Confessional Relationships established on the Belarusian and Ukranian lands in the XVI-XVIIth centuries in the Belarusian and Ukranian National Historiography

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Confessional Relationships established on the Belarusian and Ukranian lands in the XVI-XVIIth centuries in the Belarusian and Ukranian National Historiography

Journal Title: Eminak - Year 2017, Vol 3, Issue 2

Abstract

The article studies confessional relationships established in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth when relationships bore national status in Belarusian and Ukranian Historiography. Belarusian National Historiography is closely connected with such names as Vatslav Lastovsky, Vsevolod Ignatovsky, Vladimir Picheta, i.e. all those who paid much attention to Orthodoxy, Uniate Confession, Catholicism in Belarus in the XVI-XVIII centuries. The first consolidation works on Belarusian History belonged to these authors. Vatslav Lastovsky claimed (in his «Short History of Belarus») that confessional relationships were of great importance for National Identity Formation and Social-Political Life of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. V. Lastovsky as well as M. Grushevsky marked that there was great influence of Reformation on Social-Political idea in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In its turn this idea staged a coup in minds and views. As a result it led to church union amplification. Among the reasons for Uniate Confession establishment there were political, social-cultural and theological discords found between the Catholics and Orthodox Christians in the same manner as inteference of brotherhoods into the church matters. V. Lastovsky singled out two directions developed in Union Ideology: a hierarchic one (i.e. intention of Orthodox bishops to become independent) and a national one (i.e. intention to create a powerful national church). He also noticed there were fundamental differences between Moscow and Russian (Belarussian-Ukranian) Orthodoxy. V. Lastovsky said that discrimination of Orthodox Christians was revealed by means of power but not law up to the XVIII centuries. From Vs. Ignatovsky perspective, 1st President of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, polonization of the Belarusian lands must have been treated as a result of Lublin Union; Brest Church Union was determined as its continuation, because an Orthodox person accepted political, cultural, social influence of Poland. He showed the evolution of the union developed from Church consolidation idea and religious controversy termination to transition from one faith to another faith as well as reasons for religious wars. Vs. Ignatovsky also characterised Moscow Patriarchy Creation in 1589 and a will of Orthodox bishops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to avoid juridical submission as Brest Church Union background. This thesis contradicted the views of Russian historians about «Catholic agression» on the Belarusian and Ukranian lands. He supported a thesis of M. Grushevsky about Reformation influence, which arouse of the abcense of wide social basis and an ideological leader, that’s why it couldn’t take roots. V. Picheta, 1st Rector of Belarusian State University, said that Orthodox Church had some privileges and property untouchability before Brest Union Acceptance. The Catholics treated the Union as a means for widening of their influence. Among the reasons for Union acceptance there were discontent of Orthodox hierarchy for its property and politics conditions, inteferance of the brotherhoods in the Church matters, illiteracy of the lowest ranks of the clergy and their dependance from their patrons (=landowners where there was curacy), successful Jesuit activity. As all things considered, national historiographies of Belarus and Ukraine developed in a similar way. Much attention was paid to studies of confessional relationships in the United Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was treated not just as factors of domestic and foreign politics, but factors for national self-awareness development

Authors and Affiliations

Elena Barsuk

Keywords

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth confessional relationships Ukranian National Historiography Belarusian National Historiography Catholicism Orthodoxy Uniate Confession M. Grushevsky V. Lastovsky Vs. Ignatovsky V. Picheta

EP ID EP280861
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