Religion in Crimea

Religion in Crimea (2013)

1. Eastern Orthodox (58%)
2. Muslim (15%)
3. Belief without religion (10%)
4. Atheist (2%)
5. Other religion (2%)
6. Not stated (3%)
7. Don't know/No answer (10%)

Church of Saint John the Baptist, Kerch

The majority of the Crimean population adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, with the Crimean Tatars forming a Sunni Muslim minority, besides smaller Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Armenian Apostolic and Jewish minorities.

Christianity

The Crimean peninsula was Christianised at an early time, via Gothic Christianity, in the 4th century. According to a 9th-century tradition, Pope Clement I (ruled 88–98) was exiled to Chersonesos (near what is now Sevastopol) in 102, as was Pope Martin I in 655. A representative from the Black Sea area, the "head of the Scythian bishopric", was present at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, as well as the First Council of Constantinople in 381; it has been surmised that this representative would have to have been Bishop Cadmus of the Bosporan Kingdom. Ostrogoths, who remained on present-day Ukrainian lands after the invasion of the Huns, established a metropolinate under the Bishop of Constantinople at Dorus in northern Crimea around the year 400. The Goths initially adhered to Arianism, but by the 9th century, with the establishment of the Byzantine Cherson theme, the Goths in Crimea turned to the Greek Orthodox Church, under the Metropolitanate of Gothia. A bishop's seat had also existed since 868 across the Strait of Kerch, in the city of Tmutarakan. In the mid-10th century, the eastern area of Crimea was conquered by Prince Sviatoslav I of Kiev and became part of the Kievan Rus' principality of Tmutarakan. In 988, Prince Vladimir I of Kiev also captured Chersonesos where he later converted to Christianity.

Meanwhile, the Khazars, who occupied the northern parts of the peninsula, converted to Judaism. Both the date of the conversion, and the extent of its influence beyond the elite, are disputed; the conversion must have taken place at some point between 740 and 920.

Catholicism has had a small presence in Crimea via Italian and Anglo-Saxon colonies.

With the annexation by Russia in 1779, Crimea was again Christianised, this time under the Russian Orthodox Church.

Since the Russian annexation of the peninsula in 2014, the United Nations human rights agency, the OHCHR, has catalogued human rights violations by the occupation authorities, including against freedom of thought, conscience, and religion of people in Crimea and Sevastopol.

Since 2014, the Russian occupation authorities have been pursuing a policy of persecution against a number of Christian denominations. First of all, these are the believers of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Baptists, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

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  Armenian Church of Surb Ripsime in Yalta
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  Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Yalta
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  Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Sevastopol

Islam

References to the appearance of Islam in Crimea appear almost from the time of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, as some chroniclers write about. It is currently known that Muslim merchants and preachers from Central Asia and Iran entered the peninsula from the 8th century, staying there until the 12th century.

Juma-Jami Mosque, Yevpatoria

During the period of the Crimean Khanate (1443-1783), Islam was the state religion, which performed a very important nation-building function for the Crimean Tatars. Forming the basis of statehood, Islam regulated virtually all aspects of society on the peninsula: education, everyday life, and the judiciary. It was during this period that Islamic culture flourished on the peninsula and the construction of Muslim religious buildings, the number of which, according to available sources, reached 1700 mosques on the peninsula.

The annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire contributed to the mass emigration of Crimean Tatars and a significant reduction in the number of Muslim parishes and clergy.

In general, the number of mosques in Crimea decreased by half, and the number of clergy by almost five times. According to the 1897 census, the Muslim population of Crimea was the second largest group (after the Orthodox), accounting for 13.2%. Already during the years of the “cultural revolution” and Stalin's repressions, many mosques were destroyed, and after the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, almost all Muslim religious institutions were closed.

During the nearly 50-year period of exile in the conditions of a totalitarian atheistic regime, the Crimean Tatar people were significantly separated from their religious roots, and as a result, their religiosity remained practically at the level of traditions and household rituals.

The period of the German occupation of Crimea was ambiguous for the Crimean Tatars. It was at this time that 50 mosques were reopened, Muslim committees were established to strengthen their work, newspapers and magazines, theaters, etc.

This historic turn of events resulted in the total deportation of Crimean Tatars on May 18, 1944. At that time, the pressure of the policy of atheism intensified on the peninsula, and the level of folk religion was at the level of rituals.

Since the 1990s, the revival of Islam has begun in Crimea. The Religious Administration of Muslims of Crimea was registered. Preachers of fundamentalist Islam also began to appear. As a result, a small part of Crimean Tatars began to profess Salafism and supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir and Jamaat Tabligh appeared.

The Muslim population in modern Crimea is represented mainly by Crimean Tatars and some other peoples who profess Islam: Tatars, Uzbeks, Turks, Tajiks, Crimean Roma, and peoples of the North Caucasus. Today, the number of Muslims in Crimea is about 15-17%.

Since 2014, the Russian occupation authorities have been pursuing a policy of persecuting Muslims who are not under the control of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Crimea and Sevastopol, headed by Mufti, collaborator Emirali Ablaev. After Russia's invasion, Emirali Ablaev decided to cooperate with Moscow and became the mouthpiece of the aggressor state in exchange for power and, possibly, assistance in suppressing the so-called “religious dissent.” There is reason to believe that Ablaev and his men assisted the Russian FSB in the persecution of Crimean Tatars and other Ukrainian Muslims.

Salafi Muslims, Habashis, and supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir are subject to persecution by the occupation authorities.

Synagogue in Yevpatoria

Judaism

Today, 1% of the Crimean population professes Judaism, making it a small religion.

Other religions

Buddhists and Hindus are dishonest because they have few believers in Crimea.

See also

• Demographics of Crimea
• Religion in Ukraine
• Christianity in Ukraine

External links

• Oleg Yarosh, Reinventing Islamic “Tradition” in Crimea: Ethnicity, Religion, Politics, National Academy of Science, Kyiv, Ukraine.