Yuliana Lavrysh
The Church in the Maidan
What Has Changed?
The study attempts to offer an analysis of Maidan’s events in which the representatives of religious scene played a role. The author deals with the possible perspectives of Maidan as a spiritual basis for the further development of Ukrainian society. Events taking place since the end of 2013 marked the beginning of a new way of communication between the Church and society, which was symbolised by the opening of many churches for wounded demonstrators. The collaboration between the Church and the Government of President Viktor Yanukovych was ended. In the text there is considered the relationship of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to Maidan and the attempt to return to the idea of a unified Church in Ukraine. The study further indicates the implications of Maidan for Ukrainian religious space and society.
In Ukraine Ends the Epoch of “Homo Sovieticus”
Interview with Myroslav Marynovych
The interview with Myroslav Marynovych (1949), the prominent moral authority of today’s ¬Ukraine, former dissident, political prisoner, who is presently an active citizen, religionist and publicist, and currently a pro-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, scrutinises the Ukrainian society ¬changes after Maidan, the significance of Ukrainian religion today, and the role of Ukrainian Catholic University in the Ukrainian transformation.
Radko Mokryk
Decommunisation of Ukraine: New Historical Memory
The study contemplates the issue of decommunisation of Ukraine, which became a noticeable consequence of the Revolution of Dignity in Maidan at the turn of the years 2013 and 2014. The author explains the decommunisation laws from the year 2015 allowing – for example – to examine archives of the repressive organs of the communist totalitarian regime of 1917–1991. He examines the decommunisation of the Ukrainian liberation combat, the new perspective on the position of Ukraine in the period between the World Wars. Special attention is paid to the personality of Stepan Bandera and to the tradition of OUN and UPA, which still constitutes an aspect of disagreement with – for example – Poland. In connection with aforesaid, the study also deals with anti-Semitism and the Jewish question. At the end, the author disproves certain myths about the alleged banderisation of present-day Ukraine.
Oleh Hirnyk
The ‘Theological Avant-garde’ as an Innovative Proposal for the Contemporary Humanities
The author presents his own interdisciplinary project entitled ‘The Theological Avant-garde’ which explores possible new potentialities for theology within the modern context of humanities in contemporary Ukraine. Firstly there is presented a short outline of the history of the idea of a ‘theological avant-garde’, followed by a discussion of methodology issues. This article highlights the link between the artistic avant-garde and theology. The presentation concludes with a consideration of the futuristic and constructivist components of the ‘Theological Avant-garde’.
Wojciech Surówka OP
Dominicans in Ukraine – Continuation of the Mission of St. Hyacinth
The article reflects the current activities of the Dominicans in Ukraine, where to they came already in the first half of the 13th century. At present they are there about thirty brothers working in seven places: in Kiev, Lviv, Fastiv, Chortkiv, Yalta, Khmelnytskyi and Kharkiv. Besides other activities, they concentrate on two projects: The Superior Institute of Religious Sciences of St. Thomas Aquinas in Kiev, where the Dominicans, according to the charisma of the Order, support the intellectual life of the Church, and also coordinate courses of lectures called “The Schools of Faith” organised by the convents in Fastiv, Lviv and Kharkiv, as well as by the academic parish in Lviv. In addition, they are engaged in charity activities within the House of St. Martin de Porres in Fastiv.
Ruslan Chalikov
Donbass: Religion and War
The study outlines the religious situation in Donbass, in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where the self-proclaimed republics controlled by the Pro-Russian separatists were established. While before the outbreak of the conflict, a number of religious movements and denominations (not just Christian, but also Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist) were operating in the region, after the conflict all of them were significantly reduced. The largest repressions against religious organizations and their representatives took place in 2014–2015, when Protestant pastors were killed by illegal armed groups whose members attacked mostly the representatives of non-orthodox communities. The author focuses on current religious life in Donbass, on the legal framework for religious organizations in the area, on the Chaplain Service, on the concordat, and on the front-line initiatives.
Stanislav Fedor
Persecution for the Religious Reasons: Life and Institutions of the Occupied Territories of Ukraine
Russia-Ukraine War has become a real humanitarian disaster for the civilian population. The new occupational administration and its repressive and punitive authorities have introduced a system of persecution not only for political opinions or loyalty towards Ukraine, but also for reasons of religious belief. According to the results of human rights organizations’ investigations, most religious communities have ceased to operate in the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk re¬gions, and there are gross and extensive repressions of freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Mychajlo Kobryn
Christianity of the Byzantine Tradition in Ukraine
The author describes the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine and its expansion. He follows the unique and difficult way of Christianity of the Byzantine tradition since the Baptism of Rus’ in 988 to the present. First, he observes the oldest references to Christianity in the territory of present-day Ukraine, from the activities of the apostle Andrew, through events from the period of the Roman Empire, to the Cyril and Methodius mission. He then discusses the specifics of the Kievan Christianity, and describes the most important events and stages of its history: the division of the traditional Kiev metropolis into Kiev and Moscow, the Brest Union, the Orthodox Church under the Russian Empire, the Uniate Church under the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian State and Habsburg Austria, the proclamation of autokephalism during the Ukrainian Revolution 1917–1920, and the Soviet period. The article completes the chapter on the Churches of the Kiev metropolis in an independent Ukraine.
Not to be Afraid to Love One’s Own Country
Interview with Sviatoslav Shevchuk
The interview with the archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the Major Archeparchy of Kiev-Galicia, reflects the events in Maidan, the role of the Church in these events, and what has changed in the life of the Church. Shevchuk considers how the Church implements the ideas of Maidan, how she manages to respond to the great and often unrealistic expectations of the people, the problems of today’s young generation which she has to deal with, and the values the society ought to build on.
Andrij Zhyvachivskyj
Crimaen Tatars
Occupied European Nation of the 21st Century
The study deals with the concise history of the Ukrainian national minority, the Crimean Tatars. There are outlined their oldest history, their origins and language, their state system before their annexation by the Tsarist Russia, the emancipatory efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries which culminated in the proclamation of the Crimean People’s Republic. Attention is paid to their fate within the USSR, when they were displaced to the East, and to the gradual return to their homeland during the 1980s and 1990s. The last part of the study is dedicated to their relation with the independent Ukraine, especially after the events in Maidan and the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation.
Pavel Nasadil
Ground Zero
The issue of Salve dedicated to Ukraine is accompanied by photographic portrait of the war-torn contemporary Ukraine by the architect Pavel Nasadil. The photos were created in July of this year. In the accompanying text the author describes the experiences from the front line, from Stanytsia Luhanska, the transition from Ukraine to the territory occupied by separatist; he also depicts his perception of the armistice, when there is an ongoing war during nights.