KAMIANETS-PODILSKYI BASILIAN HOLY TRINITY MONASTERY IN THE SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL LIFE OF PODILLIA (XVIII – FIRST THIRD OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY)

Abstract

The article examines the activities of the Basilian monks of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Kamianets-Podilskyi. The author analyzes the situation of Basilian monasteries during the “accession” of the Uniates to the Orthodox Church in 1794–1796. It is established that after the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the newly annexed Right Bank fell under the total influence of Russia’s great imperial policy, and in the religious and ecclesiastical sphere the Greek-Uniate Church was under the scrutiny of tsarism. It is proved that in 1794–1796 the Russian government not only undermined the foundations of the stable functioning of non-Orthodox dioceses in Ukrainian society, but also began the process of liquidating these religious institutions. It is noted that the Kamianets-Podilskyi Monastery in Podillia was primarily an important spiritual center of enlightenment that carried out educational activities, having founded a theological school. Thanks to their schools, Basilians gained a strong position in society.The political events of the early 90s of the eighteenth century, namely the second (1793) and third (1795) partitions of Poland, led to the fact that Bratslav and Podillia provinces became part of the Russian Empire. This also affected the religious life of the region.The expansion of the Russian Orthodox Church with the support of the tsarist government and troops led to the liquidation of Uniate churches, Basilian monasteries, and their schools in Podillia. Therefore, in 1793, the school that operated at the monastery was closed.The article notes that the study of changes in the transformation of Basilian monasteries as a result of the partitions of the Rzeczpospolita makes it possible to determine their place and role in the spiritual and cultural life of the Ukrainian people in the last third of the eighteenth century.