Abstract

Neounia is one of the common names of the new unified church, which was introduced by the Polish Roman Catholic bishop on the Ukrainian and Byelorussian lands of Poland during the interwar period. This church had a number of other names: Catholicism of the Eastern Rite, Eastern Rite, Biblical union. Officially, it was called the Parishes of the Catholic Church of the Eastern Catholic Rite or of the Roman Catholic Church of the Eastern Rite. The Church, through which the Vatican sought to convert the "united East" into the bosom of Catholicism, was often referred to as a "government union", since it was in some cases facilitated by local government officials. The unofficial name - neounya - contrasted with the "old union" proclaimed in Brest in 1596.