Byzantines and Nazis?

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Little_Boy_Lost

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I came across this curious image
02varvara.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/uniate-priest-in-nazi-uniform-ss-e1285635431294.jpg

from the following blog. Most of the commentary is worthless hate but I am intrigued about the picture. Was the Ukranian Catholic Church protected by the Nazi’s from the Soviets? There is also a russian movie out called “Pop” about a Russian Orthodox Priest who seeks help from the nazis.

02varvara.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/diocese-of-odessa-of-the-uoc-mp-up-in-arms-at-plans-to-construct-a-uniate-cathedral-in-the-city/

What was the relationship between the Byzantine Catholic Churches and the third reich?
 
The third reich nominally tolerated Catholics; it was also tolerant of lutheranism.

I suspect, however, the photo isn’t what it appears.

He’s vested improperly; priests often wear stole without the sitcheron, but seldom the sticheron without a phelonion. And the hat… without the hat oen would not think it much more than an byzantine priest.

Looking at the moire effect in the background, it doesn’t extend to the area 2-3 px from the hat, but it does run right to the other hats. I suspect it is a photoshop hack job.
 
Little_Boy_Lost said:
What was the relationship between the Byzantine Catholic Churches and the third reich?
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I don’t think the picture is photoshopped, it’s probably all too real. The blog identifies the man as a Gallician Byzantine Catholic priest. If the description is accurate then this may was probably a chaplain to a foreign-born SS unit. As the German army advanced east and south they quickly ran into manpower shortages, especially of their fighting forces. The SS were faced with a double problem in that they faced the same shortage, plus their recruitment needs were fulfilled only after the army filled theirs. That meant our of the available men they got the ones the Army didn’t want.

Himmler quickly realized this began recruiting SS units in the conquered territories, often led by German SS officers. The SS quickly had more non-Germans in their ranks than they did Germans. In my opinion it wouldn’t be surprising to a Ukrainian SS unit with chaplains.I don’t know about any vestment irregularities pointed out by Aramis. As such I don’t think there were anything like “official” relationships between the Nazis and Byzantine hierarchy. Chaplains to the Nazi leaders would’ve been seen as relics of a superstitious past that would be tolerated as long as they didn’t get in the way or keep their men from doing their jobs. The German leadership and officers in the SS were usually required to renounce any church affiliation (although many still secretly belonged and attended services as they could). The same didn’t hold for the foreign contingents of the SS.

The photo, in my opinion, is just being used by an angry blogger to try and smear fellow Ukrainians that belong to the Byzantine Catholic Church as opposed to one of the Orthodox churches. One doesn’t haven’t to look far or very wide to Orthodox priests that helped out Communist authorities throughout Eastern Europe.

ChadS
 
One of the tools Hitler used in his attempt to earn the loyalty of people in his conquered territory in the East was to allow them freedom of religion, something they didn’t have when they were under Russian control. While this attempt failed, it did lead to some good, as Stalin ceased his heavy persicution of the Orthodox after he retook the territory, although he did not act likewise to other faiths.
 
Fr. Johannes Lenz (a concentration camp survivor) lists hundreds of ministers who were interned by the Nazis in his book “Christ in Dachau”. The vast majority he mentions were Roman Catholic priests; there were a number of Orthodox priests in his camp as well however (on the order of a hundred, I think? I don’t remember), but I do not recall seeing him mention any Byzantine Catholic priests (he may have not made a distinction between them and other Catholic or Orthodox clergy). The story of Mother Maria Skoptsova (an Orthodox inmate at Ravensbruck who offered her own life in exchange for that of a pregnant woman, Maximilian Kolbe-style) is of course well known.

There is also an extremely non-canonical sect that arose recently called the “German Orthodox Church”, which is a neo-Nazi movement.
 
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