Rychko V. The Pochayiv Lavra: Historical Role and Ethnic Identification in the Modern Ukrainian Society

The dissertation thesis is devoted to the complex of theoretical and practical analysis of the historical role and ethnic identification of the Pochayiv Lavra in the modern Ukrainian society. The dissertation is the first in Ukrainian religious studies to present the philosophical and religious analysis of features of confessional and ethnic identification of the Pochayiv Lavra in its history and correlation of these processes with general features of development of ethnic and religious identity of the Ukrainian society in the end of XVI – the beginning of XXI century. Our study reveals the essential features of the ethnic identification of the Pochayiv monastic centre under the lens of its institutional and jurisdictional transformations of the end of the 16th – the beginning of the 21st century. It outlines the origins and ideological modes of constructing the ethnic identity of the Pochayiv monastery of the end of the 16th – the beginning of the 18th century. We have carried out the analysis of the semantic impulses of self-identification of the Pochayiv monastery in the period of jurisdictional subordination to the Uniate Church (1720– 1831). The ideological concepts of identification of the Pochayiv Lavra in the context of the ethno-confessional policy of the Russian Empire (1831– 1917) are characterized. The dissertation examines narrative models of the Pochayiv Lavra identification in the conditions of religious and church policy of the Second Commonwealth (1918–1939) and totalitarian regimes (1939–1990). Our study aims to analyze the determinants of ethnic identification of the Pochayiv Lavra at the present stage (1991–the beginning of the XXI century). It was found that after short-term intentions of the monastery's leadership to begin the process of forming its national identity (1991–1992), it eventually started to transform into a powerful centre of aggressive fundamentalist Orthodoxy, which formed the basis of antagonism between the ethno-confessional identification of Pochayiv Lavra and crystallisation of national identity in modern domestic society. The obtained results of the dissertation, its basic position and conclusions can be used in theological and religious, philosophical, historical, cultural and sociological research, as well as in writing works of generalizing philosophical and religious works on the history of religion and churches in Ukraine and Volyn. In addition, the facts, conclusions and generalizations presented in the dissertation can be useful in regional ethnography and excursion work. Finally, a number of statements of the dissertation is relevant from the point of view of comprehension of modern ethno-confessional problems of Ukraine by state bodies, churches, religious organizations. It was found out that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church put systematic efforts to overcome the negative influences of the Pochayiv Orthodox-fundamentalist subculture through the creation of alternative centres of monastic life and pilgrimage, which have already become the Maniavsky Hermitage and the Univ Lavra. Also, the efforts of the representatives of «open» Kyiv Christianity are focused on the reconstruction and development of their own tradition of ties with the most influential centre of the Orthodox monasticism and pilgrimage today – Mountain Athos.