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The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 3 (189), 856—863

UDK271.4(477.83/.86)­788.055.2″19

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

SISTER VARBARA SHAPKA (1895—1942): SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP, RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES IN GALICIA

MARKO Ms. Stefania Natalia

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000­-0001­-5007­-7899
  • STD, Doctor of Theology,
  • Associate Professor, Department of Theology,
  • Ukrainian Catholic University,
  • 17, Il. Sventsitsky Str., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-­mail: markons@ucu.edu.ua

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to highlight, based on archival documents, the life path, spiritual leadership and religious and social activities of Sr. Varvara Shapka (1895—1942), the abbess of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph the Betrothed of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the UGCC. Under her leadership, the congregation focused its activities on the Christian education of children and youth. The chronological boundaries of the study are 1925—1942.

The subject of the study is Sister Varvara’s contribution to the institutional development of the congregation, which was manifested in the establishment of 24 centers on the territory of the Przemyśl diocese. Special attention is paid to her work on the organization of kindergartens, which became important centers of Christian education and the preservation of Ukrainian national identity in the conditions of socio­cultural transformations of Galicia in the first half of the 20th century.

The relevance of the study is due to the need for an in­depth study of the role of female monastic communities in the cultural and social life of Galicia, as well as insufficient attention to the figure of Sister Varvara Shapka in historiography.

The study explores the distinctive features of her leadership ministry, which was grounded in a profound spiritual life and an ability to combine administrative responsibility with the spiritual guidance of the community under the political restrictions of interwar Poland and the challenges of the Second World War. It concludes that the activities of Sister Varvara Shapka and the congregation under her leadership constituted a significant factor in the revitalization of parish life, the religious education of youth, and the strengthening of the moral foundations of the Ukrainian community.

The methodological basis of the study is the general scientific principles of systematicity and scientific objectivity, which made it possible to analyze the issue under study, as well as its individual aspects.

Keywords: Sister Varvara Shapka; Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph; zakhoronkas (kindergartens); religious education; spiritual leadership; social activity; Galicia; Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

REFERENCES

  • Marko, S. (2020). Charisma and life of the Congregation of St. Joseph the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1898—1990. Lviv: Publishing House of the Ukrainian Catholic University [in Ukrainian].
  • Marko, S. (2025). Trust in God as a dynamic force in the spiritual life of Sister Varvara Shapka. Scientific Papers of UCU, vol. 12. Lviv [in Ukrainian].
  • Schrijvers, J. (1949). The Marvelous Story of Sister Varvara. Louvain [in French].
  • State Archives of Lviv Region (DALO), f. 1, op. 54, spr. 3756. File on the Registration of the Society for the Care of Poor Girls of the Greek Catholic Rite Named After Saint Joseph the Spouse in Tseblov (1910­1947)], (1910—1947), fol. 55 [in Ukrainian].
  • Letter of Sr. Varvara to Fr. J. Schrijvers, September 18, 1935. KADOC, ANBPCAV 3.3.2.17.5.5.1 [in Ukrainian].
  • Reports on the religious and moral state of the parish for the year 1931. APP, inventory ABGK, unit 4755 [in Polish].
  • Reports on the religious and moral state of the parish for the year 1932. APP, inventory ABGK, unit 4760 [in Polish].
  • Matters of church brotherhoods and societies (1933). APP, invent. ABGK, unit 4765 [in Polish].
  • Reports on the religious and moral state of the parish for the year 1933. APP, invent. ABGK, unit 4761 [in Polish].
  • Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv (TsDIAL). f. 179, op. 5. spr. 75 [in Ukrainian].
  • Letter of Sr. Varvara to Fr. J. Schrijvers, March 12, 1939. KADOC, ANBPCAV 3.3.2.17.5.5.1 [in Ukrainian].
  • Botsyurkiv, B. (2005). The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Soviet State (1939—1950). B. Botsyurkiv, trans. from English. N. Kochan. Edited by O. Turia. Lviv [in Ukrainian].
  • Letter of Sr. Varvara to Fr. Yosyf Schrijvers, April 17, 1940. KADOC, ANBPCAV 4.10.2.5[in Ukrainian].
  • Letter of Sr. Varvara to Fr. J. Schrijvers, March 23, 1941. KADOC, ANBPCAV 3.3.2.17.5.5.1[in Ukrainian].
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