Storìnki Istorìï (Dec 2017)

Public Opinion About Russian Orthodox Church and Its Clergy’s Influence on Population in the Right-Bank Ukraine During Late 19th — Early 20th Cent. (Through the Prism of the Orthodox Press)

  • Iu. Khytrovska

DOI
https://doi.org/10.20535/2307-5244.45.2017.117189
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 45

Abstract

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Relying on Orthodox published media, as well as on the special scientific literature, the author of this article analyses public opinion about the Russian Orthodox Church and Its Clergy’s Influence on population in the Right-Bank Ukraine during late 19th — early 20th Cent. The author concludes that the official religion was in a deep crisis. Its influence on the parishioners gradually diminished, especially in cities and industrial centres. This manifested itself in a gradual spread of indifference, free-thinking, disbelief, atheism, the conversion from Orthodoxy into sectarian religious directions. The authors of analysed documents explained these threatening phenomena in radically different ways. No less conflicting were proposed methods of coping these issues. Nevertheless, despite a variety of discussions in the Orthodox media, the Russian Orthodox Church’s reaction was onesided. It concentrated main efforts on church-oriented events (anniversaries, congresses, the creation of new structures, etc.) or, with state’s assistance, on events of administrative, prohibitive character. As time has shown, such approaches could not hinder or neutralize negative phenomena in the Orthodox Church. The spirit of the approaching catastrophe was haunting.

Keywords