In the first half of the 20th century, when the western territories of Ukraine were under the rule of Austria-Hungary, Poland, the USSR, and Nazi Germany, the spiritual leader of the nation for the Ukrainian community of Galicia and Volhynia became the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky (1865–1944). Regardless of who governed these lands, he fought to preserve the spiritual, religious, and civil rights of the people of Galicia and Volhynia, as well as the rights of the church and its clergy.
Moreover, during the harshest persecutions of Jews by the Nazis, numerous members of the Jewish community of the region were sheltered in buildings belonging to the UGCC, with the knowledge of the Metropolitan. It is also worth mentioning that one of the duties of the UGCC leader was to review spiritual literature proposed for publication, including the "Prayer Book for the Faithful," which was recommended for printing by the Metropolitan in the summer of 1943. In January 1944, the prayer book was published with a circulation of 20,000 copies. This book became the last example of religious literature to be published with the Metropolitan’s approval and during his lifetime.
A book in a sturdy dark blue calico cover, featuring a golden Latin cross painted in the center of the front cover.The title page contains publication details, including print run, date, location, and the printing permission granted by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky.The following 272 pages contain prayers and religious guidance for the faithful, meant for various Christian holidays.