Most Ukrainians are, traditionally, Eastern Orthodox Christians. Volodymyr, the Grand Prince of Kyivan Rus, officially accepted Christianity for himself and his people in 988. His grandmother, Olga, had converted several years earlier.
According to the Primary Chronicle (compiled by monks in the 12th century), Volodymyr, a pagan, invited representatives of Judaism, Islam, Catholicism and Orthodoxy to his capital to chose which religion to convert to. He supposedly rejected Judaism because of the circumcision requirement, Islam because of the prohibition on alcohol (as well as the circumcision requirement) and Roman Catholicism because of the authority of the pope.
Impressed by the mysticism and sensuality of Eastern Orthodoxy, he sent delegates to Constantinople (modern day Istanbul and Kyiv's main trade partner at the time), who later reported: "They led us to the buildings where they worshipped their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth." Volodymyr was duly impressed and decided to be baptized, organizing a marriage to the Eastern Emperor's daughter and a military alliance as well.
A thousand years later, Ukraine broke away from the collapsing Soviet Union, in which atheism was the official creed. Since then, the country has been re-establishing its national identity against a backdrop of international influences. Once again, the nation is faced with a selection of religions with international affiliations. Moreover, as in the 10th century, matters of faith sometimes influence a country's geopolitical orientation.
Orthodox Traditions
"The appearance of the papacy as an authority which didn't exist in the early church," was the main reason that Christianity split into Eastern and Western branches, officially in 1054, says Father Yevstraty, the youngish, ponytailed priest who serves as press secretary for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate.
To Roman Catholics, the pope is successor to the Apostle Peter, whom Christ ordered to establish his church on earth. To the Orthodox, no intermediary between God and Man is needed, and a bishop is as high a post as a church needs.
The issue extends to the level of priests, who in the Roman Catholic church have much more of a middleman role between God and man than their eastern counterpart, Yevstraty explains confidently. For example, the Orthodox priest doesn't bless someone in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost - the believer is simply "blessed" (i.e. in the passive voice).
So does that mean if the Vatican were to stage free and transparent elections of the next pope throughout Christendom and invite all the Orthodox patriarchs to partake, taking care to insure that ordinary believers have direct access to the almighty without interference from local clergy, everything would be dandy?
Not quite. "The east is more inclined toward the spiritual and mystic," Yevstraty points out, while the west puts greater emphasizes on rational law. Without getting into a theological debate, suffice it to consider the architectural difference between the churches: The golden cupolas of Orthodoxy really do look like a piece of heaven on earth when compared with the austere gothic steeples of Catholic edifices.
There are of course several ritual distinctions between the two denominations (e.g. conducting mass and crossing oneself), Yevstraty continues, "but the western and eastern churches have more or less come to terms on these issues."
So the real issue, as aptly illustrated in the Primary Chronicle, is that the Slavs (as well as other Orthodox) prefer their authority directly from God and less of a distinction between the temporal and the spiritual. And what's true of Eastern Christians is even more true for Islam.
Back to Basics
"Is Islam closer to Orthodox Christianity than to western denominations like Catholicism or Protestantism?" I asked Sheikh Imad Abu Al-Rub, the imam at the Social and Cultural Center in Kyiv, who holds a master's degree in Islamic sciences.
"Yes, and the reason is simple," he responded through an interpreter (the Sheikh is Jordanian and speaks only Arabic). "Anyone who returns to basics returns to the truth," meaning that Orthodox Christianity sticks closer to earlier and more literal teachings - as does Islam.
"So how does Islam differ from other religions of the book, like Christianity and Judaism?
"In Islam, the connection between God and man is direct," said the Sheikh, a slender, bearded man in traditional Middle Eastern dress. The faithful don't pray through saints or even the prophet Mohammed.
Whereas, Orthodox Christians object to the pope, Islam doesn't even have priests. An imam is an ordinary Muslim with, however, an excellent knowledge of the Koran. Many can recite it by heart.
The Role of Christ
Of course, the central difference between Christian and Muslim theology is the role of Christ.
"God is the creator of the universe and he cannot have a son or a wife..." the Sheikh stresses, with not the slightest sign of arrogance or disrespect.
"What about the values that Islam supports?" I continue, between sips of tea provided by my host.
"Islam unites the spirit and the flesh," the Sheikh explained, "which is why it is gaining popularity in the west."
Islam is indeed referred to as the world's fastest-growing religion, while church attendance in the west, where a sharp line is drawn between the spiritual and the secular, is probably at an all-time low.
And it's not so much about values, the imam clarifies, but rather their application and practice, which require cooperation between the authorities and society.
"If it's against the law to run a red light, no one will do it if the police are watching, but as soon as they aren't, no one will obey this law. On the other hand, religious laws are embraced at all times," he argues.
On this point Father Yevstraty agrees, using almost the same analogy in his arguments against the western emphasis on rational law. "The main problem with society is the absence of spiritual values. If a man is raised to be a good Christian, he will pay his taxes to the state ... and all of society will benefit as a result."
In the west, the individual is the center of the universe instead of God, the Orthodox priest stresses; Freedom and human rights must entail responsibility and obligation.
The Sheikh drives the point home: "Islam is all-embracing. There is no contradiction between secular and spiritual."
Church and State
So, at least in relation to the west, Islam and Christian Orthodoxy have some similarities in their aversion to distancing the mind from the soul and the church from the state.
But this isn't to say that either is opposed to modernity.
"Undoubtedly, many useful things come from the west, like science," the Sheikh underlines. But so do things like broken families and drug abuse. "It's much easier to destroy something than it is to build it," he says, referring to values common to all religions of the book.
Islam, like Christianity, is rooted in the Old Testament and acknowledges Jesus Christ as a significant prophet - but not the Son of God. Other significant prophets include Abraham, Noah and Moses. In all, Islam recognizes 25 prophets by name. Of course the most important prophet of all is Mohammed, who was born in 571 AD in modern-day Saudi Arabia. At the age of 40, the teachings of the Koran were revealed to him by God in a cave at Mt. Hira. Twenty-two years later, he died after having united the various warring tribes of Arabia under the banner of a new religion. Fewer than three centuries later, an empire stretching from the Atlantic coast to Persia had been created, and Islam was its faith, law and philosophy.
Islam in Ukraine has historically been centered in Crimea, where the Tatars, who arrived in the 14th century as part of the Mongol invasion that destroyed Kyivan Rus, set up a Khanate around a hundred years later. Their capital was Bakhchisaray, although they soon fell under the control of the Ottoman Turks.
These same Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine capital of Constantinpole in the mid-15th century, giving Moscow the opportunity to declare itself the defender of Eastern Christianity. Ukraine as well as other Orthodox countries like Armenia and Georgia eventually fell under the Czar's protection.
The Russian Empire then conquered Crimea in the second half of the 18th century, after which over 160,000 Tatars fled the peninsula. In 1917, they still made up a third of the population. But in 1944, Joseph Stalin, deported another 180,000 to Central Asia, allegedly for collaborating with the Nazis.
Now, with the Russian Empire in recession, some of the Muslim ethnic groups formerly subject to Moscow have their own states in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Others are scattered among former Soviet republics, including Ukraine.
As for the Crimean Tatars, 275,000 now inhabit the southern peninsula, many recently returned from exile. Ukraine is also host to other Tatar groups (as in Donetsk) and to Muslims from Africa and the Middle East, who arrived as exchange students. The exact number of Muslims living in Ukraine is not known. Figures range from 1 million to 3 million and climbing. "We don't make it a goal to count," says the Sheikh.
Acts of Charity
Since the early 1990s, Islamic organizations like Arraid (which means something like "pioneer" in Arabic) have been trying to unite these believers into communities to preserve their identity and faith. Other organizations have more political agendas.
Arraid is non-profit and includes three cultural centers in Odessa, Simferopol and Kyiv (where the Sheikh works). The centers feature a prayer room, library stocked with Arab-language works, a lecture hall where language and cultural classes are held and a cafe.
Arraid, which also includes 11 regional organizations throughout Ukraine, has three goals, according to its chairman, Dr. Farouq Ashour: Serve local muslims, "so that they become an active and positive part of Ukrainian society;" Prevent Islamic extremism from gaining a foothold in Ukraine; and, Function as an intermediary between the two cultures.
Arraid also performs charity work for Muslims and Christians alike. For example, they have distributed eight tonnes of clean, used clothing and support orphanages and hospitals, in addition to the free facilities they offer at their center.
"Sometimes we're told that we should help out more Muslims, but we don't help people on the basis of their religious convictions," he added.
The organization is funded almost entirely by sponsors, mostly from wealthy Gulf states, but also from a few international organizations.
"What about rich sponsors from Ukraine of Tatar descent?" I asked. Unfortunately not," replied Ashour.
Spirituality aside, the Ukrainian Orthodox church is often criticized for being weak in the area of charity.
Father Yevstraty responds: "For 70 years, the church was prohibited from engaging in charity work" by the Soviet authorities, and now "we don't have the kind of resources that other churches have." The communist authorities only allowed the church to conduct services, he added.
Nevertheless, as the process of reclaiming its property continues, private donors and local governments have contributed to the construction of 2,000 new churches since the mid-1990s.
That brings up another charge often leveled against the church: namely, that it has allowed itself to be too closely associated with secular authorities, including the tsar and even Joseph Stalin. Yevstraty doesn't deny that such relationships exist, "but it doesn't have to be negative," he points out. Again, Orthodoxy prefers a union between secular and spiritual law and thus secular and spiritual authority.
The existence of modern theocracies like Iran, where the law is based on the Koran, would presumably support a similar belief among Muslims. Nevertheless, the thriving of Islamic communities in Ukraine and other non-Muslim countries also testifies to the strength of the religion's decentralized system.
Imams, who lead the prayers and help other Muslims interpret the Koran, can be volunteers or part of a full-time staff who look after a mosque and are supported by community donations or an Islamic state. Every Muslim is expected to donate 2.5 percent of his earnings, if he can afford it. But an Imam cannot ask for contributions, says Oleg Guzik, who runs the Kyiv center's information department.
"Islam is a wonderfully flexible religion," the Sheikh says with a smile.
Conservative Values
The Mormons, or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, however, are not.
"We have the same organization as the Savior had when he was on earth," says William G. West, president of the church's Ukraine-Kyiv mission. "Everything ties into the Bible," he adds with the good-natured optimism of an American entrepreneur.
The Mormons' understanding of the Bible, however, differs quite a bit from that of the Orthodox, Catholics or Protestants, but they insist that they are Christians. To understand where they are coming from you have to know the story of the church's founder, Joseph Smith.
The church maintains that in 1820, the 14-year-old Smith, troubled by the religious division of his time, asked God to show him the true path. God and Jesus appeared to him in a meadow in upstate New York and told him to form his own church. Later, an angel introduced him to the Book of Mormon, which he copied from gold plates that had been hidden for centuries. According to the book, some of the children of Israel traveled to the New World in 600 BC, where they proselytized the Indians. Jesus and John the Baptist also visited these enlightened New World people, but the believers all died off before the Europeans came over.
"God Will Kill Him"
"We are the only church on earth that has the authority to perform the ordinances that God dictates that we must have for our own eternal salvation," West stresses. The Mormons believe that all the original apostles were killed or died, leaving no legitimate successor to head Christ's church.
The Mormons also believe that God was once human but progressed to the divine. The same goes for Christ. They hold that both are still somewhere in the universe, possibly on another planet, and in a physical form. So the task for believers is to try to reach that same level of perfection, often through spiritual and physical discipline.
What the Mormons lack in church history, they make up for in organization and energy.
The church's president, currently Gordon B. Hinckley, is considered to be a modern-day prophet through whom God expresses his will. The Mormons believe that there can be only one prophet on earth at a given time and that their president is it. The president has two councilors (whom he chooses by divine inspiration) and 12 apostles, each with an area of responsibility. Apostles serve for life, replaced at death by the president, who selects by divine inspiration.
And how do Mormons know that their 90-something president isn't pulling the wool over their eyes? "If he goes astray, God will kill him," says West, without batting an eye.
Beneath the apostles are quorums of 70. Currently there are six such quorums, not all of which have a full 70 members. Each, however, has at least 36 churchmen. Two of these quorums (consisting of 110 church members) get church financing to cover the church's 30 worldwide presidencies (three for each presidency plus some administrators).
The presidencies overlook the church's 337 missions, 13 in Eastern Europe, including two in Ukraine: The Kyiv mission, in turn, has 22 branches comprising
a total of 4,500 members; while the Donetsk one boasts 29 branches and 4,300 members.
While an area is still developing, the mission president manages both the missions and the churches that develop as a result of the missions' activities. Like with the church presidency, the mission president has two councilors. West's two councilors are Ukrainian. A branch is set up the same way, as the structure is duplicated at all levels.
Additionally, between the mission and the branches are districts. For example, there are six districts in Ukraine (between its two missions and 51 branches).
As the church develops, the missionary districts and branches become church stakes and wards. At this point, the mission office withdraws to finding new converts rather than managing the ecclesiastical affairs of the various church bodies it created.
Missionary Seduction
Needless to say, missionary work is a big part of the Mormon church - so much that the missionaries are often accused of seducing new members. "They obviously don't want us here," West says somberly, referring to Ukraine's traditional churches. "We have to work carefully within the system."
But, on the other hand, the Latter-Day Saints seem like the dream of secular authorities. "A Ukrainian who joins our church will be a better person and citizen," the American missionary stresses. Mormons are diligent in obeying the laws of the countries they operate in, which is why, for example, they gave up the practice of polygamy after it was outlawed in the US. Why did they adopt the practice in the first place? Well, because more women join churches than men and someone has to take care of them, explains West; but today, "if someone is caught doing it, he is immediately ex-communicated."
All else aside, the men and women in black suits and white dress shirts go door-to-door, offering free English lessons to would be converts. However, West points out, they try not to be pushy, and religious discussions are held separately and on a voluntary basis.
"It's not that easy to join the church," he says.
The Islamic Arraid center offers free language lessons too, for those interested in Arabic, but the people working there don't otherwise actively seek new believers. If someone comes to the center to find out about Islam, they talk to him, says the Sheikh. "Every Muslim has an obligation to inform others about Islam," he said, but only if asked. "Our goal is to achieve mutual understanding."
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church barely has money enough to support the flock it has. "It's not as important to find new believers as it is to make current believers into real church members,' Yevstraty points out. For now, the Kyiv Patriarchate is trying to get financing to print a book that explains the basics of the Bible in simple language.
From the looks of their office in the center of town, the Mormons don't seem to be hurting for cash. I asked West how they finance their extensive operations.
The Tithe That Binds
The answer: Church members donate 10 percent of their income as opposed to the 2.5 percent Muslims donate. If collection is as organized as everything else the Mormons do, things become pretty clear. But where does the tithing go?
"Buildings get most of this money," West said. "You can't grow spiritually without a place to meet. We build two buildings worldwide every day."
The Mormons' wealth leads to another criticism, that they not only seduce people into joining, but are banking huge amounts of cash as well. But the Orthodox Church has also been on a decade-long building spree and the Muslims are also keen on setting up places for the faithful to meet.
Moreover, the Latter-Day Saints would seem to be all-time leaders in material contributions. The church's philanthropy in Ukraine to date is around $8 million, and includes things like the refurbishment of orphanages and the purchase of equipment for hospitals. The church prefers to give "fixed assets, so that no one steals them," West stressed. There are also nine missionary couples in Ukraine who do full-time charity work.
In contrast to the Mormon missionary's corporate-looking suit and tie, Father Yevstraty is dressed in pale gray cotton beneath his traditional dark robe. "It's bad when people come to church just to be fed and get clothes, rather than to get spiritual help," he says.
The question becomes whether the accumulation of wealth hinders the development of the spirit. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven," Christ said in the Bible. This issue is in turn connected to cultural values and even national determination.
West - tall, broad-shouldered, outgoing and business-like - exudes the classic American image. His missionaries, fresh-faced and polite, are an Iowa grandmother's dream. Back in the states, West is a real estate developer: "I can only hope my partners are taking care of the business in my absence," he says cheerfully. And though the church was founded and still based in the US, he assures that "we have zero connection to the US government."
That said, according to Mormon belief God protected the Western Hemisphere from the tyranny of the rest of the world, a doctrine which has clear parallels to traditional North American isolationism. Of the world's 12 million Mormons, 5 million reside in US, making their church the country's sixth biggest denomination.
West's parents were also Mormon. "I was told by a young Ukrainian man, 'I won't let you make me into an American'," the Mormon missionary recalled, "I don't want to make you into an American, I told him, I want to make you into a Mormon."
The Mormons' unorthodox doctrine and financial success may put some people off and even scare them, but you can't fault them for lack of commitment. Missionaries (boys at least 19 and girls at least 21) serve from 18 months (girls) to two years (boys) and are all approved in Salt Lake City at the church's headquarters. They are occupied with church work from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, six days a week, reserving Sundays for things like letter writing and laundry. Besides the normal church restrictions, they are also not allowed to enjoy recreational activities like television, music or dating. Their families pay for their expenses, but the church supplements this from a general fund if they can't afford it.
Mormons don't smoke or drink. Sex is restricted to one's spouse and fasting is observed once a month (with the savings therefrom going to the poor). There are few excommunications.
Pillars of Faith
Islam is also known for its strict restrictions. But unlike Christianity, there seems to be a lot less decor. As with the requirement to pray directly to God and prohibitions against depicting human or animal forms in statues or paintings, the idea is presumably to avoid the encroachment of idolatry and pagan superstitions, which the prophet fought so hard to eradicate from the people of the desert.
Thus, technically at least, a Muslim is anyone who professes six beliefs: In one God, whose prophet is Mohammed; In his celestial servants, i.e angels; In the other prophets; In the holy books, including the Koran as well as others from the Old and New Testaments; In divine providence; and, In final judgement day.
Muslims also must uphold the five pillars of the faith: Recite that you believe in God and that Mohammed is his prophet, pray five times a day, give 2.5 percent of your income to the poor (if you can afford it), fast for a week once a year, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime, if you can.
"But this is just a foundation, like the basement of a building," explains Ashour. There are also several restrictions that must be observed - many of which are familiar to Christians and other religions: No murdering, stealing or adultery. Some, however, are less familiar: no alcohol or eating pork.
Probably most remarkable of all, Muslims can practice their faith with little logistical support, such as churches to pray in or priests to confess to. But, if one has access to a community of believers, things can get quite complicated.
Traditionally, Islam has four different schools of thought. The distinction between Sunnis and Shiites are largely historical rather than religious, the men at the center said. However, recently there has been a flowering of new interpretations, as Islam is confronted with modern changes. The usual device for dealing with change in Islam is the Fiqh, which the people at the center described as "the resolution of a problem at a particular time and place. For example, in the name of modesty, Muslim women traditionally cover their heads (as some Christian women still do). But in Ukraine, the learned men of Islam decided to approve a fiqh, whereby women are not required to wear veils, as this calls undue attention to them in public.
Fiqhs are the mechanics and plurality of Islam at work; however, sometimes regional variety can also go astray, as with the emergence of Wahhabism, a strict interpretation of the Koran rooted in 18th century Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism is increasingly connected to violence in the name of Islam.
Decentralized Structure
Compared to community-centered Islam, the Eastern Christian Church has more of a hierarchical structure (although still less than, say, Roman Catholics). There are two kinds of priests: those who marry before they become priests and those who don't (monks). Catholic priests cannot marry, which has caused recruitment problems. Beneath a priest is a deacon and above him is a bishop (Catholics have, in addition, Cardinals and the Pope). Bishops, are further divided according to their administrative function: Archbishops, Metropolitans and the Patriarch.
But like Islam, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is also vulnerable to its decentralization. Currently there are three competing patriarchs: One supported in Moscow, Filaret (who broke away from Moscow after Ukraine's independence), and the Autocephalous (who was based abroad while the Soviets were in power).
The Moscow Patriarchate (loyal to Russian Patriarch Aleksiy) has 10,000 congregations in Ukraine, compared to Filaret's 3,700 and the Autocephalous 500. Despite the disparity in the numbers, Yevstraty says that polls show that the Ukrainian people generally support the Kyiv Patriarchate.
The Mormons have a unified and airtight organization, but that doesn't mean they are conservative. A Mormon deacon is 12 to 14 years old, a teacher 14 to 15, and a priest, who can baptize and administer communion, aged between 16 and 17. Yevstraty also knew that he wanted to be a priest at a young age (14), but had to enroll in a seminary first.
Volodymyr's Choice
So which one of these faiths is best suited to Ukraine? Which one would a modern-day Volodymyr choose?
The Byzantine capital is now Muslim, and Moscow's influence has been waning in the land of Rus. Moreover, the division between Orthodox churches recalls the divisions between 13th century Kyiv princes, which made them easy prey to the Mongols.
Today's Islam represents social justice through public violence to some, while others embrace it in search of wholeness and peace. In Ukraine, the religion is still picking up the pieces from its past.
"Islam won in two ways in Ukraine: tolerance on the part of the authorities and society and the absence of radical Islamic groups," says the Sheikh.
As far as the Mormons, a shrewd ruler like Volodymyr couldn't help but admire their discipline and commitment, despite his reputed inclination toward drink and promiscuity. What world power would he seek alliance with today?
Ukraine's Eastern church considers itself the titular faith, just as Ukrainians are the titular nation. "But that doesn't mean that we think all Ukrainians have to be Orthodox," Yevstraty points out. Having survived the Mongols and the commissars, Orthodoxy is a living example of endurance through faith.
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