CHURCH LIFE IN THE KYIV GENERAL DISTRICT DURING THE NAZI OCCUPATION (1941–1943)

Abstract

The article provides a detailed analysis of church life in the Kyiv General District during the Nazi occupation, focusing on the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). It explores the evolving stance of the Nazi authorities toward the UAOC throughout various stages of the occupation. Initially tolerated as a counterbalance to Bolshevism, the Church soon found itself under strict scrutiny. The author highlights the systematic efforts of the Nazi regime to block any initiatives aimed at unifying different branches of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, seeing such movements as potential threats to their control. Particular attention is given to the roles and actions of UAOC bishops in Kyiv and across the district, who, despite pressure, attempted to maintain ecclesiastical structures and religious life amid a hostile political environment.

Ultimately, the article argues that the Nazi administration, while less repressive than the Soviet regime in terms of outright bans on religious practice, sought to instrumentalize the Church for its own ideological goals. Religion was permitted only insofar as it could serve anti-Bolshevik propaganda, and any expression of Ukrainian national consciousness—whether through church leadership or among the faithful—was aggressively stifled. The Church thus found itself in a precarious position, allowed to function but stripped of autonomy, caught between serving the spiritual needs of its people and resisting becoming a pawn of the occupation regime. Through this lens, the author reveals the broader strategy of the Nazis to suppress national identity and neutralize potential centers of resistance under the guise of religious tolerance.