A KIND SMILE OF GRATEFUL MEMORY. Review of: Martyshin D. S. Two Words about Church Humor: Essay. [2nd edition, supplemented]. Kyiv: Lira-K Publishing House, 2025. — 44 p.

Pavel V. Bochkov

Kuzbass theological seminary, Norilsk, Russia

Email: frpavel@inbox.ru

ORCID: 0000-0002-3218-6706

Issue: № 1 (33), 2026

Pages: 186

Annotation

The review is dedicated to the popular academic publication dedicated to the memory of the former rector of the Kyiv Theological Schools, professor, archpriest Nikolai Petrovich Zabuga (1951–2014), which was published in 2025 by the Kiev publishing house "Lira- K". Exploring the issue of church humor, the author — an Orthodox priest, scholar and graduate of the Kyiv Theological Schools, archpriest — professor D. S. Martyshin not only supplements the works dedicated to the memory of archpriest Nikolai Zabuga with special details, reproduces his manner of speaking and his vocabulary, but also reflects on the nature of humor, which, being an integral part of human life, is often perceived falsely, and as a rule — in the circles of religious fanatics. Using as an example the intellectual, aristocratically refined humor of Professor Archpriest Nikolai Zabuga, the author refutes the assertions of the rigorists that humor is a phenomenon of a vicious and anti-spiritual order, and, therefore, is unacceptable for Orthodox Christians.

Keywords

Professor Archpriest Nikolai Zabuga, church humor, Kyiv Theological Schools, theological education in the UOC in the 20th century

For citation

Bochkov P. V., priest. A kind smile of grateful memory. Review of: Martyshin D. S. Two Words about Church Humor: Essay. [2nd edition, supplemented]. Kyiv: Lira-K Publishing House, 2025. — 44 p. // Ipatievsky vestnik. 2026. № 1. Р. 186–194 (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.24412/2309–5164–2026–1–186–194