A view from Poland: the state and the Orthodox church in the Ukrainian lands in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as reflected in the Polish historical research

This article explores the shifting perspectives of Polish academics about the role of the Orthodox Church in domestic and interstate relations within the Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. Why Poland’s sovereignty crumbled at the end of the 18th century was one of the most critical questions Polish historians sought to explain. Since Bohdan Khmelnytskii’s uprising, Moscow’s geopolitical objectives had placed the Ukrainian territories in the forefront of their attention.

It has been documented that the nineteenth-century Polish scientific research was more concerned with the social and political impact of Orthodox Churches in Commonwealth regions than any other aspect of its history. However, this scenario has altered through time. Since the eighteenth century, the viewpoints of Polish historians have changed drastically. Additionally, they investigated the inner workings of churches and religious activity in Ukraine.