RELATIONSHIPS OF STATE OFFICIALS OF THE UPR DIRECTORATE WITH THE HIERARCH GEORGE (YURIY) JAROSZEWSKI IN 1918–1923

Abstract

February 8, 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the tragic death of Metropolitan George (Yuri) Jaroszewski of Warsaw and Cholm, Exarch of the Orthodox Church in Poland, an outstanding Orthodox hierarch, theological scholar, and true Ukrainian. The article analyses the activities of leading figures of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1918–1923, their influence on public and religious life in the Ukrainian lands, which, after the 1921 Riga Treaty and the defeat of our nation’s national liberation struggle in 1917–1921, became part of Poland. Considering the importance and reputation of Bishops George Jaroszewski and Dionysius Valedynsky, their close ties with Professor Ivan Ohienko, Minister of Confessions, and other leading figures of the UPR Directory, the authors tried to highlight the complicated problems of the situation of the Orthodox Church in the Ukrainian lands, in particular the establishment of their canonical status and the process of becoming independent from the Russian Orthodox Church. The authors also analysed the strong resistance of the pro-Russian bishops and clergy to the efforts of Metropolitan George to obtain autocephaly, for which he sacrificed his life. An attempt is made to elucidate, on the basis of archival and documentary materials, the significant problem of church-state relations between the Orthodox Church and Catholic Poland in 1920–1923. The sources used for the research are those that require further study, since not all of them are available to the general public.