Paganism in Ukraine: Beliefs, Encounter with Christianity, and Survival After

Authors

  • Vitalij PROSHAK

Keywords:

Paganism in Ukraine, leading religion in Ukraine, neo-paganism in Ukraine, paganism and Christianity, traditions of Ukrainian paganism

Abstract

The article examines the theme of paganism as the leading religion in Ukraine before the advent of Christianity with the goal of describing the period of the encounter between paganism and Christianity and evaluating the reasons for the present growth of interest in paganism. The article shows that the traditions of Ukrainian paganism were connected with ancient Asiatic religions brought to the area by means of trade routes from India and China to the Roman Empire that crossed the present territory of Ukraine. It is further asserted that Ukraine was already partially Christian before the official baptism of Kievan Rus through the influence of the missionary journeys of the apostle Andrew, Greek colonies, and also the political influence of Byzantium and Rome. In the conclusion, a short overview is given of neo-paganism in Ukraine and the main reasons for the growth of interest in it.

Author Biography

Vitalij PROSHAK

Vitaliy Valentynovych Proshak is a researcher in the Theological Department of Utrecht University, the Netherlands, where he is pursuing his PhD in Philosophy of Religious Education. Before entering the doctoral program he received the Master of Divinity and Master of Evangelical Theology degrees at Tyndale Theological Seminary in Amsterdam. He also works with Zaporozhye Bible College and Seminary in Ukraine where he received his Bachelor’s Degree and taught full time until June 2003 when he left to further his education.

References

  1. Attridge, Harold W. “Andrew, St.” The Harpercollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Editor Richard P. McBrien. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995
  2. Encyclopedia of Ukraine. “Dazhboh,” n.d.<http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.
  3. asp?linkpath=pagesKHKhors.htm>
  4. ______.“Khors.”n.d.<http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pagesKHKhors.htm>
  5. ______. “Mokosh,” n.d.,<http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display. asp?linkpath=pagesMOMokosh.htm>
  6. ______. “Saint Andrew,” n.d., <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton
  7. =pagesSASaintAndrew.htm>
  8. ______. “Saint Clement I”, n.d., <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath
  9. =pagesSASaintClementI.htm>
  10. ______. “Stryboh”, n.d., <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpat
  11. =pagesSTStryboh.htm>
  12. Firth, Raymond. “Animism.” A New Dictionary of Christian Theology. Editors Alan Richardson and John Bowden. Great Britain, London: SCM Press Ltd, 1983
  13. Hu, D.A. “Animism.” New Dictionary of Theology. Editors Sinclair B. Ferguson and David F. Wright. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1988
  14. Kravtsiw, Bohdan and Bohdan Medwidsky. “Mythology”. Encyclopedia of Ukraine, n.d. <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=/pages/m/y/mythology.htm>
  15. Kuhn, H. B. “Dualism.” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Editor Walter A. Elwell. 2nd ed.Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2001
  16. Lencyk, Wasyl. “Christianization of Ukraine,” Encyclopedia of Ukraine, n.d., <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pagesCHChristianizationofUkraine.htm
  17. Mushynka, Mykola. “Paganism”. Encyclopedia of Ukraine, n.d.<http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.
  18. com/display.asp?AddButton=pagesPAPaganism.htm>
  19. ______. “Perun”. Encyclopedia of Ukraine, n.d.,<http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.
  20. com/display.asp?AddButton=pagesPEPerun.htm>
  21. ______. “Svaroh”. Encyclopedia of Ukraine, n.d.,<http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.
  22. com/display.asp?AddButton=pagesSVSvaroh.htm>
  23. Neo-Paganism in the Central Eastern Europe. “Ukraine,” n.d., <http://vinland.org/heathen/pagancee/#Ukraine >
  24. Polonska-Vasylenko, Natalia. Ukraine-Rus and Western Europe in 10th – 13th Centuries. London, Great Britain: Ukrainian Publishers Ltd., 1964
  25. Shevelov, G.Y. “Rus.” Encyclopedia of Ukraine, n.d. <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.
  26. com/display.asp?AddButton=pagesRURushDA.htm>
  27. “Society of the Ukrainian Native Faith “PRAVOSLAVYA." World Congress of Ethnic Religions, n.d.<http://www.wcer.org/members/europe/Ukraine/>
  28. Subtelny, Orest. Ukraine: A History. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1988
  29. Wedeck, Harry E. and Wade Baskin, eds. Dictionary of Pagan Religions: The Cults, Rites, and Rituals Assosiated with Polytheistic Religion, From the Stone Ages to the Present. S.v., “Khors.” Secaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1973
  30. ______. Dictionary of Pagan Religions: The Cults, Rites, and Rituals Assosiated with Polytheistic Religion, From the Stone Ages to the Present. S.v., “Perun.” Secaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1973
  31. ______. Dictionary of Pagan Religions: The Cults, Rites, and Rituals Assosiated with Polytheistic Religion, From the Stone Ages to the Present. s.v., “Stribog.” Secaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1973
  32. ______. Dictionary of Pagan Religions: The Cults, Rites, and Rituals Assosiated with Polytheistic
  33. Religion, From the Stone Ages to the Present. S.v., “Svaroh.” Secaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1973
  34. Yurash, Andrij. “Ukraine.” Religions of the World. Editors J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann. Vol. 4. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc.: 2002
  35. Zhdan, Mykhailo and Arkadii Zhukovsky, “Olha, Princess [Ol’ha],” Encyclopedia of Ukraine, n.d.,
  36. <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display. asp?AddButton=pagesOLOlha Princess.htm>
  37. Zhukovsky, Arkadii. “Volodymyr the Great,” n.d. Encyclopedia of Ukraine. <http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pagesVOVolodymyrtheGreat.htm>
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS #7 (2006)

Downloads

How to Cite

PROSHAK, Vitalij. 2006. “Paganism in Ukraine: Beliefs, Encounter With Christianity, and Survival After”. Theological Reflections: Eastern European Journal of Theology, no. 7 (December):140-48. http://reflections.eeit-edu.info/article/view/89727.

Issue

No. 7 (2006): Theological Reflections: Euro-Asian Journal of Theology

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Vitalij PROSHAK

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

All articles published in the Journal are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

By submitting an article for publication in Theological Reflections: Eastern European Journal of Theology the author grants the editors the right to publish the article and distribute it in electronic and print form.

The author reserves all copyrights and the right to use the materials of the article in whole or in part for educational purposes, to write his own dissertations, to prepare abstracts, conference reports, oral presentations, etc., as well as post electronic copies of articles (including the final electronic version downloaded from the journal’s official website) on non-commercial web-resources without the consent of the editorial board and founders.