Union of Uzhhorod

Union of Uzhhorod
The front of the Union of Uzhhorod containing the document text and signatures of priests.
The front and reverse of the Union of Uzhhorod containing the document text and signatures of priests.
The reverse side of the Union containing only signatures.
Material"contemporary paper"[1]
Height31.5 centimetres (12.4 in)[1]
Width19.5 centimetres (7.7 in)[1]
WritingLatin[1]
SymbolsLatin[1]
CreatedApril 24, 1646
Uzhhorod, Royal Hungary[1]
Discovered2016[1]
Drugeth of Humenné Collection
State Archive of Prešov, Slovakia[1]
Discovered byJuraj Gradoš[1]
CultureRuthenian[1]

The Union of Uzhhorod (Rusyn: Ужгородьска унія, romanized: Uzhhorodska uniia), was a decision by 63 Ruthenian priests of the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo (then divided between the Principality of Transylvania and Royal Hungary of the Habsburg monarchy) to join the Catholic Church made on April 24, 1646. Until rediscovery of its founding document in 2016, academics had debated the actual date of union, whether a document had been signed, and even whether the Union of Uzhhorod had even transpired at all.

The terms outlined within the document are similar those of the 1596 Union of Brest from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. As outlined initially, the Union only concerned the manorial estates of the Drugeth family of Royal Hungary. However, it eventually grew to govern Eastern Catholics throughout Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania through subsequent agreements. The modern result of this union is the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church.[2][3][4][1][5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Grados, Juraj (2016). "Užhorodská únia z 24. apríla 1646 vo svetle jej dokumentu" [The 24 April, 1646 Union of Uzhhorod in Light of its Document] (PDF). Theologos (in Slovak) (2). Presov: University of Presov: 229–241. ISSN 1335-5570. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. ^ Rábara, Pavol (2016-05-10). "Objavil 370-ročnú listinu: Je to "krstný list" gréckokatolíkov" [He discovered a 370-year document: It's the 'baptismal certificate' of Greek Catholics]. Medium (in Slovak). Translated by Silvestri, Maria. Archived from the original on 2022-03-16. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
    Rábara, Pavol (2016-05-10). "Objavil 370-ročnú listinu: Je to "krstný list" gréckokatolíkov". Denník Postoj (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 2021-06-15. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  3. ^ Litwin, Henryk (1987). "Catholicization among the Ruthenian Nobility and Assimilation Processes' in the Ukraine during the Years 1569-1648" (PDF). Acta Poloniae Historica. 55: 57–83. ISSN 0001-6829.
  4. ^ Magocsi, Paul R. (2015). With Their Backs to the Mountains: A History of Carpathian Rus' and Carpatho-Rusyns. Budapest-New York: Central European University Press. ISBN 9786155053467. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  5. ^ Grados, Juraj (2016). Magocsi, Paul R.; Galadza, Paul (eds.). "The Discovery of the Initiating Document of the Union of Uzhhorod (1646)" (PDF). Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies. 57. Translated by Klaasen, Michael. Ottawa: Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies: 289–295. ISSN 0024-5895. Retrieved 17 March 2022.