AN ISSUE IN THE «REUNIFICATION» OF UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLICS WITH THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH: POSITION OF THE MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE

Abstract

The article examines the stance of the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church during the «reunification» campaign, which was initiated by the state. Drawing from a critical examination of the internal documentation and public pronouncements by the Moscow Patriarchate, the author suggests that in the 1940s–1970s the church leadership
pragmatically exploited the situating in Western Ukraine, primarily to gain certain concession from the regime.
Key words: Moscow Patriarchate, «reunification», Orthodoxization, Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian GreekBCatholic Church, communist regime.