The Value of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Preservation of the National Religious Rights оf the Ukrainians: 60s–70s of the 20th Century

Abstract

In the article we studied the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church as an integral part, a national factor in the religious process of the Ukrainians, living in western regions of the USSR during the 1960s and 1970s. The research gave a comprehensive analysis of the place and role of the church in nation-building and preservation of ethnic and national identity of the titular representatives of the Ukraine’s nation during the Soviet anti-religious campaign. We described the activities of the Greek Catholic clergy, whose aim was the consolidation of national-patriotic forces and the formation of religious opposition among the Ukrainians. The article also outlined the policy vectors of the atheistic communist ruling elite and revealed their essence, covered violent reorientation of Greek Catholics to Orthodoxy. In terms of religious oppression and persecution, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church continued its development of underground and become a consolidating factor in Western Ukrainian struggle for their national and religious rights. It has become an important factor in ethnicity creation and a spiritual and cultural self of the Ukrainian people.