Orthodox World Research Articles

FEATURES OF BATTLE SCENE STAGING IN THE UKRAINIAN OPERA

The author examines the concept of staging battle scenes in Ukrainian opera with heroicpatriotic themes. Attention is paid to the need to rethink the given topic in the conditions of the dominance of foreign repertoire over national works, the inclination of the young generation to cosmopolitanism against the background of digitalization of society and the wide spread of information technologies. Emphasis is placed on conducting active searches and experiments in the optimization of the spectacular and dramaturgical components with the integration of artistic means of expression and modern art technologies in the battle scenes of domestic opera performances. Historiographical sources from the everyday life of the Ukrainian Cossacks, their military training and military operations are analyzed and differentiated; art studies on the resolution of battle scenes in M. Lysenko's "Taras Bulba" and K. Dankevich's "Bohdan Khmelnytskyi" offer interesting approaches to the topic of the article. It was possible to find out the phenomenon of the appearance and formation of the Zaporizhya Cossacks, its conditioning by socio-economic factors. The essence of the term "Sich" has been established in its historical progress with the acquisition of the status of the center of the Zaporizhya Army and the assignment to it of the functions of a special state entity for the protection of the Orthodox world from Muslim and Catholic oppressors. The division of the Ukrainian Cossacks into two categories is outlined: sichoviks — direct participants in military operations, and zimivchakiv that provided the livelihood and fighting capacity of the former. The peculiarities of the combat training of the Cossacks in Sich, the advantages of their universal military training in the possession of various types of weapons in comparison with the armies of Eastern and Western Europe were studied. The principles of building certain military camp according to the Cossack custom have been revealed. The nature of combat techniques and tactical adjustments in the conditions of a permanent change in the situation on the battlefield is described. The scenes of the trials of the sons of Taras on Sich, the siege and storming of Dubno in the opera "Taras Bulba" by Mykola Lysenko, the battle at Yellow Waters in the opera "Bohdan Khmelnytskyi" by Kostiantyn Dankevich were modeled. Their historically reliable stylization in the context of synthesizing combat techniques, dance and choral performance with video broadcast of individual episodes of the battle is noted. The algorithm for staging battle episodes in Ukrainian opera is formulated with the need for performers to master the techniques of stage combat, coordination of interactions between them, and compliance with safety techniques in order to avoid industrial injuries. The author outlines the prospects of further investigations for the reliable display of battle scenes in opera performances in accordance with the peculiarities of the historical era, military traditions and armaments of a certain country, optimizing their solution with the use of modern art technologies.

Editorial Address & Advisory Board

The first issue of volume five of the Journal of the Council for Research on Religion (JCREOR) is a call by the editors to examine and understand social cohesions and conflicts, with particular interest in what role religion or religious traditions play within communities of diverse peoples. We sought first to understand how tension points arise within communities, and second, to examine the role played by religion in creating or appeasing these tension points. This issue is thus dedicated to probing, not only the tensions that arise within religiously diverse communities but the solutions that are developed in response to criticism or conflict. The studies in this issue address: the fractures that have been created in the Orthodox world by the Russian Orthodox Church’s support for the ongoing war in Ukraine; the tensions between liberal and traditional standpoints when discussing the Vedāntic tradition and the philosophy of the Upanishads; the tension and cohesion created by how different Turkish faith communities have been negotiating their role in the preservation of Ottoman architectural heritage; and, finally, how attempts at creating social cohesion in the Southern state of Karnataka have led to tensions between Muslim and Hindu communities.

Архангельское село Лявля как место насилия: между историей и мифом

The article examines the narratives, ideas and cultural practices that exist in the Arkhangelsk cultural space and represent to an external observer the pages of the Soviet history of the village of Lyavlya associated with the mass extermination of people in the 1920s–1950s. The cultural memory of Lyavlya as a place of violence was created by parishioners of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the leadership of the Arkhangelsk diocese. The result of their activities was the formation of a narrative about the history of Lyavlya and the particularization of the memory of the victims of violence. For memory actors, the fate of modern Russia is inseparable from the fate of the Orthodox Church, and the people who died in Lyavlya appear as martyrs for the faith and “heroes of the spirit”. Processions of the cross to burial sites provide an opportunity for their participants to legitimize ideas about the special role of Russia in the Orthodox world and the exclusivity of the Russian people. The fate of the dead clergy and laity, according to memorial actors, serves as evidence of the uniqueness of the Russian nation and its special mission to preserve Orthodoxy. Recently, interest in the topic of the traumatic past has faded. The author shows how the memory of traumatic legacies is constructed through ceremonies, memorials and publications.

Modern era and the Third Rome: Complexities of history periodization

The paper explores the history and essence of the modern era concept. It is logical to preserve the original meaning of this term, which developed in Western Europe during the Renaissance and designated the period starting from the 15th century. The flawed approach that shifts the boundaries of the modern era to a later date in the history of other states and equates this milestone with Westernization deserves attention. Both the civilizational specifics and the global nature of the historical changes that occurred in the 15th century are being ignored. In Russian philosophical and theological thought, the author stresses their view that the modern era coincides chronologically with the history of the Third Rome — Russia’s Orthodox world empire and the successor to medieval Byzantium.

Moscow-the Third Rome Concept and the Russian Orthodox Church

Russians in 988, under the leadership of Kinyaz Viladimer, they accepted Christianity through the Patriarchate of Constantinople and entered a new phase in their history. With Christianity, the Russians were introduced to writing and, most importantly, to religious texts. At the same time, this change of religion also led to the acceptance of the belief of chosenness, which had spread to Christianity from Judaism. Nestor, a Russian priest who lived in the 12th century, wrote in his work that although Russians were the last community to accept Christianity, they would undertake important missions in the future. He also attributed a mission to the Russian society by referring to the biblical passage that the feet will be the head and the head will be the feet. However, in the mentioned centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire was still the centre of Orthodoxy. For this reason, the Russian Orthodox Church would remain for many years as a Metropolitanate under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, the increasing Ottoman pressure on Constantinople from the 1400s onwards created several historical opportunities for the Russians. In particular, the Byzantine agreement with the Pope of Rome in Florence in 1439 mobilised the Russian Church. Using this agreement as a pretext, Moscow severed its relations with Constantinople. In 1453, the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, the centre of the Orthodox world, opened a new page in Russian Theo-politics. Russian priests believed that Nestor's prophecy had been fulfilled and Moscow developed the concept of the Third Rome. Appearing in the 16th century, the Moscow-Third Rome concept soon became the ideological basis for the formation of the Moscow kingdom. In this article, the concept of Moscow Third Rome, which is one of the important turning points in Russian history, is analysed through an analytical method. The background of the concept, the conditions that led to its emergence, its historical development and its reflections on the present day are emphasised.

Determination of the Southern Borders of the Orthodox World in the Reports of Russian Embassies

Based on the reports (stateinye spiski) of domestic embassies, the paper analyses the state idea in the 16th–17th centuries about the extent to which Orthodoxy was spread south of Russian lands. As a result of the study, it is concluded that the authorities assessed the degree of adherence to the Orthodox faith in other lands based on the idea that the canonical model is the Moscow Patriarchate, and in connection with this attitude, in their opinion, the conditional border ran between the Orthodox and heterodox worlds along Georgian principalities.

Возрождение (середина XIII – середина XVI столетия). Грани гуманизма. Часть I

The essay is dedicated to exploring the art and culture of the Renaissance period, heralding Modern times, spanning from the mid-13th to the mid-16th century. This part of the work highlights the artistic achievements of the Middle East during the specified period, particularly in architecture, poetry (including the rise of humanism). Turning to European culture, the author specifically addresses the art of the Orthodox world (primarily focusing on church painting and, to a lesser extent, on the Ancient Russian Znamenny chant), noting its influence on the currents of the Renaissance. The author delves into the Gothic style, somewhat contrasting traditional notions of the Renaissance period (a kind of “counterculture”), across its various manifestations in visual arts, music and literature. Special attention is given to the central part of Renaissance art, tracing its evolution from the Early Renaissance (masterpieces of sculpture in Gothic cathedrals) to the Proto-Renaissance (paintings and frescoes by Italian masters, the emergence of psychologism in painting, the literary movement of Dolce stile nuovо marking the transition from the Middle Ages to Modern times, Ars Nova in musical art). The exploration of this theme will continue in the next part of the essay.

Army and Progress? The Russian and Greek Reactions to the 1903 Coup in Serbia and to the 1908 Young Turk Revolution

In the early twentieth century, Greece and Russia represented two strikingly different state and social models for the Christian Orthodox world – its first ethnocentric nation-state vs. its last confessional dynastic empire. Yet they demonstrated similar reactions to the military coups in Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. Except for rightwing monarchists, most commentators, diplomats, and officers shared a belief in the potential of army-led modernization to promote financial efficiency and legitimacy based on constitutional parliamentary institutions. As such, the article contributes to the studies of military political involvement in the context of nationalist and socialist challenges to established monarchical regimes. The article also adds to the literature emphasizing Ottoman agency and influence abroad. While there are some valuable works on Russian and Greek responses to the Young Turk Revolution, there have not been any attempts to compare them in a single book or paper based on a variety of archival and print sources. The repercussions of the 1903 Serbian coup are researched even less (not at all on the Greek side).

Between Humanism and Pre-Enlightenment: Dimitrie Cantemir and His Work: Historiographic Controversies

The multi-faceted personality of this Romanian prince, descended from a modest family, who achieved success by virtue of his own merits, became one of the foremost connoisseurs of the Islamic civilization and participated in the elaboration of Tsar Peter the Great’s reform policies, has inspired vivid historiographic debates, concerned especially with his inclusion among the representatives of late Romanian Humanism or among the exponents of Southeast European pre Enlightenment. His career, built at the crossroads between the Orthodox world, Islamic alterity, and the German historical-geographic school for the study of states, justifies the classification of his work as part of this latter cultural movement, illustrated to the fullest in terms of the Roma nian historical writing by the representatives of the Transylvanian School.

FACTORS OF RUSSIAN IRREDENTISM IN UKRAINE: HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

This article examines the Russian policy of irredentism, namely its manifestations in relation to Ukrainian territories. Threats from the Russian Federation to Ukraine's national and territorial security prompt the study of the genesis of Russian expansionist policies. The notion of irredentism is extremely complex and multifaceted, and has different interpretations. In particular, it is seen as the desire of an ethnic minority to secede from a multi-ethnic state in order to unite with a neighboring kin state. In the modern concept, irredentism is seen as a state policy aimed at annexing territories inhabited by ethnically related populations. Russian irredentism, defined as Russia's aggressive policy towards the territories of former post-Soviet countries, has much deeper roots, as the idea of the hegemony of the Moscow tsars over the entire Slavic Orthodox world dates back to the sixteenth century. and was actively pursued by the Russian imperial authorities, which from the mid-seventeenth century seized a significant part of Left-Bank Ukraine, and by the end of the seventeenth century, as a result of three divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian-Turkish wars, almost all Ukrainian lands. An in-depth historical analysis of the origins and manifestations of Russian aggressive policy has shown that irredentism plays a key role in Russian aggression and has a number of factors: historical, geopolitical, economic, and ideological. Keywords: irredentism, irredentist policy, "Novorossiya", "fifth column", ethnopolitics, kin-state.

Balkan Orthodox Churches in Soviet Union policy (in the first years after the Second World War)

The aim of the article is to present the concept and actions taken by the Soviet diplomacy and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church to subjugate the Orthodox communities in the communist Balkan countries. The mechanism of the subjugation of the Balkan churches has been included into a comparative perspective and integrated into the broader concept of the Moscow Patriarchate towards gaining a leading role in the Orthodox world in the first years after the end of the Second World War. The process of dependency and its effects are reflected in diplomatic documents, but also in those produced by the Orthodox Churches themselves. The key element for gaining central position in the Orthodox world by Moscow was the organisation of anniversary celebrations and conferences to integrate the community and to involve it in the implementation of plans towards Soviet political domination. The results of these efforts were very limited in relation to ambitions outlined by the leadership of the Soviet state, revealing differing positions of the major patriarchates, as well as a real strength of authority and prestige that the Ecumenical Patriarchate invariably enjoyed.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in the Crucible of War

The article examines the main transformations in Ukrainian Orthodoxy over the past few years, with a special focus on the position of Orthodox Churches in Ukraine after the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Tracing the course of events in the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine over the last year of the war, the author shows how the war accelerated the irreversible process of separation of Ukrainian Orthodoxy from the Russian Orthodox Church and their withdrawal from Moscow's influence. Taking into account the moods in the Churches, Ukrainian society and the involvement of the state in this process, she considers possible scenarios for the development of events in the near future, assesses their probability and tries to project the most likely one. Pointing out the advantages and disadvantages, dangers and outcomes of each of these scenarios, the author concludes that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, if it does not radically change its course and continues to maintain ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, is destined to gradual decline in Ukraine, while the Orthodox Church of Ukraine under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical patriarchate has a great chance of growing and eventually obtaining recognition of its autocephaly in the Orthodox world.

Prier dans le « Jardin de la Mère de Dieu ». La commémoration des ktitors au Pyrgos de l’Albanais (monastère de Hilandar, Mont Athos, ms. Hilandar 519)

The present paper deals with the manuscript 519 (426) from the archives of Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos, which contains the memorial book (pomenik) of the so-called « Albanian Tower » (Arbanaški pirg), that is, the chapel of Saint-Georges, a small and less known monastic dependency of the Hilandar monastery (Mount Athos). The article focuses on the oldest part of the manuscript (ff.1r–6v; end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century), containing the synodikon of the house and the list of the main ktitors to whom the monks had to offer prayers. The examination of this valuable document shed light on the relations between the Albanian Tower’s monastic community and the Orthodox world before and after the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans and provides relevant clues for the study of the commemoration practices. The part under scrutiny is published in the Appendix (transcription and facsimile).

Orthodox Reflections on Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter on Ecumenism Ut Unum Sint: Reception and Contemporary Relevance

The article reflects on the ecumenical relevance of the encyclical of Pope John Paul II in light of the most recent developments in the Christian Orthodox world: the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (Crete, 2016) and the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, which determined the Moscow Patriarchate to sever ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate, as the latter recognized the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Both the absence of four autocephalous churches from the Council of Crete and the conflict between Constantinople and Moscow over Ukraine shows the very serious conciliar crisis of the Orthodox Church, which reveals a fragmented rather than symphonic Orthodoxy. This article argues that the hermeneutics of ecumenical receptivity that underpins the Encyclical Ut Unum Sint could also guide the Orthodox Church toward a solution to the crisis that affects its synodality or sobornicity. Just as Pope John Paul II invited all Christian churches to a joint reflection on the exercise of primacy, so the Orthodox Church should invite other Christian to a joint reflection on the practice of synodality. In the process of relearning how the embody synodality more fully, the Orthodox Church could benefit from the dialogue with the Christian other.

Византия и византизм в исторической памяти, религиозном сознании и культуре России и православного мира

Византия и византизм в исторической памяти, религиозном сознании и культуре России и православного мира

On the History of the Monastic Movement for the Paternal Calendar on Mount Athos

The article analyzes events from the history of the Orthodox Church of the last century, which were caused by calendar transformations in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which led to active apologetic activity in defense of the Julian (“Old”, “Paternal”) calendar by representatives of one of the most important centers of world Orthodoxy - Holy Mount Athos. This movement found wide support among the laity and clergy of the Greek Church, and subsequently caused a wide public outcry throughout the Orthodox world. However, there were many who reacted indifferently to the event, or even supported it at all. The attitude to the calendar reform was also ambiguous within the monastic circles of Mount Athos, one part of which reacted sharply negatively to this innovation, the other took a moderate position. This publication is dedicated to this little-covered episode in the history of the Church. The article shows the significant influence that Athos monasticism had on the course of events caused by the calendar reform. The history of the Orthodox Church in the XX century is filled with many dramatic events, one of which is the church calendar reform, which began in 1924 and led to a split within the Church. The confrontation between reformers and traditionalists within the Orthodox Church first manifested itself acutely in the first half of the XX century. The prerequisites for this were indicated even earlier. Eventually after all the events. Two trends have emerged in connection with innovations in world Orthodoxy, one of which expresses itself in an effort to defend traditional spiritual values, on which Orthodox Teaching is actually based, the second is to introduce novelty, to go for reforms, to harmonize the Teaching of the Church with the spirit of the times.

Lidská práva a pravoslaví: přehled a vyhodnocení současné debaty

In the Orthodox world, the debate on human rights has been one of the most interesting in recent years. There is an influential tendency among Orthodox priests, monks and laity to completely reject the idea of human rights as a mere Western invention without any cultural or spiritual basis among Eastern Christians. The critical problems are to be found in the different understanding of human dignity and the resulting emphasis on freedom or morality. Our task and question, therefore, is to identify the key points in this debate and to see what possible solutions to the existing dilemmas are available. In this article, we will attempt to map out the main players and arguments for the Czech reader, critically present and evaluate them.

De Facto or De Iure? Ukrainian Autocephaly as a Contentious Issue in Orthodoxy

The purpose of this article is to present the contentious issue of Ukrainian autocephaly in today’s Orthodox Church. The topic is developed in four sections. Firstly, the method of proclaiming autocephaly in the Orthodox Church is presented. Then the history of establishing Ukrainian autocephaly is shown. The third section presents the problems related to the recognition of Ukrainian autocephaly in the Orthodox world. The final section sums up the results of the reflection and draws conclusions. They demonstrate that the Orthodox Church does not have unambiguous canonical regulations on the establishment of autocephaly, resulting in controversies surrounding Ukrainian autocephaly. The controversies consist especially of three theological-canonical issues: (1) the jurisdictional affiliation of the Kyiv Metropolitan See; (2) the manner of establishing Ukrainian autocephaly; and (3) the validity of the ordination of certain clergy of the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Finally, it is concluded that a definitive solution to the contentious issue of Ukrainian autocephaly requires agreement at the level of the whole Orthodox Church.

Mission and Dialogue: An Assessment of the Interaction of Orthodox Theology and Practice with the Reformation

This article examines the mutual influence between the Reformers and the Orthodox in mission and interfaith dialogue. Relations between the two began soon after the Reformation itself, and since the founding of the modern Greek state (1830) three main historical phases can be distinguished: an initial phase during which the Protestants viewed the Orthodox (Greek) world itself as a mission field; a second phase, in the first part of the twentieth century which saw the emergence of missionary awareness among the Orthodox, significantly influenced by the large international mission conferences; a third (continuing) phase marked by the growth of the ecumenical movement and a more ecumenical understanding of mission.

September 11 — All-Russian Day of Sobriety

In 1913 in Russia, at the insistence of the ministers of the Russian Orthodox Church, it was decided to celebrate the All-Russian Day of Sobriety for the first time, and this was done in St. Petersburg with the participation of a group of public people. This date coincided with the day of strict fasting, when the Orthodox world celebrates a great church holiday — the Beheading of St. John the Baptist: according to the new calendar, this day falls on September 11th. Legend has it that being in a drunken stupor, Herod Antipas cut off the head of the holy Prophet during a feast. In all the Orthodox churches of the country, a procession is held on this date, and prayers are read to John the Baptist with a request to free all those who suffer from the disease of insobriety and send them healing. On this day, it is customary to pray to the Icon of the Inexhaustible Chalice, which, as legend has it, is able to save from alcoholism, and priests call on relatives to come and light a candle for the healing of all the unfortunate heavy drinkers. On September 11, not a single tavern traditionally worked, wine shops were closed, and the most severe punishment was envisioned for the sale of alcoholic beverages.