Mykhailo Tupytsia
Executive assistant of the Kyivan Christianity Research Program and lecturer in the Department of Liturgical Studies at Ukrainian Catholic University
On July 7th –11th , 2025, with the support of the Young Researcher and Innovator Conference
Grant, I participated in the conference “Communities and Values of the Book” in Rochester,
USA. The conference, which brings together a wide range of researchers, publishers,
stakeholders, and book lovers, was organised by the Society for the History of Authorship,
Reading & Publishing (SHARP). SHARP is a global scholarly society that focuses on the history
of material texts. The Society has been officially operating since 1993, has four periodicals, a
system of grants and awards for research projects, and organizes annual international conferences
in different countries of the world. This year’s conference was held in Rochester, New York, and
the host institutions were the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
I presented my preliminary work at the conference, which was conducted as part of my
PhD thesis in history. The speech took place on July 10th at Panel 49, “Religions of the Book”.
The interdisciplinary study “Book Collections in the Mukachevo Eparchy: Reception and
Adaptation of Catholic Reform in the 18th Century” focused on the book culture of the parishes
and monasteries within the Mukachevo Eparchy. In his presentation, I spoke about the issue of
reforming the Mukachevo Eparchy in accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent,
adapted to the realities of the Ruthenian Uniate Church, as outlined at the 1720 Zamość Council.
The features of the adoption of the decrees of the Zamość Council on the territory of the
Mukachevo Eparchy in 1726–1727 were highlighted, illustrating the following points:
– publication of the catechism in 1727 with the blessing of the Mukachevo Bishop George
Gennadius Byzantsii;
– reorganisation of the eparchy’s administrative system and the monastic network.
– correction of liturgical books in parishes;
– visitations of parishes and monasteries;
– reform of the education of the clergy and laity.
During the presentation, I provided a brief overview of COST Action CA23137 PCPSce. It
was an opportunity for the CA23137 to be more visible on a global scale. At the Conference,
there was a row of panels, discussions, presentations, workshops, and receptions. The
organisational details of the conference were elaborated to the most particular details, providing a practical example for future CA23137 events. The main new contact is Dr Lisa Kuitert, Editor-
in-Chief of Quærendo – a peer-reviewed journal. Dr Kuitert offered to submit the publication to
Quærendo on the topic of Central European and, particularly, Ukrainian book culture. The
SHARP is the well-known global network of researchers for print, manuscript, literary, and
cultural studies.
encourage young researchers to participate in various scholarly societies and engage in
their activities. It can provide a valuable experience and contact with a wide scholarly network.
