Die Orthodoxe Kirche in Polen zwischen dem Ersten und Zweiten Weltkrieg

The rebirth of the Polish state in 1918 had decisive consequences for the Orthodox Church. What had formerly been part of the established Church in Russia now became a minority church made up of believers of various nationalities. They had now to find their place in a Catholic-dominated society and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Żerelik, Rościsław (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:German
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Published: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2002
In: Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte
Year: 2002, Volume: 15, Issue: 1, Pages: 169-181
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary:The rebirth of the Polish state in 1918 had decisive consequences for the Orthodox Church. What had formerly been part of the established Church in Russia now became a minority church made up of believers of various nationalities. They had now to find their place in a Catholic-dominated society and arrange their temporal affaire while under threat of possible intrusions by the state or claims by the Catholic church. It was vital for the independence of the Polish Orthodox Church to obtain the status of an autocephaly, which was achieved in 1925 with the help of the state and against the strong opposition of the Moscow Patriarchate and individual bishops. This new status certainly breached the previous regulations, but the situation in Poland and the USSR necessitated this solution, which at the same time dealt with the church's internal reorganization. The legal situation of the Orthodox Church was in fact regulated by the January 1922 decree "Preliminary regulation of the relations between the government and the Orthodox Church in Poland". Subsequently a November 1938 law gave the state considerable power to intervene in church affairs. Not until June 1939 was the question of church property settled. Three factors were of crucial importance for the inner life and self-consciousness of this Church, arising out of the national upheavals. On the one hand, there were the demands arising from the rising self-consciousness of the Ukrainian population and a consequent demand for the "Ukrainianization" of the Orthodox Church. At the same time, some of the Greek Catholic priests were pursuing a pro-Ukrainian policy. In the autumn of 1926, in the area of Lemken, this led to the division of Tyiawa, and to numerous conversions to orthodoxy. By contrast, in the areas of Chelmno and Lublin, in 1938/9 there was widespread persecution and even martyrdom of Orthodox followers, who were suspected of encouraging the russification of the Polish eastern regions. On the eve of the war of 1939, the political situation led to deep divisions between the churches and the people.
ISSN:2196-808X
Contains:Enthalten in: Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte