Documents of the Serbian orthodox Church Sinod archive on the missionary activities of biscop Dosifey (Vasich) in the Subcarpathian Rus

The paper is the first attempt of Ukrainian and foreign historiography to thoroughly analyze the documents of the Serbian Orthodox Church Synod Archive on the missionary activities of Bishop of Nis Dosifey (Vasich) in Subcarpathian Rus in the early 1920s. Having been comissioned to streamline the church life in the province, the bishop carried out this mission intermittently from 1921 to 1926. In his reports to the Holy Synod and letters to Patriarch Dimitry (Pavlovich), Bishop Dosifey describes the complex processes of the Orthodox movement among the Subcarpathians. The author thoroughly reconstructs the circumstances under which the bishop began his missionary work in Czechoslovakia, identifying the factors that impeded his mission and naming main opponents of the Orthodox Church. The author pays special attention to the figures and roles of individual actors in the formation of the diocese. The reports mention the names of Archimandrite Alexy (Kabalyuk), Hieromonk Amphilochius (Kemina), Matthew (Vakarov), Archpriest Kassian Bogatyrets, Ioann Ilechko, Mikhail Meygesh, church activist Vladimir Gomichkov and others. According to the research, the SOC Synod Archives in Belgrade contain a number of valuable documents reflecting the missionary work of Bishop Dosifey. The analysed sources indicate a diplomatic confrontation between Serbs and Czechs related to the recognition of Serbian jurisdiction, inconsistency of the SOC Synod in the appointment of a permanent bishop in Subcarpathia, and internal disputes among the Orthodox clergy. The author argues that Bishop Dosifey made a considerable contribution to the establishment of the Orthodox Church in Subcarpathia. He founded several Orthodox monasteries, ordained first hieromonks and priests, and negotiated the official recognition of the Subcarpathian Orthodox Church and formation of a permanent Mukachevo- Presov diocese with the government in Prague.

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