Orientales omnes Ecclesias
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''Orientales omnes Ecclesias'' (December 23, 1945) is an
encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
of
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
to the faithful of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...
. It commemorates the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
Union of Brest The Union of Brest (; ; ; ) was the 1595–96 decision of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church eparchies (dioceses) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to break relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church and to enter into communion with, and place i ...
. In his encyclical, Pope Pius XII explains that many trials and persecutions took place in the last three hundred and fifty years, but that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church always came out strong. He reminds of the many favours and assistances the Church received from Rome and how his papal predecessors always supported the independent culture and rite of the Oriental Church. In the last part of the encyclical, he addresses the grievances facing the Ukrainians in 1945. Aware of the persecution of the faithful and expecting even more, he writes: * We know that grievous snares are being set for your faith. We have reason to fear, that in the near future still greater hardships will befall those who refuse to betray their sacred religious allegiance.
''Orientales omnes Ecclesias'', 62


Encyclical background

While most Oriental Christians belong to an
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
, some, like the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the
Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Cath ...
, are united with Rome, which allowed them to keep their own Oriental liturgy and Church laws. The Ruthenian Catholic Church is located in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Ruthenian Catholics call themselves
Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic languages, East Slavi ...
. They are closely related to the Ukrainians and speak a dialect of the same language. The traditional Rusyn homeland extends into northeast Slovakia and the Lemko region of southeast Poland. Until 1922, the area was largely a part of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. After becoming Polish, which follows the
Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
,
Polonisation Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя ...
and significant problems developed for all Orthodox.
Alberto Giovannetti Alberto Giovannetti (1913 – 1989) was an Italian priest of the Catholic Church who worked in the Roman Curia and served as the first Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations from 1964 to 1973. Biography Alberto Giovannetti was b ...
, ''Pio XII parla alla Chiesa del Silenzio'', Editrice Ancona, Milano, 1959; German Translation, ''Der Papst spricht zur Kirche des Schweigens'', Paulus Verlag, Recklinghausen, 1959, p. 112.
Some Ruthenians, resisting Polonisation, felt deserted by the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
and returned to the Orthodox Church. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in 1945,
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
n areas became part of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
which exerted pressure, on the Ruthenians and other Ukrainians united with Rome, to sever relations and join the Orthodox Church headed by the
Patriarch of Moscow The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' (russian: Патриарх Московский и всея Руси, translit=Patriarkh Moskovskij i vseja Rusi), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the official title of the Bishop of Mo ...
. It was claimed that (1) the union with Rome was a Polish conspiracy to dominate and wipe out the culture of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; (2) orthodox faithful and priests united to Rome had to suffer under Polish bishops of the Latin Rite and Polonisation; (3) but now they are liberated by the Soviet Army under the leadership of Marshal
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
and therefore continued ties to Rome are no longer necessary. The new Patriarch Alexius I called on Catholics for a separation from Rome: * Liberate yourself! You must break the Vatican chains which throw you into the abyss of error, darkness and spiritual decay. Hurry, return to your true mother, the Russian Orthodox Church! Pope Pius XII answered: "Who does not know that Patriarch Alexius I, recently elected by the dissident bishops of Russia, openly exalts and preaches defection from the Catholic Church in a letter lately addressed to the Ruthenian Church, a letter which contributes not a little to the persecution?" He mentions the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
proclamation that religious persecution will never happen again: "This had given us hope that peace and true liberty would be granted everywhere to the Catholic Church, the more so since the Church has always taught, and teaches, that obedience to the ordinances of the lawfully established civil power, within the sphere and bounds of its authority, is a duty of conscience. But, unfortunately, the events we have mentioned have grievously and bitterly weakened, have almost destroyed, our hope and confidence so far as the lands of the Ruthenians are concerned.


Persecution

The Pope knew not only about the attempts to separate the United Churches from Rome. He also was aware that, in months preceding the encyclical, all Catholic bishops of the Ukrainian Church had been arrested, including
Josyf Slipyj Josyf Slipyi ( uk, Йосиф Сліпий, born as uk, Йосиф Коберницький-Дичковський, translit=Yosyf Kobernyts'kyy-Dychkovs'kyy; 17 February 1892 – 7 September 1984) was a Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek ...
, Gregory Chomysyn, John Laysevkyi, Nicolas Carneckyi and Josaphat Kocylovskyi. Some, including Bishop Nicetas Budka, perished in
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
.Giovannetti 131. Subjected to
Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
Show Trials A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...
, they all received severe sentencing. The remaining leaders of the hierarchies and the heads of all seminaries and Episcopal offices were arrested and tried in 1945 and 1946. On July 1, 1945, some three hundred priests of the United Church wrote to Molotov; they protested the arrest of all bishops and large parts of the Catholic clergy. After the Church was thus robbed of all its leadership, a "spontaneous movement" for separation from Rome and unification with the Russian Orthodox Church developed. Mass arrests of
priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...
followed. In Lemko, some five hundred priests were jailed in 1945 or sent to a Gulag, officially called "an unknown destination because of political reasons". In order to address this problem, Pius decided to engage in a comprehensive historical review of the reunion and its advantages to the faithful in Ukraine.


History of the Reunion

The Pope repeats assurances of his predecessors that the oriental rites will be honoured. There will be no attempt by the Vatican to change or abandon them. The Pope reviews the history of the Ruthenian Church, which led to the unification with Rome. The Church was in disarray and needed reform; it experienced decadence and abuses. Towards the end of the 16th century, it became obvious that there was no hope of achieving renewal and reform of the Ruthenian Church except by restoring union with the Apostolic See. Prolonged and difficult negotiations were necessary before a unity application could be achieved in 1596.
Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...
on December 23, 1595, met the emissaries. They read the declaration of all the bishops before the illustrious assembly and then in their own name and that of the other bishops made a solemn profession of faith and promised due obedience and respect. At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the 20th century, economic conditions led to the emigration of many from Galicia to the US, Canada and South America.
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
feared that these emigrants may lose heir religious identity, and in 1907 he appointed a bishop with special faculties for them.''Orientales omnes Ecclesias'' 23. Later on, since the number and the needs of these Catholics were increasing, a special ordinary bishop was appointed for Galician Catholics in the United States and another in Canada besides the ordinary bishop, for the faithful of this rite who had emigrated from
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, Russia, Hungary or
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.


After the encyclical

From 1945 to 1958, six Ukrainian bishops were murdered, sentenced to death or died in the Gulag. In 1949, Pope Pius made
Josyf Slipyj Josyf Slipyi ( uk, Йосиф Сліпий, born as uk, Йосиф Коберницький-Дичковський, translit=Yosyf Kobernyts'kyy-Dychkovs'kyy; 17 February 1892 – 7 September 1984) was a Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek ...
cardinal
in pectore ''In pectore'' (Latin for "in the breast/heart") is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals wit ...
, that is, for his own safety it remained a secret. In 1957, he congratulated him on the 40th anniversary of his priesthood. But Slipyj remained jailed until 1963. The Ruthenian Church continued to suffer. The Soviet authorities initiated persecution of the Ruthenian Church in the newly acquired region. In 1946 the Uzhorod seminary was closed. In 1949 the Ruthenian Catholic Church was integrated into the Russian Orthodox Church. Rusyns on the other side of the Czechoslovak border were also forced to become Orthodox, while those in the Polish Lemko region were deported en masse in 1947 either to the Soviet Union or to other parts of Poland.


Quotations

* In these heavy calamities, where human help seems to be of no avail, nothing remains, venerable brethren, but earnestly to implore the most merciful God, who "will do justice to the needy and will avenge the poor," that of his loving kindness he would himself calm this terrible storm and at length bring it to an end.''Orientales omnes Ecclesias'' 59. * In this sad and anxious state of affairs our fatherly heart goes out especially to those who are so harshly and bitterly oppressed by it, and first of all to you, venerable brothers, the bishops of the Ruthenian people. Great as are the trials which afflict you, you are more burdened with anxiety for the safety of your flocks than for the injuries and sufferings inflicted upon yourselves, in accordance with the words: "the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep."''Orientales omnes Ecclesias'' 60. * In bonds as you are, and separated from your sons, it is not in your power to give them instruction in our holy religion, but your very bonds more fully and profoundly proclaim and preach Christ.


References

;Sources * Translated in * Richard Cardinal Cushing, Pope Pius XII, St. Paul Editions, Boston, 1959 *
Alberto Giovannetti Alberto Giovannetti (1913 – 1989) was an Italian priest of the Catholic Church who worked in the Roman Curia and served as the first Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations from 1964 to 1973. Biography Alberto Giovannetti was b ...
, Pio XII parla alla Chiesa del Silenzio, Editrice Ancona, Milano, 1959, German Translation, Der Papst spricht zur Kirche des Schweigens,Paulus Verlag, Recklinghausen, 1959 * Jan Olav Smit, Pope Pius XII, London Burns Oates & Washbourne LTD, 1951 * Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Roma, Vaticano, 1939,1951 {{Pope Pius XII, state=collapsed History of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Encyclicals of Pope Pius XII Persecution of Catholics during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII December 1945 events 1945 in Christianity