This article explores the religious-anthropological concepts in the works of Ukrainian thinkers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Formed in the context of Catholic expansion and intense confessional conflict, their ideas sought to preserve the Byzantine and Old Rus’ Orthodox tradition. Thinkers of this period emphasized the importance of safeguarding ancestral faith through a return to the principles of Holy Scripture, the foundational structures of early Christian doctrine, and the spiritual legacy of Kyivan Rus. These themes were especially prominent in the theological discourse of the so-called “Ostroh traditionalists,” centered around the Ostroh and Derman religious and cultural hubs. Among the key representatives were Ivan Vyshensky, Vasyl Surazhsky, Yov Knyahynytsky, Vitaly of Dubno, and Yov Pochaivsky. They asserted that divine truth could be attained through both intellectual engagement with the writings of the Eastern Church Fathers and personal spiritual discipline grounded in biblical knowledge. The article concludes that Ukrainian religious and anthropological thought of this era evolved within the framework of the Christian-Neoplatonic paradigm, with hesychasm serving as its core spiritual principle.
ГУДЗЕНКО et al. (Thu,) studied this question.