THE ROLE OF FR. АUGUSTYN (АUGUST) MEDNIS IN THE PRESERVATION OF THE CATHOLIC TRADITION DURING THE SOVIET AUTHORITY AND THE RESTORATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH UNDER INDEPENDENT UKRAINE

Abstract

The process of the restoration of the Roman Catholic Church in the last years of the existence of the USSR and during the formation of Ukrainian independence remains a poorly covered issue in modern historiography. Purpose of the study is to investigate and analyze the activities of Fr. Augustine Mednis during the totalitarian and antireligious regime of the Soviet government and during the revival of the Roman Catholic Church in Independent Ukraine. The methodology of the study is based on the principles of historicism, objectivism and scientificity. The generalhistorical methods used in the work include historical-comparative and system-structural methods. The scientific novelty is based on the fact that the study for the first time in the national literature analyzes the activities of the priest of the Roman Catholic Church Fr. Augustine Mednis, who through his pastoral work supported the religious stability of the laity during the Soviet regime and actively contributed to the revival of the Church, the preservation of historical and cultural monuments during the Independent Ukraine. For the first time, recorded memories of Fr. Augustine Mednis then presented them in the source database of the publication. The support and development of the Roman Catholic Church has become one of the most difficult challenges for priests working during a totalitarian communist regime. Highlighting the figure of Fr. Augustyn Mednis, a native of Lithuania, it is worth noting the help he provided to the faithful in the Lviv and Volyn region. He managed to perform pastoral duties and provide the necessary support to the laity, simultaneously serve several parishes, achieved the restoration of churches, participated in the first postwar Lviv Archdiocesan Synod and carried out active work to preserve and restore cultural heritage sites. One of the achievements of Fr. Augustine Mednis, we can highlight the initiative and formation of the Lutsk Diocesan Museum, the funds of which were developed and staffed by the priest himself.