The Movement of Podillia Clergy for Ukrainization of the Orthodox Church (Second Half of the Nineteenth - Early of the Twentieth Century)

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The Movement of Podillia Clergy for Ukrainization of the Orthodox Church (Second Half of the Nineteenth - Early of the Twentieth Century)

Oleksii Koshel

Candidate of Historical Sciences (Ph. D. in History), Doctoral Student, Yu. Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University (Chernivtsi, Ukraine).

Abstract. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Orthodox clergy of Podillia eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church began the process of Ukrainization of church life, translation of sermons and, especially, Holy Scripture into the native language, and the revival of national traditions in the church sphere. Two periods of such activity have been considered in the article: the attempts to translate Holy Scripture, prayers and sermons into Ukrainian in the middle of the nineteenth century and in 1905-1912, on the example of the national-spiritual selfless devotion of Archpriest Vasyl Hrechulevych, Archbishop Parfenii (Pamfil Levytskyi) and other figures. Little-known facts of the attempts to translate Holy Scripture in 1862 by Volodymyr Rodnevych, a graduate of Podillia Theological Seminary, have been elucidated. The aim is to analyze and generalize the process of spreading in the second half of the nineteenth - early twentieth centuries among the Orthodox clergy of Ukrainian eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), the movement, aimed at Ukrainization of church life, translation of Holy Scripture and sermons into Ukrainian. During the study, the methods of comparison, logical analysis, synthesis and generalization were used. The scientific novelty of the article is that due to the introduction of little-known archival materials into scientific circulation, in particular from the Russian State Historical Archive, the role of the Orthodox Podillia clergy in Ukrainization of the church in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries has been considered in detail. It is affirmed that their activities were closely connected with the personalities of the Ukrainian national revival. In particular, the cooperation with M. Kostomarov and P. Kulish on publishing sermons of V. Hrechulevych in Ukrainian, and also joint work on editing the translation of Holy Scripture into Ukrainian of the commission headed by Bishop Parfenii together with O. Levytskyi, S. Yefremov, B. Hrinchenko, P. Zhytetskyi have been considered. Little-known facts about the attempt to translate Holy Scripture by V. Rodnevych in 1862 have been highlighted, as well as other evidence of conducting divine services in Ukrainian. It has been stated in the conclusions that the process of Ukrainization of church life was initiated by patriotic representatives of Podillia clergy in the middle of the nineteenth century and was spread to other Ukrainian eparchies of the ROC. The activity of the clergy and its close cooperation with the personalities of the national and cultural educational movement initiated and deepened the process of Ukrainization of church life, which was one of the grounds for founding the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in 1919. The publication of Holy Scripture in the Ukrainian language was a significant achievement of the Ukrainian nation-formation and strengthened the movement for Ukrainization of church, in particular the introduction of teaching Ukrainian history and literature in theological seminaries.

Keywords: Hrechulevych, Morachevskyi, Rodnevych, Parfenii (Levytskyi), Holy Scripture, Ukrainization of the church, Orthodoxy.

Олексій Кошель кандидат історичних наук, докторант, Чернівецький національний університет ім. Ю. Федьковича (Чернівці, Україна),

Рух духівництва Поділля за українізацію православної церкви (друга половина ХІХ - початок ХХ ст.)

Анотація. У середині ХІХ ст. православне духівництво Подільської єпархії Російської православної церкви розпочало процес українізації церковного життя, перекладу проповідей та, особливо, Св. Письма рідною мовою, відродження національних традицій у церковній сфері. Розглядаються два етапи такої діяльності: у середині XIX ст. спроби перекладів українською мовою Св. Письма, молитов і проповідей та в 1905-1912 рр., на прикладі національно-духовного подвижництва протоієрея Василя Гречулевича, архієпископа Парфенія (Памфіла Левицького) та інших діячів. Висвітлюються маловідомі факти спроб перекладу в 1862 р. Св. Письма випускником Подільської духовної семінарії Володимиром Родневичем. Метою є аналіз та узагальнення процесу розгортання у середовищі духівництва українських єпархій РПЦ у другій половині ХІХ - на початку ХХ ст. руху, спрямованого на українізацію церковного життя, перекладу Св. Письма та проповідей рідною мовою. Під час студіювання здійснювалося комплексне використання методів порівняння, логічного аналізу, синтезу та узагальнення. Наукова новизна. Завдяки введенню в науковий обіг маловідомих архівних матеріалів, зокрема з Російського державного історичного архіву, детально розглядається роль подільського духівництва в українізації церкви у другій половині ХІХ - на початку ХХ ст. Стверджується, що ця діяльність була тісно пов'язана з представниками українського національного відродження. Зокрема розглядається співпраця з М. Костомаровим і П. Кулішем щодо видання проповідей українською мовою В. Гречулевича, спільна робота з редагування перекладу Св. Письма українською мовою комісії на чолі з єпископом Парфенієм разом із О. Левицьким, С. Єфремовим, Б. Грінченком, П. Житецьким. Висвітлено маловідомі факти щодо спроби перекладу Св. Письма В. Родневичем у 1862 р., а також інші свідчення проведення богослужінь українською мовою. У висновках констатується, що процес українізації церковного життя був започаткований патріотично налаштованими представниками подільського духівництва у середині ХІХ ст. та поширений на інші українські єпархії РПЦ. Діяльність священства і його тісна співпраця з представниками національно-культурницького руху започаткувала та поглибила процес українізації церковного життя, що було одним із підґрунть заснування в 1919 р. Української автокефальної православної церкви. Видання Св. Письма українською мовою стало значним здобутком націєтворення та посилило рух за українізацію церкви, зокрема запровадження викладання в духовних семінаріях української історії та літератури.

Ключові слова: Гречулевич, Морачевський, Родневич, Парфеній (Левицький), Св. Письмо, українізація церкви, православ'я.

An important manifestation of the national identity revival in the second half of the nineteenth -- early twentieth century were active efforts of the Ukrainian eparchies' clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to obtain permission from the imperial authorities and the Holy Synod to preach in Ukrainian and begin translating Holy Scripture. The movement of patriotic clergy for Ukrainization of the Orthodox Church began in Podillia eparchy and spread to other Ukrainian eparchies of the ROC.

The historiography of this process was laid down in the creative heritage of personalities of the national and cultural revival in the second half of the nineteenth -- early twentieth centuries by V. Antonovych, M. Hrushevskyi, P. Zhytetskyi and others who not only researched the history of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy, but also personally supported the progressive clergy and contributed to their scientific studies. Among the tasks of the investigation, is studying a number of works by scientists and religion scholars of the Ukrainian western emigration in the 1920s-1880s. During the Soviet period, I. Ohiienko, V. Lypkivskyi, I. Vlasovskyi, N. Polonska-Vasylenko Антонович В.Б. Монографии по истории Западной и Юго-Западной России. -- К., 1885. -- 351 с.; Грушевський М.С. З історії релігійної думки на Україні. -- Л., 1925. -- 160 с.; Житецкий П.И. О переводах Евангелия на малорусский язык. -- Санкт-Петербург, 1906. -- 120 с. Іларіон, митр. Українська церква: Нариси з історії Української православної церкви. -- Т.1--2. -- Вінніпеґ, 1982. -- 363 с.; Липківський В. Історія Української православної церкви. Розділ 7: Відродження Української церкви. -- Вінніпеґ, 1961. -- 181 с.; Власовський І. Нарис історії Української православної церкви у 4 т., 5 кн. -- Т.3: Православна церква українського народу в складі Російської православної церкви. -- К., 1998. -- 359 с.; Полонська-Василенко Н. Історичні підвалини УАПЦ. -- Мюнхен, 1964. -- 126 с. and others undertook studying and popularizing the spiritual national revival in Ukraine of the time under investigation. However, for all its importance, their work lacked the source base, which was contained in archives and libraries of the USSR.

During the years of Ukraine's independence, studies have appeared working out in detail and taking into account the peculiarities of arising the opposition movement in the ROC during the described period; a considerable amount of facts was introduced and attempts were made to systematize them (by V. Rozhko, A. Zinchenko, Yu. Khytrovska, L. Bazhenov, N. Shyp, M. Kolodnyi, H. Nadtoka Рожко В.Є. Волинська духовна семінарія (1796--2004 рр.): історичний нарис. -- Луцьк, 2004. -- 255 с.; Зінченко А.Л. Благовістя національного духу (Українська церква на Поділлі в першій третині ХХ ст.). -- К., 1993. -- 256 с.; Хитровська Ю.В. Участь християнських конфесій у суспільно-політичному житті Правобережної України наприкінці XVIII -- на початку ХХ ст.). -- К., 2011. -- 471 с.; Баженов Л.В. Історичне краєзнавство Правобережної України ХІХ -- на початку ХХ ст.: Становлення. Історіографія. Біобібліографія. -- Хмельницький, 1995. -- 255 с.; Шип Н.А. Церковно-православний рух в Україні (поч. ХХ ст.). -- К., 1995. -- 66 с.; Колодний А.М. Україна в її релігійних виявах. -- Л., 2005. -- 336 с.; Надтока Г.М. Православна церква в Україні 1900--1917 рр.: соціально-релігійний аспект. -- К., 1998. -- 271 с., etc.). The generalized works are also important, as they consider the activities of representatives of Podillia Orthodox clergy in the early twentieth century (Yu. Blazhevych, A. Opria Блажевич Ю.І. Нариси історії православ'я Поділля-Хмельниччини. -- Хмельницький, 2017. -- 337 с.; Опря А.В. Православне духовенство в реформаційному та національно-визвольному русі України (1900 -- лютий 1917 рр.). -- Кам'янець-Подільський, 2008. -- 191 с., etc.).

The research is also based on archives materials of the Russian State Historical Archives and the State Archives of Khmelnytskyi region, in particular, about the work of the commission on editing Holy Scripture under the leadership of Bishop of Podillia Parfenii (Levytskyi). Despite a number of published scientific papers, devoted to the translation of Holy Scripture into Ukrainian, at present there is no scientific research on Bishop Parfenii.

Another outstanding person whose activity requires further study is Archpriest of Podillia Vasyl Hrechulevych (1791--1870), who, contrary to the orders of the official authorities and the eparchy leadership, was almost the only one among the representatives of the Ukrainian eparchies of the ROC to preach exclusively in Ukrainian Баженов Л.В. Подолянин Василь Гречулевич // Матеріали IX Подільської історико-краєзнавчої конференції. -- Кам'янець-Подільський, 1995. -- С.208--211..

After graduating from Kamianets-Podilskyi Orthodox Theological Seminary in 1820, V. Hrechulevych was ordained a priest and for half a century held the position of Rector at St. Michael's parish in the village of Hannopil of Haisyn district Протоиерей Василий Яковлевич Гречулевич: Некролог // Подольские епархиальные ведомости. -- 1870. -- №17. - 1 сентября. - С.416-417.. He was active in protecting peasants from oppression, defended them in courts. He was also involved in the work of various commissions for the liberation of serfs and in conducting the agrarian reform Кошель О.М. За віру православну -- за віру українську! (Подільський просвітитель XIX ст. протоієрей Василь Гречулевич) // Наукові праці Кам'янець-Подільського державного педагогічного університету: Історичні науки. - Т.3(5). - Кам'янець-Подільський, 1999. - С.147-149.. At the same time, he translated sermons into Ukrainian to make them more accessible to ordinary people.

In 1849, a collection of “Sermons in the Little Russian Language of Archpriest and Cavalier Vasyl Hrechulevych” Проповеди на малороссийском языке протоиерея и кавалера Василия Гречулевича. - Санкт-Петербург, 1849. - 60 с. was published in St. Petersburg, which became an important contribution to the beginning and development of the Ukrainization of spiritual life. In the preface to the “Sermons”, V. Hrechulevych expressed his position as to the necessity of introducing the Ukrainian language in divine services: “For sermon's success, it is most important and expedient for us to speak to people in the language, which is completely understandable to them and close to the heart, native [...] Now the ministers of God' Word, receiving education in seminaries and academies, and being accustomed there to the language of Moscow, then cannot or do not want to get out of the habit of their usual way of expression [...] preach the Word of God to the people in the language, which is not entirely clear to them, or at least little comprehensible, despising the native language spoken by millions of Orthodox Christians [.] The native language worshipers must be made obligatory for many Orthodox pastors” Там же. - С.2-3..

The popularity and rapid spreading of the collection “Sermons” in the Ukrainian eparchies of the ROC resulted in its re-publication in 1857. Besides, a year earlier, his sermons “Catechetical Conversations as a Symbol of Faith and Lord's Prayer” were published in Ukrainian in St. Petersburg in 1852 and 1859 -- “Catechetical Conversations on 9 Evangelical Blesses” and “Conversations on Seven Sacraments of Salvation” were also published.

The appearance of these publications gave rise to widespread support from representatives of the Ukrainian national revival. M. Kostomarov and P. Kulish assisted in publishing “Sermons” of V. Hrechulevych. O. Konyskyi, V. Bidnov, O. Lototskyi, Yu. Sitsinskyi Кониський О. В.Гречулевич // Варта: літературний збірник. - Стрий, 1887. - C.110-112; Біднов В. До 50-річчя смерті В.Гречулевича // Наш шлях (Кам'янець на Поділлі). - 1920. - №116-117; Лотоцький О. Василь Гречулевич // Зоря (Львів). - 1893. - №19. - С.382-383; Державний архів Хмельницької обл. (далі - ДАХмО). - Ф.Р-3333. - Оп.1. - Спр.18. - 117 арк. Шип Н. Чубинський Павло Платонович - поборник етнонаціональних прагнень українців: Україна в етнокультурному вимірі століть. - К., 2014. - С.36. and others highly estimated his works. In 1860, P. Chubynskyi read V. Hrechulevych's “Sermons” in Boryspil parish church in Kyiv region, and by his example encouraged two priests to preach in the popular language.

In general, the activity and work of Archpriest V. Hrechulevych became the basis for the development of the movement for Ukranization of church life, further work on translations and editions of sermons and Holy Scripture and the development of the national and spiritual revival. It is significant that his works were actively used during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917--1921. In particular, in 1917, V. Hrechulevych's grandson, Oleksandr, republished the first book of his grandfather's “Sermons” Проповеди на украинском языке протоиерея В.Я.Гречулевича. - Полтава, 1917. - 78 с..

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the task of transition from translations of sermons into Ukrainian to translations of the Bible and its component canonical works (Gospels, Apostolic Lections, etc.) was on the agenda of the Ukrainian spiritual revival. In general, during the second half of the nineteenth -- early twentieth centuries, four translations of the Gospels into Ukrainian were made. The earliest one was an incomplete translation of the Gospels of Matthew and John, which was made at the beginning of the 1840s in Galicia by the religious and public figure M. Shashkevych. This publication was known only to a small number of specialists and was not distributed in the Dnieper region of Ukraine.

In the early 1860s, a translation of the Gospel was prepared for publication by P. Morachevskyi, the inspector of Nizhyn Lyceum of Prince O.Bezborodko. This writer and pedagogue first worked as a teacher of Russian literature in Sumy, later in Lutsk Nobles School, and for the longest time, in 1835--1849, in Kamianets-Podilskyi All-Boys Gymnasia, where he was an inspector from 1843.

During his stay in Podillia, P. Morachevskyi got acquainted with the collection of “Sermons” by V. Hrechulevych and, to a large extent, under his influence began work on the translation of Holy Scripture Науменко В.П. С.Морачевский и его литературная деятельность // Киевская старина. -- 1902. -- №11/12. -- С.171-186..

He translated all four Gospels of the Bible till 1861, and later New Testament works of the Bible into Ukrainian: “Acts of the Apostles”, “Apocalypse or Revelation of John the Divine”, “Psalter”, and others. In the autumn of 1860, P. Morachevskyi sent translations of the Gospels of Matthew and John to Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Isidor with a request to bless his work for publication. In his letter to the Metropolitan, the writer noted that “Ukraine, the language of which is spoken by 12 million of Orthodox Christians, still does not have even the Holy Gospel in its language, while other Christian nations have the entire Bible in their native language” Российский государственный исторический архив (РГИА). -- Ф.796. -- Оп.186. -- Д.5780. -- Л.4..

In a letter dated November 14, 1861, Metropolitan Isidor informed P. Morachevskyi of the refusal to publish the Ukrainian translation of the Gospel: “After a long meeting with the members of the Holy Synod, I inform you that the translation of the Gospel made by you or anyone else cannot be allowed to be printed” Там же. -- Л.5.. Nevertheless, he continued to work on the translation of the Gospel and sent a revised version to St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences with a request that, if it is accepted, he asked to assist in obtaining permission to print it Там же. -- Л.9..

P. Morachevskyi's translation received positive comments from well-known specialists, members of the Academy I. Sreznevskyi, O. Vostokov, O. Nykytenko. In particular, in their review, they remarked that “the Ukrainian language in this translation passes examination successfully and rejects all doubts concerning expressing by it high ideas of the mind and high feelings of the heart” Там же. -- Л.19.. Such assessment became the reason for St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences' request to the Holy Synod as to the permission to publish the translation.

However, political considerations played a considerably larger role than the approving reviews of prominent scholars and several members of the Orthodox clergy. In their response dated March 17, 1863, the Governor-General of Kyiv, Podillia, and Volyn, M. Annenkov, and the Chief of gendarmes V. Dolgoruky, denied the possibility of publishing the Gospel in Ukrainian. In particular, the Governor-General stated that the desire to translate Holy Scripture into Ukrainian could not be justified either by the peculiarity of the language or the need of the people, and was purely political in nature, therefore, it could not be satisfied. These conclusions were approved by Alexander II, and on March 27, 1863, the Chief of gendarmes was authorized to inform of the Synod's decision dated July 3 of that year about the order to all ecclesiastical and censorship committees to suspend in general the printing of religious publications in Ukrainian entirely Там же. - Л.43об..

Archive documents show that in the early 1860s there were also other attempts to translate Holy Scripture into Ukrainian. In August 1862, Volodymyr Rodnevych, a graduate of Podillia Theological Seminary, addressed the Archbishop of Podillia and Bratslav with a letter, pointing out the necessity of teaching the Word of God in the Ukrainian language. In particular, V.Rodnevych wrote that “after graduating from Podillia Theological Seminary in 1861 and living in the village, among common, illiterate people, during this time I paid my attention to their everyday life [...] As a spiritual pupil, I paid special attention to their moral and religious condition and after careful study I was convinced that, unfortunately, common people were extremely limited and underdeveloped. The reason for this is that rural people are illiterate, and they do not hear sermons of the God's Word in the Little Russian language from church pulpit, because a simple language is familiar to him, and Russian is a strange one [...] and therefore the truth is preached in the church in unfamiliar and incomprehensible language. It is obvious that in order to maintain and develop the moral and religious condition of the people of Podillia province, as the right guarantee of their happiness and prosperity of the whole State [...], it is necessary to teach the Word of God in simple popular language” ДАХмО. - Ф.315. - Оп.1. - Спр.4827. - Арк.2..

To his letter to the Archbishop of Podillia and Bratslav V. Rodnevych added the article written by him “The voice of an Orthodox Christian from Podolia about his desire to listen to the Word of God in the local Little Russian language and eight Catechetical Lections on the Bliss of God” and asked to review it by experts in the Ukrainian language -- Professor of Podillia Seminary, member of the consistory E. Struminsky or Cathedral priest P. Vertynsky Там само.. V. Rodnevych also asked to bless him for the translation of the New Testament into Ukrainian: “I humbly ask Your Grace a question for common well-being: will it not be useful and necessary for illiterate people of the rural Podillia province and others [...] to translate the New Testament of Holy Scripture into the Little Russian language [.] I humbly beg Your Grace for a blessing regarding the translation of the New Testament into the Little Russian language, which I will start working on immediately after receiving the parish” Там само. - Арк.3..

As the official authorities did not support the translation of theological works into Ukrainian, V. Rodnevych's request caused anxiety among the administration of Podillia Theological Seminary, the Holy Synod, as well as Governor of Podillia and Governor General of Kyiv. After consultations between the clergy and the secular authorities, the answer was that due to the lack of specialists it was not possible to approve the translation of the New Testament into Ukrainian, and sermons should be preached only in the Russian or Church Slavonic languages. At the same time, a decision was made to postpone the appointment of V. Rodnevych as the Rural Dean of the village parish Там само. - Арк.8..

The possibility of publishing the Bible in Ukrainian appeared only during the First Russian Revolution of 1905--1907. Under the pressure of revolutionary events, the highest secular and ecclesiastical authorities were forced to make concessions and consider publishing liturgical books in Ukrainian.

This was facilitated by a number of requests for the publication of translations, which were sent to the Holy Synod in 1905, in particular from Podillia РГИА. - Ф.796. - Оп.186. - Д.5780. - Л.22., Volyn Там же. - Л.24-28. and Kharkiv Там же. - Л.37.. The synchronicity of such appeals may indicate that it was an organized campaign to speed up the decision to publish a translation of the Gospel. The requests, in particular, pointed to not understanding of the Russian language by the local population: “Scenes of the last days of Lord Jesus Christ's earthly life, His majestic logia, parables, as well as other Sacred books remain, unfortunately, only empty sounds [...] It is too depressing that only Little Russian people are deprived of the happiness to read divine words in their native language” Там же..

After adopting on February 25, 1905 “Regulations on the abolition of existing restrictions for the publication of Holy Scripture in Ukrainian” by the Cabinet of Ministers, St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences made decision to edit it as translated by P. Morachevskyi in order to bring into line with the recommendations of the Holy Synod and the requirements of the Ukrainian philology in the early twentieth century. A commission of the Academy of Sciences in St.-Petersburg consisting of well-known Ukrainian and Russian scholars: F. Vovk, O. Rusov, F. Fortunatov, A. Shakhmatov, P. Kokovtsev, M. Slavinskyi, P. Stebnytskyi, O. Lototskyi and others began the work of editing and preparing the manuscripts of the Bible's translation for publishing Там же. - Л.46..

On May 10--18 of the same year, the Holy Synod decided “to entrust the Moscow Synod Printing House to print this translation [.] Printing was to be made after being edited by His Grace Bishop of Podillia Parfenii who was to be in charge of the Little Russian text” Там же. - Л.44.. The choice in favor of Bishop Parfenii (Levytskyi) was justified by his deep knowledge of the Bible's text, perfect command of Ukrainian and a number of foreign languages.

Bishop Parfenii not only took responsibility on himself, but also, going beyond the requirements of the Synod, established cooperation with personalities of the Ukrainian national revival and became an active participant in the movement for the church Ukrainization. Unfortunately, the historiography of the life and religious activity of this representative of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy is insignificant and is mostly limited to encyclopedic references. Instead, the activities of Bishop Parfenii were touched upon by such historians of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church abroad as I. Vlasovskyi and D. Burko Власовський І. Нарис історії Української православної церкви. -- Т.3 -- 359 с.; Бурко Д. Архієпископ Парфеній Левицький // Українська автокефальна православна церква -- вічне джерело життя. -- Саун-Бавнд- Брук, 1988. -- С.280--286. and modern Ukrainian religion scholars A. Zinchenko Зінченко А.Л. Благовістя національного духу (Українська церква на Поділлі в першій третині XX ст.). -- К., 1993. -- 256 с., Yu. Blazhevych Блажевич Ю.І. Нариси історії православ'я Поділля-Хмельниччини. -- Хмельницький, 2017. -- С.135--136., A. Starodub Стародуб А. Лев Толстой и епископ Парфений (Левицкий): К вопросу о «загадке предсмертного бегства Толстого» [Електронний ресурс]: http://krotov.info/history/20/1900/starodub_tolstoy.html, and others.

In Kamianets-Podilskyi, the Bishop organized the work of the translation commission consisting of six people who were fluent in Ukrainian, Old Slavonic, Ancient Greek, and Latin. The commission included Archpriests Yu. Sitsinskyi, K. Styrankevych, N. Bychkovskyi, Ye. Ivanytskyi, teachers of Kamianets Theological School, A. Neselovskyi, the school supervisor. In addition to the commissions headed by Bishop Parfenii in Kamianets-Podilskyi and St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, the Kyiv commission, which included O. Levytskyi, S. Yefremov, B. Hrinchenko, and P. Zhytetskyi, worked on the editing of Holy Scripture.

O. Levytskyi's words in his letter to Yu. Sitsinskyi testify to the complexity of the work during the translation: “During our translation sessions up to ten different-language texts are opened and we compare each word with them. That is why it turns out that we spent more than 10 sessions, each for 3-4 hours, to review the last ten chapters, and poor Pavlo Hnatovych (Zhytetskyi -- O.K.) got so tired that in the end he fell ill again and made corrections in the last chapter lying in bed” ДАХмО. -- Ф.Р-3333. -- Оп.1. -- Спр.18. -- Арк.61.. patriotic ukrainization clergy bible

A commission headed by Bishop Parfenii analyzed every word of P. Morachevskyi's Ukrainian translation, proof-read it, and sent galley-proofs to the Synod Printing House several times a week. In February 1906, the Gospel of St. Matthew was published in 5 000 copies, quickly distributed in Ukrainian churches and among the people, and became a landmark event of the national revival Киридон А.М. Парфеній Левицький і рух за автокефальну українську православну церкву // Вісник Київського національного університету ім. Тараса Шевченка: Серія «Історія». -- Вип.77/79. -- К., 2005. -- С.79--82.. Besides, at the beginning of April 1906, Moscow Synod Printing House published additional 20 000 copies of beautifully decorated Easter text of the Gospel of John.

During the Easter divine service on April 2, 1906, the words of Holy Scripture were read in Ukrainian in Kamianets-Podilskyi for the first time. Bishop Parfenii later said: “These were the happiest days of my life. If another sun of freedom shone on the Ukrainian people, I would then say before God: “Now you let Your servant go in peace, Master”” Там само. -- С.80..

After the publication of Holy Scripture, authoritative critics unanimously stated that the translation had been made perfectly and its language was perfect. In particular, the Ukrainian writer, translator Olena Pchilka noted that “the text of Morachevskyi's translation, as far as it is known to us, has undergone great changes, so that it would be difficult to say, who the author of the Ukrainian Gospel, edited by Rev. Parfenii and published, is [...] The text is very clear when compared with other Ukrainian translations, and even more so if it is compared with the Slavonic and Russian texts” ДАХмО. -- Ф.Р-3333. -- Оп.1. -- Спр.18. -- Арк.61зв., 62зв..

In general, with the active participation of Podillia translation commission, the Ukrainian-language Gospels of Matthew (1906), Mark (1907), Luke (1909) and John (1911) were published. On October 18, 1911, Archpriest Yu. Sitsinskyi was awarded with the Bible by the Holy Synod for his active contribution to the preparation of publishing the Four Gospels in the Ukrainian language Мошак М.І. Юхим Сіцінський -- фундатор і діяч просвітницького руху на Поділлі // Просвітницький рух на Поділлі (1906-1923). - Кам'янець-Подільський, 1996. - С.77..

During the revolution of 1905--1907, Bishop Parfenii actively supported the movement for the Ukrainization of ecclesiastical education in Podillia. On his initiative in September 1906, the Eparchial congress, held in Kamianets-Podilskyi, unanimously made decision to introduce the Ukrainian language, literature, history of the native land for teaching in Podillia Theological Seminary and Theological Schools of Podillia eparchy and to introduce the subject “Ukrainian studies” ДАХмО. - Ф.228. - Оп.1. - Спр.7648. - Арк.11-20..

In June 1907, Bishop Parfenii submitted a report to the Educational Committee of the Holy Synod, in which he pointed out the need to teach the Ukrainian language and history of the region in two senior forms of Podillia Theological Seminary. In the report, he noted that 81% of Ukrainians lived in Podillia province and that is why the clergy had to know the language, literature and history of their people: “Studying the history of the native land will increase self-awareness in priesthood candidates and determine their great role in the future as the people's pastors. In this connection [...] the Congress of Deputies of Podillia eparchy, which took place in September 1906, in its journal resolution, asked me to plead the Holy Synod for introducing the courses of Little Russian literature and history of Podillia and Ukraine in the last two forms of Podillia Theological Seminary” Там само. - Арк.1-2..

The consequence of this appeal was adopting the resolution by the Educational Committee of the Synod dated August 31, 1907, which stated: “To allow His Grace of Podillia, if he considers it possible [...] to permit the teaching of Little Russian literature, history of Podillia and Ukraine in the senior forms of Podillia Seminary as extracurricular activities and at local expense” Там само. - Арк.5..

Characterizing Bishop Parfenii and his activity on the introduction of the Ukrainian language in divine services and educational process, O.Lototskyi described the Bishop's activity in his memoirs in the following way: “A true Ukrainian, he himself encouraged the clergy in Podillia to preach in the native language, he speaks Ukrainian in the Church and outside the church during the tours of the eparchy” Лотоцький О. Сторінки минулого. Варшава, 1933. - Т.2. - 484 с..

Active Ukrainophilic activity of this ascetic became the basis for his transfer to service in Tula province. A well-known public figure, a member of the Ukrainian Central Rada (Ukrainian Central Council) V.Prykhodko described this day in his memoirs: “Seeing off the Bishop when he was leaving Podillia, to which he became very much attached and did not want to leave, made unforgettable impression. Pupils, government officials, troops, and peasants filled all the streets of Kamianets, through which the beloved Bishop was passing. A large number of carriages, carts, and people on horsebacks accompanied him further, far beyond Kamianets [...] And so Bishop Parfenii was not in Podillia any longer. Moscow has remained faithful to its traditions since the times of Hetman Kalnyshevskyi” Там само. -- Т.1. -- С.167..

The activities of Bishop of Podillia Parfenii, Archpriest V. Hrechulevych, V. Rodnevych, Yu. Sitsinskyi, and a number of other personalities of spiritual and national revival formed and strengthened the opposition movement among Orthodox eparchies of the ROC. Their spiritual and religious activities, translations, and scientific works became an example for the Orthodox clergy in other eparchies to follow and contributed to spreading the movement for the national spiritual and church revival.

An important peculiarity of this process was constant cooperation of representatives of the Orthodox clergy with the personalities of the Ukrainian national and cultural-educational movement, which was most active during the joint work on editing P. Morachevskyi's translation of the Gospels into Ukrainian. The publication of Holy Scripture became the basis for crystallizing the Ukrainian orthography, popularizing the Ukrainian language among the clergy and believers, as well as the impetus for further introducing the Ukrainian language in theological educational establishments.

The movement of the Orthodox clergy in Podillia in the second half of the nineteenth -- early twentieth centuries for Ukrainization of church life, introduction of the native language in divine services, activities for Ukrainization of theological education and restoration of national traditions in church life were a significant achievement of nation-formation and contributed to the process of founding the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in 1919.

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