VOLYN IN THE HISTORY OF ORTHODOX ENLIGHTENMENT (1900-1939's): SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Abstract

The article analyzes the history of Orthodox education in Volyn. It is submitted that from the beginning of its existence the Ukrainian Church enjoyed wide autonomy. With the national-state movement, the competition for its independence grew. In the XXth century the national-church movement in Volyn was the part of this process. The Orthodox Church occupies a prominent place in the political, cultural and socio-economic life of the Ukrainian people. For a long time, its role in shaping the national identity of Ukrainians was artificially ignored, although the church has always been an important means of influencing public consciousness.
It is noted that the Orthodox clergy have made a significant contribution to the development of the cultural sphere of the region. Priests played an important role in raising the general level of education, moral education of their faithful, research into the history of their homeland and monument protection activities.
It was found that changes in regimes and political systems could not shake its authority, because it was associated with the spiritual feelings of man. During the periods of stateless existence of the Ukrainian people, the church supported national and creative processes and as a social organization with a powerful Christian ideology united the people.
The importance of the Orthodox Church in national-political processes was realized by a part of the Ukrainian intelligentsia and other strata, unfolding in the first half of the XXth century the struggle for the return of national characteristics to the church organization.
Therefore, the study of the history of the Orthodox Church is of paramount importance for the reproduction of a holistic picture of the past of the Ukrainian people. Church processes in Volyn 20-40’s of the XXth century play an important role in the all-Ukrainian national liberation movement and in the revival of the Ukrainian state and church.
Knowledge of the past of the Ukrainian Church is also needed to overcome many artificial stereotypes that hinder the formation of a democratic civil society in Ukraine. Church-historical research reveals the causes of modern interfaith tensions, finds out its origins and even presents options for possible ways out of it.