1956-1989

Religious life of believers.





Fr. Muliarchuk in his home chapel in the town of Pomoriany, 1970.





In the time of the clandestine Church the various forms of Christian piety were zealously preserved between Greek-Catholic laity. As a rule, the underground priests were not able to serve of the faithful enough frequently. Therefore, independent liturgy and various religious activities became widely expanded. So, for example, in many villages with closed church, the people gathered and celebrated Mass without priest, singing only answers without such parts, which must be pronounced by the clergyman. There were ``home churches'', in which Holy Gifts were saved and where the priests and faithful came for the secret Mass. The very faithful gathered in homes and houses for joint prayer. It was carried out ``intronisations'' (dedication of a family to the Christ Heart). Such religious organizations of the faithful, as ``Apostolat of the prayer'', brotherhood of Mary Immaculate (there are called Third Order) continued their activity, being constantly renewed. The Third Order of Basilians was created in the clandestinity.

The Prayer-book and sacred ikon were saved as a relic. Since it was impossible to print new editions, the religious literature and ikons were copied by the simple photographic method or retyped and even rewrote by hands for distributions. It was happened, that even some officials and mumbers of the communist party, not saying already about common people, took secretly marriage in the underground priests, christened children, buried decedents.



Report of the senior inspector (written in Russian) for the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in matters of religion, M Bozhka, about the facts of the underground activity of Greek Catholic priests and monks in the Lviv region. December 10, 1979:

The Uniates conducted their activities privately. In most cases divine services and rituals were done illegally, in house churches of uniate religious, in their monasteries or in the homes of the faithful.
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Monastic communities and formation contents Liturgies in the underground