Ukranian Protestants’ Communicative Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Authors

Maksym Balaklytskyi, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, UkraineFollow
Petro Kotliarov, Taras Shevchenko National UniversityFollow
Viacheslav Korchuk, Ukrainian Adventist Theology Institute (Bucha, Kyiv region, Ukraine)Follow

Author ORCID Identifier

Maksym Balaklytskyi: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7977-5594

Petro Kotliarov: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8917-8926

Viacheslav Korchuk: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3314-7335

Abstract

The article considers the reaction of Ukrainian Protestants to the Covid-19 pandemic. Most important for Protestant theologians was a discussion of the impact and consequences of the pandemic on church life. Most Protestants agreed to a hybrid model of church worship: online-offline as a manifestation of an open reaction to the changes that resulted from the introduction of state quarantine restrictions. During the pandemic, Ukrainian Protestants managed to move away from the established model that the church is a building and to accept the paradigm of the Church as the Body of Christ. Under limited conditions, digital Protestant theology began to gain momentum in the form of sermons, discussions, online broadcasts, and so on. There is still a search for a "golden mean" between traditional forms of church activity and the church online, as the Orthodox context of Ukrainian culture leads to the belief that "real" worship can take place only in special rooms. During the pandemic, a number of eschatological theories were born among Protestants, reinforced by fear for their lives, which led to a decrease in the number of believers in the churches. However, along with the negative aspects of the pandemic, there were a number of positive ones, such as believers rethinking their relationship with God and the church community, and self-organization as a reaction to state and church restrictions. There was a digital awakening, which allowed churches to represent themselves online under unusual conditions. Moreover, there was a new emphasis on the New Testament thesis that the church is not a building, but a social community of believers who can serve God outside of a particular building.

Recommended Citation

Balaklytskyi, Maksym; Kotliarov, Petro; and Korchuk, Viacheslav (2021) "Ukranian Protestants’ Communicative Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 41 : Iss. 4 , Article 14.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol41/iss4/14