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Christian Social Ethics in Ukraine The legacy of Andrei Sheptytsky Andrii Krawchuk In the first half of the twentieth century, Christianity in Europe faced an unprece¬ dented range of social, economic and political issues that challenged the very essence of the faith. In response to the rise of socialism, the struggle for political self-determination and the competing totalitarianisms of Soviet communism and German fascism, some of Europe’s finest theological minds sought to interpret the social message of the gospel in order to promote a specifically Christian under¬ standing of ideals such as justice, liberty and democratization. Andrei Sheptytsky (1865 — 1944), who headed the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Galicia for almost half a century, was not only an outstanding ecclesiastical, cultural and civic leader, but also a thinker and writer of distinction. Grappling with the social and political problems that beset his religious community, Sheptytsky applied key principles of Christian social ethics to such issues as patriotism, inter-ethnic and church-state relations, the ideal of church unity, Soviet communism, nationalism, religious liberty, ideological atheism, and Nazism. Whether in pastoral letters that probed the Christian life through ethical reflection on social and political reality or in personal representations to such figures as Emperor Franz Joseph, Pope Pius X, Khrushchev, Hitler and Stalin, Sheptytsky promoted a vision of human life that was grounded in the practical wisdom of both Eastern and Western Christendom. (Cotfh-nued on back flap) Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from University of Alberta Libraries https://archive.org/details/christiansocialeOOkraw Christian Social Ethics in Ukraine The Legacy of Andrei Sheptytsky 1 Christian Social Ethics in Ukraine The Legacy of Andrei Sheptytsky Andrii Krawchuk > —o Kiyc cius Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, and The Basilian Press Edmonton Ottawa Toronto 1997 The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, and The Basilian Press express their gratitude to Bishops Michael Hrynchyshyn and Basil Losten for their support. The publication of this book was made possible in part by a grant from the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada, Toronto Eparchy. Copyright © 1997 Andrii Krawchuk ISBN 1-895937-04-3; 1-895571-13-8 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Krawchuk, Andrii Christian Social Ethics in Ukraine : the legacy of Andrei Sheptytsky Co-published by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies and The Basilian Press. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-895571-13-8 1. Sheptyts'kyi, Andrii, Graf, 1865-1944 - Political and social views. 2. Sheptyts'kyi, Andrii, Graf, 1865-1944 - Ethics. 3. Catholic Church - Byzantine rite, Ukrainian - Galicia (Poland and Ukraine) - History. 4. Church and state - Galicia (Poland and Ukraine). 5. Church and state - Catholic Church. 6. Galicia (Poland and Ukraine) - History. I. Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies. II. Title. BX4711.695.S5K73 1996 231.7'092 C96-930424-2 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed in Canada For my mother, Irena Chyzhevs'ka