Book Discussion: "The ‘Lviv Sobor’ of 1946 and Its Aftermath: Towards Truth and Reconciliation"
8 October 2024
The Lviv Sobor of 1946 and Its Aftermath: Towards Truth and Reconciliation, edited by Adam A.J. DeVille and Daniel Galadza and published by Brill in 2023, examines the controversial ‘Lviv Sobor,’ where the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church was forcibly dissolved by Soviet authorities.
Co-sponsored by by the Oriental Institute and the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS), this online event will be chaired by Frank Sysyn. Heather Coleman will provide insights into the broader context of church history, while Yury Avvakumov and Myroslaw Tataryn will also contribute their expertise. The book, edited by Adam A.J. DeVille and Daniel Galadza and published by Brill in 2023, examines the controversial ‘Lviv Sobor,’ where the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church was forcibly dissolved by Soviet authorities. The discussion will explore the council’s historical context, its aftermath, and perspectives on reconciliation, emphasizing the need to acknowledge the coercion involved in the Sobor’s decisions.
25 October, 2024 | 10 A.M. MDT
Online only - join us on Zoom. Register by clicking the button below.
Yury P. Avvakumov is an Associate Professor specializing in the History of Christianity, with a focus on the Later Medieval and Early Modern periods. He holds a Ph.D. equivalent in Orthodox Theology from the Russian Orthodox Theological Seminary and Academy in St. Petersburg and a Dr. Theol. in Catholic Theology from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. His research interests include the papacy and Eastern Churches, scholastic theology, Latin and Byzantine ecclesiology, and the religious thought of 19th and 20th-century Russia and Ukraine. Avvakumov is particularly engaged with the history of Byzantine-rite Christianity in communion with Rome and the experiences of Catholic and Orthodox Christians under Soviet totalitarianism. Before joining Notre Dame in 2010, he held academic positions in Germany, Ukraine, and Russia, including serving as Dean of Humanities at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.
Myroslaw Tataryn is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Religious Studies at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, where he also served as Chair of the department and Director of the Centre for Responsible Citizenship. With a cross-appointment to the Department of History, he holds a ThD and MDiv from St. Michael's College and a BA from the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the intersection of religious experience and culture, particularly in Eastern Christian theology, disability studies, and the application of Eastern Christian thought in contemporary Western contexts. Tataryn’s work is informed by his personal experiences as a member of the Eastern Catholic (Ukrainian) community, a cleric, and a father of children with disabilities. His interests include Trinitarian theology, kenosis, and ecclesiology.
Heather Coleman is a Professor and Chair of the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Alberta. She is a historian specializing in Russia and Ukraine, with a focus on religion and modernization in the 19th and 20th centuries. She directs the Program on Religion and Culture at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Her research examines the intersection of religion, society, and politics, particularly within the Russian Orthodox Church and its interactions with local communities. She is the author of Russian Baptists and Spiritual Revolution, 1905-1929 and is currently working on a book titled Holy Kyiv: Priests, Communities, and Nationality in Imperial Russia. From 2011-2020, she served as editor of Canadian Slavonic Papers/Revue canadienne des slavistes.
Frank E. Sysyn is a Professor of History at the University of Alberta's Department of History, Classics, and Religious Studies. He is also the Director of the Petro Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) and heads the CIUS Toronto Office. A specialist in early modern Ukrainian history and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, his research interests include social, intellectual, and religious history, as well as historiography. Sysyn is the editor-in-chief of the Hrushevsky Translation Project and has authored works such as Between Poland and the Ukraine: The Dilemma of Adam Kysil, 1600–1653 and Mykhailo Hrushevsky: Historian and National Awakener.
Daniel Galadza is a deacon of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Kyiv and a Professor of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. He was previously an assistant professor at the University of Vienna and is currently an international research partner at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on the historical development of liturgy, particularly the Byzantine Rite, as well as modern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic worship. His notable monograph, Liturgy and Byzantinization in Jerusalem, was published by Oxford University Press in 2018.