Scholarly panel dedicated to the memory of Prof. Bohdan Bociurkiw (06/20/99)

Scholarly panel dedicated to the memory of Prof. Bohdan Bociurkiw

NEW YORK - A scholarly panel, "Church and Nation in Ukraine," was held April 17 at Columbia University in memory of Dr. Bohdan R. Bociurkiw (1925-1998), professor emeritus of Carleton University in Ottawa and long-time colleague and friend of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. The session was organized by the CIUS Church Studies Program as part of the fourth annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), held April 15-17. The conference was sponsored by The Harriman Institute, Columbia University, and the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University.

The panel session was chaired by a former student of Prof. Bociurkiw, Dominique Arel (Brown University), ASN vice-president and head of the convention's program committee. Papers were presented at the session by the heads of two CIUS programs: Dr. Frank Sysyn, director of the Peter Jacyk Center for Ukrainian Historical Research, and Dr. Serhii Plokhy, director of the Church Studies Program.

In his paper, "The Ukrainian Controversy and the Orthodox Oecumene," Dr. Sysyn discussed the current status of Ukraine's Orthodox Churches, stressing the role of Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in the United States and Canada and their relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in settling the religious conflict in Ukraine.

Dr. Plokhy's paper, "Religion and National Identity in 20th Century Ukraine: Re-evaluating the Soviet Period," analyzed the influence of Soviet religious policy on the relationship between national and religious identity among residents of Ukraine. In his discussion, Dr. Plokhy made extensive reference to Prof. Bociurkiw's research.

The commentator for the session was Jose Casanova, chair of the department of sociology at the New School for Social Research, who proposed several sociological models that might help to explain the interaction between Church, state and society in contemporary Ukraine. The papers and commentary were followed by a discussion among numerous members of the audience and scholars from Canada, the United States, Great Britain and Israel.

Following the session, Prof. Bociurkiw's widow, Vera, and his son, Michael, expressed their thanks to the organizers of the session, and all present for honoring the memory of their husband and father. Prof. Bociurkiw willed his extensive library and archive to the Church Studies Program at CIUS.

Most of this treasured gift has already been received by CIUS, thanks to the generous assistance of Prof. Andrii Krawchuk of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at St. Paul University (Ottawa). Once the material has been reorganized in its new location, Prof. Bociurkiw's library and archive will be open to researchers and students.

| Home Page |