Architectural Features of Protestant Churches from the 16th to the 21st Centuries in Ukraine

Authors

Valentyna Kuryliak, Ukrainian Institute of Arts and SciencesFollow
Petro Kotliarov, Taras Shevchenko National UniversityFollow
Mykhailo Fedorenko, Admiral Makarov National University of ShipbuildingFollow

Abstract

The article discusses the way the creeds of Protestants are reflected in their sacred architecture on Ukrainian lands. It investigates the evolution of the architecture of Protestant churches and religious buildings in Ukraine from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century. Three periods in the formation and development of Protestantism in Ukraine are distinguished: the magisterial reformation, the classical currents of Protestantism (Calvinism, Lutheranism), and late Protestant currents (Baptism, Pentecostalism, Adventism). The article establishes that the church architecture of Protestant denominations in each of these periods was influenced by the particular teachings of the Protestants themselves, the dominant political ideology, and the mentality and tradition of the Ukrainian people. Examples from the beginnings of Protestantism in Ukraine to the present are considered. The article identifies both a diversity of styles and a lack of architectural ingenuity, which is due to the various historical conditions in which Protestantism developed in Ukraine. Emphasis is placed on the features of the architectural evolution of buildings associated with late Protestantism, that is, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Adventists. Due to the influence of Soviet ideology, the architecture of houses of worship in these denominations did not differ from residential buildings. After Ukraine acquired independence, representatives of late Protestantism returned to the construction of church buildings with mixed architectural styles. Protestant architecture, despite its heterogeneity, shares common features; the content of the service is placed above the form, the sermon is considered more important than magnificent visual decorations, which shifts the emphasis from the church as a building to the church as a meeting of people participating in the worship of God.

Recommended Citation

Kuryliak, Valentyna; Kotliarov, Petro; and Fedorenko, Mykhailo (2020) "Architectural Features of Protestant Churches from the 16th to the 21st Centuries in Ukraine," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 40 : Iss. 9 , Article 5.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol40/iss9/5