Ukrainian Orthodox Education in Historical Retrospective

Abstract

The article reflects the historical background and challenges of the Orthodox Church in establishing religious education in the process of spreading Orthodox Christianity. From historical analysis, one can observe the evolution of not only Orthodox education, but also church teaching, which in turn increased the rates of literacy and education in the population. Because of the work in the dioceses, namely the opening of educational centers, schools, colleges, etc. the general level of education increased. However, with the historical collapse and tumultuous events of Ukraine's past, the success of the Orthodox Church in these efforts has varied significantly in different historical periods. To combat the crisis conditions of the Church in the field of education, under the guidance of diocesan ministers, church educational institutions began to work well, which in turn increased the popular authority of Orthodoxy and consolidated its position in this area. Through such ministry, the Orthodox clergy integrated the principles of morality, Christian teaching, and religious traditions into the general educational process, investing in subsequent generations the basis of a conscious religion of Orthodoxy. Scholars do not deny the progressive role of the Church in raising the levels of education, writing, and faith. In addition, the initiative of the Church in the introduction of public education was positively received by the imperial authorities and secular forces, making it competitive with Catholic and Protestant education on the territory of Ukraine. Analyzing the current state of Ukrainian religion demonstrates the relative uniformity of the spread of religious trends and religious tolerance towards them. Only at the beginning of the 21st century did national and full-fledged autonomies within the Church become known, considering the objective historical and dialectical development of the church structure.