The first 30 volumes of the hundred-volume book “Kyivan Christianity” presented at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv
In the museum “Metropolitan House” of the National Conservation Area “St. Sophia of Kyiv” on Friday, June 16, a presentation of an exceptional publication took place — the first 30 volumes of the research series “Kyivan Christianity” published in 2013–2023. The presentation was held under the patronage of the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav. The event was co-organized by the Ukrainian Catholic University and the Open Orthodox University of St. Sophia the Wisdom.
The event began with a joint prayer for Ukraine and its defenders.
“The fact that this presentation is taking place in the tenth year of the war and the second year of the full-scale invasion is a testimony to God’s providence over our people: what our northern neighbors, Russia, think should never have happened is happening,” said the moderator of the event, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology of UCU, Fr. Yuriy Shchurko. “This very series ‘Kyivan Christianity’ that we are presenting today deconstructs the narratives that are being imposed on us from the outside: it not only portrays our thousand-year history but also speaks of the unique foundation of the Christian heritage on which our state is built and has been standing for a thousand years.”
The initiator and backer of this sequel, which involved many outstanding Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian thinkers, was and is the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, and the basis for it is the philosophical, theological, and humanities faculties of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
“The event that we are celebrating today is significant for many reasons,” said the Head of the UGCC in his opening remarks. “With this conference, we want to thank the Lord God for the first ten years of the existence of an integral multifaceted research project that is already known both in Ukraine and in the world as Kyivan Christianity.”He added that ten years ago, in many scholarly discourses, even the very concepts of the Kyivan Church and Kyivan Christianity hadn’t existed, and the predecessor, His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar, was the first to develop that idea of the once unified Kyivan Church.
“From the outset of the first decade, this project proved to be not only professionally scientific, but also very broad and inclusive. Today, these scientific volumes can be seen not only in Ukrainian scientific libraries, but also in the libraries of Rome and the best universities in Europe, North and South America. The publications are available not only in Ukrainian and English, but also in many other languages. The participants in this project were scholars not only of the UGCC, but also our Orthodox brothers, researchers from different countries and peoples of the world”, said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The Head of the UGCC and other participants of the event expressed special gratitude to UCU Professor Ihor Skochylyas (1967–2020), who was the first project leader. The professor’s research topics included, in particular, pre-modern religious culture in Ukraine, the ecclesial tradition of Eastern Christianity, the Uniate idea, and the institutional history of the Kyiv Metropolis.
“When I, as the Head of the church, was looking for a person, a scholar, who could be inspired by this idea, who would be the first to respond to this existential need of the church, among the entire pantheon of scholars, Ihor Skochylias was the first to respond, believe and begin to work intensively. He not only worked himself, but created a team that continues his work today”, the Head emphasized.
Oksana Kozak,The UGCC Department for Information
