SOVIET REPRESSIONS AGAINST THE CLERGE OF THE GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1944–1947 (ON THE EXAMPLE OF FR. IVAN KOTIV’S BIOGRAPHY)

Abstract

Summary. Based on the prosopographic approach and analysis of the Fr. Ivan Kotiv biography the article studies the forms and methods of Soviet repressions against the Greek Catholic clergy. The purpose of the article is on the example of the relations of the Soviet special bodies with Fr. Ivan Kotiv to analyze and cover the repressive activities against the Greek Catholic Church in 1944–1947. The research methodology is based on prosopographic approach, principles of historicism, scientific, authorial objectivity, application of general scientific (deduction, induction, analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special historical (historical-genetic, historical-systemic, historical-typological) methods. The novelty of the study is that for the first time in Ukrainian historical science an attempt has been made to shed light on the repressive activities of the Soviet authorities against the Greek Catholic clergy through the prism of a prosographic analysis of the activities of Fr. Ivan Kotiv, one of the informal leaders of the Greek Catholic clergy in the liquidation of the GCC. The Conclusions. Thus, on the example of the relations of the Soviet special bodies with Fr. Ivan Kotiv analyzed and covered the repressive activities against the GCC in 1944–1946. In our opinion, the repressive policy of the Soviet authorities towards the clergy of the GCC during the outlined period can be divided into several stages: 1) stage of "soft pressure" (August 1944 – March 1945), which was characterized by careful study and analysis of the internal situation of the GCC, personality traits of leading figures among the Greek Catholic clergy, gradual propaganda and intelligence training of the Union Church to join the ROC, dissemination of rhetoric individually and through the media and study the clergy the idea; 2) the stage of organizational and repressive pressure (April 1945 – March 1946), which was marked by the arrests of the top of the GCC, the creation and operation of the CIG, neutralization of opposition attempts led by K. Sheptytsky and I. Kotiv to conduct special operations to "reunite" churches; 3) the stage of total repressions against the clergy, which did not recognize the decisions of the Lviv Pseudo-Council (March 1946 – May 1947). In fact, all these stages are quite clearly traced in the relationship of Fr. I. Kotiv with the Soviet authorities, and thus his activity in the period under study is quite representative and prosopographically relevant for understanding the complexity of the GCC in the restoration of the Soviet totalitarian regime in the Western Ukraine in the first postwar years.