Overview

The Polish Orthodox Church in the Twentieth Century and Beyond: Prisoner of History shows the adaptability of an Orthodox community whose members are a religious and ethnic minority in a predominantly Roman Catholic country populated by ethnic Poles. It features a triangular relationship among the Orthodox and Catholic hierarchies and the secular state of Poland throughout the changes of government. A secondary interrelationship involves the tense relationship between ethnic Poles on one hand, and minority Ukrainians and Belarusans on the other. As a prisoner of its own history and strangers in its own land, the Polish Orthodox Church faces a constant struggle for survival.

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9780739198841

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The Polish Orthodox Church in the Twentieth Century and Beyond: Prisoner of History is the best treatment of the subject in English and represents an important contribution to our understanding of the complex political, religious, and ethnic history of Eastern Europe. -- Tom Sakmyster, University of Cincinnati

The Polish Orthodox Church in the Twentieth Century and Beyond: Prisoner of History is the best treatment of the subject in English and represents an important contribution to our understanding of the complex political, religious, and ethnic history of Eastern Europe. -- Tom Sakmyster, University of Cincinnati This fascinating work concisely examines the historical development of the Polish Orthodox Church, the second largest faith in Poland since World War II. It focuses on the achievements and legacies of this resilient institution, beset by a host of political and religious challenges throughout history, yet supremely adept at adapting to its surroundings in order to defend and advance its interests. The author, an expert on Polish and East European history, draws on an extensive array of resources-Polish state archives, published documents, periodicals, secondary sources-to clarify the various political and religious obstacles facing the Polish Orthodox Church and to probe the reasons for its endurance before, during, and after communist rule. Poised to chart new horizons and to meet fresh challenges, the Polish Orthodox Church of today engages in multiple educational, charitable, missionary, and publishing endeavors, a sure sign of its sound organization, structure, and leadership. This eminently readable work on an important but largely neglected topic-a major contribution to the historical literature-will appeal to a broad audience of scholars and students in the fields of Polish, Ukrainian, and East European history and to specialists on religion, ethnicity, nationality, and church history. -- Theophilus C. Prousis, University of North Florida

Author Information

Edward Wynot is professor of Russian and East European history at Florida State University.

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