Looking from afar – The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the light of the chronicles of the Franciscancs (ofm) monastery in Przemysl, 1988–1991

Abstract

The Carmelite Church of St. Theresa in Przemysl is a late-Renaissance church in
the city of Przemysl. It was crucial for both Polish and Ukrainian local inhabitants
because till 1784 was the possesion of Roman catholic order, and between 1784 and
1946 was used as a Greek-Catholic cathedral. Then, when officialy the Ukrainian
Greek Catholic Church was delegalized in communist Poland the Carmelite monks
were granted to come back to their former property. After decades, when in 1980 s.
there was possibility of the renewal of the activity of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church it was a huge problem where to locate their cathedral. The article deals with
the phenomenon of the reconstruction of the Ukrainian being in public sphere in
Przemyśl which was very turbulant and complexed at the turn of 1980s. and 1990s.
Even the visit of the Pope John Paul II didn’t calm the situation down. The extracts
from the Franciscans’ chronicle from the monastery of St. Anthony, on the Ukrainian
renewal both in Poland and Soviet Ukraine, show that the topic was interesting
even for those who were not enageged in the conflict between local Poles and the
Ukrainians. What is more, the article shows that the conflict was not simply between
the Poles and the Ukrainians, but was much more complicated. Chosen parts of the
chronicles are given to print.
Keywords: St. Theresa Church in Przemyśl, Franciscans, Carmelite monks, The
Fall of the Communism, The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church