Summary: | The article analyzes the periodical of Volyn Orthodox Diocese of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century – "Volyn Diocesan Record", which is one of the most valuable sources for studying the issue of relations of the Orthodox Church in Volyn with different local confessions during the specified period. Except information part the publication of the periodical deals mostly with the relationships of the Orthodox church with the local Catholics, Greek-Catholics, Protestants and different religious sects, often entering into polemics with them or exposing their negative sides aimed at confrontation with the Orthodox population of Volyn. And though the material of the periodical contained mostly subjective and one-sided point of view on the history of the religious picture of Volyn both on the part of local Orthodox clergy and general imperial government, it does not make it less significant and puts it in a row with the most valuable sources of the previous centuries in the study of relationships of the Orthodox church in Volyn with other local religious denominations. However, up to the present day, there aren’t any special generalized studies on the history of interconfessional relations on the territory of Volyn in the late XIX – at the beginning of the XX century, either in the scientific or clerical historiography of the country. The articles on interconfessional relations, posted in "Volyn Diocesan Record", also remain underexplored, although some aspects of this issue have been highlighted in a number of specific research studies. Their analysis allowed to determine the status and the peculiarities of elaborating the mentioned issue, to find out the main trends of its development. The analysis of the processes of interreligious relations of the past, which are reflected on the pages of the periodical, even today may have practical significance for its use in order to establish the interreligious peace in Ukraine. The topicality of the above mentioned is caused by the fact that today, as well as a century ago, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine lives in the diverse religious community that demands both having the information about any local religious denomination and the ability to demonstrate own position and to coexist with them. Definitely, without the study of the historic past of inter-confessional relations in different regions of Ukraine such a position of the Orthodox Church is not full and cane lead to inappropriate collapse, affecting general situation of the religious life in Ukraine, which, today, as never before, needs understanding and unity. That is why further studies of the mentioned problem are a necessary need of any modern scholar interested in the topic of inter-confessional relations and religious life in Ukraine.
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