Bohdan Bociurkiw Memorial Lecture: Andrii Krawchuk "The Impact of Russia's Intervention in Ukraine on Muslim, Jewish, and Baptist Communities"

DATE: February 12 TIME: 7 PM VENUE: 3-58 PEMBINA HALL, UALBERT

21 January 2016

The religious dimension of Russia's war on Ukraine is significant but, as opposed to political, economic, and military factors, largely neglected. It includes the divisive effects of the war and of policies introduced by occupation authorities on religious communities. But those communities have not been only passive observers and victims: they have demonstrated a capacity for active agency.

A comprehensive account of the religious dimension of the war must take account of their critical and reflective responses to polarizing forces in society, as well as their adaptability, survival skills, and committed social engagement. The lecture will outline the war's impact on Muslims, Jews, and Baptists of Ukraine and their responses, and then compare and assess those responses, adaptations, and self-reflection.

Andrii Krawchuk is professor of religious studies and past president of the University of Sudbury (2004-9). He is the author of Christian Social Ethics in Ukraine: The Legacy of Andrei Sheptytsky (Edmonton and Toronto, 1997) and co-editor, with Thomas Bremer, of Eastern Orthodox Encounters of Identity and Otherness: Values, Self-Reflection, Dialogue (New York, 2014). He has also edited numerous other documentary collections on religion, society, and ethics in Eastern Europe. He serves as vice-president of the International Council for Central and East European Studies and is a member of the Religion in Europe Group (American Academy of Religion) and of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Association of Slavists. His current research deals with interreligious dialogue and intercultural ethics in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

DATE: February 12
TIME: 7 PM
VENUE: 3-58 PEMBINA HALL, UALBERT