Kozaczyzna wobec prawosławia w dobie hetmaństwa Piotra Konaszewicza-Sahajdacznego — u źródeł kształtowania się kozackiej świadomości narodowej

Abstract

The Cossacks and the Orthodox Church during the hetmancy of Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny — the sources of the Cossacks national consciousness In the article the author examines the attitude of the Cossacks towards the Orthodox Church during the hetmancy of Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny. The introductory part of the article focuses on the considerations of the date on which the Cossacks joined the fight for the rights and freedoms of the Orthodox Church. The main purpose of these considerations is to indicate the moment from which the decision to participate in this fight became an independent, well- thought-out act. Therefore, it seems reasonable to distinguish two periods in the contacts between Zaporizhia and the Orthodox Church, and to demonstrate the differences between them, that is different degree of Cossack activity in engaging in the matters of faith. Consequently, the author describes the religious activity of the Cossacks from the end of the 1590s to the protest of 1610, and from the mid-1610s to 1622, including the moment when Sahaidachny was elected Hetman of the Cossacks. The paper proper focuses on presenting the role of the religious factor in the attitude of the Cossacks, from 1620, through the period of the Khotyn War, until the death of their leader. The author draws attention to the fact that the period of Sahaidachny hetmancy was extremely important for the process of shaping the Cossack national consciousness, in which a very important element was the Cossacks’ involvement in the fight for the rights and freedoms of the Orthodox Church.