Number DOI: http://doi.org/10.33209/2519-4348-2707-9627-2023-11-145

VB. – № 11, 2023. – P. 267-286

Summary

The article examines the biography of the Volyn regional dean of the UPA, priest Polievkt Skrypnyk, who began his chaplaincy service among the insurgents in mid-1943. In the absence of other sources, the article primarily takes into account documents from investigative cases opened in 1944-1949 against Volyn Orthodox clergymen accused of anti-Soviet activities. The information obtained from these sources allowed us to establish that Father Polievkt, who became a priest in 1934, had been a patriot since the initial period of German occupation, but began direct cooperation with the UPA later, after he was forced to flee the parish and resettle in the village of Miltsi, where a men’s monastery was functioning. It is established that Skrypnyk was one of the organisers of the Insurgent Church, which began to form in 1943 in the territories where the national liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people was spreading. The article shows examples of the formation of a network of this church by Father Poliyevkt, which remained at the stage of organisation. The found archival materials prove that in the beginning of 1944 the priest was arrested by the Soviet partisans and a little later – by the NKGB. The article cites well-founded arguments in favour of the fact that Skrypnyk managed to avoid reprisals by agreeing to secretly cooperate with the state security authorities. The author suggests that sometime in late 1944, Father Polievkt switched to an illegal position and then avoided contact with the NKGB. The analysis of the found documents led to the conclusion that the priest died between 1945 and 1947. The study suggests possible circumstances of the death of priest Polijevkt Skrypnyk, although it is noted that there is a lack of reliable data for an unambiguous reconstruction of the last period of his life.

Key words: priest Polievkt Skrypnyk, hegumen Job (Romaniuk), UPA, Miltsi, chaplain.

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