The Situation of the Uniate Community Within the Russian Empire on the Eve of the Synod of Polotsk of 1839

Abstract

Drawing from sources of both personal and official origin, the article delves into the condition of the Uniate community in the decades leading up to the Unification Synod of Polotsk in 1839. The position of the Uniates and the state of their religious life at that time exhibited several characteristics that significantly contributed to the success of the project for their collective reunification with the Orthodox Church. The Uniates’ low social status, dismal economic conditions, moral reliance on Latin Catholic landlords, and a notably inadequate level of religious education are highlighted. The conclusion drawn is that the condition of the Uniate community was exacerbated by the legacy of the confessional policy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which aimed at fostering religious ignorance among Uniate believers, alongside the socio-economic oppression inflicted upon the common people by the Catholic gentry. The prevailing situation within the Uniate church association failed to foster a conscious commitment among ordinary believers to the union by the end of the 18th century through the second quarter of the 19th century. Additionally, the union, where clericalism prevailed over the course of two centuries, was critically dependent on the most educated and energetic segment of its clergy—the ruling clergy and educators of spiritual youth. There was no assurance that among these individuals, who were subjects of the Russian state, the notion of converting to the dominant religion would not emerge. A significant threat to the Uniate church association stemmed from the discontent among the people regarding the confessional division that emerged following the reunification of the Uniates with the Orthodox Church in 1794–1795. The division severed neighborly, kindred, and even economic ties, prompting a desire among the people to restore a shared affiliation within a single religious denomination.