Explaining Ukraine Why the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is unique - with Natalia Shlikhta
Nov 28, 2025
Natalia Shlikhta, a historian and expert on Ukrainian cultural history, discusses the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church's unique role in bridging Eastern and Western Christianity. She highlights its historical significance in shaping Ukrainian national identity and its cultural resilience during the Soviet era. The conversation explores the church's dual survival tactics, including the underground 'catacomb church,' and emphasizes the legacy of influential leaders like Metropolitan Sheptytsky, who fostered unity and social engagement.
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Bridge Between East And West
- The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church presents itself as both a national and a global church, pursuing Christian unity between East and West.
- Its identity centers on combining Eastern rites with communion with Rome as part of a broader search for Christian unity.
Origins In Councils And Crisis
- The Union (Brest 1596) arose from long-standing papal efforts to restore Christian unity and from the crisis of Orthodoxy after Constantinople's fall.
- Early Ukrainian hierarchs actively engaged in councils like Florence but the Unia initially found little popular support.
Tradition Blocks Rapid Change
- Tradition shapes religious acceptance; changing rites threatened daily religious routines and met resistance.
- Clergy hoped union would raise their social status while preserving Eastern ritual, but popular uptake remained limited.