Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chełm in 1863: Structure, Institutions and Clergy

The purpose of the paper is presentation of selected issues concerning the organisational structure, institutions, and clergy of the Uniate Eparchy of Chełm. Scientific novelty. The basis of the presented study is the information contained in the schematism intended for the year 1863. The print is entitled ‘List of the clergy of the Chełm Eparchy of the Greek Catholic Rite for the year 1863’. It was published in Warsaw in 1864. Eleven years later (1875), the eparchy ceased to exist as a result of decisions made by Tsar Alexander II and the Holy Ruling Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Conclusions. The eparchy, and its clergy, have already produced several important publications. Monographs and articles by scholars associated with the university centres of Lublin (the Catholic University of Lublin and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University) are good examples. Witold Kołbuk, Janusz Kania, Andrzej Gil, Jan Lewandowski and Artur Korbowicz should be mentioned here above all. Some of the above-mentioned authors used, to a greater or lesser extent, the list of the clergy of 1863 (schematism), when compiling their works. Nevertheless, the document has not received a separate study. Because of the cognitive value of the document, it has been decided to introduce it into scientific circulation in the form of this study. Information obtained from the 1863 schema has been supplemented or verified on the basis of archival documents produced by the Greek-Catholic Consistory of Chełm, stored in the State Archive in Lublin. The whole is supplemented by Polish and, to a lesser extent, Ukrainian and Russian studies. This publication presents the condition of the Uniate Eparchy of Chełm in 1863. As a result of the conducted analyses, it seemed that at the beginning of the 1860s the eparchy remained in good shape and position. There were several important elements to this picture. First, almost all consistory offices were staffed. Secondly, diocesan institutions carried out the tasks entrusted to them. Finally, thirdly, the authorities, despite the lack of clergy, managed to provide pastoral care to the faithful in all existing parishes. The reality, however, was less optimistic. The legal situation of the eparchy at that time gradually deteriorated. Practically, the fate of the eparchy was sealed after the January Uprising. In the post-uprising period, the tsarist authorities introduced a number of changes that disrupted the historically shaped order. As a result, the Uniate bishopric with its capital in Chełm was liquidated after almost 280 years of functioning.