Mohyla Scholarly Lectures Society

Mohyla Scholarly Lectures Society (Товариство наукових викладів ім. Петра Могили; Tovarystvo naukovykh vykladiv im. Petra Mohyly). An organization established in Lviv in 1908 and abolished by the Soviet authorities in 1939. With branches in Lviv, Peremyshl, Rohatyn, Sambir, Sokal, Stanyslaviv, and Ternopil, the society was very active. During its first four years it organized over 400 academic and public lectures. It also helped various professional and tradesmen’s societies (eg, Zoria, the burghers’ brotherhood, Syla, Rus’) to disseminate information and organized, in co-operation with the Prosvita society, general education courses for the public. The society’s founding president was Oleksander Kolessa; he was succeeded by Vasyl Shchurat, Vasyl Kucher, Ilarion Svientsitsky, and Denys Lukiianovych. Through the efforts of Stepan Okhrymovych the society’s Lviv branch was also the legal arm of the Union of Ukrainian Nationalist Youth from 1929. Under the branch head Atanas Figol the society successfully promoted the cult of the Battle of Kruty, and under Volodymyr Yaniv it expanded cultural-educational activities in the Prosvita and tradesmen’s societies. After Yaniv the Lviv branch was headed by Borys Levytsky. Among the society’s active female members were Z. Kravtsiv, Sofiia Yaniv, and A. Chemerynska.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]