Patriarchate in the UAOC: from idea to realization

author:

Mykola Lahodych (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1299-0948)

 Relevance of the research topic. The process of proclaiming the patriarchate in the UAOC in 1990 became a key stage in the formation of an independent church structure in Ukraine. In the context of the transformation of the religious landscape and modern challenges to state sovereignty, the study of the historical experience of building the Local Church and the mechanisms of its self-organization acquires strategic importance for understanding the continuity of the Ukrainian canonical tradition.

Problem statement. Despite the significant number of studies devoted to the history of the UAOC, the issue of the transition from the idea of autocephaly to the practical implementation of the institution of the patriarchate through the prism of the activities of key figures (M. Skrypnyk, I. Bodnarchuk, D. Yarema) requires in-depth scientific analysis. The study focuses on the contradiction between the tradition of catholicity and the need to build a rigid hierarchical structure in the conditions of political instability of the late twentieth century.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The article analyzes the work of S. Bashynskyi on the processes of autocephalization, A. Fert in the field of state-church relations, as well as the personalistic explorations of A. Smirnov and I. Prelovska. At the same time, the relationship between the personal contribution of the leaders of the movement and the general logic of institutional reforms in the UAOC requires additional understanding.

Research task. The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the process of practical implementation of the idea of patriarchy in the UAOC at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s and to determine the role of Archbishop John (Bodnarchuk), Patriarchs Mstislav (Skrypnyk) and Dimitri (Yarema) in the legitimization of this status.

Research methodology is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. The historical-genetic method was used to trace the evolution of the idea of patriarchy, as well as the biographical method to analyze the influence of religious figures on church and administrative processes.

Main material presentation. The stages of the restoration of the highest hierarchy of the UAOC, starting from 1989, are studied. The significance of the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Council of 1990 as the founding act of the proclamation of the Kyiv Patriarchate is analyzed. It is determined that the activities of I. Bodnarchuk provided the organizational basis of the movement, while the figure of Mstislav (Skrypnyk) gave the process canonical continuity and connection with the emigration center.

Conclusions. It is established that the formation of the patriarchate in the UAOC was not only a political act, but the result of the systematic activity of the hierarchs, aimed at canonical emancipation from the Moscow Patriarchate. It is proved that the personal contribution of M. Skrypnyk, I. Bodnarchuk and D. Yarema was decisive in the formation of the identity of the modern Ukrainian Orthodox tradition.

Keywords: theology, Dimitriy (Yarema), Ioan (Bondarchuk), Mstislav (Skrypnyk), Church, Patriarchate, reform, religion, religious life, council, UAOC.

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