Feb 8, 2023 10:00 PM
https://theconversation.com/many-ukraini...ith-198655
INTRO: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, millions of refugees have fled westward to escape the fighting. Many have sought shelter in Ukraine’s westernmost city, Lviv, a historic center of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which has been providing essential services with the help of international Catholic charity networks. A major center of Greek Catholic life, the Archdiocese of Lviv has 306 parishes, over 400 priests, a seminary and a university.
Since its creation in the 16th century, this church has been an important cultural and intellectual resource for Ukrainian identity. Most Ukrainians regard themselves as Orthodox, not Catholic. But with anywhere from 4.5 million to 6.5 million members, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the third-largest church in Ukraine, representing about 10% to 15% of the Ukrainian population.
Despite its relatively small size, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has, in the words of historian Kathryn David, “played an outsized role … in the creation of the Ukrainian nation.”
As a professor of religious studies who has spent three decades exploring the social and political role of religion in Eastern Europe, I am fascinated by the growing influence of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine... (MORE - details)
INTRO: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, millions of refugees have fled westward to escape the fighting. Many have sought shelter in Ukraine’s westernmost city, Lviv, a historic center of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which has been providing essential services with the help of international Catholic charity networks. A major center of Greek Catholic life, the Archdiocese of Lviv has 306 parishes, over 400 priests, a seminary and a university.
Since its creation in the 16th century, this church has been an important cultural and intellectual resource for Ukrainian identity. Most Ukrainians regard themselves as Orthodox, not Catholic. But with anywhere from 4.5 million to 6.5 million members, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the third-largest church in Ukraine, representing about 10% to 15% of the Ukrainian population.
Despite its relatively small size, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has, in the words of historian Kathryn David, “played an outsized role … in the creation of the Ukrainian nation.”
As a professor of religious studies who has spent three decades exploring the social and political role of religion in Eastern Europe, I am fascinated by the growing influence of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine... (MORE - details)