Authors

Discussion

In my presentation, I examine the Ukrainian community in Manchuria and China, focusing on how religion and grassroots activism influenced the establishment of Ukrainian religious practices and a church in China between 1918 and 1945.

I will emphasize the dedication of the Ukrainian community and the grassroots activism of individuals who, despite having been outside formal political institutions, have been driven by a strong desire for religious autonomy and the preservation of cultural identity.

My focus will include examining the lives and activities of key figures such as Prokip Hordzievsky, Stepan Kukuruza, and Mykola Trufaniv, exploring their social, educational, and ideological backgrounds both before and during the Russian Revolution and after their displacement to China. They self-organized themselves effectively, inspiring the Ukrainian community in Harbin to contribute financially toward building a new church, which became a hub of spiritual life for Ukrainians in the region. 

I will also examine the role of the Ukrainian women's circle belonging to the church in Harbin, which provided essential support to the community and nurtured a strong sense of community and belonging.

Religious activists continued their efforts by creating and publishing several printing materials, including a Ukrainian prayer book (Harbin, 1926). This significant cultural and spiritual achievement strengthened the presence of the Ukrainian language and identity within religious practice in the region. I will carefully examine this book and, based on its language, to identify the targeted readership's regional background. I will also analyze documents left by the Ukrainian community and try to draw the cultural and religious portrait of displaced Ukrainians in China. 

Additionally, I will examine how Ukrainians in the region, within many years, were striving to establish an institutionally autonomous Ukrainian church. Unfortunately, due to their status as a displaced minority without an independent political state, along with the complex societal dynamics of occupied Manchuria and intricate religious ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, they were unable to realize this aspiration.

Nevertheless, the efforts, activities, and printed records of the Ukrainian community should not be forgotten. They demonstrate the resilience of a small group of people squeezed between different political and institutional forces, for whom God was one of the few sources of protection and who sought to address God directly in their own language.