The Social and Political Role of the Orthodox Church in Post-Communist Russia

1992 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Paul Valliere
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Security Network ◽  
Cultural Roles ◽  
The Church

The political role of the Orthodox Church in post-communist Russia is more difficult to assess than its social and cultural roles for several reasons. First, to offer any systematic observations on the matter one must attempt to construe the nature of the church-state relationship in Russia, a notoriously controversial subject. Second, one must make an educated guess concerning the part played by the huge internal security apparatus which only yesterday dominated the internal affairs of the Soviet Union, including religious affairs. The security establishment has been dislodged from its hegemonic role in the Soviet state as a result of the Gorbachev reforms, but there is little question that it continues to exist as a political force in the country. Reading the aims of this network is no easy matter, however, because by definition it operates in relative secrecy and by means of diversionary tactics. One also has to reckon with the possibility that the security network has been disrupted by the changes of recent years, and operates with less coordination than in the past.

Making War on the Saints

2019 ◽  
pp. 79-101
Author(s):  
Brian Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Modern State ◽  
Christian Belief ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social

This chapter focuses on France and the Soviet Union. France and the Soviet Union constitute the two most prominent European examples of a concerted campaign by twentieth-century states to reduce or even eliminate the social influence and political role of Christianity, especially as represented by the national church. In the further reaches of the Soviet Empire in Eastern and central Europe, Communist Party aims were similar, though in some countries—such as Poland—their implementation was highly problematic. Although obviously differing in the extent of their antagonism to religion itself, the two case studies reveal the capacity of the modern state, if it so chooses, to marginalize Christianity from the mainstream of public life and destroy much of the institutional and economic infrastructure of historic national churches. Yet both examples equally suggest that such measures of “official” secularization turned out to be comparatively impotent in subverting popular Christian belief and practice.

scholarly journals Social and Political Consequences of the Pandemic for the Russian Orthodox Church

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-558
Author(s):  
Roman N. Lunkin
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cyber Space ◽  
The Church

In the article analyzed the social and political consequences of pandemic of coronavirus for the Russian Orthodox Church in the context of the reaction of different European churches on the quarantine rules and critics towards the church inside Russia. The author used the structural-functional and institutional approaches for the evaluation of the activity of the Russian Orthodox Church, was analyzed the sources of mass-media and the public claims of the clergy. In the article was made a conclusion that Orthodox Church expressed itself during the struggle with coronavirus as national civic institute where could be represented various even polar views. Also the parish activity leads to the formation of the democratic society affiliated with the Church and the role of that phenomenon have to be explored in a future. The coronacrisis makes open the inner potential of the civic activity and different forms of the social service in Russian Church. In the same time pandemic provoked the development of the volunteer activity in the around-church environment and also in the non-church circles among the young people and the generation of 40th age where the idea of the social responsibility for themselves and people around and the significance of the civil rights was one of the popular ideas till 2019. The conditions of the self-isolation also forced the clergy to struggle for their parishioners and once again renovate the role of the church in the society and in the cyber space.

Introduction: human blood and social policy

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Richard M. Titmuss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Human Blood ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the study of the beliefs, attitudes, and values concerning blood and its possession, inheritance, and use and loss in diverse societies. The study originated and grew over many years of introspection from a series of value questions formulated within the context of attempts to distinguish the ‘social’ from the ‘economic’ in public policies and in those institutions and services with declared ‘welfare’ goals. As such, this book centres on human blood: the scientific, social, economic, and ethical issues involved in its procurement, processing, distribution, use, and benefit in Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, South Africa, and other countries. Ultimately, it considers the role of altruism in modern society. It attempts to fuse the politics of welfare and the morality of individual wills.

Reconstructing the ‘Sacred Canopy’: Mother Serafima and Novodevichy Monastery

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-271
Author(s):  
WALLACE L. DANIEL
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Monastic Life ◽  
Sacred Canopy ◽  
The Church

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Orthodox Church and the Russian government have sought to restore monasteries, viewing them as key institutions in the regeneration of religion. Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow has historically been one of Russia's most important religious centres and its most famous monastery for women. Returned to the Church in 1994, Novodevichy was administered by Mother Serafima, a remarkable woman whose life covered most of the twentieth century. In reconstructing monastic life, she placed charity at the centre of her endeavours. In her struggles and her efforts to rebuild the ‘sacred canopy’ at Novodevichy is depicted, in microcosmic form, Russia's own quest to recover its heritage and redefine its identity.

scholarly journals Ruská pravoslavná církev a ochrana křesťanů jako směr zahraniční politiky

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-38
Author(s):  
Maria Avanesova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Church

The Russian Orthodox Church has become a significant actor in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. This text is dedicated to its role in Russiaʼs foreign policy, specifically to the topic of the Russian interest in problems and protection of Christians, which is one of the most essential parts of the cooperation between the state and the Church. Analyzing primary sources (state and Church documents), the author shows when and under what circumstances this topic became relevant to both actors, what role the Russian Orthodox Church played in this regard and how the topic of protecting Christians is used by the Russian regime today. The study shows that the interest in protection of Christians did not arise simultaneously on both sides and that it is connected mainly with situations where a threat for Christians is posed by unfriendly actors.

East Germany's New Kulturkampf

Worldview ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 43-46
Author(s):  
Eleutherius
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Party Member ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Party Leadership ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Crown Prince ◽  
The Church

In 1970 I was told by a ranking SED (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschland) party member: “If you think Walter Ulbricht has been a severe taskmaster, wait until he steps down and his crown prince, Erich Honecker, takes the party leadership. Ulbricht at first tried to imitate the Soviet Union slavishly, but he finally came to see that Germany is not the Soviet Union, that the DDR would have to develop its own brand of socialism. Honecker is much more subservient to Moscow than Ulbricht and much more blind to the social and political importance of the Christian Church.” In the mid-fifties, Ulbricht learned that persecuting the Church did not pay political, social or economic dividends.

scholarly journals Stalin's Hollow Cross-the Russian Orthodox Church as a Tool of Soviet Foreign Policy

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-40
Author(s):  
Jordan Hupka
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
World War ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Second World ◽  
The Church

It has been said that the Second World War saved the Russian Orthodox Church from extermination. Ever since the Revolution of 1917, the religious peoples of Russia were constantly persecuted by Soviet ideologists and politicians. Prior to Operation Barbarossa, in 1941, it seemed that the days of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest religious institution in the Soviet Union, were numbered. However, the unique climate of the Second World War forced the Soviet government to end its war against the church. The Kremlin soon saw the Church as a useful tool to help aid in the re- occupation of Eastern Europe.

scholarly journals The problem of the effectiveness of social service of the Russian Orthodox Church in penitentiary institutions in the modern history of Russia

2019 ◽  
pp. 70-74
Author(s):  
Vladislav A. Tulyanov
Keyword(s):  
Social Service ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Former Prisoners ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

The article deals with the interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church (hereinafter, the ROC) and the penitentiary system of Russia. The author addresses the problem of the social role of the ROC in penitentiary institutions. The purpose of the article is to analyse the effectiveness of Church social service in penitentiary institutions of modern Russia. The basis of the research methodology is the analysis of statistical information of the Federal penitentiary service and social projects of the ROC on the effectiveness of the Church penitentiary service. It is concluded that the activities of the ROC in the penal system has significant positive outcomes that are associated primarily with the problem of improving relations among specific population of penitentiary establishments, as well as re-socialisation of former prisoners and prevention of offenses, which is an important element in the fight against general crime rate in the country.

COPTS AND THE MILLET PARTNERSHIP: THE INTRA-COMMUNAL DYNAMICS BEHIND EGYPTIAN SECTARIANISM

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sedra
Keyword(s):  
Political Leader ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
Modern Egypt ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Church ◽  
Egyptian Politics

AbstractThe sparse scholarship on the political role of Coptic Christians in modern Egypt almost always takes the Coptic Orthodox Church as a point of departure, assuming that the head of the church, the Coptic patriarch, is not only the spiritual leader of the community but its political leader as well. This article argues that the disproportionate attention afforded to the Coptic Orthodox Church in this scholarship has obscured intra-communal dynamics of the Copts that are essential to an understanding of their political role. Through an analysis of historical struggles between the Coptic clergy and the Coptic laity for influence in Egyptian politics, as well as a particular focus on how these struggles have played out in the arena of personal status law, the article demonstrates that Egyptian politics and Coptic communal dynamics are deeply intertwined, to a degree often disregarded both by Copts and by Egypt analysts.

Bergelson, Dovid (1884–1952)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Koenig
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Literary Creation ◽  
Fiction Writing ◽  
Indirect Discourse ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
War Effort ◽  
Narrative Techniques

Dovid Bergelson was a major Yiddish prose writer and essayist. He had a lasting impact on Yiddish fiction writing, introducing new narrative techniques such as free indirect discourse. He brought literary creation in Yiddish to new heights, appropriating the language for the purposes of an Impressionist, high literary style. He was also a prolific essayist, committed to the notion of the social role of the writer, and to the ideals of Yiddishism, the creation of a new secular Yiddish culture in the name of a Jewish national project rooted in Eastern Europe and distinct from Zionism. These political ideals partly explain Bergelson’s conversion to Soviet state socialism in 1926: in his view, the Soviet Union was the only place compatible with the Yiddishist project. He settled there permanently in 1934. His later literary production radically differed from his earlier writings, and conformed to the doctrine of Socialist Realism. In 1942, he joined the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, supporting the Soviet war effort against Nazi Germany. After the war, Stalin turned against the Committee. Bergelson was arrested in 1949, then executed on 12 August 1952, together with twelve other Jewish writers and intellectuals.

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