The nobility among the clergy of przemysl greeck-catholic diocese at the end of the 18th - the beginning of the 20th centuries: quantitative parametersand social adaptation ways

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to elucidate one of the aspects of the nobility’s social evolution at the end of the 18th – the beginning of the 20th centuries, in particular, the nobility entry into the members of the parish clergy. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of historicism, scientific research, verification, as well as the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special historical (prosopographic, historical typological, historical systemic) methods. The scientific novelty consists in reviewing and refuting of the prevailing assertions in the national historiography about the mass involvement of the nobility in the clergy members. It has been determined that their quantity was only 10 – 14% among the ordinary clergy. Social factors that prompted the nobles to choose spiritual service have been analyzed. The Conclusion. During the Austrian era, the nobility of Galicia continued to consider priesthood as one of acceptable spheres of activity. During the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries people of a noble origin made up 10 – 14% of the clergy. The indicator was much lower than the data, which were used previously by domestic historians, claiming that almost a third of this clergy were noblemen. Such discrepancy was due to incorrect calculations based on incorrect methodological principles. However, even the percentage of 10 – 14% was a rather significant indicator, taking into account the fact that the nobility percentage was smaller and did not exceed 3% among total population of Galicia. Hence, the nobility (shliakhta) considered church service not only as entirely possible, but also desirable for self-realization in social field. Primarily, it was due to the social evolution of the Ukrainian nobility and the clergy in the Austrian Empire. If the former declassified gradually and turned into ordinary farmers, losing their social significance, on the contrary, the latter – with the growth of public demand for education and professionalization, managed to find their niche and occupy an important great place among the elite of the modernizing Galician society. It was evidenced by unique examples from the history of individual families, in which the clergymen were invariably present alongside government officials, lawyers, doctors, and teachers.