Scientific journal "Graphe"

PROTESTANTS IN SOVIET UKRAINE IN THE 20S – 30s of the XX century: POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL ASPECT

2022-08-23T12:39:44+00:00

The article raises the problem of the general political-historical analysis of the Protestant movement in the context of the party-state policy of Soviet Ukraine in the 1920s and 1930s. The study of state-church relations of polyconfessional Ukrainian society in general and Protestant currents in particular actualizes a new scientific understanding of the state religious policy at different stages of development of the historical past and present. Baptists, evangelical Christians, Seventh-day Adventists, and evangelical Christians (Pentecostals)

are studied in a combination of the principles of objectivity, worldview pluralism, complexity, methodological principles of mathematical statistics, comparative studies, and problem-chronological method. The study is based on the use of archival materials of two central and four regional archives of Ukraine. The study identified two periods in the development of the Protestant movement. The first (1920-1928) was marked by external loyalty and covertly aimed at discrediting, splitting Protestant organizations, but at the same time expanding their activities and building their own institutions. Christians of the evangelical faith are marked by the greatest activity and territorial mobility. The second (1929–1939) stage was marked by an open anti-Protestant policy, oppression, and the destruction of Ukrainian Protestant institutions. A large number of Protestant communities decreased in number, but continued to operate without registration, semi-legally until the late 1930s.

VISUAL RHETORIC OF PROTESTANT ARCHITECTURE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF ADVENTIST CHURCHES IN KIEV)

2022-12-29T21:25:00+00:00

The article examines the features of the architecture of prayer houses of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine, from the end of the 19th century to the present day. An attempt was made to explain the phenomenon of the development of Gothic elements in the construction of houses of worship in the late XX - early XXI centuries, a chronological period that coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s independence. The connection and role of architecture with the dogmatic foundations of the doctrine of the SDA church has been established. The study partially refers to the methodological approaches proposed by Erwin Panofsky in his work «Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism». It is stated that the architecture of houses of worship largely depended on the political system and religious climate in the state. It is indicated that until 1917, before the Bolshevik coup, new Protestant movements, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had almost no opportunity to build houses of prayer and were persecuted, since there was a specific system of state-confessional relations in the Russian Empire. It is shown that after the Bolshevik coup of 1917, the position of those churches that were based on the teachings brought from Western Europe and the United States succumbed to exceptional obstruction, and their clergy were repressed. Therefore, all existing houses of worship had the appearance of barracks, not standing out among residential and industrial buildings. This situation largely persisted until the collapse of the USSR. Based on the analysis of the architectural features of the three main church buildings in the city of Kiev, it was demonstrated that with the gaining of Ukraine’s independence, architects, during the reconstruction and construction of houses of worship, are turning to borrowing Gothic elements. It has been established that this appeal is due to the fact that, in their image, Gothic buildings, along with aesthetics, are able to embody important theological ideas and serve as visual preaching. It is emphasized that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in its activities is open and oriented towards the evangelization of society, and therefore it is important for it not only to declare its dogma, but also to show an organic connection with the early history of the Christian Church. Together with the high aesthetic content, the Gothic appearance of the buildings allowed the new churches to become attractive spiritual centers and important architectural dominants of the city.

PROTESTANTS-PENTECOSTS IN THE POST-WAR REPRESSION IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE 1945-1953

2022-08-23T13:03:03+00:00

The article examines one of the dramatic pages in the history of the Pentecostal religious movement, which is related to the repression against them in the postwar years of 1945-1953 (the period of late Stalinism). The object of the study are the communities of Pentecostals of the south of Ukraine, which operated on the territory of modern Mykolayiv and Odesa regions. The historiography of the question is given. It is shown that, despite thorough scientific studies on the activities of Protestant movements in Ukraine during the Soviet era, some intelligence related to the Pentecostals is not enough. For the most part, the movement of the latter was studied in the context of other Protestant denominations, usually Baptists. Repressions 1945 – 1953 insufficiently covered. Based on fourteen cases stored in the Sectoral State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine and the archive of the USBU in Mykolaiv region, the work of repressive bodies (KGB – MGB of the USSR) to identify and neutralize leaders and activists of the Pentecostal communities of the Ukrainian South is shown. As an example, the personal case of Kits Andriy Mykhailovych, arrested in 1946 and sentenced to correctional camps in 1947, is given. The content of other cases is analyzed. The absurdity and artificiality of the accusations and the severity of the sentences are shown.

THE POSSIBILITY OF THE EXISTENCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL CIVILIZATIONS

2022-12-29T22:49:27+00:00

The authors of the article consider the evolution of human ideas about the existence of extraterrestrial life and the origin of various cosmic phenomena; the problem of «natural / artificial» and the essence of the term «extraterrestrial civilization»; methods of identifying the potential number of civilizations in the universe are analyzed. It has been found that as mankind has explored space, the hypothetical presence of extraterrestrial civilizations has moved farther and farther away from our planet. In the telescope, we observe billions of other galaxies similar to ours, and numerous studies show that planets with similar conditions to Earth also revolve around other stars. The latter are denoted by the term «exoplanet». The American radio astronomer Francis Drake made the first official attempt in history to come into contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, but it did not live up to expectations, because to receive a message and provide a response, creatures must have the necessary equipment. This work is called «Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligents» (Search for extraterrestrial civilizations). Later, astronomers improved the methods and means of search. In 1992, NASA launched the largest program to search for extraterrestrial civilizations in ten years, called SERENDIP - «search for extraterrestrial radiation from neighboring advanced civilizations», the world’s most powerful telescopes are constantly listening to the starry sky in hopes of catching signals from other intelligent. The authors concluded that at this stage, the radiation of terrestrial radio stations has spread to only one thousandth of the radius of our Galaxy, so it can not be detected by alien beings. There is a hypothesis that states that the emergence of intelligent beings is a natural stage in the development of any matter in which the existence of terrestrial civilizations is inevitable, but at this stage there is no official confirmation of their existence. Skeptics claim that humanity is unique and no other civilizations exist or, for reasons unknown to us, life outside the Earth does not have time to develop to a high level, due to adverse environmental conditions. Rapid radio bursts of unknown origin are explained by the fusion of neutron stars, the activity of black holes and other cosmic phenomena of natural origin.

THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF UKRAINIAN PROTESTANTS ABOUT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

2022-08-23T11:38:01+00:00

The article considers the reaction of Ukrainian Protestants to the Covid-19 pandemic. The most important thing for Protestant theologians was to discuss the impact and consequences of the pandemic on church life. Most Protestants agreed to Russia’s hybrid model of church worship: online offline as a manifestation of an open reaction to the changes that have resulted from the introduction of state quarantine restrictions. During the pandemic, Ukrainian Protestants managed to move away from the established model of church construction and acceptance of its paradigm as the body of Christ. Under limited conditions, digital Protestant theology began to gain momentum in the form of sermons, discussions, online broadcasts, and so on. There is still a search for a «golden mean» between them: to adhere to traditional forms of church activity or to prefer «life» on the Internet, according to the Orthodox model of Russia. Ukrainian culture argues that «real» worship can take place only in special rooms. During the pandemic, a number of eschatological theories were born among Protestants, supported by fear for their lives, which led to a decrease in the number of believers in Russia. However, along with the negative aspects of the pandemic, there were a number of positive ones. For example, believers view their relationship with God and the church community as a response to state and church restrictions. It was a digital awakening that allowed churches to present themselves on the Internet under unusual conditions. Moreover, a new emphasis is placed on the New Testament thesis that the church is not a building, but a social community of believers who can serve God outside of a particular building.