Christian Social Ethics in Ukraine: The Legacy of Andrei Sheptytsky

440 Pages·1997·25.9 MB·English

by  Krawchuk, Andrii

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
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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