Kulinich M., Bezuglii V., Tsvetayeva O.

Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University

MODERN FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGIOUS TOURISM IN PRIDNIPROVSK ECONOMIC REGION

Nowadays tourism becomes one of the most stable parts of the world economy. It does not suffer from the reduction attempts and proposals. Modern tourist activity has many species and areas, including significant stands religious tourism.

During religious tourism need to understand the traveling to the holy places and religious centers, that are outside normal environment of tourist. Religious tourism is an integral part of modern tourism industry. There are such kinds of religion tourism: pilgrimage and religious educational tours with religious orientation.

Pilgrimage tourism is a collection of travel of representatives of various confessions of pilgrimage purposes. Pilgrimage – it is a wish of believers to visit holy places. They are also interested in direct participation in religious cults.

Among the main reasons for pilgrimage tourism today are the following: the desire to be healed of mental and physical ailments, pray for loved ones, the desire for asceticism in the name of faith, finds the meaning of life and so on.

The objects of religious tourists are holy places and religious centers. For religious canons pilgrimage trip should last at least 10 days and often falls on religious holidays. Nowadays pilgrimage can travel from several days to several months, depending on the willingness of most pilgrims or depending on the capabilities of visiting places. In Ukraine, religious tourism developed more and more every year.

Although the Dnieper (consisting of Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhe regions) were observed many religious monuments as Kyiv or Lvov region, but potential for religious tourism and pilgrimage in particular, there is still available. This contributes to the colorful religious composition of the population of the region (Table 1).

Table 1. The religious composition of the Dnieper in 2011

Today, religious tourism and pilgrimage are new and promising types of tourism in the region. Their development they received only 90-ies of XX century. For the purposes of religious tourism in Dnepropetrovsk potentially be suitable 900 buildings, including 18 monastery (Samara desert Nicholas Monastery in Novomoskovsk, Holy Ascension Convent in Ternovka Pavlohrads district, Saint-Tikhvin Nunnery in Dnepropetrovsk, St. Savva the Sanctified Monastery in Melitopol and others), 19 temples (In Praise of honor of the Blessed Virgin in Pavlograd, temple complex in honor of Saint Mother of «Iver» in Dnepropetrovsk, St. Nicholas church in Odessa, etc.), 15 cathedrals (Novomoskovsk Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas in Dniprhodzerzhynsk, temple of Vladimir icon of the Mother of God in s. Novo­vasylivka Berdyansk district, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Zaporozhe),1 Chapel (In honor of St. Seraphim Sarovskoho in the village Sandy Novomoskovsk district) and various churches (Assumption, Nikolaevsky, Varvarivske in the village Kitaygorod Tsarychans'kyy district, St. Dukhovskoi Church in Dnepropetrovsk, Nativity of the Holy Virgin in the village. Mikhail-Factory Apostolove district, etc.). Religious community unites 165 buildings. Over the past decade, in region was built and opened 101 new places of worship, built 80 more temples.

Orthodox pilgrims in the Dnepropetrovsk region visited Barvarivska, Myko­layivska and Assumption Church in the village Kitaygorod Tsarychans'kyy District, Holy Transfiguration Cathedral and the Temple complex in honor of the Mother of God «Iver» in Dnepropetrovsk. Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Zaporozhe, has in its arsenal a few of the icons, which heal physical and spiritual wounds of believers.

By the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral pilgrims come to give a honor to icons «Weeping Savior», Mother of God «Iver», Mother of God «It Is», and the Mother of God «Samara». There is also a Cross of John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles Matthew, Luke, Mark, Holy Righteous Hana, St. Catherine and Prince Alexander Nevsky.

Particularly noted architectural complex in the village Kitaygorod, which taking religious tourists with cultural and cognitive purposes. The village every year takes 5 thousand tourists who prefer to look at the oldest church Dnepro­petrovsk region that were built here in the XVIII century.

Also with religious cognitive goals can visit St. Mykolayivskue Cathedral in Dneprodzerzhinsk, the Savior Cathedral in Krivoy Rog, etc. And one of the most attractive place for tourists is the Trinity Cathedral in Novomoskovsk, built in 1772-81's by folk artists Jacob Pogrebnyak from wood without any nail. Construc­tive solution structure is unique in the world of architecture. Beauty Trinity Cathedral inspired many artists, including the famous Ukrainian writer Oles Gonchar, who made it the main «hero» of his famous work «The Cathedral».

Jewish population of Dnieper is 35%, while the number of people coming here Jews who come just for unite of religious «family», almost twice the number of permanent Jewish population of Dnepropetrovsk. Among the visited places allocated Central Synagogue «Golden Rose», built 150 years ago and now is one of the largest in Europe, the Jewish cemetery on the west side of the of Dnepro­petrovsk, multifunctional center «Menorah» and synagogue «Hiymat Rose» in Zaporozhe. Both synagogues filled with parishioners during major Jewish holidays: Shavuot, Rosh and Hashanah, Yom Kippur. Most of the pilgrims come here from Sumy, Kharkov and Mykolaiv regions.

Religious tourism is gradually becoming one of the most promising areas of modern tourism. The high rate of growth of determining the significance of spirituality and religion on the whole. In Pridniprovsky economic district this type of tourism today is underdeveloped. Saved our day of worship can serve as important objects for religions tourism and pilgrimage in the area, although the status of this species mass tourism has not got. However, today the number of tourists coming to the region with religious and pilgrimage purposes is gradually increasing in the future will take Dnieper religious tourists not only from neighboring regions, but also from other countries.