Arsen Richynsky

Arsen Richynsky [Арсен Ричиньськиӣ], (b. 1892 in Tetylkivtsi, Volyn, Ukraine; d. 1956 in Kazakhstan). Physician as well as a philosopher, historian of religion, culture and art, composer of religious music, and folklorist. Arsen Richynsky was born in 1892 in the village of Tetylkivtsi, which is located in the northwestern province of Volhynia. His father was an Orthodox priest. He went to the seminary in Zhytomyr, but he never became a priest. He entered medical school, and from 1922 to 1939 practiced medicine. Richynsky was an outspoken nationalist. He belonged to pro-Ukrainian organizations such as the scouting organization PLAST, and the Prosvita Society. Like others from this time (e.g., Stetsenko, Telezhynsky, and Kurdynovsky), Richynsky advocated for the use of the Ukrainian language in the worship service. Ultimately, his activism on behalf of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church got him into trouble with the ruling authorities. He was arrested and sentenced to ten years of hard labor in Russia (1939-1949). Following his release, he was banned from ever returning home. He died in Kazakhstan in 1956.

1922-1939: Practiced medicine.

1939-1949: Prisoner of the Soviets.

1956: Died in exile in Kazakhstan.