THE CZECH IMMIGRATION TO VOLYN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY: RELIGIOUS FACTOR

Abstract

The article examines one of the factors that influenced the processes of settlement and life activities of the Volynian Czechs in the second half of the 19th century using materials from Ukrainian archives and historical works. The purpose of the article is to analyze the social and religious processes among immigrants-Volynian Czechs and the influence of the tsarist government and the Orthodox Church on them. The author focuses on the religious incertitude of most immigrants at the beginning of the immigration process due to their belonging to various Christian confessions or churches - Catholic, Czech Brethren, Lutheran, Evangelical, and Baptist. The analysis of research sources made it possible to determine the goals of the tsarist government policy towards the Czechsby patronizing the migration movements of Czechs and providing a number of benefits, namely the use of Czech immigrants as a counterweight to Catholic influences, manipulation of the religious beliefsand economic needs of the colonists, andusing the loyal attitude of immigrants to the tsar. Since the beginning of Czech immigration, the government, having granted the Czechs freedom of religion and supported the idea of creating the Czech-Hussite Church, contributed to its implementation,development of the Church charter, invitation of priests, etc., hoping to use the new church and its faithful as a factor in displacing Catholic attitudes in the region. The study findings argue that the Czechs could not solve the religious problem. Their uncertainty and their religious leaders’ hesitations as to choosing the confession made the creation of a new church impossible. The priests could not agree on liturgical issues, and the immigrant elite failed to convince the colonists of the need for the existence of their own national church as a pillar for preserving their national identity. As a result, the authorities and the Orthodox Church gave up the policy of protection, resorted to agitation and direct pressure through a series of restrictive laws that prohibited the acquisition of land ownership, and liquidated Hussite parishes and Czech volosts, which led to the mass adoption of Orthodoxy by Czechsand marked the beginnings of gradual russification.