Losy liturgii bizantyńsko-słowiańskiej w Kościele Greckokatolickim

Abstract

When in 1596 the Orthodox Church which was found on the territory of the Polish Republic, acceded to the union with Rome its liturgical rite was the Byzantine one in its Slavonic language variant formed on Kiev’s tradition. Characteristics to this liturgy were the eastern influences (see Piotr Mohyla’s reform). One of the most important resolutions of the Union was to preserve the intact form of the liturgy of the Orthodox Church. In the circumstances of political, cultural and religious domination of the Polish Republic (the Latin rite) the postulate became impossible to fulfil. From the middle of XVII century in the Greek-Catholic Church there began a process of gradual Latinisation of Byzantine-Slavonic liturgy. The changes in the rite have found expression in liturgical books made for Greek-Catholics at the end of XVII and in XVIII century. They were officially sanctioned by the Synod in Zamość in 1720. Along with the disadvantageous changes in the liturgy the trials of the reform were undertaken. Although those trials were very intensive in XIX century they brought, however, no positive results. Finally, the liturgy of the Greek-Orthodox Church was formed at the end of XX century as a result of the reform activities of metropolitan bishop Andrzej Szeptycki; furthermore, the work of Pope’s commission resulted in publishing new liturgical books (beginning of 1941). The aim of liturgical reform was to come back to authentic sources of Byzantine-Slavonic liturgy of Greek Orthodox Church taking into consideration its own tradition of the Metropolitan of Kiev dating back to XIV century. The further stage of the reform was translating the liturgy into Ukrainian language that have started after Vatican Council II. Today, the Greek-Catholic Church can freely perform and develop its liturgy in agreement with its eastern spirit and the teaching of the Catholic Church.