ДО СТОРІЧЧЯ ЗАСНУВАННЯ УАПЦ У М. КИЄВІ: ПЕРЕДУМОВИ ВІДРОДЖЕННЯ ЦЕРКВИ (1917–1921 рр.)

Abstract

The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) was officially established in 1921, at the First All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Sobor in Kyiv. The highest church hierarchy was also designated while laying conceptual and canonic foundations of the church. The restoration of the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy became possible thanks to the transformational processes in society during the Ukrainian Revolution, which brought about the people’s struggle for political and cultural independence. The center of the autocephalous movement was the city of Kyiv, where the first national Orthodox parishes were created and from where clergymen were sent to create local church communities. It was in Kyiv that important councils were held and the top church leadership was concentrated. The city also hosted the main UAOC cathedral. The article analyzes the internal political situation in Ukraine and in Kyiv during 1917–1921, characterizes the influence of the religious policy of the Ukrainian and Bolshevik governments on the formation of the UAOC. The paper reveals the role of public, cultural figures and Orthodox laypeople of the city of Kyiv in the development of the autocephalous movement in Ukraine. The author claims that due to the revolutionary time’s political instability, the process of restoring the church independence was slowed down, and efforts on the behalf of national church leaders had only partially successful results. At the same time, many years of attempts to restore the church’s autonomy contributed to the revival of national discourse and allowed the ideological and organizational structure of the church to be clearly defined. At the First All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Sobor, the autocephaly of the UAOC was proclaimed, and Vasyl Lypkivsky was ordained Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. The Sobor adopted the church canons, which were fixed in a document entitled «The Acts of the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Sobor in the city of Kyiv, 14–30 October 1921» According to the «Acts», the UAOC introduced Ukrainization and reformation of internal church life, consolidated the transition from the «episcopal-autocratic» structure of the church to the «church-conciliar» one, conferred the role of the UAOC governing body to the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Council (Rada), and so on. The Sobor was crucial for the implementation of all the changes made by church leaders and officially consolidated the status of the church as a separate institution.