A nondenominational approach to the history of the Ukrainian Christian tradition presented in Lviv

The monograph "Halych (Lviv) Eparchy from the 12th to 18th Centuries: Organizational Structure and Legal Status,” written by historian Ihor Skochylias, dean of the Humanitarian Faculty of the Ukrainian Catholic University, will be presented in Lviv on January 31. In his book, the author takes a nondenominational approach – there is no politicization of the history of the church or of Christianity in general. "One of the ideas of the publications is to join the debate in the intellectual environment of Ukraine and central and eastern Europe to find a consensus in the interpretation of historical events. The book is about the role of the Christian tradition in Ukraine’s past,” said the historian. The publication also highlights the role of the churches in the cultural life of Ukraine. “After the loss of statehood, the church also guarded the culture,” said Ihor Skochylias. “In the Pre-Modern era the Episcopal court formed the Ukrainian culture, particularly through the establishment of educational institutions.” On this occasion, UCU rector Fr. Borys Gudziak, Ph.D., said: "Ihor Skochylas’s book is the first in Ukraine to have such a broadest interpretation and analysis of the history of all the eparchies in Ukraine. None of the religious units of Ukraine have such syntactical, thorough and truly academic history. This book raises the bar for all future attempts to write a Ukrainian church history. According to Borys Gudziak, in many issues Ukrainian history is marked by an inferiority complex. "History of the so-called Uniate period of the 17th-18th centuries remained in the shadows. We know very little about this period, so the author uses almost inviolable historical archives. He reveals that the Uniate Church has a distinctive, dynamic and effective practice of pastoral life. Historical analysis of the events of the 18th century is the unique contribution of Ihor Skochylias," said the rector of UCU. The publication also reveals the role of the Halych (Lviv) church tradition in the 12th to 18th centuries in a context broader than modern, independent Ukraine. Geographically the Halych eparchy included at various times the territory from Chyhyryn, the outskirts of Kyiv to the Wild Field and Peremyshl. Also, until the middle of the 14th century other ethnic groups, including the Cumans and modern Romanians and Moldovans, belonged to the sphere of influence of the Halych Eparchy

Department of information and external relation of UCU