Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union
. Before that time, Ukraine
, as part of the Russian Empire
, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith
as far back as 1847. Following the Ukrainian diaspora
s, succeeding generations of ethnic Ukrainians became Bahá'ís and some have interacted with Ukraine previous to development of the religion in the country. There are currently around 1000 Bahá'ís in Ukraine, in 13 communities.
, Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorukov, requested that the Báb
, the herald to the Bahá'í Faith who was imprisoned at Maku
, be moved elsewhere; he also condemned the massacres of Iranian religionists, and asked for the release of Bahá'u'lláh
, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1884 Leo Tolstoy
first heard of the Bahá'í Faith and was sympathetic to some of its teachings. Also, orientalist
A. Tumanskim translated some Bahá'í literature into Russian in 1899 in Saint Petersburg
. In the 1880s an organized community of Bahá'ís was in Ashgabat and later built the first Bahá'í House of Worship
in 1913-1918. In the 1890s, the woman known as Isabella Grinevskaya
settled in Odessa
. In 1903 as playwright Grinevskaya published the play "Báb" based on the life an events of the founder of the Bábí
religion which was performed in St. Petersburg in 1904 and again in 1916/7, was translated into French and Tartar, and lauded by Leo Tolstoy
and other reviewers at the time. In 1910 she settled in Constantinople and after meeting `Abdu'l-Bahá became a member of the Bahá'í Faith.
In the second half of 1938 Lidia Zamenhof
had been a major influence of the conversion of the first known Ukrainian becoming a Bahá'í, who was living in eastern Poland at the time. Vasyl Dorosenko was an Esperantist
and a teacher but by 1938 had retired and was living in the country near Kremenets
which was then part of Poland. Dorosenko was much affected by Russian and Esperantist language versions of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by John Esslemont
. He did early work in translating it to the Ukrainian language
. However after Zamenhoff's visit in early 1939 he became ill and all contact was lost.
through the 1950s, there is no known Bahá'í presence in Ukraine from this period, though the head of the religion at the time, Shoghi Effendi
, included Ukraine in a list of places where no Bahá'ís pioneer
had been yet in 1952 and again in 1953.
s. As early as 1954 Canadian Peter Pihichyn of Ukrainian descent translated Bahá'í literature
into Ukrainian
and by 1963 a Ukrainian Teaching Committee of the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of Canada produced a bulletin, entitled New Word.
Canadian Bahá'í Mary McCulloch was of Ukrainian descent. After becoming a Bahá'í in 1951 and joining the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan she was the first pioneer to Anticosti Island
in 1956 becoming a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh
. In later years she lived in Baker Lake
with her family and promoted translation of Bahá'í literature into Inuktitut
. She also assisted with translations into Ukrainian. In the 1990s she attended the Observances of the Centenary of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh and the Bahá'í World Congress
and went on pilgrimage
, and died in 1995.
conducting an informal survey including "Which of the sects are creating the greatest problems?" managed to find a trace of the Bahá'í Faith. In April 1991, Ukraine, Belarus
and Moldavia
formed a regional National Spiritual Assembly — in 1995 Belarus established a separate National Assembly, and in 1996 Moldova did the same, leaving Ukraine having its own National Spiritual Assembly.
on behalf of the European Union
on the deteriorating situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran. Ukraine's support of EU declarations about the Bahá'ís in Iran was reprised in February 2009 following the announcement of a trial of the leadership of the Bahá'ís of Iran when the Presidency of the European Union "denounced" the trial. - See Persecution of Bahá'ís
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Before that time, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, as part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
as far back as 1847. Following the Ukrainian diaspora
Ukrainian diaspora
The Ukrainian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Ukrainians, especially those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national identity within their own local community.-1608 To 1880:After the loss...
s, succeeding generations of ethnic Ukrainians became Bahá'ís and some have interacted with Ukraine previous to development of the religion in the country. There are currently around 1000 Bahá'ís in Ukraine, in 13 communities.
As part of the Russian Empire
The earliest relationship between the Bahá'í Faith and Ukraine comes under the sphere of the country's history with Russia. During that time, the history stretches back to 1847 when the Russian ambassador to TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorukov, requested that the Báb
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
, the herald to the Bahá'í Faith who was imprisoned at Maku
Maku, Iran
Maku is a city in the West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 41,865, in 10,428 families.It is situated from the Turkish border in a mountain gorge at an altitude of 1634 metres. The Zangmar River cuts through the city. The common languages in Maku are Kurdish and...
, be moved elsewhere; he also condemned the massacres of Iranian religionists, and asked for the release of Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1884 Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
first heard of the Bahá'í Faith and was sympathetic to some of its teachings. Also, orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
A. Tumanskim translated some Bahá'í literature into Russian in 1899 in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. In the 1880s an organized community of Bahá'ís was in Ashgabat and later built the first Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in 1913-1918. In the 1890s, the woman known as Isabella Grinevskaya
Isabella Grinevskaya
Isabella Grinevskaya was the pen name of Berta Friedberg, daughter of the author Abraham Shalom Friedberg and the first wife of Mordechai Spector....
settled in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
. In 1903 as playwright Grinevskaya published the play "Báb" based on the life an events of the founder of the Bábí
Babi
Babi may refer to:* Babı, a municipality in Azerbaijan* Babi Dynasty, founded in 1735 by Muhammed Sher Khan Babi , Nawabs of this dynasty went on to rule over Junagadh in Gujarat, from the 18th to the 20th century....
religion which was performed in St. Petersburg in 1904 and again in 1916/7, was translated into French and Tartar, and lauded by Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
and other reviewers at the time. In 1910 she settled in Constantinople and after meeting `Abdu'l-Bahá became a member of the Bahá'í Faith.
In the second half of 1938 Lidia Zamenhof
Lidia Zamenhof
Lidia Zamenhof was the youngest daughter of Ludwig Zamenhof, the creator of the international auxiliary language, Esperanto. She was born 29 January 1904 in Warsaw, then in the Russian Empire...
had been a major influence of the conversion of the first known Ukrainian becoming a Bahá'í, who was living in eastern Poland at the time. Vasyl Dorosenko was an Esperantist
Esperantist
An Esperantist is a person who speaks or uses Esperanto. Etymologically, an Esperantist is someone who hopes...
and a teacher but by 1938 had retired and was living in the country near Kremenets
Kremenets
Kremenets is a city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kremenets Raion , and rests 18 km north-east of the great Pochayiv Monastery...
which was then part of Poland. Dorosenko was much affected by Russian and Esperantist language versions of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by John Esslemont
John Esslemont
John Ebenezer Esslemont M.B., Ch.B. , was a prominent British Bahá'í from Scotland. He was the author of the well-known introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, which is still in circulation. He was named posthumously by Shoghi Effendi as the first Hand of the Cause he...
. He did early work in translating it to the Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
. However after Zamenhoff's visit in early 1939 he became ill and all contact was lost.
Soviet period
Though Bahá'ís had managed to enter various countries of the Eastern BlocEastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
through the 1950s, there is no known Bahá'í presence in Ukraine from this period, though the head of the religion at the time, Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, included Ukraine in a list of places where no Bahá'ís pioneer
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
had been yet in 1952 and again in 1953.
Ukrainian descendents
There have been several Bahá'í converts from descendants of the Ukrainian diasporaUkrainian diaspora
The Ukrainian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Ukrainians, especially those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national identity within their own local community.-1608 To 1880:After the loss...
s. As early as 1954 Canadian Peter Pihichyn of Ukrainian descent translated Bahá'í literature
Bahá'í literature
Bahá'í literature, like much religious text, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia...
into Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and by 1963 a Ukrainian Teaching Committee of the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of Canada produced a bulletin, entitled New Word.
Canadian Bahá'í Mary McCulloch was of Ukrainian descent. After becoming a Bahá'í in 1951 and joining the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan she was the first pioneer to Anticosti Island
Anticosti Island
Anticosti Island is an island at the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, in Quebec, Canada, between 49° and 50° N., and between 61° 40' and 64° 30' W. At in size, it is the 90th largest island in the world and 20th largest island in Canada...
in 1956 becoming a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
The title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade....
. In later years she lived in Baker Lake
Baker Lake, Nunavut
Baker Lake , is a hamlet in the Kivalliq Region, in Nunavut on mainland Canada. Located inland from Hudson Bay, it is near the nation's geographical centre, and is notable for being the Canadian Arctic's sole inland community...
with her family and promoted translation of Bahá'í literature into Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
. She also assisted with translations into Ukrainian. In the 1990s she attended the Observances of the Centenary of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh and the Bahá'í World Congress
Bahá'í World Congress
The Bahá'í World Congress is a large gathering of Bahá'ís from across the world that is called irregularly by the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís...
and went on pilgrimage
Bahá'í pilgrimage
A Bahá'í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Akká, and Bahjí at the Bahá'í World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá'ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage....
, and died in 1995.
Inside Ukraine
There is evidence of a Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly forming in Ukraine around 1977, and that the Bahá'í Faith started to grow across the Soviet Union in the 1980s. In 1991 a Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of the Soviet Union was elected but was quickly split among its former members. In 1992 the Christian Research InstituteChristian Research Institute
The Christian Research Institute is an Evangelical Christian apologetics ministry. It was established in October 1960 in the state of New Jersey by Walter Martin . In 1974 Martin relocated the ministry to San Juan Capistrano, California. The ministry's office was relocated in the 1990s near Rancho...
conducting an informal survey including "Which of the sects are creating the greatest problems?" managed to find a trace of the Bahá'í Faith. In April 1991, Ukraine, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
formed a regional National Spiritual Assembly — in 1995 Belarus established a separate National Assembly, and in 1996 Moldova did the same, leaving Ukraine having its own National Spiritual Assembly.
Modern community
In 2007 the numbers of the Bahá'í community in Ukraine totals about 1000 people, with 12 Bahá'í communities in 2001, and 13 in 2004. In February 2008 the Ukrainian government rose in support of a declaration by the President of SloveniaPresident of Slovenia
The function of President of the Republic of Slovenia was established on 23 December 1991, when the National Assembly of Slovenia passed a new constitution as a result of independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
on behalf of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
on the deteriorating situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran. Ukraine's support of EU declarations about the Bahá'ís in Iran was reprised in February 2009 following the announcement of a trial of the leadership of the Bahá'ís of Iran when the Presidency of the European Union "denounced" the trial. - See Persecution of Bahá'ís
Persecution of Bahá'ís
The persecution of Bahá'ís is the religious persecution of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world...
.
See also
- Religion in UkraineReligion in UkraineHistorically Ukraine was inhabited by pagan tribes, but Byzantine rite Christianity was introduced by the turn of the first millennium. It was imagined by later writers who sought to put Kievan Christianity on the same level of primacy as Byzantine Christianity that Apostle Andrew himself had...
- Religion in RussiaReligion in RussiaThere are number of religions with adherents in Russia. The preamble to the 1997 law regulating religious organizations names Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism as important in Russian history...
- Religion in the Soviet UnionReligion in the Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion and its replacement with atheism. To that end, the communist regime confiscated religious property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in schools...
- Bahá'í Faith in MoldovaBahá'í Faith in MoldovaThe Bahá'í Faith in Moldova began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Moldova, as part of the Russian Empire, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith as far back as 1847. In 1974 the first Bahá'í arrived in Moldova...
- Bahá'í Faith in KazakhstanBahá'í Faith in KazakhstanThe Bahá'í Faith in Kazakhstan began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Kazakhstan, as part of the Russian Empire, had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith as far back as 1847...
External links
- Bahá'í Community of Ukraine
- Bahá'í Community of Kyiv (in English.)
- The Bahá'í Community of Azerbaijan
- The Bahá'í Faith in Belarus
- Bahá'ís of Minsk
- Baha’i Community in Vitebsk
- Bahá'í Prayers in Belarussian
- The Bahá'í Faith in Tiraspole, MoldovaMoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
- The Baha'i Community Novosibirskaya (Novosibirsk OblastNovosibirsk OblastNovosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...
). - http://ulanbahai.narod.ru/Bahá'í Community of Ulan-UdeUlan-UdeUlan-Ude is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga...
] - The Bahá'ís of Russia
- Axios Education Centre with William Hatcher.
- On Country in Russian
- Bahai Herald from Vladivostok
- Bahá'í Archives in Russian