ВІДНОСИНИ ГАЛИЦЬКОЇ ГРЕКО-КАТОЛИЦЬКОЇ МИТРОПОЛІЇ ТА СВЯТОГО ПРЕСТОЛУ В 1918–1941 РОКАХ

Анотація

У статті схарактеризовано відносини між Греко-Католицькою (Унійною) та Римо-Католицькою Церквами. Після завершення Першої світової війни Галицька митрополія Греко-Католицької Церкви підтримала український національний рух у 1917–1921 роках. Опинившись згодом у складі ворожої Польської держави, вона була змушена відстоювати права й свободи власної пастви.

The aftermath of World War I and the subsequent dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire fundamentally transformed the institutional and political landscape of the Galician Greek-Catholic Metropolia. Having previously enjoyed a protected and relatively autonomous status within the Habsburg realm, the Church suddenly found itself entangled in the complex dynamics of emerging nationalist movements. During the Ukrainian National Liberation Struggle of 1917–1921, the Galician Greek-Catholic Metropolia, under the leadership of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky (1865–1944), emerged as a steadfast institutional pillar of the nascent Ukrainian national movement. This alignment was a logical outcome of the profound ethno-cultural and social identification between the predominantly Ruthenian (Ukrainian) Greek-Catholic clergy and the broader Ukrainian population of Galicia.

Following the incorporation of Eastern Galicia into the newly established Second Polish Republic, the Metropolia assumed the role of a key religious institution operating within an increasingly adverse political environment. In this context, the dominant Roman Catholic Church (Latin Rite) maintained close alignment with the Polish state and its policies of cultural assimilation and Polonization. Consequently, the Greek-Catholic hierarchy was compelled to adopt a defensive stance, prioritizing the protection of the religious rights and civic freedoms of its Ukrainian faithful. This often brought the Metropolia into direct conflict with the policies—and at times even the territorial ambitions—of the Latin-rite episcopate, resulting in enduring interconfessional tensions.

The Vatican, in turn, occupied a precarious mediatory position. While striving to reconcile these conflicts, it simultaneously sought to uphold the principles of the Union of Brest and to preserve the integrity of the Eastern Rite. However, its efforts were frequently undermined by pressure from both the Polish government and the Roman Catholic hierarchy, who sought to Latinize the Eastern Rite and curtail the influence of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC). These pressures manifested in initiatives such as the promotion of Neo-Uniate movements and the restriction of Greek-Catholic parish expansion beyond the boundaries of Galicia.