Fooling The West: Top-Secret Work Of The Kgb Manipulating Protestants Of The Ussr Regarding Religions Outside The Ussr, 1954-1957,
2023
Poltava National Pedagogical University
Fooling The West: Top-Secret Work Of The Kgb Manipulating Protestants Of The Ussr Regarding Religions Outside The Ussr, 1954-1957, Oleksandr Korotaiev
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article presents the issue of the use of the Protestant clergy by the Soviet special services in matters of intelligence and counterintelligence work abroad and among the Baptist World Alliance delegations that visited the USSR in the 1950s. The article contains the names of KGB agents and their secret pseudonyms and describes for the first time the specific areas of their intelligence work, which they conducted under religious cover in the interests of the KGB, the Soviet regime abroad, and in the USSR. The article also publishes excerpts from a top-secret KGB document (“Measures to strengthen the intelligence and …
Representation Of Religious Minorities In Lithuanian Confessional Education,
2023
George Fox University
Representation Of Religious Minorities In Lithuanian Confessional Education, Iveta Klimavičiūtė
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This article analyzes the situation of religious minorities in a Christian dominated sociopolitical environment in Lithuania through the confessional religious education (RE) system. Representation of religious minorities based on confessional model thus raises questions on majority and minority religions’ coexistence, whilst the latter neither legally, nor normatively experience such linkage with the State as majorified religion does. The empirical part of the study, based on content analysis of curricula and teaching aids, reveals that although tolerance of other religions is mentioned, there is also a visible hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church, and of Christianity in general. Non-traditional religious communities …
The War In Ukraine And Political Theology In Poland,
2023
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland.
The War In Ukraine And Political Theology In Poland, Christopher Garbowski
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
In the broadest of terms, political theology can be defined as “the analysis of political arrangements (including cultural-psychological, social, and economic aspects) from the perspective of God’s ways with the world.”1 Since the world changes, as do the politics accompanying them, political theology is of necessity a dynamic branch of the theological enterprise. The editors to the second edition of The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Theology note a number of such changes that justify the expanded second edition of their handbook, including—what is most pertinent for understanding political theology at present in Poland—“the discourse on religion and violence, …
Frontmatter (Volume 43, Issue 4),
2023
Rosemont College
Frontmatter (Volume 43, Issue 4), Paul B. Mojzes
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
No abstract provided.
Russian Orthodox Church As Apologist For The Current Russian Aggression,
2023
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Kyiv
Russian Orthodox Church As Apologist For The Current Russian Aggression, Valentyn Krysachenko, Alina Zadorozhnya, Yulia Lebedeva, Yuriy Figurnyi
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article analyzes the criminal character of the Russian Orthodox Church as an apologist for Russian imperial aggression. The concept of canonical territory is the ideological basis for the intervention of the Russian Orthodox Church in the internal affairs of independent states. Historically, the creation and growth of the network of the Russian Orthodox Church structures on its territory took place by illegal means, and the concept of canonical territory as a political trend was introduced in 1989 as a means of maintaining its own dominance in the post-Soviet states. The concept of “canonical territory” in the interpretation of the …
Christian Denominations On The Territory Of Ukraine In The First Half Of The 20th Century (1900-1939),
2023
Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design, Ukraine
Christian Denominations On The Territory Of Ukraine In The First Half Of The 20th Century (1900-1939), Fedir Prodanyuk
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article examines the state of Christian denominations in the territory of Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century. It has been established that the Christian religion occupied an important place in the life of Ukrainian society. However, the period of prosperity and oppression simultaneously fell in the first 40 years of the 20th century. The confessional policy of the Soviet Union, which came to replace the tsarist authorities, gave a limited privileged position for some Christian churches while creating harsh conditions for other denominations. As a rule, these were Protestant movements, but the Orthodox Church also experienced …
"The War Factor" In The History Of The Late Protestantism In Ukrainian Lands Via The Policy Of The Russian Autocracy,
2023
Poltava V. G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University
"The War Factor" In The History Of The Late Protestantism In Ukrainian Lands Via The Policy Of The Russian Autocracy, Roman Sitarchuk
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article explores the impact of war on the movements of late Protestantism on the territory of Ukraine. The study is based on the three largest Protestant denominations in Ukraine: Baptists, Pentecostals, and Adventists. Due to the refusal of the Protestants to do military service and fight with weapons, the Russian autocracy suppressed and created difficult conditions for believers of the Protestant denominations on the territory of Ukraine. Before the First World War, the refusal of Protestants to engage gave the state an argument for why the Protestants were not reliable members of society. This study uses as a basis …
Semantics Of The Symbol "Z" In The Religious Ideology Of The Russian Federation,
2023
National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, Ukraine
Semantics Of The Symbol "Z" In The Religious Ideology Of The Russian Federation, Ivan Ostashchuk, Volodymyr Litkevych
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article analyzes for the first time the identification and content of Russian military symbols and their use in Russian Orthodoxy. At the linguistic level, it was found that such word formation Z-Orthodoxy was taken from the publications and public speeches of Archimandrite Kyrylo Govorun. Our study focuses on the proposal to use the neologism Z-Orthodoxy to demonstrate some semantic interpretations in the context of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the entire democratic world. As a result of the analysis of the military symbols of the Russian Federation, Russian Orthodoxy found that after February 24, …
Strategy And Tactics Of Soviet Security Bodies In The Fight Against Religion And Religious Communities On The Territory Of Ukraine,
2023
Research Institute of Ukrainian Studies of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Kyiv,
Strategy And Tactics Of Soviet Security Bodies In The Fight Against Religion And Religious Communities On The Territory Of Ukraine, Olha Shakurova, Oksana Vysoven, Yuriy Figurnyi, Natalia Varodi
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article analyzes the strategy and tactics of state security agencies in the fight against religion and religious Protestant communities on the territory of Soviet Ukraine. It was revealed that the communist totalitarian system, in order to maintain its dominant position in society and master fully the consciousness of its population and influence its spiritual life (strategic task), shortly after the end of the Second World War, in 1946 in the system of the newly formed Ministry of State Security of the Soviet Union of the Socialist Republics and its republican departments created new special operational departments endowed with extraordinary …
Frontmatter (Volume 43, Issue 1),
2023
Rosemont College
Frontmatter (Volume 43, Issue 1), Paul B. Mojzes
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
No abstract provided.
The Czech Republic: From The Center Of Christendom To The Most Atheist Nation Of The 21st Century. Part 1. The Persecuted Church: The Clandestine Catholic Church (Ecclesia Silentii) In Czechoslovakia During Communism 1948-1991,
2023
George Fox University
The Czech Republic: From The Center Of Christendom To The Most Atheist Nation Of The 21st Century. Part 1. The Persecuted Church: The Clandestine Catholic Church (Ecclesia Silentii) In Czechoslovakia During Communism 1948-1991, Scott Vitkovic
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This research examines the most important historical, political, economic, social, cultural, and religious factors before, during, and after the reign of Communism in Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 2021 and their effect on the extreme increase in atheism and decrease in Christianity, particularly Roman Catholicism, in the present-day Czech Republic. It devotes special attention to the role of the Clandestine Catholic Church (Ecclesia Silentii) and the changing policies of the Holy See vis-à-vis this Church, examining these policies' impact on the continuing decline of Roman Catholicism in the Czech Republic after the collapse of Communism. The article also deals with Pope …
Media Coverage Of The Peacekeeping Activities Of Pope Francis' Support Of Ukraine In The Russian-Ukrainian Full-Scale War,
2023
Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences
Media Coverage Of The Peacekeeping Activities Of Pope Francis' Support Of Ukraine In The Russian-Ukrainian Full-Scale War, Bogdan Synchak, Mariia Ovchar, Valentyn Shevchuk, Eleanora Tsurina
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The relevance of the study is due to the significance of the influence of Pope Francis’ peacekeeping activities as the head of the Catholic Church on global geopolitics. This influence is being actively implemented within the framework of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Thus, the study of the international diplomatic activity of the pontiff in the context of supporting Ukraine is aimed at establishing the features of the peacekeeping work of the Holy See. The study presents an analysis of news coverage on the stated issues in popular Ukrainian and foreign publications from December 2021 to October 2022. The Washington Post, Politico, …
Russia’S False Claims To Holiness And Spiritual Superiority,
2023
Rosemont College
Russia’S False Claims To Holiness And Spiritual Superiority, Paul B. Mojzes
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
Among the many reasons given by President Putin and Patriarch Kirill, the secular and spiritual heads of the Russian Federation, for waging a totally unnecessary yet exceedingly cruel war against Ukraine is that Ukraine is allegedly a front for the corrupt and voracious West which aims to partition Russia. These two and their retinue claim that their synthesis of holiness and moral superiority is destined to cleanse the world of decadence.
The Nature And Motives Of Religiosity In An Atheistic State (On The Example Of Scientific Research Conducted In Soviet Ukraine),
2023
National Academy of Statistics, Accounting and Auditing (NASAA), Kyiv, Ukraine
The Nature And Motives Of Religiosity In An Atheistic State (On The Example Of Scientific Research Conducted In Soviet Ukraine), Tetiana Havryliuk, Vladyslav Diatlov
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This article analyzes methods for studying the nature and motives of religiosity of the population in the context of ideologically tinged academic science. The academic scientific approach to the studied branch, in this case, the religiosity of the population, ensured a large array of empirical material and the possibility to classify and structure it. This enriched the science of religion with new facts. The idea that religiosity could be overcome with the help of fundamental educational and scientific propaganda was refuted by data on the development of religiosity in the territory of Soviet Ukraine. The shortcoming of dominance of ideology …
The World Council Of Churches At The 11th General Assembly On The War In Ukraine,
2023
University of Helsinki, Finland
The World Council Of Churches At The 11th General Assembly On The War In Ukraine, Petja Kopperoinen
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2022 published a statement about the war in Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Peace and Justice in the European Region. The statement raised quite a lot discussion in the assembly, mostly about its failure to make any concrete suggestions in order to achieve peace. This essay provides a summary of the statement and of the discussion in the assembly. The essay points out a few flaws in the statement and shows the historical frame in which the statement was written.
Brief Observation Of The General Trajectory Of Western Media Coverage Of The Religious Situation In Ukraine,
2023
Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences
Brief Observation Of The General Trajectory Of Western Media Coverage Of The Religious Situation In Ukraine, Petro Livak, Daniil Palij
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article attempts to analyze the general trajectory of Western media coverage of the religious environment in Ukraine. Recently, the religious situation in Ukraine has become one of the strategic issues of national security, since it is relevant and important in the light of not only the religious, but also the political context of Ukraine. The study examines the journalistic activity of Western publications about the religious transformations of Ukraine from 2019 to 2023. This encompasses the intensity of the rapid confessional changes in Ukraine, the style of the journalistic text under study, the intensity of their media representation, and …
The Position Of Ukrainian Protestants Regarding The War In Ukraine: Rebuttal Of False Accusations Of Eurasianism,
2023
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
The Position Of Ukrainian Protestants Regarding The War In Ukraine: Rebuttal Of False Accusations Of Eurasianism, Valentyna Kuryliak
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This article analyzes the position of Ukrainian Protestants in relation to the issue of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The position of Professor Pavlo Pavlenko was taken as a basis, who, in most of his publications, claims that the Protestants of Ukraine are pro-Russian, pro-Eurasian, and take a position that is contrary to the national interests of Ukraine. It is proven by the example of the analysis of publications and statements of Ukrainian Protestants that the protection of the national interests of Ukraine after 2014 has become part of their religious culture. The article shows on the example of …
On The Phenomenon Of Populism And Extremism In The Balkans,
2023
George Fox University
On The Phenomenon Of Populism And Extremism In The Balkans, Mustafa Cerić
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This paper is based on my personal experience of war and peace in Bosnia. The basic notion is that it is easier to start a war than to stop it. Thus, postwar recovery or peacebuilding is not easy. But thanks to open-minded people who have been all along against a mythical populism that caused the bloody war against Bosnia and its autochthon people, the peace, although unjust, was reached after all. The focus here is on the idea of pluralism in Bosnia as an opposite to "populism" and "extremism." For a positive narrative like pluralism is a good way to …
Post-Soviet History Of Jehovah's Witnesses In Ukraine: From A Closed Sect To An Open Denomination,
2023
Institute of Philosophy named after GM Skovoroda of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Post-Soviet History Of Jehovah's Witnesses In Ukraine: From A Closed Sect To An Open Denomination, Vita Tytarenko, Liudmyla Fylypovych
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This article considers the changes that have taken place in the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) from the time of the USSR to today, when believers and their communities are having to fit into new historical circumstances. In peacetime JW occupied a relatively insignificant niche in the structure of religious life of Ukraine, overcoming the wary and sometimes openly negative attitude of the state, society, and other religious communities, formed by the Soviet regime. After 2014 JW are more and more confidently declaring their presence in Ukrainian society. Those who survived persecution and deportation during the Soviet era are regaining their rights …
The Pattern Of The Transformation Of The Religious Life Of The Armenian Diaspora In Ukraine: Conditions, Causes, Consquences,
2023
Lviv National Academy of Arts, Ukraine
The Pattern Of The Transformation Of The Religious Life Of The Armenian Diaspora In Ukraine: Conditions, Causes, Consquences, Iryna Haiuk
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article reveals the role of the Armenian Church in preserving the ethnic identity of Armenians in the diaspora on Ukrainian land. The transgression or adaptation of the religious and ecclesiastical sphere of Armenians to the new environment in Ukraine was a "soft" process, since it was a transition within a Christian society, and therefore not on religious, but on the confessional basis of "Own"/Christians, although "Others." The specifics of the mentality, general algorithms of migration and incorporation into the new socio-cultural environment determined the main aspects of the transition of the religious and ecclesiastical sphere of Armenians into the …
