Polemics with Catholicism in church periodicals in the western Russian region of the Russian empire (1905-1909)

The Western Russian region was a place of clashes on both national and confessional grounds. The confrontation was caused by the proselytizing actions of Roman Catholics, Uniates and the imposition of Polish nationalism. After a relatively quiet time in the life of the Orthodox Church in the Western Territory of the Russian Empire, the manifesto of April 17, 1905 “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” came into force. Roman Catholic proselytism and Polish nationalism were gaining momentum. Russian Russians expressed themselves in uncontrolled mass conversions from Orthodoxy to Catholicism, the oppression of the Russian population, the condemnation of the Orthodox faith, the Russian nationality, and the centuries-old history of the Orthodox Church in the Western Russian region. This article attempts to highlight the polemic of Orthodoxy with Catholicism on the pages of the Orthodox Church periodical press from 1905 to 1909, to analyze the features of the polemical materials of the Orthodox periodical press of the Western Russian region directed against Catholicism, as well as to get acquainted with the attitude of Orthodox authors to the facts of proselytism and radical manifestations of Polish nationalism. The appeal to the church periodical press contributed to a deeper understanding of the confessional issues of the Western Russian region of the Russian Empire.