A PROSOPOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHAPLAINS DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

The history of the formation and functioning of the institute of chaplaincy in the Greek Catholic Church (GCC) during the entry of Galicia into the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been outlined. In particular, the system of subordination of chaplains, their number, responsibilities, position in the hierarchical structure of the GCC have been indicated. The tasks and realities of the ministry of military clergymen with the outbreak of the First World War have been shown as well. It has been emphasized that the duties of chaplains included: conducting services in places of permanent and temporary deployment of units, confession of soldiers before battles, cultural and educational work with them, care for the sick and wounded in front infirmaries and hospitals, organization of burials and funeral services, keeping records in metric books and registration of military burials. Particular examples testify to the courage and sacrifice of Ukrainian chaplains. We have highlighted the importance of their service to support the morale, combat, national and patriotic spirit of soldiers, to meet the urgent need of soldiers for prayer and consolation, to establish communication with the command in the circumstances of being in a foreign language environment. Some chaplains, while being prisoners in war camps, performed pastoral services for their compatriots. More than half of the chaplains of the First World War supported the national liberation struggle of Ukrainians, survived to the Soviet period, thus being under the rule of three foreign states: Austria-Hungary, the Republic of Poland and the Soviet Union. In all these periods, fidelity to their Church and people remained a characteristic feature of most of them. The article is supplemented with appendices that contain the texts of sermons of chaplains, excerpts from reports, information from clerical press of that time.

Galicia, Greek Catholic Church, First World War, Ukrainian chaplains, pastoral ministry, cultural and educational activities, prosopographic portrait.