Ethnicity and Confession in Bukovina in the Sources from the Turn of the 18th century

Abstract

In the descriptions of Bukovуna as the new Habsburg province and in the records of the Roman Catholic Church various terms for ethnicity have functioned, sophisticatedly related to the religious denominations. Either all Orthodox inhabitants were described as Moldavians, or a difference between Orthodox Moldavians and Orthodox Ruthenians was marked. For Ruthenians (Orthodox and Greek Catholic) and their language there was no common name. All Roman Catholics were sometimes considered as Germans and Hungarians. Despite that, Catholic Church in Bukovуna from its beginning was multi-ethnic and multi-language. The ambiguity of terms is shown by the problem with distinguishing Catholic Poles and Slovaks. On the other hand, there was even a case of mistaking Ruthenians for Poles. Ethnicity and confession in Bukovina were entangled with each other, but with no strict connection, like the one functioning in Galicia (Polish Roman Catholics and Ruthenian Greek Catholics). The situation was much more complicated. The mixture of ethnicities among the faithful in both Orthodox and Catholic Churches was a factor of highest importance for the development of famous Bukovуnian tolerance.

Keywords: Bukovina, ethnicity, religion, terminology