CHURCHES IN THE CARPATHO-UKRAINE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000200230008-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 2, 2009
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: December 14, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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COUNTRY USSR ( Ukrainian SSR)
SUSPECT Churches in the Carpatho-Ukraine
DATE OF INFORMATION
PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. As a result of :the peculiar historical and political development of
the Carpatho-Ukraine, there was always .a mixture of peoples belonging
to various religious faiths in this area, However, in the period
following-World War I and up to 1947, when the Soviets started reor-
ganization of churches in the Carpatho-Ukraine, all churches enjoyed
complete freedom and independence and there was no state interference
in religious matters Although there was a rather large number of
religious denominations in the Carpatho-Ukraine, there was not much
animosity between the various churches or between their parishioners,
.except between the Greek Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The
Eastern Orthodox. Church was active in its attempts to bring Greek
Catholics into the Eastern Orthodox faith, however, without much
success. There was also a certain animosi of all Christian churches
wish faith,
this animosity was based
on the general dislike of Jews- so common n as ern European countries.
2. Five main religious ;roue:, x sted in the Carpatho-Ukraine until 1947.
They were:
a. Greek Catholic Church (G-recheskko Katolicheskaya) often referred to
as Uniat Church (Uniatskaya r.serkovt). This church was organized
in the 16th Century by 'a union of Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catho-
lic churches. The members of this church were mainly Ukrainians,
old Inhabitants of the Carpatho-Ukraine, and. they were rather pro-,
nounced Ukrainian nationalists and enemies of Russia and Russians.
Until 1942 the Greek Catholic Church in the Ca atho-Ukraine was
under the Bishop of Uzhgorod BT 48-38, E 22-iq, who was directly
subordinate to the Pope In Rome.
C.QNF.IDENTI AL
REPORT
25X1
DATE DISTR. 14, Dec. 1953
NO. OF PAGES 5
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b. Romai Catholic Church. Members of this church were Hungarians
and some mixed groups of national minorities such as Slovaks,
Germans, and others.
e. Jewish Synagogue: this was small in terms of the number of its
members., but very wealthy.
d. Protestant Church. -I Ithe Protestants in this 25X1
region belonged mostly to the Baptist denomination. Its members
were mainly Hungarians. The Hungarians in this region were
divided half and half between the Roman Catholic and Protestant
faiths.
e. Eastern Orthodox Church (Pravoslavnaya Tserkov'): the members
of this church were mostly settlers from the Russian Ukraine,
who came to the Carpatho-Ukraine after World War band a few
Ukrainian families who had lived in Carpatho-Ukraine fora several
generations. Until 1947 this church was under the Serbian
Orthodox Mitropolit (Patriarkh Serbskoy Pravoslavnoy Tserkv
. 25X1
whose seat was in Sremski Karlovci in northern Yugoslavia
____
this church had a bishop for the Carpatho-Ukra ne 25X1
whose seat was in Khust 5 48-10, E 23-167. 5 numerical break-
down of the various religious groups in the Carpatho-Ukraine is.
presented in Annex A r-
3. The Soviet Army occupied the Carpatho-Ukraine late in 1944, and in
1945 this region was officially incorporated into the USSR. However,
until late 1946 and the beginning of 194j nothing was done about the
reorganization of churches in the Carpatho-Ukraine. Except for the
closing and conversion to other purposes of several Jewish synagogues,
of which there were indeed more than were needed in Mukachevo
N 48-26, E 22-4W and Uzhgorod, everything remained unchanged.
persecution of the Greek Catholic Church started late in 1946. At
that time the Greek Catholic bishop from Uzhgorod went to the village
of Kaydanovo,.1O km. northwest of Mukachevo, to dedicatea new
churc. On the way back his car was stopped by some alleged "out-
laws", who beat him almost to death. Taken to Uzhgorod, he was
placed in a hospital and there, it was rumored, he was eventually
poisoned by a physician sent from the USSR. His place remained
vacant, and shortly afterwards the Soviet authorities called a con-
ference of all Greek Catholic priests in the Carpatho-Ukraine to
discuss the position of this church in the USSR. The priests were
told bluntly by the Soviet officials that the former dependence of
the Greek. Catholic Church on Rome was out of the question, since.
the USSR does not maintain relations with the Vatican and does not
recognize the Pope. It was presented very clearly that the only
way left to the Greek Catholic Church in this new situation was to
join the Russian Orthodox Church. The conference ended in a dead-
lock, as the Greek Catholic pries"ts refused to cooperate on this
basis.,. A new conference was called several months later, after
some behind-the-scenes work had been done on a number of Greek Catho-
lic priests. The new conference resulted in a split, some priests
accepting the command to join the Russian Orthodox Church, while
the others refused. Those who refused were fired either immediately
or as soon as their replacements had arrived from the USSR. The
Bishopric of Uzhgorod was abolished and the Russian Orthodox Church
in the Carpathian Oblast was put under the Russian Orthodox Metro-
polit (yepiskop) in Lvov. Eventually even those Greek Catholic
priests who had accepted the change were either arrested for some
invented crime or were simply transferred from.the territory of the
Carpathian Oblast& Those who resisted the Orthodox Church had been
arrested under various pretexts much earlier, and most of them were
put in forced labor camps. r
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The switch from Rome to Moscow affected the church services very
little. Because of the fact that the inside furnishings of the
Greek Catholic churches were very similar to the Russian Orthodox,
and'that the Greek Catholic priests wore the same clothes as Russian
Orthodox priests, these changes in the church subordination did not
bring about any noticeable innovations. What was quite new was the
type of priest sent from the USSR. These priests had studied at
Soviet religious schools (Dukhovnaya Seminariya) and had been edu.
cated under Communist Party auspices. They preached about love
for the Soviet State, which is protected by God, and about the
obedience which the Lord requires from His faithful people to His
beloved Soviet; Government. In all other respects,these priests had
not learned anything priestly- they were Soviet officials like any
other.
5. Since the church in the USSR was independent and not supported by
the state, and all church properties in the Carpatho-Ukraine had been
taken over by the state in 1947, all clergy regardless of denomina-
tion had to hold an additional job to make a living. Many of them
worked in government administrative agencies, municipal offices,
industrial enterprises, etc. What they received for religious ser-
vices from their parishioners was left entirely out of the staffs
Jurisdiction and depended solely on local private agreements. a 25X1
in some villages around Mukachevo such agreements called 25X1
for an annual fee of 36 rubles from each house, which amount could
be paid either in money or in goods. For such a fee, the priest
agreed to perform two weekly services in the church (Saturday
evening and Sunday morning), to baptize children, and to bury the
dead. Such special church services as the Te Deur and Requiem might
be ordered by individual churchgoers 'and paid f oar-with as fee
of approximately 25 rubles.-. Similar agreements between priests and
parishioners were made in the towns.
6. Monasteries and convents in the Carpatho-Ukraine were not dosed or
confiscated by the state but were reorganized into kolkhozy and
left to the monks and nuns for utilization. under the sam;6-conditions
as any other collective farm. After the abolition of the Greek
Catholic Church, the Vasilian Monastery (V-asilianov Monastyr') in
Mukachevo, which actually consisted of a monastery and a convent,
was taken over by Orthodox monks and nuns from the USSR. They took
over all the property and expelled the former Greek Catholic monks
and nuns. A large number of these monks and nuns were. arrested at
the same time for antistate activity and sent to forced labor camps
in Siberia. The Soviet monks and nuns wore the customary black
habits. They worked on the monastery fields and farms, supporting
themselves in this way and paying taxes to the state.. Otherwise,
they were free to perform and attend religious services in their
churches as it pleased them. The-same happened to the convent in
Uzhgorod, the'monastery in Vel Berezn4, and monasteries in several
other places. L
7. A certain number of churches of all denominations were closed in
1947 and the years following. This was done in villages where there
were two or more churches of the same faith. Normally only one was
left for each religious group and the others were closed and made
into libraries, clubs, and such. No Christian churches, however,
were closed in Mukachevo or Uzhgorod.
A special attitude was taken toward the Jewish faith. Immediately
after the incorporation of the Carpatho-Ukraine into the USSR, the
Soviet authorities launched a strong persecution campaign against
Jews and especially against Jewish rabbis. Several court proceedings
were staged in which Jewish synagogues were presented as meeting
places for anti-Soviet activities and the rabbis as Western spies
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and saboteurs. Normally, such court proceedings ended with the
arrest of the errabbi and closing down of the synagogue. Finally,
?nly-one synagogue remained in Mukachevo, and in 1950 even this one
was closed. Prior to 19+79 there.were seven synagogues in Mukachevo.
9. In June 1952,Mukachevo had six Ortho Catholic
Prote.sta t church clergymen 25X1
7 were
in Mukachevo at that time
about Almost every village had a church and a pries The
Sovietization of the Greek Catholic Church in the Carpatho-Ukraine
did not affect. the number of churchgoers in rural areas. In the
villages and kolkhozy the people continued to-attend church as before.
A definite drop in the number of churchgoers could be noticed in
urban areas, partly because of the general dislike of the people for
the new Soviet-type priesthood and partly because of the pressure
to which the.Greek Catholic Church was subjected to join the Russian
Orthodox Church. There were still a rather large,, number of church-
goers in cities, and religious services of all recognized denomina-
tions were fairly well attended. As distinct from the USSR proper,
where mostly only old people go to church, quite a number of middle
aged and young people in the Carpatho-Ukraine still attended church
services.
10. Religious contributions as such were put on a purely voluntary basis.
Maintenance of churches was done from co lections conducted Burin
is s 25X1
Annex:
A. Estimated Percentage Breakdown of Population in the Carpatho-
Ukraine by Religious Affiliation up to 19+7
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-5.
Estimated.Percentage Breakdown of Population in the Carpatho-Ukraine by Religious Affiliation up to 1947
City
of Kukachevo
65% - 70%
City
of Uzhgorod
84
Rural area of
Qkrug
Qkrug
Mukachevo and
(Rayon)
(Rayon)
Uzhgorod
Ber ovo
(bast
Protestant
15%
10%- 15%
8%- 101%..
5%
90%
10%r
2%
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