Figure 1.--These parents are presenting their son for baptism at the beautiful Holy Trinity Monastery Ioninskij in Kiev. It is an Orthodox (Kiev Patriarchate) monastary. |
|
The Slavs were a pagan people. Prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev accepted conversion to Orthodox Christianity (988 AD). This brought the Rus under the influence of the Byzantine Empire and Orthodox Christianity. Vladimir's conversion brought a period of mass baptisms converting the Rus to Christianity. The Ukrainian Orthodox Christians converted scripture and the liturgy into Slavonic. This helped make he religion more accessible to the people. Today
At the time, the population was largely iliterate. Thus most of the early converts had only the most basic understanding of Chritianity. Amd as often ocuured, elements of their pagan culture became incorporated in Ukranian Orthodox practice. This is most clearly seen in the Easter celebrations still commonly practised. Over the millenium that followed conversion, imense changes swept over the Ukraine. Ukrainians have, howver, through it all remained Orthodox Christias. Christianity continues to be main religion of the modern Ukraine. Despite the Soviet atheism campign, some 70 percent of Ukrainians professing a religion identify themselves as Orthodox, but they are split between the Kiev and Moscow Patriarchate. Religion in the Ukranine was significantly affected in the 20th centuty, both by Stalin and Hitler. In addition to Stalin's brital atheist campign, Stalin ordered the NKVD and other Communist Party organs to murder millions of devout Ukranian Orthox Christians in the dreadful Ukranian Famine he engineered. There are several other religions, mostly other Christian faiths. A Jewish minority developed in the Ukraine during the Medieval era and Jews were driven from Western Europe, but was murdered by the NAZIs during the World War II Holocaust. Many Ukranian families today have a Bible, but because of Soviet atheist campigns, some 60 percent of Ukranians according to one assessment are not religious. Few Ukranians today were brought up in the Church and taught elemenys of their faith, except by parents in the home. The Ukranian Orthodox Church is split between Russian Orthodox in the east and the rest of the country. Russian Orthodox also tend to speak Russian. Ukranian Orthodox tend to speak Ukranian and hhave a more western outlook. This split is playing out in Ukranian politics today with Russian President Putin using it in an effort to maintain Russia's hold on the country. Notably democeacy has had a more difficult time flourishing under Russian Orthodoxy which some say is more tolerant of political utocracy. And we see this playing out in theUkraine today with the Ukranian Orthoox (Kiev Patriarchate) and Catholics in the west more committed to democracy and independence. Besides Orthodox Christians, there are Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Christians, Ukrainian Catholics, Protestants,Jews as well as a number of small religious groups. The Orthodox Church is not as dominant as in Russia. As a result there is a more tolerant religious atmosphere in the Ukraine. Minority religious groups seldom experience persecution.
The Slavs were a pagan people.
Prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev accepted conversion to Orthodox Christianity (988 AD). This brought the Rus under the influence of the Byzantine Empire and Orthodox Christianity. Vladimir's conversion brought a period of mass baptisms converting the Rus to Christianity. The Byzantine practice Caesaropapism along with Orthodoxy became a principle of Russian/Ukraine society and would become one reason for absolutism to take root in Eastern Europe in contrast to the West. The Ukrainian Orthodox Christians converted scripture and the liturgy into Slavonic. This helped make he religion more accessible to the people. Today
At the time, the population was largely iliterate. Thus most of the early converts had only the most basic understanding of Chritianity. Amd as often ocuured, elements of their pagan culture became incorporated in Ukranian Orthodox practice. This is most clearly seen in the Easter celebrations still commonly practised. Over the millenium that followed conversion, imense changes swept over the Ukraine. Ukrainians have, howver, through it all remained Orthodox Christias. Christianity continues to be main religion of modern Ukraine. There are several other religions, mostly other Christian faiths. The Ukranian Orthodox Church is split between Russian Orthodox in the east and the rest of the country. Russian Orthodox also tend to speak Russian. Ukranian Orthodox tend to speak Ukranian and hhave a more western outlook. This split is playing out in Ukranian politics today with Russian President Putin using it in an effort to maintain Russia's hold on the country. Notably democracy has had a more difficult time flourishing under Russian Orthodoxy which some say is more tolerant of political utocracy. And we see this playing out in the Ukraine today with the Ukranian Orthoox (Kiev Patriarchate) and Catholics in the west more committed to democracy and independence. Besides Orthodox Christians, there are Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Christians, Ukrainian Catholics, Protestants,Jews as well as a number of small religious groups. The Orthodox Church is not as dominant as in Russia. As a result there is a more tolerant religious atmosphere in the Ukraine. Minority religious groups seldom experience persecution. Few Ukranians today were brought up in the Church and taught elemenys of their faith, except by parents in the home.
Despite the Soviet atheism campign, some 70 percent of Ukrainians professing a religion identify themselves as Orthodox, but they are split between the Kiev and Moscow Patriarchate. Religion in the Ukranine was significantly affected in the 20th centuty, both by Stalin and Hitler. In addition to Stalin's brital atheist campign, Stalin ordered the NKVD and other Communist Party organs to murder millions of devout Ukranian Orthox Christians in the dreadful Ukranian Famine he engineered. Many Ukranian families today have a Bible, but because of Soviet atheist campigns, some 60 percent of Ukranians according to one assessment are not religious.
Both the boundaries of the Ukraine and the people ruling the area have changed markedly over time. The attitides toward Jews has varied significantly. Jewish history in the Ukraine began with the Khazars (6th century AD). The Kazar Empire became a major power, controling what is now the Ukraine as well as adjacent areas (8-10th centuries). Jews from Christian Europe (especially Byzantium) sought refuge in the Kazar Empire. The royal family evetually adopted Judaism. As a result, the Ukraine developed on of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. Lithuania-Poland conquered the Ukraine (14th century). An expanding Russian Tsarist Empire defeated the Poles and seized he Ukraine and susequentkly Lithuania and large areas pf Poland. The Germans seized much of the Ukraine in World War I and were in the process of creating a satellite state when the Western Allies cracked the Western Front and forced the Germans to request an armistice (November 1918). In the mean time the Russian Revolutioin broke out and the Ukraine became on of the battlefields in the resulting Civil War (1919-21). The Blolsheviks managed to gain control of much of the Ukraine. The new Polish state in a war with the Bolsheciks manahged to gain control of areas of Beylorusia and the wesern Ukraine. World War II began with the invasion of Poland (September 1939). The Germans invaded first from the west followed by the Soviets from the east. The Soviets annexed eastern Poland. The southeastern area was incprporated into the Ukrainian, SSR. The Jewish population of the Ukraine at the onset of World War II nymbered about 1.5 million people. This was about 3 percent of the overall population. About 3.5 million people were eventually evacuated. Availablesources suggest that Jews were over represented in the evacuations because they were primarily urbanized and well educated and generally supported the regime. Those evacuated included scientists, skilled workers, and government officials. Some sources suggest that as many as one-half to two-thirds of Ukranian Jews managed to escape east and avoid the NAZI Holocaust. A factor here was where they lived. The furthur east they lived, the more chance they had to evacuate.
The Crimea cloest to the Ottoman Empire across th Black Sea was the font from which Islam spread in the Ukraine. The Crimean Tatar Khanate was established in the Crimea (15th century). It became a vassal state of the pwerful, expanding Ottoman Empire. The Crimean Tatars were Sunni Muslims. The mufti was the highest spiritual figure of the Kanate. Religious communities were headed by imams. Bakhchisarai ws the capital of the Khanate. There were reportedly 18 mosques and numerous educational establishments (18th century). The increaingly powerful Tsarist Empire under Catherine pushed south and eventually invaded the Crimea. At the ime, the populkation was mostly Muslim. The Orthodox Christoan Russians began to persecute the Muslim Tartars. There was, as a result, an exodus of Muslim Tartars from the Crimea as a result of the Tsarist Russification program. Some 160,000 Muslims emigrated from the Crimea (late-19th century). This was at the same time that Tsarist pogroms and persecutions. TheJews headed West to Europe and America. The Tartars headed east. While this was taking place, a split developed among the Tartars as they divided between conservative followers of fundamentalist Islam and reformers who were more oriented toward European culture. A Census taken in 1917 at the time of World war I and the Russian Recolution found that the population of the Crimea had been trasformed, but was still about one-third Muslim, alothough only about 10 oercent of the cities were Mulim. With the victory of th Bolsheciks in the Russin Civil War, Soviet authorities launched a severe atheism campaign supressing Muslims in the Crimea and other areas such as the Caucuses. As a result, when the Germans invaded during World war II (June 1941), they found support among the Crimean Tartats and other Muslim popultions. Stalin as a result, when the Red Army reoccupied the Crimea (May 1944), and deported the Crimean Tartars enmasse, bith collabotators and non-collaborators to Central Asia, some 190,000 people. It was a typical brutal NKVS deportation action and little effort was given to feeding and caring for the deportees. Many deportees died of abuse, exposure, malnutrition, amd lack of medical care, although there is no definitive accunting. The Soviets issued a decree removed the charges against Crimean Tatars (1967). The Soviet government. however, did nothing to asist with a return to the Crimea or make reparations for the loss of life or confiscated property. With Ukrainian independence (1982), some Crimean Tatars returned to Ukraine which embraced religious freedom and pluralism. As a result, there are Muslim communities of various ethnic origins in all regions of Ukraine. They are three principal structures: the Spiritual Direction of the Muslims of Ukraine, the Spiritual Center of the Muslim Communities of Ukraine and the Spiritual Direction of the Muslims of Crimea. It is not clear how the Russian invasion of the Crimea and eastern Ukraine as punishment for Ukrainan eforts to pursue indpendence and democracy is affecting this process (2014)
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[About Us]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Cloth and textiles]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Topics]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing national pages:
[Return to the Main Ukranian page]
[Afghanistan]
[Belgium]
[Czechoslovakia]
[England]
[Estonia]
[France]
[Germany]
[Hungary]
[Italy]
[Japan]
[Latvia]
[Lithuania]
[Mexico]
[New Zealand]
[Norway]
[Poland]
[Romania]
[Russia]
[Tajikistan]
[Turkey]
[United States]
[Uzbekistan]
Navigate Children in History Website:
[About Us]
[Introduction]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Climatology]
[Clothing]
[Disease and Health]
[Economics]
[Freedom]
[Geography]
[History]
[Human Nature]
[Law]
[Nationalism]
[Presidents]
[Religion]
[Royalty]
[Science]
[Social Class]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Children in History Home]