Number DOI: http://doi.org/10.33209/2519-4348-2019-7-66

VB. – № 7, 2019. – P. 329-339

Summary

The complicated religious life of the present day requires timely scientific analysis. Special attention of experts is drawn to the events in Universal Orthodoxy, which is undergoing significant transformations in connection with the granting of the Tomos to the Ukrainian Church, that is, the official recognition of the autocephaly of the part of the Ukrainian Orthodox believers and their structures, which have long been outside the Church fence. The rethinking of the status of the Orthodox Churches in connection with the new religious and socio-political realities that have developed in Ukraine since the Maidan is extremely relevant to this study, which is intended to describe the current state of Orthodoxy. The article presents, on the basis of statistics, an objective picture of religious life, including Orthodox life in Ukraine, its conflict and the struggle of different political interests, which creates a dangerous situation for the state and the nation. Analizing the new socio-political reality that emerged after the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine, the author outlines the dangers and challenges posed by the country. Highlighting external and internal threats (in particular, loss of global international security, open aggression of Russia against Ukraine, hybrid war, presence of foreign and hostile political and religious centers against Ukraine; loss of a large number of Ukrainians of the valuable meanings of their existence, internal strife and enmity, dissension, strife, among the supporters of Ukrainian Ukraine, the collapse of the unity of society, the emergence of parties of the Fuhrer (Hetman) type, intra-institutional confrontations in different religions, insurmountable ambitions of some religious leaders etc.), the author emphasizes on the emergence of a new kind of religiosity in Ukraine, which is referred as vulgar utilitarianism with elements of frivolous infantilism. The article proposes possible ways of counteracting these threats, which in the passivity of Ukrainian society, including Churches will only intensify. There is a need for solidarity between the secular (civil society, state, political forces) and religious (all religious organizations) worlds, which are focused on preserving Ukrainian Ukraine.

Key words: Orthodoxy, Orthodox Church in Ukraine, religious life, external and internal dangers, secular and religious world.

References:

1. Data from the Department of Religions and Nationalities of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. URL: https://risu.org.ua/ua/index/resourses/statistics/ukr_2019/75410/ (data zvernennya (date of appeal): 12.08.2019 [in Ukranian]. 

2. 10 theses for the Orthodox Church Ukraine. URL: https://docs.google. com/forms/d/1I MGiOtHR k68Qv9lOruhwq78PX sDvzVvzE4QDquT V fsg/viewform?fbclid=IwAR12IDnBxR7Zu-liSjAdZ2FcNXErQdR8P0BTUL4X7V3A0iDgw1mDXTKZ0k&edit_requested=true (data zvernennya (date of appeal): 12.08.2019 [in Ukranian]. 

3. Kolodnyi A. (2019). Religious Network of Ukraine 2018 (early 2019). Ukrayinske relihiyeznavstvo (Ukrainian Religious Studies). №87. S.7–15. [in Ukranian]. 

4. Zabuzhko O. Not the cities will be conquered in the wars of the 21st century, but the brains. URL: https://ksf.openukraine.org/ua/news/1643-oksana-zabuzhko-uvijnah-21-go-stolittya-buduty-zavojovuvatisy-ne-mista-a-mizki (data zvernennya (date of appeal): 12.08.2019 [in Ukranian]. 

5. Religious scholar: Presidential election demonstrates creation of new religion – militant secularism. URL: https://glavcom.ua/news/religijeznavec-vibori-prezidentaprodemonstruvali-stvorennya-novoji-religiji-voyovnichiy-sekulyarizm-584626.html (data zvernennya (date of appeal): 12.08.2019 [in Ukranian]. 

6. Religious security / danger of Ukraine. Collection of scientific works and materials. Edited prof. Anatolii Kolodnyi). Kyyiv: UAR, 2019. [in Ukranian]. 

7. Snyder, Timothy. (2018). The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America.