Educational activity of the clergy of Galicia: historical excursion

Abstract

The Greek Catholic Church has played
an important role in the history of the
Ukrainian people. In the context of the
development of modern Ukrainian
society and the national system of
education and upbringing, the aspects of
the educational activity of the clergy
considered by us are especially relevant,
because in the XIX - first third of the XX
century religious educators managed to
lay the theoretical and methodological
foundations of national education and
implement the basic provisions of the
educational doctrine of the church.
The religiosity of the Ukrainian people
was the dominant of the national
organism. It was reflected in various
manifestations of the nation's culture.
Disseminating education among the
Ukrainian people, thus strengthening the
national consciousness of the people, the
Greek Catholic clergy began to play the
role not only of the spiritual, but also, to a
large extent, the political elite of the
Ukrainians of Galicia. During this period,
priests actively worked with the people,
forming the infrastructure of the mass
populist movement. The cultural and
educational program of the clergy
included the publication of scientific,
ecclesiastical, school, and educational
and moral literature, the organization of
cultural leisure for various segments of
Ukrainian society, the provision of
patronage to low-income youth for
education, and the maintenance of the
bursa. J. Holovatsky, V. Barvinsky, A.
Petrushevych, I. Sharanevych and
others created a number of school
textbooks and basic historical research,
which contributed to the development of
theoretical foundations of national
schooling and education.