Eastern European Studies Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Letter To An Unknown Hero Of Kiev, Mustafa Ceric

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A letter of solidarity to the besieged in Kiev, from Mustafa Ceric, Ph.D. Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia.

An Appeal Of Covenant, Mustafa Ceric

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia, calls on Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders in Russia to oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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.

Scholarly Study Of Religion In Ukraine, Vita Tytarenko, Liudmyla Fylypovych, Larysa Vladychenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the specifics of religious studies of religious minorities (RM). This religious phenomenon needs a concrete applied methodology that would make it possible to study the RM in its entirety. It is proposed to rely on the materials, which, in this case were the materials of a sociological study conducted within the project "Religious Minorities of Ukraine and State-Religious Relations" (2021), carried out by the authors of the article. As a result, it was clarified which religious organizations should be attributed to the RM, and how they differ from the religions of the majority, who have specific needs …

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 Level Of Accessibility Of Inclusive Design Of Christian Temples And Churches In Ukraine, Olga Polumysna, Oktyabrina Chemakina, Valeriy Bulatov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article explores the issues of accessibility of inclusive design of Christian churches in Ukraine. The principle of accessibility as the main element of inclusive design often causes a conflict of interests in modern Ukrainian society, as it requires changes in the existing state of affairs. To make the subject-spatial environment accessible not only in everyday life, production, but also in the Christian sacred environment is one of the primary tasks of inclusive design. Many Christian churches in Ukraine are not ready to accept people with inclusion since the conditions of accessibility are not met. One of the reasons is …

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 …

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 …

Training Of Military Chaplains For The Armed Forces Of Ukraine In Conditions Of The Invasion By The Russian Federation, Bogdan Synchak, Petro Livak, Mykhailo Fedorenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the comprehensive training of military chaplains for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The legislative basis of chaplaincy, and the methods and state of its implementation are characterized. The problems that can befall a military chaplain are identified, in particular the contradiction in the combination of military service and pacifism. The development of chaplaincy in Ukraine is outlined. Active assistance to the chaplaincy began only after the Orange Revolution (2004-2005). The following year, a legislative act was made through the directive “On streamlining issues of meeting the religious needs of the military personnel of the Armed Forces of …

Alexey Starostin (Ed.) Muslims In Russia’S Far East: History And Contemporary Situation. (Book Review), Elena Glavatskaya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Alexey Starostin (ed.) Мусульмане на Дальнем Востоке России: история и современность (Muslims in Russia’s Far East: History and Contemporary Situation). Kazan’ : Typografia “Algoritm+”, 2020, 656 pp, hardback. ISBN: 978-5-6042963-5-6.

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

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Reconciliation Attempts And The Return To Conflict In The Balkans, 2010-2022 (And Parallels To The Russian War On Ukraine), Vjekoslav Perica

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"Hopefully there will be soon peace in Ukraine, and another attempt at reconciliation in Western Balkans. Even as mostly symbolic and commemorative practices, these endeavors proved that they improve social trust and reduce interethnic tensions. There still remains the question about the purpose and long-term goals of such reconciliation efforts. In my 2021 book, Reconciliation and Last Days, published in Belgrade, Serbia, I argue that postwar reconciliation projects make sense, provided there is a new beginning for wartime enemies, that is, the peoples, faiths, and states in the region. In other words, the purpose of a longer period of peace …

Ukrainian Clergy From The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Uoc) Want Patriarch Kirill To Appear Before An Ecclesiastical Court

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"More than 400 clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), who belong to the Moscow Patriarchate, have signed a call, to put Patriarch Kirill before an Ecclesiastical Court. What they have in mind is a gathering of the leaders of the ancient eastern churches, also the heads of the Orthodox churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The heads of the ancient Patriarchates, during church history had exercised numerous times the function of a supreme ecclesiastical court for Orthodoxy."

Translated by Walter Sawatsky

The Holocaust In Slovakia: The Deportation Of 1942 Through The Prism Of Oral History, Peter Salner

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

On October 28, 1918, after the end of the Great War, Slovakia became part of the Czechoslovak Republic. Two decades later, on October 6, 1938, the country’s political leadership declared autonomy, and within a few months, on March 14, 1939, the Slovak National Assembly voted for the establishment of an independent state. Already during the period of autonomy, the government adopted anti-Jewish legislation (this trend would continue throughout the brief lifespan of the new state) aimed at gradually shutting Jews out of social and economic life. This state-sponsored persecution of the Jews culminated in mass deportations which began in 1942. …

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 …

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 …