УКРАЇНСЬКІ ГРОМАДСЬКІ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЇ КАНАДИ НА СТОРОЖІ ГРЕКО-КАТОЛИЦЬКОЇ ЦЕРКВИ У 30-х рр. ХХ ст.

Abstract

In the interwar period of the twentieth century, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Canada tried to expand its influence on the public life in the diaspora. To accomplish this task, it enlisted the support of the conservative Canadian Sitch association (reorganized into the United hetman organization in 1934). In its turn, it helped the Sitch in every possible way and provided the permission for the legal functioning of their organization from the Canadian authorities. The monarchists published the articles about their activities and tasks of the society in the pages of Greek Catholic newspapers, such as "Canadian Ukrainian", "Ukrainian News". However, in the 30s of the twentieth century Greek Catholics and monarchists have broken off their relations. Coming of the new bishop, Vasyl Ladyka, instead of Nikita Budka, who began to distance himself from the society in the 1930s, resulted in the creation of the Greek Catholic own organization, the Ukrainian Catholic brotherhood, in 1932. Now UCB had to defend their views before the public. In the religious sphere, the society spread the Catholic faith in the Ukrainian rite, together with priests created parishes, built churches, supported church institutions, organizations, and so on. In the cultural sphere, it founded and financed Ukrainian schools, evening courses and lectures on Ukrainian studies, held concerts, sports competitions, drama performances, built people`s homes, and so on. In the public field it organized orphanages, shelters, hospitals, summer camps for young people, youth centers and so on. Not so actively, but still the fraternity reacted on the political events in Ukraine and joined the general actions of the national patriotic bloc of the Ukrainian public associations in Canada in support of compatriots. As a result, Greek Catholics became more actively involved in the social and political life of the diaspora on equally with Orthodox and communists.