UKRAINIAN CHURCH ELITE AND RUSSIAN CENTRALISM: CONFRONTATIONS IN THE SYNODAL PERIOD
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2520-2626/2019.24.14
Abstract
The essence of opposition of the Ukrainian church elite to the Russian centralism of the Synodal period (1721-1786) and analyzes its role in defending the rights and interests of the Orthodox Church are described in the article. The formation of Synod in 1721 opened in a new period in the history of the Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire, and in Ukraine in particular. The task of this institution, established on the European model, was to unify church life and to offset its local features according to the program outlined by the Spiritual Regulation at the behest of Peter I. The activities of Synod came into sharp contradiction with the privileges of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which it continued to enjoy from the time of its subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate. The Metropolitan of Kyiv was deprived of its decisive status, and its superiors - the title of Metropolitan and the right of free election. The restoration of these rights became the main task for the Ukrainian church elite. Under the reign of Empress Anna Ioanivna, the clergy made a major effort to restore the economic rights of the Church, undermined by the release of Hetman Danylo Apostol in 1728, which, however, were fruitless. The reign of Empress Elizabeth began a new era in the autonomous aspirations of the Ukrainian church elite. In response to the petition of Kyiv Bishop Rafail Zaborovskyi, the Metropolitanate of Kyiv was returned to its former status, and ts head - the title of Metropolitan. At the same time, the attempts to restitute the clergy property rights, as so as the restoration of the jurisdiction of the Kyiv Metropolitanate were unsuccessful. The reign of Catherine II, whose main purpose was the complete centralization in all spheres of the Russian Empire and the secularization of church property, became the most difficult and acute period of confrontation with the Russian imperial regime. The Ukrainian church elite, headed by Metropolitan of Kyiv Arsenii Mohylianskyi, tried to use the preparation of the New Code Commission to assert its rights. This has been proven by petitions to restore the status of the Kyiv Metropolitanate and clergy rights. However, the Commission did not complete its activities and the relicts of the autonomy of the Ukrainian elites were finally buried.
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