THE IDEAS OF THE SECOND ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF THE VATICAN: THE UNITY OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

INTRODUCTION The need for a reflection on the ideas of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) revealed contradictory processes occurring in Catholicism: the conflict between religion and culture and, at the same time, the attempt to find a compromise, an optimal solution to the question of the place and role of religion in the modern world. The Second Vatican Council in Catholic and inter-denominational context is a phenomenon not only of theological but also of historical and cultural content and significance. In particular, the very fact and results of the Council led to changes in the internal and foreign policy of the Roman Catholic Church in the system of Church-layman relations, Church-State, ChurchChurch, a new stage in the development of the UGCC in exile, and eventually in the independent Ukraine, as well as major shifts in the promotion of freedom of religion and faith. The problem of enculturation is linked with the problem of dialogue between the Churches, Church and culture, the mutual influence of religion on culture and culture on religion as a process of inclusion of an individual to culture, assimilation of existing habits, norms and patterns of behavior inherent in this culture. The presence of the Ukrainian delegation at the Council, headed by J. Slipyi, his two-hour report on the role and significance of the church, the grievances suffered by laymen and clergy in the USSR on the basis of faith contributed to preserving the identity of Ukrainians at home and in the diaspora. These questions, in their content, were a manifestation of the enculturation in the system of relations between Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic world, also augmenting the Council a cultural, social and political meaning and sound. The Metropolitan’s report drew the attention of the Catholic world to understanding the problems of the UGCC in the postwar period in the underground in the USSR and in the Diaspora, and greatly contributed to its revival in 1989 in Ukraine. Today, the problem under study is particularly relevant for the Ukrainian community, as contemporary reading of the materials 1 and analysis of the Council’s ideas help to comprehend religious ideals and values in the realities