www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Latins in Ukraine

After 1946, when the UGCC went underground, there were those Eastern Catholics who preferred not to take risks in continuing with an outlawed Church. Neither did they wish to join the Russian Orthodox Church. So they went to the Roman Catholic Church and, over time, the RC Church became "their" Church, just as much as the UGCC was the Church of their ancestors.

The Ukrainian Latin Catholics of today are descendants of these, they celebrate the Latin Mass in Ukrainian and in every which way, they are "home-grown" Latin Catholics.

There are also Armenian Catholics and Orthodox in Ukraine. It would be confusing if one had Catholics of all three Particular Churches in one's family - the calendar issue would really be a problem, especially at Christmas . . .

Alex

Well, this was when those that wanted to remain Greek-Catholic decided to start up Eparchies here in the US, so they can keep this tradition going as much as they could. Although before the Eparchy of St. Josaphat was intact, most Ukrainians would join the Ruthenian Byzantine Church, and worship at Slavonic Liturgies. Although now that the UGCC is more common than it has been, and are doing quite successfully, mind you, it seems like you have Ukrainian-Americans that are Catholic worshiping in their original UGCC tradition.

Welcome back Dr. Alex

The "home-grown Latin Catholics" in Ukraine go far, far back before 1946. The hero of the UGCC, Met. Andrej Sheptytsky, was baptized "Roman" and raised in the Latin rite of his church in 1865, and entered the Basilian order, with the change of rite (and name to "Andrej"), over the strenuous opposition of his father and family. The Vatican concordant with Warsaw saw to it that his jurisdiction was strictly curtailed and restricted in the Polish Second Republic, whose "Revindication Campaigns" was aimed at herding the Orthodox into submission to the Latin hierarchy in question, not Met. Andrej's UGCC, just picking up where the Polish First Republic left off-the final act of that state was to approve funds to build Latin churches throughout what was left of its Ukrainian holdings in 1795. Between the two, the Austrians gave the Poles a free hand to try to absorb the Ukrainians under the hierarchy in question during the period of Austrian rule (a reason why neighboring Bukowina ended up Ukrainian and the Ukrainians ended up back in Orthodoxy).

Yes, but I was referring specifically to "Ukrainian Latin Catholics" with their own Ukrainian Novus Ordo Mass etc. This happened only after 1946.

Latin Catholicism was historically a force for the cultural Polonization of Ukraine. For Ukrainians/Ruthenians, to join the Latin Catholic Church was to effectively change not only your Church, but also your nationality.

Those Ukrainians who voluntarily joined the Latin Church in the aftermath of 1946 kept their Ukrainian identity, something which would not have obtained previously.

The Holy Hierarch Andrei Sheptytsky, to be clear, was formally raised in the Latin Catholic Church but then went over to the Greek Catholic Church.

He was seen, and truly was, a leader of both the Greek Catholic Church and cause, as well as a great national leader in Ukraine.

His great success at making the Greek Catholic Church strong in Galicia was because of his bringing together of Eastern Catholicism and nationalism.

Russia and Poland could break the Eastern Catholic Church, but when it was united to nationalism - that was something altogether different.

And Ukrainian Latin Catholics in Ukraine today are also very patriotic and nationalistic as well.

Alex

A couple decades after.

Well, just look at Ukrainians in this country, though. If they are of the Latin faith, how would you be able to tell they are Ukrainian, unless you know them by name, or by their accent? That's another thing.