Christianization of Ukraine

By Aussiegirl

Anyone who has an interest in furthering their knowledge of Ukrainian history and culture would do well to visit the website of the Ukrainian Encyclopedia. Here's a sample of the article dealing with the Christianization of Ukraine, which shows the ancient heritage of this land the Russians seem to think never existed.

Christianization of Ukraine

"Christianization of Ukraine. Because of the geographical location of Rus, close to the Black Sea and the Near East, Christianity was known on the present territory of Ukraine as early as the first century AD.
Origins. At first Christianity won converts among the Greek colonists who settled the northern coasts of the Black Sea (see Ancient states on the northern Black Sea coast) and Sea of Azov. The Primary Chronicle mentions Saint Andrew's mission on the Black Sea coast at Synope and his blessing of present-day Kyiv. There is no documentary evidence that the apostle Andrew visited the Kyiv region, but it is almost certain that he was assigned Scythia (ie, the territory of present-day Ukraine) for his mission, as Eusebius of Caesarea wrote, basing himself on Origen. From Synope Andrew was said to have traveled to Transcaucasia, the Black Sea, and Scythia (A. Kartashev). Evgenii Golubinsky and Stepan Tomashivsky believe that the story of Andrew's mission to Ukraine was of later origin, but Mykola Chubaty argues that it is largely historically true.
According to traditional belief the popes Saint Clement I (90�100) and Saint Martin (649-55) were exiled to the Crimea, which belongs to Ukraine today. The proximity of the Slav-settled lands to the Greek colonies on the Black Sea must have been an important factor in the spread of Christianity among the Slavic tribes."