Luka Cybik (1829–1910) belonged to the Russophiles of Galicia, a popular pro-Russian, anti-Polish movement among Ukrainian people in Austria-Hungary. Having studied in Lviv and Vienna, in 1855 he started his career as a Greek Catholic priest, gymnasium teacher in Lviv and Ternopil, and author of several literary juvenilia and textbook adaptations on religious education. In 1868, he moved to the Kingdom of Poland and continued teaching in Chełm and Warsaw. He joined the Orthodox Church in 1875, and soon became a well-known firebrand preacher. In 1882, he was deeply involved in a highly politicized Hnylychky treason trial, which impacted Austrian-Russian relations and shaped new Ukrainian collective consciousness. His career took a downturn in 1892 when, due to clashes between different clerical factions, he was transferred to the provincial town of Radom where he remained, embittered but nonetheless active, until his death.
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