – Buried in secret –<ref name=PopeFrancis/>}}
| |
| − |
| |
| − | One of the key challenges has been the Russian forces' assault on the Church. Several churches have been destroyed, and priests have been forced to evacuate sacred objects to protect them from attacks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Russian forces destroy Catholic Church in Ukraine, as another parish prepares for attack|url=https://www.cathstan.org/us-world/russian-forces-destroy-catholic-church-in-ukraine-as-another-parish-prepares-for-attack|date=14 August 2024|publisher=Catholic Standard}}</ref> Furthermore, Russian authorities in the occupied territories, including Zaporizhzhia, have outlawed the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and other Catholic ministries. This includes groups like the Knights of Columbus and Caritas.<ref>{{cite web|title=Russia bans Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Catholic ministries|url=https://www.ucanews.com/news/russia-bans-ukrainian-greek-catholic-church-catholic-ministries/103517|date=8 December 2023|publisher=Union of Catholics Asia Network}}</ref> Church leaders have also been targeted for assassination, with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, being forced to move between safe houses to avoid danger.<ref>{{cite web|title=Russia has Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the crosshairs|url=https://www.churchinneed.org/russia-has-ukrainian-greek-catholic-church-in-the-crosshairs/|date=14 March 2022|publisher=Aid the Church in Need}}</ref> The ongoing conflict has caused significant damage and posed serious threats to both the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and its followers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: Putin Is “Destroying the Basic Principles of Peace”|url=https://bitterwinter.org/ukrainian-greek-catholic-church-putin-and-peace/|date=24 February 2022|publisher=Bitter Winter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Russian drone attack damages Kyiv's Catholic cathedral|url=https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/russian-drone-attack-damages-kyivs-catholic-cathedral|date=27 November 2023|publisher=Detroit Catholic}}</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Evidence suggests systematic targeting of non-Orthodox faiths by Russian and DPR-LPR militants, often under the banners of the Russian Orthodox Church. Cases include torture of prisoners by individuals dressed as priests and the abduction of religious figures like Ihor Kozlovsky. The situation reflects the broader use of religion as a justification for violence and control, with ties to the concept of the "Russian World" promoted by both the Kremlin and the Moscow Patriarchate. Coynash criticizes the Vatican for overlooking these abuses in its 2016 statement with Patriarch Kirill.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russian crimes & religious persecution in Donbas that the Pope ignored |date=19 February 2016 |url=https://khpg.org/en/1455660484 |author=Halya Coynash}}</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Russian occupation forces have intensified their repression against Catholics in Donetsk region, sealing off Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) churches and barring worshippers from entering, according to the Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF). Since the start of 2024, Russian militants identifying as "Cossacks" have seized UGCC properties and expelled clergy from the occupied territories. Faithful have appealed to officials of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), but no response has been provided, leaving Greek Catholics without access to their places of worship. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church reported it now has no clergy in the Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. In Berdyansk, two UGCC priests, Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, were detained in November 2022. Father Levitsky is believed to be in a Russian prison in the Rostov region, while Father Geleta is reportedly held in Russian-occupied Crimea under harsh conditions, including acute diabetes. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk stated that both priests have been subjected to severe torture.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In December 2022, the Kremlin-installed administration in Zaporizhzhia banned the UGCC and other Catholic organizations, accusing them of extremist activities. This suppression aligns with a broader pattern of religious persecution by Russian forces, which have damaged or destroyed at least 660 religious structures since 2022, according to experts. Archbishop Borys Gudziak highlighted that religious institutions in Russia function only if aligned with the government, a policy now extended to occupied Ukrainian territories.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://catholicreview.org/russian-occupation-forces-close-more-catholic-churches-in-ukraine/ |title=Russian occupation forces close more Catholic churches in Ukraine |date=March 27, 2024 |publisher=Catholic Review }}</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Christmass of 2023 and onwards is celebrated on the 25th of December, following the [[Gregorian Calendar]].<ref name=calendar25thDecember>{{cite web|url=https://www.breitbart.com/news/ukrainians-defy-moscow-with-first-dec-25-christmas/|title=Ukrainians defy Moscow with first Dec. 25 Christmas|date=23 December 2023|publisher=[[Breitbart]]}}</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==== Society of Saint Josaphat ====
| |
| − | The [[Traditional Catholic|Catholic Traditionalist]] of [[Roman Catholic Church#Catholic Church Rites (branches)|Byzantine Rite]] assosiation, Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat (SSJK) which is assosiated with the Traditionalist [[Society of St. Pius X]] (SSPX), its based on Lviv.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fsspx.news/es/news/ucrania-ordenaciones-para-la-fraternidad-san-josafat-19217|title=Ucrania: ordenaciones para la Fraternidad San Josafat|publisher=SSPX|language=es|date=5 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://infovaticana.com/2021/10/26/los-lefebvrianos-presumen-del-gran-numero-de-vocaciones-que-han-tenido-en-2021/|title=Los lefebvrianos presumen del gran número de vocaciones que han tenido en 2021|publisher=Info Vaticana|date=26 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sspx.au/en/news/interview-priest-society-saint-josaphat-war-ukraine-28055|title=An Interview with a Priest of the Society of Saint Josaphat on the War in Ukraine|date=17 July 2022|publisher=[[SSPX]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fsspx.news/it/node/23067|title=Bishop de Galarreta Ordains Two Priests in Ukraine|date=6 December 2019|publisher=[[SSPX]]}}</ref>
| |
| | | | |
| | ==Origins of an Ukrainian State: 19th century, 1897 Russian Empire Census and World War I== | | ==Origins of an Ukrainian State: 19th century, 1897 Russian Empire Census and World War I== |