As I've previously related, Ukrainian nationalism is inextricably tied to Uniatism and a tendency to go into schism.
As I've previously related, Ukrainian nationalism is inextricably tied to Uniatism and a tendency to go into schism.
The internet often makes us cold and terse. This is something endemic to it. My writings have been no exception. My words in my articles tend to be subdued and formal, but my words on Twitter have not followed this template.
Twitter is a place where abrupt messages are fired off, and where virtually everyone is confrontational. It comes with the territory. When you post on Twitter, you invariably end up getting into some kind of argument, and firing off quips and jabs at something you detest is a daily occurrence. Teasing and being flippant are the norm. Such is internet culture. It is a culture where "bantzing" and "dissing" is how you engage both friends and enemies. Crude humor is a lubricant for touchy subjects.
I started this primarily as a place to talk about Orthodoxy, particularly Russian Orthodoxy in the US. It was also my objective to talk about Russian culture, particularly the variety found in the OCA, in all of its vibrant and vestigial forms. Today Russian culture is under attack much more than usual. I have responded to detractors and pieces of media that I have found to be troublesome. I have responded to things that I detest. But I have been rude in my moments of righteous indignation, particularly with regard to attacks on the Orthodox Faith. As of late, Orthodoxy has been under direct attack in the land of our ancestors: Ukraine. The Church there is in a state of crisis both because of the war and because of the Ukrainian government's persecution. Georgia is experiencing political upheaval and could be on the eve of a western-backed color revolution. Belarus is in a precarious position in which it could soon undergo the same kind of nationalist modification/invention process that Ukraine (Little Russia) has been subjected to. I have participated in poking fun at those whom I believe to be threatening Orthodoxy and spreading social liberalism in the Orthodox World.
I ask your forgiveness if
I have caused harm. I am passionate about Orthodoxy, and believe
strongly in the justness and rightness of Russian identity over
alternative identities and nationalisms that are at odds with it. I also feel that it is constructive to poke fun at some, even directly insulting them, using the same tools of desacrilization and humor that they use against us.
This series continues, amid the buzz surrounding Tucker Carlson's interview this week of Vladimir Putin. A long, complicated history was discussed during the course of that interview with mixed reactions around the world. Hopefully this multi-part series, written from the perspective of a descendant of pre-Revolutionary Russian immigrants to America, who came from the regions in question, will shed light on the issues discussed. My content tends to fixate more on religious issues than others, but this is probably worth a read, even by those who are not primarily interested in religious affairs in Ukraine. My argument is that religion actually did play a major role in the development of Ukraine, as it does in virtually every other region of the world.
Competing national visions: Ukrainianism versus Russophilia
There are competing visions everywhere. In Ukraine, historically, there are 2 opposing visions regarding identity, nationhood, and sovereignty. Since the coup d'etat of 2014, these 2 visions, being held by native citizens of Ukraine, have even duked it out on an actual battlefield. While there were other visions at times, these 2 are the most relevant and impact the world today the most: Russophilia and Ukrainianism. Other less relevant or popular visions would be: Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Identity, Neosoviet, general separatism, and apathy.
This is the first part in a series on Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This topic will be approached in part from the perspective of the old Russian immigration - most of which came from what is now Ukraine and Belarus.
The topic of Ukraine and Belarus, particularly their history, is generally not known by westerners, and most of the information available on the topic is heavily influenced by political forces. The topic of "Russian History" presented to us, tends to be the history of the regions that compose the Russian Federation today. It focuses heavily on the Grand Duchy/Tsardom of Muscovy, and only the major events, cities, personalities, and dynamics of the Russian Empire. This history is more well-known, but still generally biased. This history almost always neglects the western regions of the broad civilization of which Moscow is a part: Ukraine and Belarus. This history is told in such a way as to create a division of what is called "Rus" or what simply used to be called "Russia" by way of compartmentalization. In other words, what is termed "Russian History" is really just the study of one portion of a civilization, with the implication that Belarus and Ukraine have always been separate nations, or are perhaps simply unimportant or unconnected places. This is the story of the Old Country, as it continues to unfold.
We shall start by framing the understanding in western media and education of the relationship of Belarus and Ukraine with Russia, as well as the general perception of Russian nationhood and nationalism.
When discussing Russia, western media primarily upholds narratives associated with geopolitical movements. It is not as concerned with supporting the positions of the groups listed in the following paragraphs (Ukrainianist, Polish, British), it only uses them and allows them to exist in the media ecosystem insofar as they are useful. This media is owned and controlled by the "elites" as it is everywhere. The elites of the west have as their geopolitical goal the weakening - and in some cases the destruction - of the Russian nation, conceptions of Russian nationality, Russophillia, etc. This is because Russia is viewed as an adversary. Most of the media on the topic of Russia is engineered to:
A. Dismiss Russia's national idea.
B. Portray Russia as a unique oppressor throughout history (much like some critics of America do, such as the 1619 Project).
C. Assert that Russia is a usurper of the heritage of Kievan Rus, that the Tsars of Moscow/St.Petersburg unrightfully ruled what is now Ukraine and Belarus, and that there has always been a deep distinction between Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Some brief exhibits of contemporary religion in Ukraine. We can see the transformation of religion there. We see the sacramentalization of nationalism:
In the past, I have used the snide label "Russian Kwanzaa" to refer to Ukrainian nationalism (Ukrainianism.) And here we have a western media article on just that: Russian Kwanzaa.
Ukrainian nationalists are creating new Christmas traditions in order to invent another difference with Russia. Although it was not the intention of the author, this article shows how Ukrainian nationalists are perpetually inventing their nation. They cut off their nose to spite their face.
We live in a time of apostasy. Many of us have watched as fellow parishioners have left the Orthodox faith. This is not unique to Orthodoxy, as all established religious groups have lost membership.
Ideally, the descendants of the founders and early parishioners of our parishes should still be around, and have some relationship with their old family parish (even from afar if they have moved away). But instead, our old parishes are empty in many places despite there being many descendants of historical parishioners.
In mission parishes, the children of converts are leaving.
The descendants of past parishioners who were close with our ancestors, people we should have a relationship with, have fallen away and are nowhere to be found. In many cases, in our ancestral parishes, the community has been torn asunder or at least weakened by parishioners leaving the faith.
In many cases, we know people who grew up with us, or people who are children or grand children of old family friends. But we rarely see them.
Initiative
1. Make a list of those whom we know to have strayed from the Orthodox Christian Faith. Perhaps they are deliberate apostates who have publicly renounced the Faith. Or maybe they have simply disengaged.
2. In your daily prayers, pray for their return. Pray for them by name.
In the Svit Prayerbook, there is a petition in the daily prayers that can be used:
"Those that have apostatized from the Orthodox faith and are blinded with the pernicious heresies do Thou enlighten with the light of Thy knowledge and incorporate with Thy Holy, Apostolic, Catholic Church."
3. Check with your priest and see if it is appropriate to commemorate someone who is straying from the Orthodox Faith in the Proskomedia.