Współpraca cerkwi grekokatolickiej z ukraińskim ruchem wyzwoleńczym w Karpackim kraju Organizacji Ukraińskich Nacjonalistów (1945 – 1954)
Greek Catholic Church in cooperation with the Ukrainian liberation movement in the Carpathian region of Ukrainian Nationalists Organization (1945 – 1954)

Summary/Abstract: The society in Western Ukraine generally remained deeply religious. No prohibitions, threats, nor terror could have separated men from his church and religion. In their everyday life the populace stuck to the religious norms. Besides, the struggle against the liberation movement was tightly connected with the liquidation of the Greek Catholic church altogether, because it hindered the sovietisation of the region and constituted a part of the Resistance Movement. Hence, the most serious problem for the Soviet regime was the collaboration of the Greek Catholic Church and Ukrainian liberation movement. The former recognized, the Orthodox rite, but did everything it could to strictly control the activities of the Orthodox clergy. The churchmen’s work was restricted, as well as those of the monasteries, church lands and constructions were confiscated and transferred to cultural, economic or administrative buildings. The priests assisted the OUN men both spiritually and materially, hid the men underground in their homes and stored weapons and ammunition in their churches. In spite of all the repressive measures, the secret agents continued to discover the nationalists’ hiding places in the homes of the GCC priests, whereas in the churches the weapons and bullets were found. It is worthy of note, that a considerable part of the Unia Church members not only supplied the nationalists with food, clothes, money, and hid them in their own homes, but also propagated the ideas.

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