The language of the polemic between Bishop Grzegorz Chomyszyn and Bishop Andrzej Szeptycki towards nationalism

The article focuses on the language used in the polemic of Bishop Chomyszyn with Bishop Szeptycki on the subject of nationalism, especially Ukrainian nationalism. We found that the metropolitan of Lvov in his statements about this phenomenon used a rather abstract language. His wording was vague and did not specifically match the social situation at the time. He limited himself to general ideas, such as reminding his listeners of universal moral and religious principles, and this kind of approach was met with the nationalists’ approval. On the other hand, Bishop Stanisławowski’s language was clear, unambiguous, clearly defining the evil connected with nationalism. He simply and specifically called all the behavior accompanying this phenomenon, which was clearly contrary to Catholic morality and faith, thus exposing himself to clear resentment and verbal aggression on the part of his opponents. The article also contains some important information about biographical data of both debaters and some characteristic features of their personalities, the history of Ukrainian nationalism and Szeptycki’s, Chomyszyn’s and other Greek Catholic bishops’ reactions to the phenomenon— based on three groups of source documents.