Eastern European Studies Commons^™

Confrontation Of Orthodox Churches In Modern Ukraine: Reasons, Trends And Prospects Of Reconciliation, Nataliia Ishchuk, Oleksandr Sagan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The current canonical and social statuses as well as the relationship of the largest Orthodox churches in Ukraine are considered: the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine emerged on December 15, 2018, as a result of the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and a small number of representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. On January 6, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in accordance with the decision of the Synod of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate, together …

Reformation Of Confessional Spiritual Educational Institutions Of Ukraine: Containment Factors And Leadership Experience, Petro Kraliuk, Nadiya Sukhova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The main tendencies, prospects, and complexity of reforming confessional, educational establishments in Ukraine have been systematized and substantiated here. Based on statistics, their quantitative and qualitative characteristics are being examined. Their evolution has been traced from the final years of the Soviet Union to recent days. Currently there are 204 establishments of this kind operating in Ukraine. Due to their large number, they are mostly small. Most of them have dozens of students studying there. Usually, they lack complete and qualified teaching staff and adequate facilities. Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, and representatives of other denominations get theological education there. …

The Socialist Impact On Christian-Muslim Shared St. Naum Monastery, Evelyn Reuter

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Shared religious places may be provocative phenomena—for the members of the sharing communities as well as for uninvolved observers. An increasing number of research literature focusing on the contesting character of such places and the consequences for the identities of sharing communities serves as evidence for that thesis. The heads of the theoretical discussion regarding the influence of sharing religious and political identities are the anthropologists, Robert Hayden and Glenn Bowman. Due to the long-lasting Christian- Muslim contacts characterized by peaceful as well as conflicting interaction, both bring examples from Southeastern Europe, especially from the post-Yugoslavian context. It is obvious …

Frontmatter (Volume 40, Issue 2)

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

'Converted Co-Ethnics': Romanian Migrants In The Northern Serbian Province Of Vojvodina, Aleksandra Djurić-Milovanović

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In this paper, my case study highlights Romanian neo-Protestant migrants from Serbia who either returned to their “home country,” or work on different missionary activities among their co-ethnics after the fall of communism. To a large degree, members of the Romanian minority in Serbia belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is the dominant confession, then a smaller number to the Romanian Greek-Catholic church and various neo-Protestant communities, such as the Nazarene, the Adventist, the Baptist, and the Pentecostal community. Starting from the hypothesis that the conversion of the Romanians in Serbia to neo-Protestantism is closely related to issues of …

Book Review: God’S Spies: The Stasi’S Cold War Espionage Campaign Inside The Church, James R. Payton Jr.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Review of Elisabeth Braw, God’s Spies: The Stasi’s Cold War Espionage Campaign Inside the Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019. $25.00 (hardcover). ISBN: 978-0-8028-7525-9.

Thirty Years Of Religious Freedom In Russia: The Case Of Ekaterinburg, Elena Glavatskaya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The religious revival, which began nationwide during the USSR’s last decade, affected all religious denominations, including the so-called “traditional” religions, which had deep roots in Imperial Russia’s history, and new religions that appeared after the collapse of Soviet ideology. The religious renaissance manifested itself through the rapidly increasing number of religious communities, religion’s fast penetration into social and political life, and the church buildings that mushroomed all over the country. This article focuses on the history of the religious landscape in Russia since 1989, using the city of Ekaterinburg as a case study. We use the religious landscape concept to …

Guest Editorial: Interreligious Encounter And Religious Change In Former Yugoslavia, Aleksandra Djurić-Milovanović

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In this issue of OPREE, three case studies by Gašper Mithans, Evelyn Reuter, and Aleksandra Djurić-Milovanović explore interreligious encounters in Yugoslavia and religious transformations that brought new dynamics in interreligious relations between majority and minority religions.

Atomization, Decentralization, And Sustainability: Prominent Trends On The Russian Protestant Church Scene, William Yoder

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"At least in Russia–and China–the age of euphoria prominent 30 years ago is gone. The church missions committed to short-term gains have left for greener pastures and the congregations remaining behind are now, more than ever, required to determine their own fates. Increasingly required to live from their own funding, church projects are becoming more sustainable. Huge building and educational projects are only a memory. This general and expected course of events can be attributed in part to short attention spans in the West; increased government pressure is only one of numerous factors."

Religious Conversions And Religious Diversification In Interwar Yugoslavia And Slovenia, Gašper Mithans

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

With the foundation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, the respective nationalities and ethnic communities were faced with the reality of a multi-confessional state. Internal migration and minority policy, in particular, set in motion a slow diversification in the religious sphere, even in the ethnically and religiously extremely homogeneous territory of Slovenia. This paper aims to analyze the role that religious converts—who were largely former Catholics—played during the interwar period in Slovenian regions in the phenomenon of the gradual transformation of the religious landscape over a long period of time. Converts were an important part of almost all …

Anti-Jewish Propaganda In The Ndh And The Slovak State, Madeline Vadkerty

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"This paper examines the nature of the anti-Semitic propaganda used by the Slovak State and the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska -- NDH) during World War II, taking into account the two countries’ unique and common objectives, evolving political contexts, strategies, and tactics. The paper also analyzes how those activities fit into the wider strategy of nation building and the attempt to create a new collective identity which was to be predicated on the concept of exclusivity and racial/cultural superiority."

The Handmaid Of The Lord Redux: Constructing The New Orthodox Womanhood Between Cradle And Convert, Katherine Kelaidis

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"In an era when questions of sexuality and gender dominate much of the debate in theological circles, regardless of religious or confessional affiliation, the meaning of Orthodox Christian womanhood remains a simultaneously over-discussed and under-theorized aspect of these conversations. This article attempts to address this discrepancy by articulating and problematizing some of the myriad of forces that are shaping the construction of Orthodox Christian womanhood and the identity of Orthodox Christian women today. In particular, we explore how the “Culture Wars” (a once largely American political phenomenon) have internationalized and become a major force in the articulation of gender both …

Book Review: Russia Abroad: An Anthology Of Modern Philosophical Thought, Aleksandr Nikolaevich Chumakov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

“In September and November 1922, two ‘philosophical steamboats-‘ – the “Oberburgomaster Haken” and the “Prussia”- transported about 160 people from the Soviet city of Petrograd to the German city of Stettin. ‘Outstanding figures of Russian philosophy, culture and science’ were forced to emigrate including Nikolai Berdyaev, Semyon Frank, Ivan Ilyin, Lev Karsavin, Nikolai Lossky and many others. ” This is how Mikhail Sergeev, Doctor of Philosophy of the University of the Arts (Philadelphia, USA), and the initiator and compiler of Russia Abroad: An Anthology of Modern Philosophical Thought begins his preface.

Representation Of Non-Religious And Atheistic Identities In A Highly Religious Society - Croatian Case, Nikolina Hazdovac Bajić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Since the beginning of the nineties and the collapse of communism, non-religiosity and atheism in Croatia became socially non-desirable and non-conformist positions. In sociological terms, however, these phenomena have been largely overlooked, since scholars have focused mainly on trends in religiosity and public role of religion. The aim of this paper is to get the first scientific insight into the representation of individual non-religious and atheistic identities among the members of the organizations that gather non-religious people and atheists. The paper seeks to answer specific research questions: How are non-religious and atheistic identities presented at the level of everyday life …

Book Review: The Orthodox Church In Ukraine: A Century Of Separation, Joseph Loya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

“Fog of war” commonly names the complete lack of situational awareness amidst a singular lethal engagement, but it may also describe the absence of clarity regarding the foundational reasons, societal dimensions, and collateral impact of years of continuous armed combat. Denysenko’s book provides the necessary bearings for navigating within a mist of ecclesial conflict pitting opposing sides of an effort to establish an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church apart from the Moscow Patriarchate, a fray that also extends to impact global Orthodox interchurch relations. Indeed, the fallout from this seemingly intractable clashing looks to roil global Orthodoxy through the foreseeable future. …

What 1990 Meant For My Country..., Thomas Bremer

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

When I started thinking about what to write in this essay, my first thought was: I am probably from the country that was affected most of all by the events of 1998-1990. I am German, and I live in Germany, the country through which the East-West-divide went, most visibly through Berlin in form of the wall. But after a short time, I thought of the countries on which I concentrate most in my research—Russia and Ukraine, on the one hand, and Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand. Thirty years ago, they all belonged to larger countries, …

Frontmatter (Volume 40, No.1), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Paul B. Mojzes, Beth Admiraal

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

We hope you, our readers, find these reflections on the 30-year anniversary of the Great Transformation to be both edifying and fulfilling

The Idea Of A National Church In The Ukrainian Intellectual Discourse, Natalia Ishchuk, Oleksandr Sagan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The reception of the idea of a national church in the Ukrainian intellectual environment in the context of current socio-political events in the country is examined here. Among the most influential Ukrainian religious scholars, there is a dominant idea that the formation of a national church is a part of the state formation and security of the country. They opposed historical distortions of this idea, as it occurs in case of ethnophyletism—domination of the national over the ecclesiastical, and etatism—the domination of the state, imperial (in the form of the Orthodox empire) over the ecclesiastical. Signs of these distortions are …

The Ustaše And The Roman Catholic Church In The Independent State Of Croatia, Golda Retchkiman

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

On April 6, 1941, the Axis—German, Italian, Bulgarian and Hungarian military forces- invaded, occupied and partitioned Yugoslavia. Four days later, Slavko Kvaternik, the commander of the Ustaša forces, assumed power in Zagreb and proclaimed the New Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH). On April 10, Ante Pavelić arrived as head of the Ustaša, who was exiled in Italy under the protection of Mussolini, since he and his followers were wanted by the governments of France and Yugoslavia, accused of plotting the assassinations of the French Prime Minister Louis Barthou and King Alexander of Yugoslavia.1 One of his first …

How Ethnic And Religious Nationalism Threaten The Bosnian State, Matthew James Hone

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

When the wars ceased in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, as in the aftermath of other past conflicts in the Balkans, ethnic and religious divisions prevailed. Bosnia Herzegovina is perhaps the most vulnerable of the newly independent states of the former Yugoslavia, partially due to the manner it was established. Ethnic cleansing and discord have marred Bosnia while the three principal ethnoreligious entities continue to struggle to maintain their distinct identity within the context of a convoluted political system wrestling against domestic and international intrigue. Ethnoreligious nationalism threatens to further rupture the Bosnian state and create a renewed state …

Religion In Eastern Europe After The Fall Of Communism: From Euphoria To Anxiety, Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In the decades prior to the implosion of the communist system, change could be discerned here and there in Eastern Europe. The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview of the most pertinent developments that spurred the transition from communism to post-communism, employing some fairly broad brushstrokes to make my case.

Winds Of Change 1989: A Perspective From An Office For Religious Affairs Somewhere In Eastern Europe, Vjekoslav Perica

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Under communism, in what used to be Eastern Europe, religion was neither outlawed nor favorably regarded either. In some cases, church and state had been at latent or open war as in Poland or in the former Yugoslavia. There, church-state relations radically changed over the course of more than five decades, which is the theme of this article. Confrontations began in 1945 and spanned to 1953. Accommodations from 1966 to 1980 permitted a relatively peaceful coexistence between church and state. Thereafter the public religions and ethnic mobilizations of the 1980s escalated into the Balkan wars of the 1990s. It was …

Thirty Years Later: The Pentecostal Church In Romania And Religious Freedom In The Post-Communist Era, Dragoș Ștefănică

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The aim of the present paper is to provide a brief presentation of the evolution of religious freedom in Romania since the 1989 Revolution from the perspective of a Pentecostal believer. To better understand what this event meant for this denomination, first the situation of the Pentecostal movement in the interwar and communist times will be presented, and then survey the changes brought by the fall of the communist regime and how religious freedom evolved in the past three decades.

Transnational Migration And Ethnic And Religious Renewal Amongst The Ethnic German Minority In Romania, Ovidiu Oltean

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The normalization of inter-ethnic relations after the fall of communism and the establishment of a rather inclusive minority regime has opened up new possibilities for the ethnic and religious minorities in Romania. Social, cultural and religious life has seen a pluralization and revival that was not possible during communism. Ethnic minorities developed new forms of cultural and ethnic expression and gained new leveraging instruments in relation to the ethnic Romanian majority. As Romanian society has grown more pluralistic, not only has political and cultural life developed and become more diverse but also religious forms of expression and religious organizations have …

Thirty Years Later: Being Orthodox In Romania, Then And Now, Claudia Chiorean

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"Romanians know themselves to be traditionally Orthodox, so they declare themselves in censuses as belonging to the majority religion. But in fact, in practice, only about 30 percent are Orthodox practitioners....

If I, as a Romanian, belong to the two-thirds who have only declared themselves Orthodox without living the faith in its true dogmatic dimensions, this means I have replaced God in my life with the Internet, with the psychologist, with my job, with trips, with activities which distract my attention from myself and from my own identity."

Reflections On Jehovah’S Witnesses In Romania: A Thirty-Year Retrospective, Ionut Moraru

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article provides testimony from and data about Jehovah’s Witnesses in Romania, who have suffered persecution both before and after the fall of Communism. In recent years the government has taken steps to officially recognize and protect Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Foreword To This Special Issue, Beth Admiraal

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The door that opens up to religious freedom does not always lead to expected places. Our contributors, reflecting on the past thirty years for religion in Romania, note both the joys and tribulations of freedom."

Book Review: The Victory Of The Cross: Salvation In Eastern Orthodoxy, Paul Crego

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The Victory of the Cross: Salvation in Eastern Orthodoxy is the latest book by James R. Payton, Jr., emeritus professor of history at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. His previous books include Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition. He also edited A Patristic Treasure: Early Church Wisdom for Today.

Crimean Anti-Religious Persecution In 2018 And 2019, Felix Corley

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In Russian-occupied Crimea in 2018, there were 23 prosecutions brought against individuals for ill-defined "missionary activity," of which 19 ended with punishment, Forum 18 has found. Many of those punished were prosecuted for sharing their faith on the street or for holding worship at unapproved venues. Cases against two more were due to be heard in mid-January 2019. This represents a doubling of such cases in the Crimean peninsula since the first year such punishments for "missionary activity" were imposed. July 2016 to July 2017 saw 13 known cases of which eight ended in punishment.