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The Greek Catholic Church in propagandistic journalism and historical literature of the USSR: the case of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky
ORCID: Paulina Byzdra-Kusz: 0000-0002-5495-5916
Afiliacja: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Pages: 61-80
Edition: Lublin 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36874/RIESW.2025.1.3
Citation method: P. Byzdra-Kusz, Kościół greckokatolicki w propagandowej publicystyce i literaturze historycznej ZSRS na przykładzie metropolity Andrzeja Szeptyckiego, „Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej” 23 (2025), z. 1, s. 61–80, DOI: https://doi.org/10.36874/RIESW.2025.1.3
Keywords: Greek Catholic Church, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, Stalinist historical writing
Abstract: Despite the formal liquidation of the Greek Catholic Church by the communist authorities in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic after the end of the World War II, the institution continued to be perceived by decision-makers as a significant ideological threat. Of particular concern to the authorities was its impact on the population of western Ukraine, which had demonstrated resistance to Marxist indoctrination. Consequently, a multifaceted propaganda campaign was waged against the Greek Catholic Church, in which historical publications, published in large circulations, played a significant role. These books, often employing an attractive, narrative format, aimed to devalue the authority of the Church and its leaders by portraying them as traitors who adhered to nazi/fascist ideology and as manipulators who exploited religious elements for instrumental purposes. The article analyses the themes present in the above-mentioned books concerning phenomena regarded as miraculous, such as the appearance of stigmata, prophecies, or the discovery of the tsar’s missing child, and their alleged use to by the Church hierarchs to pursue their own ambitions and institutional goals, primarily Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky.
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