Worldview priorities of the future Greek Catholic Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky in the initial period of his public activity

Abstract

The paper examines the information deposited in the sources and connected with  the  youth  worldview of  Count  Roman Sheptytsky, later  the Greek Catholic Metropolitan Andrey(1865–1944). An attemp thas been made to analyze the data on this topic, going right back to the childhood of the future hierarch.  The  statements  contained in  the  recollections  of  Roman’s mother, Zofia Szeptycka,  are compared with  the  facts evidenced by the  Sheptytskys’family correspondence of the period under review. In addition to the direct statements of the young count and his mother relating to his worldview, attention is paid to the information that indirectly proves this, in particular, the data  on Roman’s participation  in  various student associations. When describing  the  atmosphere  of  Breslau University of  which Sheptytsky  was a student, the topic of the nature of the “alien” structure is touched upon. In this regard, the foundations of the confrontation between the Catholics and the Socialists in the Grand Duchy of Poznań are outlined. In particular, a comparison was made between the Catholic and the Socialist doctrines of the society. The article  explicates the  nature  of  Sheptytsky’s participation  in  the  activities  of  the Philaret brother hood at Jagiellonian University. The significance of the public change in 1885 of the national self-identification of the future metropolitan is revealed.  The  conclusion  is  made about the  Sheptytsky’s worldview priorities in the described period.