Khromets V. Theological Education as the Phenomenon of the Religious and Secular Educational Space of Ukraine

For the first time in the dissertation, the complex study of theological education in Ukraine was conducted, and the historical and modern typology of theological education was developed. The differences between the religious and secular educational space in the development of theological education were established. The approaches to understanding theology and theological education among Ukrainian intellectuals were analysed. The differentiation between theoretical fields of theology and other branches of knowledge about religion were made. The stages of the historical formation of the types of theological education in the territory of Ukraine were analysed. The network of the centres of theological education in Ukraine was outlined. The stages of legal and regulatory framework and functions of theological education in Ukraine were reconstructed. The modern discourse of theology and theological education in Ukraine were described. The concepts of secularism and denominationalism in the theory and practice of theological education were distinguished. The possible tendencies of the development of theological education in the domestic educational space were revealed. The purpose of the dissertation is to study typological, structural, functional and institutional and legal aspects of the development of the theological education in Ukraine. The object of the research is denominational and secular theological education. 9 The subject of the research is historical development, typological features and institutional models of theological education, as well as the legal aspects of its existence. The research novelty of the obtained results is determined by the set of tasks and means of their solution. Moreover, a holistic critical analysis of the distinctive features of the phenomenon of the theological education in the context of modern religious studies was conducted in the domestic religious and scientific discourse for the first time in the research. The peculiarities of the development of the theological education in terms of secularism and denominationalism were contextualized. In the light of a holistic religious research, the phenomenon of theological education in contemporary humanitarian tradition and paradigm is examined within the scope of the discourse of modern religious studies and partly theology that is relevant in view of the need to demonstrate the multiplicity (variety of meanings) and multidimensional nature of this phenomenon, and open new perspectives for its understanding from religious and theological perspectives. Thus, for the first time in the domestic religion it was necessary to outline the subject area of modernization, contextualization of the historical and theoretical continuum of theological education. This made it possible to rethink the common ground of secular and denominational theological education in the scientific discourse and the educational space of Ukraine.