A Really Brief Outline of Ukrainian Orthodox Church History

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A Really Brief Outline of Ukrainian Orthodox
Church History
Viktor Vasnetsov The Baptism of Rus (1895)

• with special emphasis on key events

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Studying Ukrainian Church History

• Seminary vs. academic study of Church history
• Shared assumptions, Christ-centric
• No pretending (but not just hagiography)
• History- in all its disciplines- is an academic
  battleground
• Challenge of Ukrainian Church history
• Familiar with the topic (the basic facts)
• But not with a Ukraine-centric frame
• Effort to reclaim Ukrainian history, identity
• Rus is not the same as Russia
• Really a history of Orthodoxy among the
  Ukrainians

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Periods of Ukrainian Church History

• 988-1240 Prince Vladimir to fall of Kiev
• 1240-1458 Decline of Kiev to the division of
  Kievan Metropolitanate into two the
  Kievan(Lithuanian) and the Moscovite
• 1458-1686 UOC under Lithuanian Polish State to
  Moscovite Eparchy
• 1686-1917 Up to communism
• 1917-1991 Communism
• 1991-present

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Early History of Rus

• St. Andrew came to Kiev his proclamation
• Tribes of Slavs living it up anarchy
• Invited the Vikings to come and rule them
• Pagan worship, life
• Rich folklore
• St. Olga baptized (955)
• Not the first in Rus
• But son, Svyatoslav rejected the faith

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Vladimirs Decision (988)

• Became sole ruler of Kievan State
• Religious a pagan warrior-king
• Why did he open his mind to monotheism?
• Traditional story
• Emissaries came Volga Bulgars German Latin
  clergy Jewish Khazars Greek monk
• Then sent out his envoys
• Very rational is it accurate?
• Why did St. Vladimir convert?
• Why did we convert?
• Tremendous consequences!

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Christianizing Rus

• Effort was aided by state support
• Separation of church state? Not then!
• Also aided by Slavonic texts
• Churches were full of Orthodox stuff, but were
  the people really Orthodox?
• No dvoeveriye, kept committing sins
• Yes the Incarnation, Resurrection changed
  EVERYTHING (including the Slavs)
• Dvoeveriye is one way of seeing the
  sanctification of culture
• We do it in our own lives- would we stand up to
  academic scrutiny (and does it matter)?

A note on architecture
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Two Interesting Reactions

• Difficult times (16th, 17th centuries)
• Patronage, corruption, weak institutions
• Real religious (unequal) competition
• 1596 Union of Brest
• The Brotherhoods
• Roots in medieval trade guilds, parish councils
  of laity
• Stepped up to the plate to protect the Church
• St. Peter Mogila (15961647)
• Metropolitan of Kiev from 1632
• Wrote Confession, established the Kievan School
• Was he an agent provocateur for the Catholic
  Church?
• Yes used Latin words, mode of reasoning
• No taught people using and sanctifying local
  language, concepts (as w/ Aleuts, others)

and controversial
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Other Key Events/Topics

• The Union of Brest
• The Cossacks
• Patriarch Nikons reforms
• The Church under Communism
• The Church after Communism
• The Church in the Diaspora