The Struggle for the Convocation of the Local Council of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Poland in the Second Half of the 20–30s of the 20th Century

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to observe the peculiarities of the process of the struggle for the convocation of the Local Council of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Poland (AOCP) in the second half of the 20−30s of the 20th century, the purpose of which was to regulate its legal and property status. The author analyzed archival documents, materials of the periodical press and publications of that time in which the problems related to the convening of the Local Council of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Poland are highlighted. Research methodology. The principles of historicism, objectivity, systematicity and interdisciplinary approach were the methodological basis of the article. General scientific, special-historical and interdisciplinary methods were applied. Each of them was effective in a specific situation and made it possible to reconstruct the processes of the convening of the Local Council of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Poland objectively. The scientific novelty of the work is based on the fact that the author found out the peculiarities of struggle for the convening of the Local Council of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Poland in the process of analysis of archival documents and periodical press materials of the studied period. The research is based on new source material, which is being introduced into scientific use for the first time. In contrast to previous works, devoted to this topic, the dynamics of changes in the religious policy of both the Polish state and the Roman Catholic Church in relation to the Orthodox Church are more clearly revealed in the article. Conclusions. After the proclamation of autocephaly, the Orthodox Church in Poland needed regulation of its legal status and internal reorganization. Solving these problems was very important to ensure the church and religious needs of the Orthodox community. A number of problems were faced before Orthodoxy. Their solution was depended on the Polish government, the Orthodox hierarchy and religious followers. The interweaving of the interests of these three main factors directed the process of organizational and legal formation of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Poland. Ukrainian ambassadors and senators became active in protecting the interests of the Orthodox Church in Poland at the end of the 20−30s of the XX century. They demand to satisfy the needs of the Ukrainian Orthodox people from the stands of the Diet and the Senate in front of church and secular authorities. Created in 1931, the Volyn Ukrainian Union (VUU) and the Association named after Metropolitan Peter Mohyla sought the convening of the Local Council of the Orthodox Church in Poland, which was supposed to regulate its legal and property status. However, on the way to the convocation of the Council, there were obstacles from the Orthodox hierarchy and the Polish government. It never happened but constant pre-conciliar preparations became an impact for the activation of Orthodox followers who asserted the rights of their Church.