Conferences

On November 19, a scientific conference “Religious Communities of South-Eastern Ukraine: Experience of Counteracting Soviet Totalitarianism and Modern Challenges” was held in Dnipropetrovsk, organized by the D. I. Yavornytskyi Dnipropetrovsk National Historical Museum, the Institute of Church History of the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv), and the Donetsk Exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Among the participants of the conference were historians: Associate Professor of the Department of Eastern European History of the O. Honchar National University of Kyiv, Deputy Director of the D. I. Yavornytskyi National Institute of History and Culture, Oleh Boyko; Head of the Department of World History of the O. Honchar National University of Kyiv, Research Fellow of the Mykola Gayev Center of Contemporary History of the Ukrainian University Albert Wenger; Associate Professor of the Department of Ukrainian History of the O. Honchar National University of Kyiv, Svitlana Kayuk; Associate Professor of the Department of Eastern European History of the O. Honchar National University of Kyiv, Yevheniy Snida; Acting Director of the D. I. Yavornytskyi National Institute of History and Culture, Oleksandr Staryk; Director of the Institute of Church, Vice-Rector for Strategic Cooperation of the Ukrainian University Oleg Turiy; Associate Professor of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Head of Programs and Projects of the UCU Analytical Center Iryna Fenno; Director of “Tkuma” Institute, Vice-Rector of the International Humanitarian and Pedagogical Institute “Beit Khana” Ihor Shchupak, etc.

The second section of the conference was devoted to the peculiarities of anti-religious policy and the life of believers after World War II in the Dnieper region, where the topic was the anti-Jewish policy of the Soviet authorities, the persecution of Greek Catholics and Christians of the Evangelical faith. As part of this session, Dr. Igor Shchupak delivered a report entitled “Components of the anti-Jewish policy of the Soviet authorities in the Dnieper region (1960–1980s)”.

The speech of the historian, former employee of “Tkuma” Institute, and now pastor of the religious community “Local Church” “Living Faith” of Evangelical Christians in Dnipro” Serhiy Ponurko also aroused considerable interest among those present. He told a touching family story about the participation of his relatives in saving Jews during the Holocaust.

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