The dissertation is the result of a comprehensive study of the peculiarities of the activities of the Roman Catholic clergy of the Lviv and Lutsk diocese in the period 1939–1991. The entry of the western regions of Ukraine into the USSR in the autumn of 1939 and their long stay under the influence of the atheistic Soviet regime led to numerous destructions in the structure of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, which is primarily due to the physical destruction and various oppressions of the clergy, laity and the destruction of church complexes.
The first section – "The state of scientific development of the problem, the source base and the methodology of the study" analyzes the state of scientific development of the problem, its source base, reveals the theoretical and methodological principles that were used during the study. Historiography is divided into several conditional groups, each of which is characterized by the author with the allocation of its special characteristics, the works of Ukrainian and foreign researchers that are directly or indirectly related to the scientific topic under study are analyzed.
The diversity of the source base made it possible to fully study and analyze the life of the Roman Catholic clergy in the period 1939-1991. and to reconstruct a complete picture of the repressive measures taken by the Soviet authorities against the Roman Catholic Church. The source base of the dissertation is quite wide and includes archival materials, published documents, press materials and memoirs of eyewitnesses and direct participants in these events, statistical materials of religious institutions. Memoirs of eyewitnesses, memoirs and personal records of priests are of great value for the dissertation, since these sources first entered scientific circulation and carry a significant semantic load that allows you to know first-hand the situation in which the Roman Catholic clergy found themselves. The first section also describes the methods, thanks to the use of which a comprehensive study was carried out, and the main terminological apparatus is clarified.
The second section, "The Catholic Clergy of the Latin Rite under the Occupation Regimes (1939-1944)," is divided into three subsections and includes a study of the political and socio-economic conditions in which the Roman Catholic clergy found themselves during the Second World War. The prerequisites that led to repressions against the Roman Catholic clergy by the Soviet and German occupation regimes are determined, the reasons for the physical destruction of representatives of different nationalities are studied.
The second section also highlights the influence and consequences of the Second World War on the functioning of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite in Galicia and Volhynia, and studies the methods of struggle of totalitarian regimes against the religious preferences of the population. On the example of specific figures, the activities of the Roman Catholic clergy in this period are analyzed and a list of victims of the occupation regimes is formed.
The third section, "The Situation of the Catholic Church in the Period 1945-1964," is devoted to an analysis of the situation in which the Church found itself in the postwar period in Galicia and Volhynia. The section contains two subsections, which examine the normative and legal functioning of the Catholic Church and the consequences of the nationalization policy pursued by the Soviet government. It is proved that during this period there was, in fact, the destruction of the Roman Catholic Church with the subsequent prohibition of its activities.
The fourth chapter, "The Roman Catholic Church in the Soviet State: Problems and Directions of Activity (1965-1991)", which is divided into three subsections, reveals the peculiarities of the life and work of Roman Catholic priests in Galicia and Volhynia, in conditions when the Roman Catholic Church ceased its official activities and functioned virtually illegally. The features of the liquidation and destruction of Catholic churches and the Church as an institution as a whole in the studied areas are analyzed. The activities of the clergy in the restoration of the tradition of faith, pastoral activity and preservation of the Roman Catholic rite in the conditions of Soviet reality are studied.
In general, the applicant for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy comprehensively analyzed and revealed all aspects and features of the life of the Roman Catholic clergy of the Lviv and Lutsk dioceses of the period 1939-1991, and proved that the repressions of the Soviet and German authorities against the Roman Catholic Church were cruel and unjustified.
Keywords: Roman Catholic Church, Volyn, Galicia, clergy, World War II, occupation regimes, pastoral care, atheization, Soviet power, chaplains, repressions, USSR.
