THE DOCTRINAL AND RITUAL FEATURES OF THE "WHITE BROTHERHOOD"

Abstract

B a c k g r o u n d . The relevance of this study stems from the need to comprehensively interpret the phenomenon of the "White Brotherhood" as an expression of spiritual crisis and the transformation of religiosity in post-Soviet Ukraine. The emergence of this movement in the 1990s signaled a search for new forms of sacrality after the collapse of totalitarian ideology, while exposing the dangers of religious manipulation during times of social transformation. The article examines the doctrine, ritual practice, and sociocultural reception of the "White Brotherhood" within the broader context of global trends in new religiosity, syncretism, and neo-esotericism, aiming to reveal the mechanisms of sacralization, charismatic leadership, and the impact of religious experience on social identity.

M e t h o d s . The methodological framework integrates philosophical, religious, sociocultural, and psychological approaches. Hermeneutic and phenomenological methods (E. Husserl, M. Eliade) are used to reconstruct the inner logic of sacred experience, while sociocultural analysis (É. Durkheim, C. Geertz, V. Yelenskyi, L. Fylypovych) interprets ritual as a mechanism of collective integration. Psychological theories (E. Fromm, V. Frankl) help explain phenomena of charismatic leadership and spiritual compensation. A comparative approach situates the "White Brotherhood" alongside other new religious movements (Theosophy, Unification Church, Aum Shinrikyō), identifying common features of post-totalitarian religiosity – apocalyptic worldview, syncretism, and the aspiration to create a "new humanity".

R e s u l t s . The "White Brotherhood" is presented as a syncretic religious formation combining Christian eschatology, esoteric cosmology, occult feminism, and psychotechnical practices. At the core of its doctrine lies the concept of the "Mother of the World" as a female Messiah embodying the dawn of the "Age of Light". The movement's teaching proclaimed Ukraine as the sacred center of world renewal and Kyiv as the "New Jerusalem". Its ritual system realized this eschatological vision through meditative practices, mantras, collective trance sessions, and theatrical "services of Light", which induced states of ecstatic unity. The charismatic leadership of Maria Devi Christos – blending feminine messianism, mystical eroticism, and social protest – is interpreted as the pivotal element shaping the community. The movement thus appears bothas a quest for transcendence and as a sociopsychological experiment in which religious energy becomes a form of "total spirituality".

C o n c l u s i o n s . The study demonstrates that the "White Brotherhood" represents a transitional spirituality in which traditional sacrality transforms into a simulated, media-based, and psych technological form. Its doctrine reflects a global shift from religion of belief to religion of experience, where ritual serves as a tool of inner transformation. The sociocultural reception of the movement reveals the duality of Ukraine's response to new religiosity – as both fear of fanaticism and a search for renewed spiritual identity. Ultimately, the "White Brotherhood" illustrates the enduring human need for metaphysical meaning amid secularization and the information explosion, while warning against the sacralization of power and manipulation through faith.