Galician Basilian Monks and the Reform of the OSBG in Mukachevo Greek Catholic Eparchy

Abstract

The article analyzes the activities of Galician Basilian monks through the prism of the OSBG (Order of St. Basil the Great) reform in Mukachevo Greek Catholic eparchy. Relying on a wide range of archival sources and using modern socioanthropological methodological approaches, the author has clarified the preconditions and reasons for the Order’s reform and described the attitude of Greek Catholic monks to those changes. In the course of the study, the author has come to the conclusion that as of December 1938, all monasteries of Subcarpathian Ruthenia were involved in the reform. Of course, each monastery was in a different state and had certain functions. Thus, Mukachevo monastery became a center of pilgrimage and an educational base for monks with a strong novitiate (according to the inspection carried out by Professor Josef Foltynovskyi on behalf of Pope Pius XI as of December 10, 1924, it included a total of 21 novices). Uzhhorod monastery turned into a cultural and educational center, successfully training students and operating a printing house. Malyi Bereznyi monastery was the heart of the missionary movement, providing after 1928 philosophical and theological studies for candidates’ preparation, while, due to their later involvement in the reform, Imstychiv and Boroniavo monasteries remained in the most difficult condition and hosted unreformed monks.