Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Baby And The Big Shoes, Barbara Birch

Quaker Religious Thought

This paper problematizes the premise that the Christian liturgies scrapped by early Friends were empty outer forms of little value. My queries are—Are rituals truly empty and outward, or are they full of inner sensations and experiences not easily seen or quantified? Of course, the same questions can be asked of Quaker worship, which is itself a liturgy of silence. If silence is a liturgy, is it empty or full? Moreover, does silent worship appear empty or full to newcomers and visitors?

Contributors, Jeffrey Dudiak

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Georgian Orthodoxy: Navigating The Middle Eastern Landscape, Leons Gabriels Taivans

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper explores the complex sentiments among Georgian Orthodox believers, who simultaneously exhibit unwavering allegiance to the "spiritual power" of former imperialistic Russia alongside discontentment due to its military aggression. The author contends that the prevailing scholarly perspective is incomplete, stemming from a Eurocentric approach, and advocates instead for a broader consideration of Georgia, along with Azerbaijan and Armenia, within the cultural milieu of the Middle East rather than the European context. In the Middle Eastern cultural sphere, characterized by Islam, distinctions between secular and religious realms are blurred—a feature similarly reflected in Georgian Orthodox Christianity. Shaped by historical encounters …

Calendar Reforms In Ukrainian Orthodoxy, Nataliia Ishchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The study provides a brief retrospective and the current state of the calendar issue in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. To achieve this, the attitude towards the calendar issue of those Orthodox Ukrainians who, in certain historical periods, lived in Ukrainian territories as part of European states and the Russian Empire, is examined. The ideological discourse of the calendar reform during the existence of the Soviet Union is outlined. Special attention is given to the calendar issue in Independent Ukraine. The reasons, main stages, features, and difficulties of the current transition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the new Julian calendar are systematized. …

The Essence Of The Image Of The Fool In The Context Of The Orthodox Teachings In Eastern Europe, Olga Polumysna, Valeriy Bulatov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article explores aspects of the image of the holy fool in the context of Orthodox teaching in Eastern Europe. The phenomenon of people who are called holy fools in the thinking and teaching of the Orthodox religious tradition is a controversial issue and still causes conflicting opinions, because the actions of people called holy fools are difficult to understand both for simple observers and for Orthodox researchers. The contrast of opinions in the formation of the holy fool's gestalt is of particular interest to this study. Is the life of holy fools directly connected with sacred life and Orthodox …

17th Century Ecumenical Activities Between Ecumenical Patriarchate And The Early Protestant Churches, Svetoslav Ribolov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The ecumenical activities and contacts between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Protestant churches in the 17th century were largely shaped by two remarkable figures of the Orthodox Church–the Patriarch of Constantinople Cyril Lucaris and Metrophanes Kritopoulos, who later became the Patriarch of Alexandria. Their sincere desire for contact with Protestant theologians, along with their commitment to open dialogue and cooperation was the most important factor in Orthodox-Protestant relations in that era. However, while the political climate in Europe initially allowed for some rapprochement between Christians in the Ottoman Empire and those who had embraced the Reformation, things eventually changed after …

Gendered Labor Division In The Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Latvia Through The Lens Of Gifts And Reciprocity, Māra Neikena, Gareth E. Hamilton

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article explores the concepts of 'gift's and 'reciprocity' within anthropological literature and applies them to ethnographic fieldwork conducted within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. In interviews, pastors and members of parishes used the word 'gift' to rationalize gender differences in performed tasks and assumed inherent abilities of men and women. The article aims to investigate the variety of reciprocity that takes place when informants refer to the idea of the 'gift' in various social contexts. Through qualitative interviews, analysis highlights that the gendered labor division in managing the 'household' of a parish is tied to a sense of …

"God Has Given Women All Kinds Of Opportunities To Serve": How Media Discourse On The Ordination Of Women Constructs Understanding Of The Role Of Women In Church And Society, Ilva Skulte, Kristīne Briede

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The representation of a particular topic in the mass media not only forms the understanding of this topic at a particular moment of time, but also contributes to the cultivation of values and norms in a particular culture that go far beyond this topic. The discourse in media establishes relations of power between particular social groups and (re)structures the way people see the roles of those groups. This is why discussion of a particular case of denying ordination to women in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCL), the biggest church in Latvia, is determined by and has an impact on …

From The History Of The Religious Life Of The Ossetians, An Ethnic Minority Living In Georgia (Goat Cult Associated With St. Elijah), Giorgi Sosiashvili Prof. Dr., Aleksandre Mgebrishvili Prof. Dr.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article explores the historical and cultural interactions between the Georgian and Ossetian peoples, tracing their complex relationship from ancient times to the present. It highlights the origins of the Ossetians, stemming from the Scythian-Sarmatian tribes and the Alans, who migrated to the North Caucasus in the early Middle Ages. The work discusses the impact of Mongol invasions on Ossetian settlement patterns and how Christianization efforts, particularly from Georgian missionaries, facilitated cultural exchange and integration. Key historical figures, such as the Apostle Andrew and St. Nino, played significant roles in promoting Christianity among the Ossetians. The article also examines the …

Religious Musical Art Of Ukraine In The Conditions Of Cultural Transformations, Maksym Melnychuk, Oleh Sokolovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article explores Ukrainian religious musical art and highlights the transformative aspects of the development of Ukraine's spiritual music against the backdrop of cultural and historical changes. This phenomenon is analyzed as both a manifestation of the religiosity of the Ukrainian nation and its spiritual essence, as well as the result of the creative pursuits of composers--their doubts and efforts to infuse musical harmony with religious meaning and envelop their works with profound Christian significance. Spiritual music manifests and functions in various spheres of social existence but most naturally, fully, and effectively demonstrates its “life parameters” within temple and church …

Discursive Femininity In The Encounter Of Sultan Kamil And St. Francis, Zilka Spahić Šiljak

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In discussions about violence, wars, and peacebuilding, we often hear essentialist arguments about women and men, equating men with masculine and women with feminine characteristics, while avoiding the acceptance that both genders contain both sets of traits, depending on how they are nurtured and exhibited. Socialization polarizes and solidifies essentialist views on gender roles, and any deviation from these norms is sanctioned through stigmatization and exclusion. However, the greatest male spiritual authorities in the world serve as examples of embracing the feminine within themselves, and it is this acceptance that makes them memorable and continues to inspire humanity today. Two …

Use Of The Council Of Religious Cults By The Totalitarian Regime To Fight Against Protestant Communities In Ukraine, Oksana Vysoven, Olga Shkolna, Alina Zadorozhnya, Yuriy Figurnyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the use of the Council for the Affairs of Religious Cults in the fight against Protestant communities in Ukraine by the totalitarian government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In the 1940s, the Council for the Affairs of Religious Cults, created by the order of J. Stalin, directed all of its activities to the unification of Protestant communities and their comprehensive subordination to the totalitarian government. In the 1950s and 1960s the Council for the Affairs of Religious Cults continued to successfully perform the registration, control, punitive, and repressive functions towards Protestant communities in Ukraine and …

Coverage Of Charity In The Pr Activities Of Ukrainian Churches, Yuliia Kondratiuk, Oleksandr Mosienko, Lesia Zaiko, Nadiya Yablonska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Information technologies have an active impact on the development of the information society. The paradigm shift in humanity's communication capabilities has occurred with the active use of Internet technologies, which has accelerated the communication process in modern society. Societies are modernizing due to the widespread use of Internet communication to transmit information. This outlines the undoubted value of the possibility of rapid interaction between organizations and the public. The purpose of the article is to study the content and central areas of public relations (PR) activities of Ukrainian churches, analyzing the example of the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church …

"The Mission Of The Church In The Post-War Perspective Of Ukraine": International Theological Conference 2024, Vladyslav Fulmes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

On June 06, 2024 Volyn Orthodox Theological Academy (Lutsk, Ukraine) held an international theological conference “The Mission of the Church in the Post-war Perspective of Ukraine”. Brief information about this international scientific conference is given.

Academic Reasearch On Saint Sava Of Serbia In Greece, Ioannis Kaminis

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The paper examines Greek Academic studies dedicated to Saint Sava, the first archbishop of the Serbs. It focuses on St. Sava's activities, the historical relations between Greeks and Serbs during the Middle Ages and beyond, and the most significant research on the Serbian saint. The analysis primarily addresses books concerning the Orthodox Church in Serbia, featuring prominent researchers such as Antonios-Emilios Tachiaos, Ioannis Tarnanidis, Athanasios Angelopoulos, Dimitrios V. Gonis, and Georgios-Nectarios Loes, along with one postgraduate thesis and one dissertation. The study concludes with a critical assessment of the current state of research and proposes potential future avenues for studying …

Bulgarian Orthodox Theologians As Participants In The Negotiations For Church Unification With The Old Catholic Church In The Second Half Of The 20th Century – According To Archival Sources And Research, Ivan Yovchev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

After the First Pan-Orthodox Conference on the island of Rhodes (1961), the relations between the Orthodox Church and the Old Catholic Church were increasingly activated and strengthened, with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church taking an active part, which has a established tradition in this direction, mainly because of the activity of Prof. protopresbyter Stefan Tsankov between the two world wars. His work was continued by other theologians as representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the negotiations with the Old Catholics for unification, which were held in various forums. In the course of proposed article, their names and activities are discussed …

Frontmatter (Volume 44, Issue 1), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

The Estonian And Latvian Orthodox Churches Of The Moscow Patriarchate Before And After The Russian War In Ukraine, Priit Rohtmets, Valdis Teraudkalns

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

From the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine the Baltic Orthodox churches subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) have gone through considerable changes in their canonical status, but have also stood out with controversial public statements about the war.

In this article we analyse how the Orthodox churches of the Moscow Patriarchate have reacted to the Russian war in Ukraine and what have been the major canonical changes in Latvia and Lithuania. Additionally, we describe the most important narratives, which the churches have used when speaking about the ongoing war and pay attention to the reaction, which these …

Inter-Orthodox Conflicts In Ukraine And The Movement To Unite Ukrainian Orthodox Churches In The 20th And 21st Century, Tetiana Havryliuk, Yuriy Chornomorets, Bogdan Gulyamov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

he article analyzes the historical conditions in which the movement towards independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church took place. It is shown that the stages of formation of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine coincided with the stages of the Ukrainian people's struggle for state independence. The role of P. Skoropadskyi's government in establishing Orthodox statehood and the idea of building a canonical Ukrainian church independent of the Russian Orthodox Church is revealed. It is shown that in the 40s of the last century two Ukrainian Orthodox churches were formed on the territory of Ukraine - the Autonomous Orthodox Church, …

Orthodoxy In Ukraine: Strategies Of Reconciliation, Tetiana Havryliuk, Yuriy Chornomorets, Vasyl Lozovytskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the inter-Orthodox conflict in Ukraine in the context of the search for ways of reconciliation. The path to reconciliation is shown to be a fundamental Christian principle capable of overcoming serious reasons for enmity and hatred, as has been repeatedly demonstrated in history. The potential of the concept of "open Orthodoxy" in the formation of a new culture of inter-Christian dialogue and coexistence is revealed, the implementation of which can ensure Ukraine not only the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, but also the unity of the Ukrainian people. The role of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious …

(Non)Synagogues In Slovakia, Peter Salner

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper uses archival and ethnological research to analyze the fates of former synagogues during two totalitarian regimes in present-day Slovakia. The processes described here were catalyzed by the Holocaust. Between 1938 and 1945, over 100,000 Jews from Slovakia were murdered. Out of the 228 Jewish religious communities (JRCs) active before the war, only 79 were reconstituted after liberation. Most were later disbanded because of aliyah to Palestine/Israel. Their abandoned synagogues passed into the administration of the newly founded Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities (CUJRC). During the Communist era (1948-1989), the majority of these synagogues were sold because the …

The Issue Of War In The Basic Social Concepts Of The Russian Orthodox Church And In The Compendium Of The Social Doctrine Of The Catholic Church: A Comparative Analysis, Olga Nedavnya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The assessment by the Russian Orthodox Church of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as a holy war prompts to determine whether this position of this Church is determined by its theological recommendations on social life, recorded in the Basics of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. The analysis of this current official document of the Russian Orthodox Church revealed that in the central part of its provisions, where the grounds for evaluating this or that war are given, there are references to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. This fact led to the need …

Ban Of The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate In Ukraine: Limitation Of Religious Freedom Or The Fight Against Russian Influence, Bohdan Synchak

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article reviews the activity of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine and abroad, particularly in the EU and the USA. The main problem this study deals with is the probable ban of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) in Ukraine, which is potential against the background of the consideration in the 2nd reading of draft law No. 8371, which refers to “impossibility of the activity of religious organizations in Ukraine, the management center (management) of which is located in the state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.” In the course of our review, the key question is whether …

Rabbi Mordukh Krol: “Little Man” In The Background Of The Soviet Epoch, Tetiana Savchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the life path of Rabbi Mordukh Krol in the background of the socio-political transformations in Soviet Ukraine (1920-1940s). For the first time, special sources are introduced into the scholarly circulation such as the Rabbi’s correspondences addressed to the Jews of Denmark, Germany, France, the USA, the USSR, Palestine, and Africa during the Holodomor. Major milestones of the Rabbi’s life are identified. He served in the Chernihiv and Melitopol Region, in Voroshylovhrad, Novoukrayinka of Odessa, and later Kirovohrad regions, in Dnipropetrovsk. Rabbi M. Krol, who was the father of many children, was forced to fight with the challenges …

The Activity Of Parliamentary Institutions In Ukraine And The Republic Of Poland In The Religious Sphere: A Comparative Analysis, Oleh Sokolovskyi, Serhii Stelnykovych, Liudmyla Horokhova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article provides a comparative analysis of the religious policies of parliamentary institutions in Ukraine and the Republic of Poland in regulating social relations in the sphere of religion. It overviews the principles, methods and mechanisms for the formation and implementation of state-church and interfaith relations. The influence of the church on the social and political life of Poland is noted, as it plays an important role in the formation of the state and nation and in preserving national identity. Secularization trends in Polish and Ukrainian societies have resulted in the decline of religiosity, in the weakening of the influence …

A Special Issue On The Ordination Of Women In Latvia, Paul B. Mojzes, Beth Admiraal, David Baer, Alex Rolfe

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Dace Balode

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Articles in this special issue of the journal are based on the research project "Living and Believing Gender in a Neo-Conservative Future: The Case of Women's (Non) Ordination in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church" which was funded by the Latvian Council of Science. They provide in-depth perspectives on how gender equality and the resistance to it are navigated within the religious practices and discourses in Latvia.

Tenets Of Neoconservatism: Biological And Theological Versions Of Life And Gender In Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Aivita Putniņa

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The paper examines the tenets of neoconservatism in current Christian discourse. The notion of life that evolves around biology and procreation is seen as a marker of conservative argumentation. As Jordanova (1995) has argued, a shift in the ‘natural’ association of children with their mothers instead of their fathers occurred in the18th century due to a shift in perspective in life sciences and technology. The new model of procreation involving both parents and a biological, rather than theological, understanding of the process supports arguments that justify not ordaining women and taking anti-LGBTQ+ positions while simultaneously deleting its historical ties to …

Sacred Discrimination: Latvian Lutheran Clergy Against Ordination Of Women, Ģirts Rozners

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper examines the resistance of contemporary Latvian Lutheran clergy to the ordination of women, rooted in historical factors and theological conservatism. It discusses the impact of Latvia's tumultuous history on theological discourse, revealing how practical concerns and traditionalism influenced the decision against women's ordination. Through clergy interviews, it uncovers a range of arguments used to justify this stance, exposing elements of sexism and neoconservatism. The clergy's prioritization of community identity over societal progress is evident, as they align with hierarchical leadership and resist external influences. This study highlights the disconnect between theological tradition and modern ethics, illustrating how theology …

Search For Resonance: The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church’S Quest For Relevance And Resonance Amidst The Complexity Of Contemporary Societal Discourse, Jānis Meļņikovs

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This investigation examines the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church's role in Latvia's political debates, uncovering diverse opinions within the church on its public policy influence. Despite some members' active opposition and others' reluctance to engage in polarizing topics, the church steadfastly positions itself as a moral arbiter in society. Applying Hartmut Rosa's theories on public discourse and resonance, the study proposes the church as a place for deep, meaningful engagement with faith and society, where resonant experiences can foster individual and community well-being. Analysis of interviews illustrates the church's struggle to maintain its values in a modern, secular world, with individual …