Religion Commons^™

Landscape Design And Architecture Of Wooden Churches In Ukraine, Valentyna Kuryliak, Volodymyr Dudarets, Valeriy Bulatov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the features of landscape design and architecture of wooden churches in Ukraine. Analysis of literary sources shows that the sacred wooden architecture of Ukraine is a source of inspiration for artists, art historians, writers, and other people interested in church buildings made of wood. During the research process, it was found that the natural landscape exactly complements the architecture of wooden temples, creating a natural environment for worshiping God. It is important to emphasize the following features, highlighted in the study of temple structures made of wood on the territory of Ukraine. First, the builders carefully selected …

Church, State And Human In The Process Of Secularization, Metropolitan Luke (Andriy Kovalenko)

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the processes of socio-cultural change under conditions of secularization. The conditions for the appearance of several secularization areas are considered, and the features of their formation and their current state are revealed. Analysis of the anthropological factor in the processes of secularization is carried out and its role in the process of desecularization is shown. Within the framework of secularization, there has been an expansion of the possibilities for a person to determine his or her understanding of the connection with God. As a result, a new socio-religious population stratum has formed: those who consider themselves believers, …

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church: Foundation And Beginnings In Post-War Germany, Vladyslav Fulmes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) met many obstacles regarding its activities from the Soviet and German occupation regimes. Due to persecution and oppression, the hierarchy and clergy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church decided to emigrate. Preserving the canonical episcopate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church began a new stage of existence in emigration, ushering a new period of activity of UAOC. This study is relevant to modern historical science since the study and introduction into the scientific sphere of new archival documents and memoirs of contemporaries gives an opportunity to establish a coherent picture of the activities of the UAOC …

Book Review: Anna Niedźwiedź And Kaja Kajder, Eds., Mapy Miasta: Dziedzictwa I Sacrum W Przestrzeni Krakowa / Maps Of The City: Heritages And The Sacred Within Kraków’S Cityscape., Christopher Garbowski

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The book Maps of the City is the result of an exhibition at The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków that was held between November 2017 and February 2018. As the subtitle makes clear, the exhibition focused on the place of heritage and the sacred within Kraków’s cityscape, together with the relationship between the two, both for the city’s residents and visitors. The latter group includes pilgrims. The curator of the exhibition was Anna Niedźwiedź, a cultural anthropologist at Jagiellonian University and author of The Image and the Figure: Our Lady of Częstochowa in Polish Culture and Popular Religion (2010). …

Surzhyk, Andás Máté-Tóth

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Confessional Style Of The Ukrainian Language, Kostiantyn Kampen, Svitlana Romanchuk, Daniil Palij

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The scientific work presents the practical possibilities of stylistics in the development of the confessional variety of the Ukrainian language, covering its diachronic and synchronic planes of study. The authors raise the question of the classification of the confessional style, outline its problems, and to demonstrate the patterns of speech that highlight the characteristic features of this stylistic variety. The areas of use, the dynamics of development, the limits of influence, and the popularity of the style are considered; lexico-stylistic units are listed as an illustrative example. The temporal dimension encompassed by the style begins during paganism in the Ukrainian …

Chronology Of Church-Related Public Statements On The Russian War Against-Ukraine War, (February 25-March 16, 2022), Mark R. Elliott

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Historical Burdens And The “German Sonderweg”: Why It Is So Difficult For The Protestant Church In Germany To Stand On The Side Of The Victims In The Ukraine War, Katharina Kunter

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Excerpt: "An Open Letter initiated by the German theologian Ellen Ueberschär and me to the Synod, the Council of the Protestant Church of Germany (EKD) and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) was published the week before Pentecost.1 A broad spectrum of members of the Protestant Church in Germany signed the letter; so far around 90. These include many GDR Protestants who were formerly in the Christian opposition in the GDR and belonged to the civil rights movement of the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. From this circle, Marianne Birthler and Markus Meckel are perhaps the best-known …

Activities Of The Jehovah's Witnesses Organization As A "Litmus Test" For Religious Freedom In Ukraine, Roman Bogachev, Yana Tsymbalenko, Olena Leovkina, Igor Bogdanovskiy

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article deals with the history and present stage of activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization in Ukraine. The attitude and actions of a state and the majority of its population towards the activities of the Jehovists and other non-traditional religious communities is viewed as a “litmus test,” which reveals how successfully the principle of religious freedom and freedom of conscience is implemented in public policy. It is emphasized that, unlike during the Soviet period, when the Jehovists were persecuted for their beliefs and missionary work, a required legal framework for free development of this religion has been created in …

Luhansk (Donbas): Religious Freedom Survey, February 2022, Felix Corley, John Kinahan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Freedom of religion and belief is severely restricted in the rebel Luhansk People's Republic occupying currently (February 2022) about a third of Ukraine's Luhansk Region. Forum 18's survey analysis documents violations including: rendering illegal all Protestant and non-Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox communities; a climate of fear about discussing human rights violations; repeated denials of permission to a Roman Catholic priest to live in the region; and increasing numbers of banned allegedly "extremist" books, including an edition of the Gospel of John published in 1820.

All human rights including the freedom of religion and belief are severely restricted in the rebel self-declared …

Religious Revival Of Pentecostals In The Occupied Territories Of Ukraine In 1941-1943, Anton Shchelkunov, Svetlana Karpova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article studies the Pentecostal religious revival during the German occupation of the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. The study reveals that the Pentecostal religious organization, destroyed as a result of the Stalinist repressions, revived rapidly in 1941-1943. Analyzing the religious revival of Pentecostals, the authors of the article come to the following conclusions. 1)In the specific conditions of the Nazi occupation, an episcopal structure emerged among the Soviet Pentecostals, which is not otherwise characteristic of this religious movement. 2) At first, the occupation authorities were neutral or supportive of Pentecostals and did not interfere with the activities of Pentecostal …

The Image Of Jehovah's Witnesses In State Publications In The Ussr, Roman Orlovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The paper presents a description of the image of Jehovah's Witnesses in the anti-religious books of Soviet authors. A comparison is made of anti-religious books from the times of Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev. The main points that Soviet authors drew upon when describing the Religious Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses and its adherents in the Soviet Union are described. Under Khrushchev, anti-religious texts were imbued with offensive rhetoric in an attempt to humiliate members of this denomination in the minds of Soviet society. In turn, during the Brezhnev era, there was a significant decrease in the emotional and offensive coloring …

Religion And Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine, Beth Admiraal

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Putin's Invasion Of Ukraine And Disintegration Of States, Paul Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Excerpt: "As of February 24, 2022, the history of Eastern Europe and perhaps the world is changing like it did during the implosion of communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s. The fall of communism brought a major geopolitical realignment. It is too early to know what catastrophes Vladimir Putin’s attempt to reverse that realignment will bring. After 1990 several of the countries of Eastern Europe faced fragmentation. During the decade of the 1990s, Yugoslavia broke up into seven states in an eruption of war which was replete with genocides. Two other countries also partitioned, but in contrast to …

Ukrainian Orthodox Education In Historical Retrospective, Andrii Shevchuk, Fedir Prodanyuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article reflects the historical background and challenges of the Orthodox Church in establishing religious education in the process of spreading Orthodox Christianity. From historical analysis, one can observe the evolution of not only Orthodox education, but also church teaching, which in turn increased the rates of literacy and education in the population. Because of the work in the dioceses, namely the opening of educational centers, schools, colleges, etc. the general level of education increased. However, with the historical collapse and tumultuous events of Ukraine's past, the success of the Orthodox Church in these efforts has varied significantly in different …

Frontmatter (Volume 42, Issue 4), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Value Vectors Of The World Local Orthodox Churches Position Regarding Russia's War Against Ukraine, Oleksandr Brodetskyi, Iryna Horokholinska, Mykola Lahodych

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article deals with the religious contexts of the modern civilizational crisis caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Among the multitude of thematic lines of this set of problems, the article’s authors focus their attention precisely on the position of the world Orthodox Churches regarding this war. The concentration of such attention is objectively determined by the fact that the majority of Ukrainian citizens position themselves as Orthodox by faith, and therefore, are particularly sensitive to the opinion of the leaders of the Orthodox Churches of the world. The article examines the value aspects of the problem of …

Putin's Invasion Of Ukraine: What's Religion Got To Do With It?, Mark R. Elliot

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Summary

• As of February 24, 2022, as Russian air strikes, missiles, and tanks began pouring into an outmatched Ukraine, the Byzantine calculus of symphonia, of a mutually interdependent church and state, devolved into an unholy alliance joining at the hip a predatory Putin and a sycophantic Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kyrill.
• Especially over the past decade Patriarch Kyrill has tied the fate of his church to that of his patron Putin, the same tragic mistake made by the same church in its defense of tsarist Russia in its death throes.
• Since his accession in 2009, and emphatically since Russia’s moves against …

The Discursive Construction Of The Past: The 1686 Resubordination Of The Kyiv Metropolitanate, Ukrainian Autocephaly And The Conflict Of Moscow And Constantinople, Denys Shestopalets

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article focuses on the key historical aspect of the clash between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Constantinople Patriarchate in autumn 2018. It analyzes the conflicting representations of the re-subordination of the Kyiv Metropolitanate from the jurisdiction of Constantinople to the purview of Moscow in the second half of the 17th century. The study explores pivotal historical narratives and argumentative strategies employed by the two patriarchates (and, additionally, by the main ideologues of the Ukrainian autocephalist movement) for framing the events of 1686 and for shoring up their contemporary agendas with regards to the autocephalous status of the Orthodox Church …

The Restoration Of Church Orthodox Brotherhoods And Their Missionary Work In Right-Bank Ukraine, Ihor Opria, Oleksandr Fedkov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the process of restoring Orthodox church brotherhoods in the 1860s on the territory of the Right-Bank Ukraine, defines the goals and objectives of these organizations, and analyzes the content and consequences of missionary and related educational and charitable work. The subjects of the research are the Orthodox church brotherhoods and their missionary work. The analysis of historiography is carried out and the need for further scientific research in the study of the topic is indicated. The role of brotherhoods in interfaith encounters is clarified, as are the methods aimed at combating Late Protestant confessions. Despite a certain …

Jenny Vorpahl And Dirk Schuster (Eds). Communicating Religion And Atheism In Central And Eastern Europe. (Book Review), Oleg Kyselov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Jenny Vorpahl and Dirk Schuster (eds). Communicating Religion and Atheism in Central and Eastern Europe. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2020. 312 p. ISBN 978-3-11-054637-8 Hardcover $114.99.

Destructive Russian Orthodox Powerplay, Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Responses Of Christian Churches In Ukraine And Other Eastern European Countries To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Olga Nedavnya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the reaction of Christian Churches to the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. Attention is paid to the Churches in Ukraine and countries of similar political and cultural heritage (Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, etc.). The guidelines and practical activities of the Churches are analyzed, reflecting their response to various problems related to the pandemic. The corresponding differences occur not so much between different countries and peoples, but rather between different denominations. In general, more conservative, and sometimes fundamentalist, reactions are shown by the Orthodox Church, especially in parts of the Russian Orthodox Church in …

A Declaration On The ‘Russian World’ Teaching

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 is a historic threat to a people of Orthodox Christian tradition. More troubling still for Orthodox believers, the senior hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church has refused to acknowledge this invasion, issuing instead vague statements about the necessity for peace in light of “events” and “hostilities” in Ukraine, while emphasizing the fraternal nature of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples as part of “Holy Rus’,” blaming the hostilities on the evil “West,” and even directing their communities to pray in ways that actively encourage hostility."

World Council Of Churches (Wcc) Should Raise The Visibility Of Ukrainian Orthodox At The World Assembly (Karlsruhe, Sept. 2022): Interview With Professor Katharina Kunter, Katharina Kunter

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"I think, that the WCC Executive Committee meeting in June, will not be able to expel the ROC. In my view, that leaves only one reasonable solution, in order as ecumenical assembly to remain credible. The Ukraine must be made visible as Church in Karlsruhe. That means, the WCC (or the EKD) must immediately and officially approach the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OKU). They should offer it a “fast-track-membership in the WCC and offer it a visual public forum at the full assembly. The OKU is now already the largest Orthodox Church in the Ukraine, with nearly 50% of …

Open Letter To The Synod Of The Evangelical Church In Germany And The Central Committee Of The World Council Of Churches, Katharina Kunter, Ellen Ueberschär

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Excerpt: We are troubled by the prospect that the ROC, as a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), might spread its war propaganda on German soil and falsely portray itself as a victim when the WCC Assem bly convenes in Karlsruhe, Germany, from August 31 to September 8, 2022.

Despite your dedicated efforts, General Secretary Sauca, there are no indi cations of change in the ideological positions of the Moscow Patriarchate. On the contrary, your offer of a fraternal bridge was rejected by Patriarch Kirill with an incongruent reference to the Toronto Declaration of 1950 and followed up …

Frontmatter (Volume 42, Issue 7), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Religious Leadership And Critical Junctures In The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine: 104 War Days Of Metropolitan Hilarion, Alar Kilp, Jerry G. Pankhurst

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) was dismissed from his office on the 104th day (June 7, 2022) of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Was Hilarion dismissed because of his ‘silence’ on the Russian invasion? We study the 104 ‘war days’ of Metropolitan Hilarion from four dimensions: leadership as position; leadership as process; leadership as result; and leadership as person. Our findings are multivocal: the Russian invasion of Ukraine did become a leadership challenge for Hilarion the way that previous military interventions (in Ukraine and Syria) and …

Transformation Of Religious Feelings Of Vulnerable Populations Under Conditions Of Large-Scale Dangers In The Chernivtsi Region, Iryna Lazorevych

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Solving the challenges facing humanity requires the combined efforts of all humanity using a comprehensive approach. This also applies to the problem of HIV. In particular, in the context of the war in Ukraine, the crisis of marginalized groups deepened and people with HIV began to face more challenges than usual (because their treatment, which requires constant supervision and medication, is at risk). This article analyzes a survey conducted at the beginning of the invasion about the level of religiosity and trust in the church among HIV-positive people in wartime conditions. The issue of the problems of marginalized groups and …

Frontmatter (Volume 42, Issue 8), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.