INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION IN UKRAINE IN EARLY CHRISTIAN TIMES (I–V CENTURIES)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2520-2626/2025.37.17
Abstract
The article is devoted to the problem of spreading the Christian spiritual and practical model of the world in the Northern Black Sea region during the 1st–5th centuries AD. The study traces the historical preconditions for the formation of intercultural interaction in this area and outlines the ethnocultural and geopolitical diversity of states and peoples before the Nativity of Jesus Christ. The author substantiates the autochthonous nature of proto-Ukrainian communities, their cultural continuity, and their constructive role in the processes of spiritual and cultural exchange with the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. It is emphasized that Christian influences began to spread almost immediately after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ through the activity of the Apostles Andrew and Paul, as well as other ascetics and martyrs of the faith, who became spiritual guides for the peoples of the Northern Black Sea region.
The main centers of Christian expansion into the territory of ancient Ukraine were the Greek city-states on the northern coast of the Pontus Euxinus, in particular Chersonesus, Olbia, Tyra, and other hubs of Hellenistic civilization. These cities hosted episcopal sees, witnessed the martyrdom of confessors of the faith, and served as focal points for the dissemination of new spiritual ideas. Their heroic example inspired the local population, leading to the conversion of thousands of new believers. The ancient Slavs, especially the Polianians, received a powerful civilizational impetus that became the foundation for their subsequent cultural and state development. In turn, other peoples—such as the Goths, Huns, and Khazars—translated the Holy Scriptures into their native languages, thereby establishing Christianity as a moral and state-forming element of public life.
The change in the paradigm of worldview and spiritual-practical activity marked the transition from tribal polytheism to monotheism, which contributed to social consolidation, moral advancement, and cultural enrichment. Christianity became a unifying factor in the spiritual development of the peoples of the Northern Black Sea region and an essential component in the formation of the Ukrainian civilizational tradition.
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