Kuryliak Wins Scholar of the Year Award

From Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences

Bohdan Kuryliak is the project and event manager at the Center for Adventist Research and associate professor at the Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences. (Photo by Darren Heslop)

Bohdan Kuryliak, project and event manager at the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University and associate professor in the Department of Theology at the Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences, has received the Scholar of the Year award from the institute after successfully defending his doctoral dissertation “Preterism, Idealism, Historicism, or Futurism? Interpretative Issues of the Apocalypse and Its Reception in Antiquity and Late Antiquity” at the University of Zurich.

Having studied the Book of Revelation, apocalyptic literature, the New Testament and early Christianity, Kuryliak has comprehensive experience in theological and philosophical research and has over 10 published articles in peer-reviewed journals. His dissertation focuses on biblical hermeneutics—the study and methodology of interpreting biblical texts—concerning the book of Revelation as an apocalyptic text.

The four major hermeneutical approaches mentioned in the dissertation title have been utilized throughout history to varying degrees and combinations. The approach of preterism views the apocalyptic events of Revelation as having happened at the time of its writing during the first century. In contrast, an idealist approach emphasizes the struggle between good and evil, portraying the Apocalypse as a symbolic event from which individuals can take practical implications. Historicism views the events of Revelation as a prophetic account of the happenings in church history between its writing and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Lastly, a futurist approach views Revelation as a prophecy of events at the end of Earth’s history.

Kuryliak explores the critical involvement of each approach in shaping the early church’s interpretations of Revelation from the second to seventh centuries. “To some extent, all early Christians combined preterist, idealist, historicist, and futurist perspectives. Although commentators used different combinations of hermeneutical approaches, none denied the prophetic nature of the Apocalypse and its connection to history. The findings of the study highlight not only the enduring relevance of Revelation’s symbols in various contexts, but also the role of exegetical diversity in reflecting the book’s profound theological dimensions,” he explains.

Kuryliak’s recent completion of doctoral studies in theology at the University of Zurich follows an extensive educational background, including a Bachelor of Theology from the Ukrainian Adventist Theological Institute, a Bachelor of Philosophy in religious studies from the Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences, a Master of Religious Studies from the National University of Ostroh Academy, and a Master of Arts in religion and post-graduate certificate in Ellen G. White and Adventist studies from Andrews University. While pursuing his PhD, he also spent time at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark, and the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, as a visiting scholar.