The Ukrainian Catholic University ( ua, Український Католицький Університет, ''Ukrains'kyy Katolyts'kyy Universytet'') is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
university in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, affiliated with the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = uk
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, image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG
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, type = Particular church (sui iuris)
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, caption = St. George's ...
. The Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) was the first
Catholic university to open on the territory of the
former Soviet Union
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
.
[ "History of the Ukrainian Catholic University." Ukrainian Catholic University official website. URL accesse]
5 November 2006
/ref>
The university has 1900 students studying in six faculties. Professional degrees are offered in journalism and business; doctoral degrees in history and theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
.
In 2018 and 2019, UCU's entering students had the highest External independent evaluation scores in the country.
History
Overview
The Ukrainian Catholic University was created as the successor to the ''Greek Catholic Theological Academy'' created during 1928-1929 by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky
Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; uk, Митрополит Андрей Шептицький; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure span ...
in Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
, at the time part of Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. Josyf Slipyj
Josyf Slipyi ( uk, Йосиф Сліпий, born as uk, Йосиф Коберницький-Дичковський, translit=Yosyf Kobernyts'kyy-Dychkovs'kyy; 17 February 1892 – 7 September 1984) was a Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek ...
became the academy's first rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
. After its closure in 1944, the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* Som ...
, founded in 1963, continued the academy's functions under the leadership of Metropolitan Slipyj. In 1994, the original school was recreated under the name of ''Lviv Theological Academy'', and in 1998 it became internationally recognized by the Congregation for Catholic Education
, type = Congregation
, seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
, seal_size = 100px
, seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See
, logo =
, picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg
, picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...
. On June 28, 2002, the Ukrainian Catholic University was founded based on the Lviv Theological Academy.[ "History of the Ukrainian Catholic University." Ukrainian Catholic University official website. URL accesse]
5 November 2006
/ref>
Beginning and turmoil
On October 6, 1929, the Greek Catholic Theological Academy was founded in Lviv. Under the guidance of rector Joseph Slipyj
Josyf Slipyi ( uk, Йосиф Сліпий, born as uk, Йосиф Коберницький-Дичковський, translit=Yosyf Kobernyts'kyy-Dychkovs'kyy; 17 February 1892 – 7 September 1984) was a Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek ...
, the Academy became the center for theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and philosophic
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...
studies almost overnight.
At the time, predominantly Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
-populated Eastern Galicia was under the control of interwar Poland
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...
, and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
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, caption = St. George's ...
attained a strong Ukrainian national character. Since the Polish authorities did not allow the creation of a secular Ukrainian university, as that would have impeded their Polonization
Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя ...
policies, the Academy became the sole Ukrainian institution of higher education on the territory of the Second Polish Republic. For the next ten years, the Academy continued to grow and expand by opening new departments, enlarging its library, and increasing its publishing capacity.[
In September 1939, when Eastern Galicia fell under the Soviet control, the Theological Academy was closed and its students arrested or deported. On September 15, 1941, shortly after the onset of the ]German invasion of the USSR
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, the Academy's Church of the Holy Spirit and the library were ruined by German bombings. Limited studies resumed under German occupation during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Out of 500 students who studied at the Academy between 1941–1944, only 60 received diplomas.[ After the Red Army offensive recovered Lviv for the Soviets in the spring of 1945, the Theological Academy was closed, this time for decades, while many of its graduates and professors ended up in the ]Gulag
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
system of prison camps. Soon afterwards at the Lviv Synod held in March 1946 under the pressure of the Soviet authorities, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = uk
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, image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG
, imagewidth =
, type = Particular church (sui iuris)
, alt =
, caption = St. George's ...
was forcibly "united" with the recently recreated Ukrainian Exarchate
An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. The term originates from the Greek word ''arkhos'', meaning a leader, ruler, or chief. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I created the firs ...
of the Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
. The theological education under the UGCC, which formally "ceased to exist" in the USSR (but in reality was banned), was restricted to the underground, as well as the entire UGCC church as a whole. This period is known as the ''Church of the Catacombs'' in UGCC history.
Renewal
A new chapter in the UCU history began after Ukraine attained its independence in the wake of the 1991 Soviet collapse
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
. In September 1994, the Lviv Theological Academy (LTA) was opened. In 1998 the LTA was recognized by the Congregation for Catholic Education
, type = Congregation
, seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
, seal_size = 100px
, seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See
, logo =
, picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg
, picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...
.
The first graduation took place in the summer of 1999, with twenty-eight graduates receiving their degrees. This marked a significant milestone for the school as well as for theological education in Ukraine in general. For the first time: laity
In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from a Ukrainian theological school at a post-secondary level; women in Ukraine received a degree in theology.
Ukrainian Catholic University
The UCU came into existence on the foundation prepared for it by the Lviv Theological Academy. On his visit to Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
on June 26, 2001, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
blessed the future university's cornerstone.[ The ceremonial ]inauguration
In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...
honoring its founding took place on June 29, 2002. It was the first university opened by one of the Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
, rather than by a religious order.
The founding is seen by the university community as a culmination of efforts by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = uk
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, image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG
, imagewidth =
, type = Particular church (sui iuris)
, alt =
, caption = St. George's ...
(UGCC) and Ukrainian academics to create an educational institution, which would grow on the foundation of "Christian spirituality, culture and worldview".
"I consider this project one of the most successful in the field of Ukrainian education", said Vyacheslav Bryukhovetskyy, President of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...
, after the establishment of the Lviv Theological Academy and its subsequent transformation into the Ukrainian Catholic University. The Rector Rev. Borys Gudziak expressed his hope that UCU would be a center for cultural thought and the formation of the new Ukrainian society based on human dignity.
In cooperation with the Institute of Religion and Society of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Catholic University established and runs th
Religious Information Service of Ukraine
with a multilingual Web Portal. In 2004, the Institute of Ecumenical Studies was established.
Faculties
* Law
* Sociology
* Computer Science
* IT and business analytics
* Artes Liberales
* Theology
* Ethics Politics Economics
* Social work
* Psychology
UCU is the first Catholic university on post-Soviet territory and the leading independent university in Ukraine. In 2018, UCU’s entrants had the top average standardized test score among all institutions of higher education in Ukraine. The Sheptytsky Center was named “Face of the City of Lviv” in 2017. In 2017, UCU was included in the book “The 10 Most Successful Ukrainian Brands,” a list of the best companies and organizations in Ukraine that set the pace in their various fields.
Foundations and branches
* UCU Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
Centre
* Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation – USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
* The Institute of Pope Clement in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
* The Ukrainian Institute in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
* Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation – Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
* Patriarch Josyf Slipyj Institute of Ukrainian Culture, UCU’s branch in Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
* Lviv Business School of UCU
UCU Entrepreneurship Center
In April 2020, the UCU Entrepreneurship Center signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ukrainian Startup Fund.
References
External links
Ukrainian Catholic University
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1929
Universities and colleges in Lviv
Catholic universities and colleges in Ukraine
Greek Catholic universities and academies in Ukraine
1929 establishments in the Soviet Union