ARCHBISHOP ADAM (PHILIPOVSKY): NEW DOCUMENTS ABOUT HIS VISIT TO SUBCARPATHIAN RUS

Abstract

In the article, for the first time, documents about the visit of Bishop Adam (Philipovsky) to Subcarpathian Rus in June 1926 are introduced into scientific circulation. The author was involved in the analysis of sources from several archives of different countries. Among them are the documents of the State Archives of the Transcarpathian Region, the National Archives of the Czech Republic, and the Archives of the Office of the President of the Republic in Prague. The epistolary legacy of the Czech bishop Gorazd (Pavlik), which is kept in the Archives of the Olomouc-Brno Diocese in Olomouc, is also of some interest. Periodicals also supplement documentary sources. The article uses a publication from the Uzhhorod newspaper «Novoje vremja», which was published in Latin. The text provides a brief description of the life path of Bishop Adam, and his connections with individual residents of Subcarpathian Rus are reflected. The author emphasizes that the activities of the aforementioned bishop played an essential role in the life of American Orthodoxy in the first half of the 20th century. The study of Philipovsky's biography gives grounds for asserting that his work is not sufficiently studied historiographically, and historians do not even mention the visit to Subcarpathian Rus. The author traces the development of Adam Philipovsky, his educational level, and his professional activity. It is emphasized that he was a graduate of Lviv University, engaged in journalism, and later went through all levels of the priestly career. The initiator of his ordination in 1922 was Bishop Stefan (Dzubay) of Pittsburgh, who wanted to strengthen his position in Canada in a confrontation with Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvenskyi). Bishop Adam led the communities of Carpathians who lived in several Canadian cities and then extended his jurisdiction to American parishes of the «old land» as well. Having lost to the metropolitan and received a ban from the ROCOR, the bishop left behind a significant influence and achieved recognition of his diocese by the Karlovy Vary Synod. Several documents from the SATR funds are attached to the article, which characterizes the policy of the Czechoslovak authorities towards the Orthodox Church and describes the course of the bishop's visit to Subcarpathian Rus.