Evgeny M. Kopot’ Russia and the Uniate Movement in the Orthodox Church of Antioch in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Century

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to critically reassess the dominant paradigm in Russian historiography, which interprets Russian patronage of Orthodoxy in the Near East primarily through the lens of counteraction to the Uniate proselytism of the Western powers. The central problem of the Unia-related process within the Patriarchate of Antioch (second half of the 19th — early 20th century) is examined not as an instantaneous consequence of external heterodox propaganda or Greek xenocracy, but as a systemic reflection of socio-cultural, political, and economic dysfunctions within the Eastern Christian community of the Ottoman Empire. The study includes a comparative analysis of specific cases of transitions of Orthodox communities to Greek Catholicism (and back) within the dioceses of the Patriarchate of Antioch (Latakia, Zahle, Tripoli, and others). On the basis of unpublished archival sources, consular documentation, and the testimonies of Russian Orientalists (Archimandrite Porphyrius (Uspensky), A.E. Krymsky), a typology of the motives underlying the Uniate movement has been developed. The dominant factors have been identified as follows: the desire to avoid Ottoman obligations and charges (the tax bedel-i askeriye), the low material well-being of the parochial clergy, property disputes related to the exploitation of waqf lands, and violations of canonical law in the matrimonial sphere. Considerable attention is devoted to the contacts with Western civilization through the mechanism of relative deprivation. The significance of the research lies in the demythologization of the role of the «Uniate threat» as a defining vector of Russian policy in the Near East. Shifting the focus from exogenous missionary factors to the endogenous problems of the Patriarchate of Antioch (financial instability, inefficiency of ecclesiastical administration, and the «fluidity» of Levantine identity) underscores the necessity of reassessing the effectiveness of the activities of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and the diplomatic efforts of the Russian Empire in the region.

Keywords:

Patriarchate of Antioch, Orthodox Arabs, Russia and the Orthodox East, Syria, Lebanon, Melkites, Uniates.

For citation

Kopot’ E.M. Russia and the Uniate Movement in the Orthodox Church of Antioch in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Century. The Historical Reporter. 2025. Т. LIV. Р. 50–101. DOI: 10.35549/HR.2025.2025.54.001

Evgeny M. Kopot’

Senior Lecturer, Institute of History and Politics, Moscow Pedagogical State University (MPGU). Moscow, Russian Federation.

e-mail: em.kopot@mpgu.su

SPIN-код: 4877-1419

AuthorID: 682530

ORCID: 0009-0009-4145-2349

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