Title: Protestantism in Ukraine: Achievements and Losses
Abstract: Abstract Abstract Ukrainian Protestantism has a long history, but is still searching for its own identity and its place in the social and cultural life of Ukraine. This article analyses the current state of Ukrainian Protestantism, looking at all the various denominations and church unions, and reveals the basic patterns of its formation and development in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The author aims to confirm the thesis that the positions of the Protestant churches in the political, social and religious life of the country are gradually strengthening, and also to show the ambiguous attitude of the different Protestant denominations to politics and public processes in Ukraine today. However, the paper offers a critical look at Ukrainian sociology and the conclusions of some Ukrainian analysts about a 'Protestant boom' in Ukraine. The author analyses the many contradictory processes which are affecting Ukrainian Protestantism today, and shows a decrease in the rate of its dynamics. The author gives particular emphasis to structural changes which are proving painful for Ukrainian Protestantism, and to the increasingly active role played by Charismatic communities, which is regarded in a negative light by traditional Protestant churches. These latter are less active than the Charismatics in missionary work, less receptive to religious innovation, and less open to society. Many believers, especially younger ones, see a crisis in Ukrainian Protestantism, specific features of which include the material and theological dependence of Ukrainian Protestant communities on foreign churches, the loss of many of their own traditions, inadequacies in religious education, an inclination towards emigration, and weak integration into Ukrainian national and spiritual life. The author links her ideas and conclusions with the example of the Pentecostal community in L'viv in western Ukraine, which reflects the general problems of Ukrainian Protestantism. Notes 1 Before the 1917 Revolution central and south-eastern Ukraine were part of Russia, and in 1924 were included in the USSR. Galicia was part of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1772 to 1918, and part of Poland from 1918 to 1939. Transcarpathia was part of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1919, part of Czechoslovakia from 1919, and occupied by Hungary from 1938 to 1944. Bukovina was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918, and part of Romania from 1918 to 1940. Before and after the Second World War all these regions became part of the USSR. 2 According to estimates by Ukrainian and foreign analysts the Protestant underground in the USSR was 1.5–2 times larger than the legally operating structures incorporated into local authorities (see Durasoff, 1972 Durasoff, S. 1972. Pentecost Behind the Iron Curtain New York [Google Scholar]; Bociurkiw and Strong, 1975 Bociurkiw, B. R. and Strong, J. W. 1975. Religion and Atheism in the USSR and Eastern Europe London [Google Scholar]; Bourdeaux, 1983 Bourdeaux, M. 1983. Risen Indeed: Lessons in Faith from the USSR London [Google Scholar]; Sawatsky, 1981 Sawatsky, W. 1981. Soviet Evangelicals since World War II, Scottdale, PA: Herald Press. [Google Scholar]; Yelens'kyi, 2002 Yelens'kyi, V. 2002. Relihiia pislia komunizmu: relihiino-sotsial'ni zminy v protsesi transformatsii tsentral'no- i skhidnoievropeis'kykh suspil'stv: fokus na Ukraini (Religion after Communism: Religious and Social Changes in the Process of Transformation of Central and Eastern European Societies: Focus on Ukraine) Kiev [Google Scholar]). 3 During the period of hostilities on Ukrainian territory between 1648 and 1676 Protestants, especially Socinians, were persecuted by the Polish authorities and Ukrainian Cossacks and forced to emigrate. In the western parts of Ukraine which came under Polish control their activity was also banned (for example by decisions of the General Confederation in 1668 and the Sejm in 1764). 4 Here and elsewhere in my article I am quoting figures on churches and religious organisations in Ukraine from reports prepared between 1997 and 2009 by the State Committee on Religions of Ukraine (1997–2006) and the State Committee for Nationalities and Religions of Ukraine (Derzhavnyi komitet u spravakh natsional'nostei ta relihii Ukrainy) (SCNRU). These reports were unpublished until 2010, when the first one was published on the official website of the Committee, and I studied them in the archives of the Committee after obtaining official permission. I am considering only registered religious organisations. 5 'Organisations' include not only communities or parishes under the various church unions but also other organisations (such as missions, brotherhoods and monasteries) which are integral parts of the church infrastructure and involve considerable numbers of believers. In the Protestant churches missions are normally registered as part of a church community, helping it to carry out its evangelistic, cultural, educational and charitable activities. A Protestant community is often registered as a mission and vice versa. 6 The SCNRU reports do not, however, include Protestant missions founded by foreign churches, of which there are a good many. For example, Music Mission Kiev (Muzykal'naya missiya Kiyeva), led by Roger McMurrin, was set up on the initiative of a number of Presbyterian unions in the USA. It finances the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and is planning to build a Christian medical centre near Kiev. 7 When studying Protestantism we need to take account of its variety. Some of this is a result of genetics (the church tradition, linked to the Magisterial Reformation and represented by Lutheranism and Calvinism, and the evangelical tradition, linked to the Radical Reformation and represented by Baptism, Pentecostalism, Adventism and others). There is theological and liturgical variety; and also national-cultural variety. A good example of a Protestant church with a distinct national-cultural identity is the German Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Ukraine (Nemetskaya yevangel'sko-lyuteranskaya tserkov' Ukrainy) (GELCU), which sees itself as the 'site of revival of German culture', officially declaring that it 'does not pursue a proselytising policy and does not seek to promote itself amongst believers of other confessions' (see its website http://delku.org.ua/novosti-neltsu.html). The GELCU is somewhat distanced from social and political life, and is cautious about involving itself in ecumenical processes. 8 A Baptist, Aleksandr Turchinov, is the former vice-premier in the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers and one of the leaders of the Bat'kyvschina party; another Baptist, Yuri Reshetnikov, is head of the SCNRU. According to the media and the religious press the mayor of Kiev, Leonid Chernovetsky, inclines towards the Charismatics and the chairman of the Supreme Court of Ukraine Vasili Onopenko towards the Pentecostals (see for example Kukharchuk, 2004 Kukharchuk, R. 2004. 'Narodny deputat Vasili Onopenko: "Ukraina togda stanet na nogi, kogda stanet pered Gospodom Bogom na koleni"'. Kamen' krayeugol'ny, 4 [Google Scholar]). 9 In the Credo of Faith of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Ukraine we read that 'Any member may participate in electoral bodies, parties and public organisations, according to his or her individual conscience, as long as the activity of such bodies does not depart from the principles of the Gospel. Such participation must not be in the name of the church, however, and is not desirable for a minister, who must be fully dedicated to Christ, but is possible only as a citizen's initiative on the part of an individual.' And further: 'We do not see any bar as far as our faith is concerned to anyone occupying posts in the state' (quoted in Istoriya, 1996 Istoriya. 1996. Istoriya baptizma Odesa [Google Scholar], pp. 483, 433). In November 2004 the leaders of the largest Baptist, Evangelical Christian, Pentecostal and Charismatic unions took part in the mass gatherings on Independence Square in Kiev in public support for one of the political sides. This received a mixed reaction from other Protestant unions and from fraternal churches in other CIS countries. 10 'The church can and must influence policy … it is necessary to hold before the church the goal of influencing the situation in the country' (Dzyuba, 2005 Dzyuba, A. 2005. Ukrainskaya missiya – predvestnik revolyutsii v Rossii http://www.anti-orange.com.ua/article/sekta/67/16014 (last accessed 12 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). 11 'We cannot take on obligations in the field of political activity, since it will inevitably be necessary to renounce Christian principles in order to meet the current political requirements. It is impossible to be involved in politics and to remain a consistent Christian' (see Tserkov', 1997 Tserkov'. 1997. 'Tserkov' ASD ne namerena uchastvovat' v politicheskoi bor'be'. Visnyk myru, 10: 5 [Google Scholar]). 12 Aleksandr Sagan comments that 'thirty per cent of all religious organisations are Protestant, and Protestantism is spreading more and more in our country' (V Ukraini, 2009 V Ukraini. 2009. 'V Ukraini protestanty postupovo vytisniaiut' pravoslavnykh'. proUA.com, 12 February http://ua.proua.com/news/2009/02/12/081821.html (last accessed 13 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). Anatolii Kolodnyi says that the three main Orthodox churches comprise 50.2 per cent of the religious infrastructure and only 36–48 per cent of respondents identify themselves as Orthodox. He concludes that 'Ukraine is not an Orthodox country, as some people try to prove; it is a country in which Orthodoxy predominates' (Kolodnyi, 2009 Kolodnyi, A. 2009. Relihiina merezha Ukraini na sichen' 2009 roku (The Religious Network in Ukraine in January 2009) http://ukreligieznavstvo.wordpress.com/2009/03/15 (last accessed 27 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). 13 After the US Congress adopted the 'Lautenberg Amendment' in 1989 hundreds of thousands of people from a number of countries in Asia and the former USSR were able to gain refugee status, and many Evangelical Protestants, mainly Pentecostals and Baptists, emigrated to the USA from Ukraine. 'Immediately after the adoption of the Lautenberg Amendment anyone falling into one of the persecuted categories in the former USSR (Jews, Evangelical Christians, members of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church) was able to obtain the status of refugee more or less automatically, and almost 90 per cent of those with whom an interview was conducted received the right to enter the USA' (Bezhenskaya, 2006 Bezhenskaya. 2006. Bezhenskaya programma SShA i sovremennyye tendentsii yeye razvitiya. 1 (Chast' pervaya) http://www.helpimmigration.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=10 (last accessed 30 March 2010) [Google Scholar]). 14 A typical Protestant community is formed on the principle of the extended family. If it gains too many members they will find problems actively participating in communal life. Smaller sub-groups will therefore be formed, bringing together for example the believers in a particular district of a city, and these will often develop into autonomous 'daughter churches'. 15 In the SCNRU reports there is no information about the Methodist Church (which is officially incorporated in Russia but has eight communities in Ukraine), or about the closely related Church of the Nazarene (eight communities). Information about small associations and ethno-confessional groups is not always available, but the following estimates relate to them: Subbotniks (28 communities), Free Christians of Transcarpathia, or Plymouth Brethren (14), Perfectionists (5), Evangelical Adventists (3), Mennonites (3), Ukrainian Reformed (2), Czech Brethren (2), Murashkovites (2), Anglicans (2), Swedish Lutherans, Korean Methodists and Presbyterians, Chinese Baptists and others. A number of recently created organisations are also missing from the statistics: for example, the Pentecostal Ukrainian Missionary Church (Ukrainskaya missionerskaya tserkov') (over 50 communities). The latest SCNRU reports no longer include the Council of Independent Evangelical Churches of Ukraine (Sobor nezavisimykh yevangel'skikh tserkvei Ukrainy) which has been operating since the mid-1990s and which according to its leadership has 120 communities. 16 For example the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church of the Belokrinitsa Concord (Russkaya pravoslavnaya staroobryadcheskaya tserkov' belokrinitskogo soglasiya) (which according to data from early 2009 had 56 communities), the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church of the Priestless Concord (Russkaya pravoslavnaya staroobryadcheskaya tserkov' bezpopovskogo soglasiya) (10), the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (Russkaya provoslavnaya tserkov' zagranitsei) (933), the Russian True Orthodox Church (Russkaya istinno-pravoslavnaya tserkov') (31) and various autonomous Orthodox communities (82). Although these comprise only a small portion of the Ukrainian Orthodox landscape, as far as their numbers of communities are concerned they are quite comparable with some Protestant associations, and should also be taken into account when making sociological comparisons. 17 In 2008 a survey on religiosity in Ukraine was conducted under the auspices of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) (Religioznost', 2009 Religioznost'. 2009. Religioznost' Ukraintsev yavlyayetsya odnoi iz samykh vysokikh v Yevrope – issledovaniye sotsiologov 26 March, http://www.irs.in.ua/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=169:1&catid=34:ua&Itemid=61&lang=ru (last accessed 11 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). According to this survey 39 per cent of believers said they belonged to the UOC-MP, the UOC-KP and the UAOC, 44 per cent simply said they were Orthodox, 8 per cent said they were Greek Catholics and 1 per cent said they were Protestants or followers of other religions. Many religious studies publications say that 2–3 per cent of believers in Ukraine are Protestants. The International Religious Freedom Report for Ukraine for 2008 issued by the State Department of the USA identifies religious groups with less than 5 per cent of the population: as well as Protestants, these include Jews, Buddhists, Mormons and Krishnaites (Ukraine, 2008 Ukraine. 2008. Ukraine: International Religious Freedom Report 2008 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108477.htm (last accessed 13 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). 18 Unlike Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic seminaries these seminaries take only a small number of students. For example, there are no more than 8–12 students on the three-year programme of the western Ukrainian theological seminary of the AUAECB (in Boryslav, L'viv oblast'), compared with up to 50 or 60 on the four-year programme at the L'viv seminary of the UOC-KP, up to 30 or 40 on the six-year programme at the L'viv St Joseph higher theological seminary of the Roman Catholic Church, and a similar number on the six-year programme at the L'viv Holy Spirit theological seminary of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Most teachers at Orthodox and Catholic seminaries have theology degrees, and their graduating students go to higher theological education in academies. Of course the L'viv Catholic seminary dates back to 1703 and the L'viv Greek Catholic seminary to 1783, and the L'viv Orthodox seminary is grounded in the old traditions of the Kiev Theological Academy; until the early 1990s Protestants in Ukraine did not have any secondary or higher educational establishments at all. 19 It is also difficult to determine how many individual believers there are in the various Charismatic communities. Speaking about the number of people who come to his church, Pastor Adelaja is also in fact speaking about how late Protestantism generally reckons the number of its followers: 'They don't have to come only to us. The main thing is that they go to Christian churches. We only count the people who come to us every week' (Osnovatel', 2007 Osnovatel'. 2007. Osnovatel' i starshi pastor tserkvi 'Posol'stvo Bozh'ye' Sandei Adeladzha: Ya znayu, chto yesli lyudi veryat v Boga, to oni ne dolzhny byt' bednymi (interview, 9 November), http://www.godembassy.org/ru/news/news_publ.php?showdetail=2213 (last accessed 6 April 2010) [Google Scholar]). I have myself observed how some of the members of the Pentecostal community in L'viv go to other Protestant and even Orthodox churches, on the grounds that they do not accept the 'spirit of law' which is alive in traditional Pentecostalism, and that they are searching for new truth. 20 In 1993 the Catholic Church recognised the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services, active in 220 countries for the purpose of promoting Catholic charismatic renewal. According to our data, in 1997 there were 15 groups of Catholic Pentecostals in Vinnytsa, Zhytomyr, Khmel'nyts'kyi and Ternopil' oblasti. Currently the largest groups are in Kiev and L'viv; they attract monks and Catholic young people. It seems that today abut 2 per cent of Ukrainian Catholics of both rites are charismatics. In September 2008 clergy and laypeople from the various CIS countries took part in the second Ukrainian Catholic charismatic conference 'Ogon" ('Fire') in Kiev (V Kiyeve, 2005 V Kiyeve. 2005. 'V Kiyeve sostoyalas' II Vseukrainskaya katolicheskaya kharizmaticheskaya konferentsiya'. Katolicheskaya infomatsionnaya sluzhba, 21 September http://www.catholic.uz/full-news/items/2609216731.html (last accessed 13 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). Bible courses called 'Dabar' are organised for Catholic Charismatics by the Kiev priest Roman Laba, a graduate of the higher theological seminary of the Pauline order (Katoliki-kharizmaty, 2008 Katoliki-kharizmaty. 2008. 'Katoliki-kharizmaty otkryli v Ukraine "Dabar"'. Novosti khristianskogo mira, http://prochurch.info/index.php/news/more/13430 (last accessed 13 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). 21 Between 2002 and 2008 the UROC held a number of councils in Kiev and opened a spiritual centre called 'Vozrozhdeniye' in Dnipropetrovs'k. It now has eight parishes in Ukraine. Its leader, Sergei Zhuravlev, who was forbidden to serve as a priest by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1996, is now ordaining bishops for other CIS countries (Pravoslavny, 2008 Pravoslavny. 2008. Pravoslavny Obnovlenchesky Sobor-konferentsiya v Kiyeve http://skoro.info/event.php [Google Scholar]). 22 'Most discussion is about the ordination of women … in the West women have been able to be pastors for a long time now … . We need to think about how we can better integrate the service of our sisters' (Geletsky, 2008 Geletsky, V. 2008. Tendentsii mirovogo baptizma http://www.mbchurch.ru/newarticles/390 (last accessed 13 May 2010) [Google Scholar]). For Ukrainian Lutherans, however, even raising the question of women pastors is evidence of a liberalism which undermines the basis of Christianity (Zhenshchina, 1996 Zhenshchina. 1996. 'Zhenshchina-svyashchennik: veleniye vremeni ili izvrashcheniye Biblii?'. Styag, 3: 7–8. [Google Scholar]). 23 There is particular disagreement about the doctrine of prosperity which Charismatics proclaim. In answer to an interviewer's question 'Why does the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God pay so much attention to business and to helping parishioners to get rich?' Pastor Adelaja replied: 'It's very simple. I know that if people believe in God they are not supposed to be poor' (Osnovatel', 2007 Osnovatel'. 2007. Osnovatel' i starshi pastor tserkvi 'Posol'stvo Bozh'ye' Sandei Adeladzha: Ya znayu, chto yesli lyudi veryat v Boga, to oni ne dolzhny byt' bednymi (interview, 9 November), http://www.godembassy.org/ru/news/news_publ.php?showdetail=2213 (last accessed 6 April 2010) [Google Scholar]). Contrast this with the view of the head of the AUCCEFP, Bishop Mykhailo Panochko: Pentecostals 'do not agree with the doctrine of prosperity. We do not agree with the doctrine that everyone should be healthy. Doctrines like "as you give to God, so He will give to you" smell of profit, gain. This is not the way of the Gospel' (Vavriniuk, 2006 Vavriniuk, Yu. 2006. 'Interv'iu z Mikhailom Panochko: "Uzhe visim rokiv pytannia yedinosti turbuie moie sertse"' ('For eight years the question of unity has been troubling my heart'). Blahovisnyk, 4: 6–7. [Google Scholar]). 24 Panochko: 'We need to separate the chaff from the grain. Charismatics do not take into account the mentality of Ukrainians. We Pentecostals love Ukrainian, we hold our services in the Ukrainian language, we cherish patriotism and love of our Motherland' (quoted from Istoriia, 2007 Istoriia. 2007. Istoriia relihii v Ukraini: piznii protestantyzm v Ukraini (The History of Religion in Ukraine: Late Protestantism in Ukraine) Kiev [Google Scholar], p. 623). 25 According to a representative of the Baptist mission 'Vozrozhdeniye''the growth of Charismatic churches is a challenge to the unity of the Evangelical churches which make up the ECB and CEFP unions, as it results in the departure of young people, their most creative and active members' (Cherenkov, n.d.). In 2006 a Ukrainian Lutheran magazine published an article written as long ago as 1977 by the Missouri Synod in the USA to counteract Charismatic influences (Rukovodstvo, 2006 Rukovodstvo. 2006. 'Rukovodstvo dlya obshchestv i pastyrei: Lyuteranskaya Tserkov' i kharizmaticheskoye dvizheniye'. Styag, 5: 7 [Google Scholar]). 26 See for example materials from the conference 'Krizisnyye yavleniya v sovremennom rossiiskom protestantizme i sposoby ikh preodeleniya' ('The Crisis in Russian Protestantism Today and How to Combat It') held in 2008 in the academy of the Commonwealth of Evangelical Christians of Russia (Sodruzhestvo yevangel'skikh khristian Rossii) (http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=fresh&id=852;evangelie.ru/forum/t48900.html) (last accessed 6 April 2010), and and also issues discussed at the conference '400 let baptizmu i printsip svobody sovesti' ('The 400th Anniversary of the Baptist Movement and the Principle of Freedom of Conscience') held in Odesa in 2009 (http://cherenkoff.blogspot.com/2009/09/400.html) (last accessed 6 April 2010). 27 See, for example, articles by Baptist authors Mikhail Cherenkov, Igor' Podberezsky, Mikhail Nevolin, Aleksandr Sorokin and others in the Evangelical newspaper Mirt, http://gazeta.mirt.ru/?2-8-1/2 28 'The active influence of guests from abroad encourages the essentially external and showy aspects of evangelisation … . Together with evangelisation, western theology has penetrated our fraternity. It may be better structured and systematised, with philosophical and historical approaches; but it is not our theology! The point is not that there may be various doctrinal differences, but that western theology has developed in a different culture and on different traditions' (Bogomysliye, 1990 Bogomysliye. 1990. (a Ukrainian Baptist journal) [Google Scholar], 1, p. 3). 29 'All the loud talking, applause, theatrical tricks, worship groups, rhythmic music, familiar attitudes towards the Bible, artistry in sermons are against the true nature of the spirit of Gospel and are blasphemous towards persecuted Christianity' (Diordiyenko, n.d.). 30 Doctrinally the ULC follows confessional Lutheranism, the classical legacy of Martin Luther (and complete rejects Protestant philosophy); in worship it uses an eastern rite which retains many elements of Orthodox liturgy, and it follows the Julian calendar. It sees much in common between the Orthodox and Lutheran churches: infant baptism; married priests; Holy Communion in both kinds (with the cup and bread); the real rather than symbolic presence of Christ in the Eucharist, which can be served only by ordained clergy; an understanding of baptism as a means of grace; confession and forgiveness of sins by a priest; services in the native language; the use of elements of Byzantine architecture; the internal decoration of its churches; clergy vestments; retaining the sanctuary; veneration of crucifixes and icons, which 'are not personifications of Christ or the saints, but reminders of salvation'; observing Orthodox holidays; bowing; making the sign of the cross; ceremonial procession (krestny khod); candles; Easter cake (kulich); coloured eggs … . The ULC sees its adherence to the 'pure teaching of Luther' as its special calling: to put a stop to the ideological dissolution of Lutheranism in the countries of the CIS, where it is falling prey to religious liberalism, and to revive its spiritual principles. The ULC wants to adapt Lutheranism to Orthodox culture. 31 The project was initiated and organised by Overseas Council International. The poll was conducted with the help of the Euro-Asian Accrediting Association (Yevro-aziatskaya akkreditatsionnaya assosiatsiya) which includes Protestant educational establishments in CIS countries and the Baltic states. 32 An application from two Pentecostal sisters and the reason for its rejection in 2004 can be seen at http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/358/358.F3d.1128.02-72312.02-72311. html 33 In 1997 48 per cent of all religious communities in the city of Kiev were Protestant, 29 per cent in Donets'k oblast', 46 per cent in Zaporizhzhia oblast', about 39 per cent in Kirovohrad and Luhans'k oblasti, 8.6 per cent in L'viv oblast' and 7 per cent in Ternopil' oblast'. In 2004 the number of Protestant communities in the city of Kiev and in Donets'k oblast' was already over 50 per cent, and in Zaporizhzhia and Kirovohrad oblasti over 40 per cent, while in five western oblasti it was 22 per cent. By 2009 the percentage of Protestant communities in the western region had fallen to 20.9.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-08-18
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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