Speakers:

“Finnish Lutheran perspectives on Ukrainian ecclesiastical situation in the 1990’s.”

Ukraine’s ecclesiastical situation was mainly observed through the ecumenical dialogue between the Finnish Lutheran and the Russian Orthodox Church. But how much the ecclesiastical situation and the church-state relations were reflected outside this context? Did the Finnish Lutheran Church see Ukraine and its churches also separated form Russia?

Heta Hurskainen, ThD, Assistant professor of Systematic Theology, Philosophical Faculty , University of Eastern Finland

 

“Nationalizing the sacred – the patterns of church-conflict in Eastern Europe”

The Eastern Orthodox Churches in post-communist Eastern Europe are embroiled in long-running conflicts over ownership of territory, saints, sites, nations, and history. These often violent conflicts reflect political and national rivalries, most explicitly in former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. They are often understood as simplified ethnic-national tensions with religious overtones, but such an assessment overlooks the deeper theological and historiographical framework – namely the process of nationalization.

Emil Hilton Saggau, research fellow, Lund University

 

"Blessed Battlegrounds: Orthodox Christianity in the Wars Over Georgia and Ukraine"

The Georgian and Ukrainian wars share similiatries, yet there is differences in the narrative and rehetoric aspects of the wars. The Georgian conflict lacked the overt religious rhetoric that later characterized the Ukrainian narrative, where Orthodox Christianity served as an important prop to justify Russia's actions. What factors, then, might explain this stark divergence? In this paper, Metreveli will explore this subject.

Tornike Metreveli, Docent in Sociology of Religions, Researcher, Lund University

 

LUX:B417, Helgonavägen 3, Lund or LU Zoom meeting: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/68763516758