The dissertation substantiates the relevance of researching the process of formation and development of the Maramureș (Máramaros) Orthodox Eparchy (second half of the 17th – first half of the 18th century) by emphasizing the need to analyze the author’s contribution to the study of modern confessional history of Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The choice of topic is determined by the absence of a comprehensive study of the history of the Orthodox Church’s activities in the northeastern counties of the Kingdom of Hungary during 1654–1761, based primarily on archival materials. The author seeks to demonstrate the circumstances that led to the transfer, in 1690, of the administrative center of the Orthodox Church from Bereg County eastward to Maramureș County. While avoiding confessional biases, the dissertation examines the causes and stages of this process. The research fills a gap in Ukrainian ecclesiastical historiography devoted to confessional histories at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Against the backdrop of erroneous interpretations, biased assumptions, and narrowly focused studies, the existence of the Maramureș Eparchy requires in-depth—primarily conceptual—analysis. The study of the establishment and development of this institution allows for an immersion into the complex processes of inter-confessional relations in Maramureș County, particularly those related to the jurisdictional transfer of parishes and the administrative activities of Orthodox and Greek Catholic hierarchs. An important element of the research is the identification and analysis of the concepts of the “episcopal church”—an eparchy headed by a pastor (bishop) with all corresponding administrative attributes—and the “parochial civilization” that functions without an episcopate.
This study draws upon foundational works in the history of confessions, canon law, archival science, source criticism, and prosopography, particularly the scholarship of Bazylovych, Hodynka, Mihali, Luchkai, Buda, Tsiple, Bunea, Iorga, Baran, Pekar, Velykyi, Laczko, Pronin, Baan, Véghseő, Coraňič, Ciryl, Vegsheov, Chubota, among others. The research integrates approaches to historical context, prevailing narratives, and the critical evaluation of facts and misconceptions. These theoretical foundations enabled a comprehensive examination of the Orthodox Church’s activities, illustrating the coexistence of various denominations within a single territorial space, while also exploring the causal dynamics behind the establishment and eventual dissolution of the Maramureș Orthodox Eparchy with all its structural components.
The object of this study is the activity of the Orthodox Church in Transcarpathia during the second half of the 17th century through the first half of the 18th century. The subject of the study is the development and consolidation of the Maramureș Orthodox Eparchy during this period, the stages of transferring the administrative center of the Orthodox Church to Maramureș County between 1661 and 1690, the evolution of monastic life in Maramureș County, the structural organization of the eparchy’s parishes, the church-administrative architecture of governance, and the state-church relations at the turn of the centuries. To accomplish these objectives, a comprehensive set of established historical research methods was employed, including historicism, multifactorial analysis, historical-systems and historical-comparative approaches, statistical and specialized methods, as well as source-based analysis, historical-genetic and heuristic techniques, classification, archeographic, prosopographic, and comparative-typological methods. The integration of these principles and methods in source analysis ensured both the achievement of the study’s aims and the reliability of its findings.
The research demonstrates the implementation of a culture of objective, unbiased, and impartial knowledge in the field of history within both educational and scholarly contexts.
As a result of this study, for the first time, the process of formation of the main church-administrative entities of the Maramureș Eparchy has been analyzed, along with their organizational and structural evolution. The research has refined and supplemented existing knowledge regarding events and facts related to the activities of this institution. The findings can be utilized in further scholarly research on regional church history, in the preparation of historical, local history, and popular science publications, in the development of university-level courses on church history, and in the organization of specialized seminars and lectures in higher education institutions.
Keywords: Transcarpathia, Maramureș, Transylvania, Church, Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Basilian Order, church, bishop, eparchy, monastery, monasticism, prosopography, parish, county.
