Society of Saint John the Baptist

Society of Saint John the Baptist (Товариство св. Івана Хрестителя; Tovarystvo sv. Ioana Khrystytelia; also Общество св. Йоана Крестителя; Obshchestvo sv. Ioana Krestitelia). An educational society founded in September 1862 in Prešov by Oleksander Dukhnovych and Adolf Dobriansky. Its purpose was to promote a national renaissance by providing financial aid in the form of loans and bursaries to poor students as well as peasants and even whole organizations. The society maintained a student residence in Prešov under Dukhnovych’s management (1863–5). Headed by Dobriansky and supported by Bishop Yosyf Gaganets, the society had a membership of over 400. After Dukhnovych’s death in 1865 the society declined, and by the end of the decade it had ceased to exist.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]