The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Late 20th Century: First Legal Steps towards Returning of the Lost Legacy

Abstract

The article analyzes the main historical events and phenomena that highlight the specifics of the position of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), against the backdrop of the weakening of the Soviet ideology dictatorship, derived from within the post-Soviet political system, whilst critically assessing the causal effects of its pursuing the policy of perestroika (reconstruction), glasnost (transparency) and democracy. The author highlighted the momentum of the survival and the UGCC’s official legalization and Ukrainian Greek Catholic’s activities that, eventually, led to UGCC leaving the underground (having been forced to by the then decisions of the Lviv pseudo-council of 1946). The main research attention is paid to the historiosophical and historical-religious objectification and critical evaluation of the role and place of the highest church leadership of the UGCC of its underground and open cooperation with the lay movement and human rights organizations in the matter of returning what it lost during the catacomb period. The novelty of the article consists in an attempt to scientifically substantiate the importance of not only the revival of the UGCC, but also the need to rethink and reassess its consolidating potential and, in particular, in the formation of a nationwide model of spiritual-religious and socio-political unity for the sake of preserving one's own national spiritual-cultural and state identity, which is extremely important in view of the long war and full-scale military aggression of Russia against Ukraine. Based on modern research, the key factors of the legalization of the UGCC in the context of nation- and state-building processes at the end of the 80s of the 20th century have been identified. and the historiosophical (scientific-historical) objectification of the role of the ideological inspirers and, above all, the episcopate and clergy of the UGCC for its revival and return of the lost as a result of the liquidation process and persecutions was carried out. It is proved that the main factors behind the exit from the underground, revival and competition for the legalization of the activities of the UGCC were the weakening of state policy in the church sphere, the complex and contradictory socio-political transformations that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of independent states in the post-Soviet space, which began to form new ones models of state-church confessional relations on the basis of worldview pluralism, freedom of conscience and religious beliefs, which could not but contribute to the establishment and development of the UGCC.