Continuity of Church Service and Orthodox Cultural Tradition at the Turn of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Periods

Author(s):  
Тимофей Иерей ◽  
Timofe Ierey ◽  
Екатерина Топалова ◽  
Ekaterina Topalova ◽  
Наталья Шафажинская ◽  
...  

The article is devoted to the disclosure of the content of the creative activities of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in a crucial period of spiritual service at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries. During this period, the continuity of religious enlightenment culture was interrupted and needed restoration in order to preserve church culture and art for future generations. In the twentieth century — the century of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, when persecution and oppression in varying degrees affected the fate of every Orthodox Christian, preserved and survived examples of theological and spiritual educational work they represent a special value, which should be available for the study of modern citizens of Russia and, above all, young people. Spiritual mentors and elders of the past century, who have undergone persecution, but survived and managed to directly convey to their spiritual children their own inner experience of God communion and an example of asceticism — the great wealth of not only domestic, but also world spiritual culture. In the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the names of many representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, true devotees of grace, shone with their spiritual experience, wise mentorship and literary works helping thousands of people of different classes to gain faith and the true meaning of earthly existence.

Author(s):  
Alexander Kitroeff

This chapter draws attention to Ligonier, a small town in western Pennsylvania with a population of about fifteen hundred that served as an unlikely site for where the future of Greek Orthodoxy in America would be decided. It describes Ligonier as a home to the Antiochian Village and Conference Center, which is administered by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of America. The chapter discusses the Antiochian Church, which had begun its existence in America under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church and had suffered internal divisions similar to those that Greek Orthodoxy faced in the 1920s. It investigates how the Antiochian Church was unified under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch based in Damascus, Syria. It also highlights the Arab Orthodox immigrants that were members of the Antiochian Church and explains how they admitted a number of converts from evangelical Protestantism in the 1980s.


Author(s):  
Кириченко Олег Викторович

Аннотация. Воспоминания В. А. Звонковой посвящены церковной жизни автора, начиная с послевоенного времени и заканчивая 2000-ми годами. В центре воспоминаний стоит судьба самого автора, идущего сложной и тернистой дорогой православного христианина в атеистическом государстве и обществе. Автор показывает, что путь этот был непрост не только из-за преследований верующих, но даже в большей степени из-за особой нравственной атмосферы в быстро атеизирующемся советском обществе, где попирались традиционные нормы брачных отношений, где рушились привычные родственные связи и т. д. Воспоминания отмечены тонкими наблюдениями автора за жизнью современников, как церковной, так и светской. Ключевые слова: православная вера, Русская Православная Церковь, благочестие, аскетика, духовничество, старчество, церковный приход, советская эпоха, воспоминания. Abstract. The memoirs of V. A. Zvonkova are devoted to church life from the 1940-s to the 2000-s. At the heart of the memoirs is the fate of the author herself, walking the difficult path of the Orthodox Christian in an atheistic state and society. The author shows that this path was not easy, not only because of the persecution of believers, but even more so because of the special moral atmosphere in the rapidly atheizing Soviet society, where the traditional norms of marital relations were violated, where familiar family ties were broken, etc. The memoirs are marked by the author’s subtle observations of the life of contemporaries, both churchly and secular. Keywords: memoirs, Soviet era from the 1940-s to the beginning of the 2000-s, Orthodox Christian church, church, priests, parish life. Key words: Orthodox faith, Russian Orthodox Church, piety, asceticism, clergy, eldership, church parish.


Author(s):  
Oksana Aleksandrovna Rybachok

On August 9, Orthodox Christian churches celebrate the day of remembrance of one of the most revered saints - the Great Martyr Panteleimon. Panteleimon the healer - under this name we know the saint who provides all kinds of support to doctors and contributes to the recovery of the sick. His veneration in the Russian Orthodox Church dates back to the twelfth century, when Prince Izyaslav placed the image of Panteleimon on his battle helmet. Born into the family of a noble pagan, the young man lost his mother early and was raised by his father, who decided to teach his son the art of healing. Having met the Christian Ermolai, who was in exile and guarded the secret of his religion, the young doctor was baptized. This happened after seeing the body of a dead boy bitten by a snake on the street of the city, whom Panteleimon was able to bring back to life by the power of prayer.


2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucian Turcescu ◽  
Lavinia Stan

The article’s main focus is the relationship between the re-established Bessarabian Orthodox Metropolitanate and the government of the post-Soviet Republic of Moldova. The article demonstrates that the Moldovan government refused recognition to the nascent church until 2002 primarily for two reasons: first and foremost, the Moscow Patriarchate opposed the idea of another Orthodox Christian church in Moldova outside of its jurisdiction; second, the government feared that the newly independent Republic of Moldova would fall under the influence of neighboring Romania, whose Orthodox Church offered patronage to the Bessarabian Metropolitanate. After a historical overview of the Orthodox Church in the Republic of Moldova, the article first presents and analyzes the history of the conflict between the Bessarabian Metropolitanate and the post-Soviet Moldovan government, and second, the European Court of Human Rights verdict ordering the government to recognize the Metropolitanate, before verdict’s implementation, and reactions to it. All these are done with an eye on intra-national relations among Moldova, Romania, and Russia, as well as those between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with this conflict.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teuvo Laitila

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the religious tide in Russia has been quick to rise. During the Soviet era, religion – particularly Orthodox Christianity and Islam – was considered to be one of the ‘enemies of the people’. Since the late 1990s however, Russian politicians at all levels of the power structure have associated themselves either with the Orthodox, or on some occasions with the Muslim, clergy. The present state of affairs in the relations between religion and the state are well illustrated by the cordial liaison of the late Patriarch Aleksii II with President Vladimir Putin and the equally warm involvement of President Dmitry Medvedev, and his wife Svetlana Medvedeva, with the new Patriarch Kirill, who was elected in January 2009. Some have even argued that ‘today’ (in 2004) the Church and state are so extensively intertwined that one can no longer consider Russia to be a secular state. Polls seem to support the claim. While in 1990 only 24 per cent of Russians identified themselves as Orthodox, in the sense that they felt themselves to be Russians as well, in 2008 the number was 73 per cent. However, less than 10 per cent, and in Moscow perhaps only 2 per cent do actually live out their religiosity.Why did Russia turn towards religion? Is religion chosen in an attempt to legitimise power, or in order to consolidate political rule after atheist-communist failure? My guess is that the answer to both is affirmative. Moreover, whatever the personal convictions of individual Russians, including politicians, religious, mainly Orthodox Christian, rhetoric and rituals are used to make a definitive break with the communist past and to create, or re-create, a Greater Russia (see Simons 2009). In such an ideological climate, atheism has little chance of thriving, whereas there is a sort of ‘social demand’ for its critique.I therefore focus on what the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has had to say about atheism and how her statements can be related to a break with the past and the construction of a new Russia. Or, in my opinion, actually deleting the Soviet period from the history of Russia as an error and seeing present-day Russia as a direct continuation of the pre-Soviet imperial state.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Olga L. Tserpitskaya ◽  
◽  
priest Daniil Iakovov ◽  

The article examines one of the most important traditions of the Samoyedic peoples, which complicates the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church — the consumption of fresh blood of a young deer. This tradition refers to the practice of sacrifice, so it cannot be fully accepted by the Church as there is a canonical prohibition against consuming blood. As a result, a problem arises that hinders a successful mission among the Samoyedic peoples and impedes the growth of the Church. Despite the ban, there is also a modern medical assessment on the use of animal blood by humans, according to which a certain benefit of blood as a nutritional element is recognized. The state, in turn, is interested in maintaining the traditional way of life of the Nenets. It can be stated that the ban penetrated into new Testament Christianity under the influence of Judeo-Christians. The purpose of this article is to examine the effectiveness of missionary activity among the Samoyed peoples and to identify the possibility of missionary reception in light of the cultural tradition. The authors propose a new strategy for missionary work among the Samoyed people, which will be feasible if the Council of Bishops will consider relaxing the canonical prohibitions for the Samoyeds.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-386
Author(s):  
I. I. Yurganova

The research featured the issue of intercultural communication in the aspect of cultural and anthropological approach. The article introduces the case of the Russian Orthodox Church as it incorporated one of the remote outskirts of the Empire the Yakut region in Russia. The research was an attempt to understand the problems of intercultural communication during the intercivilizational interaction between the Orthodox (Christian) civilization and the local Arctic civilization of the peoples of North-East Asia. The author explained the permanent process of Christianization in Yakutia, as well as described the role of missionary work as a method of developing new territories and the specifics of parish activity. The relations with the nonOrthodox population improved when the state law replaced the traditional Patriarchal foundations, and representatives of non-Slavic elites entered the structure. The Orthodox Church conducted various social and educational activities, since it took secular social and educational state institutions a long time to reach this remote region. In the XVII–XIX centuries, the activity of the Russian Orthodox Church in Yakutia contributed to the intercultural communications with this marginal territory and ensured the involvement of the Yakut ethnic group in the Russian state space.


2020 ◽  
pp. 226-242
Author(s):  
Сергей Александрович Пименов

Поместный Собор 1917-1918 гг., имеет для истории Русской Православной Церкви огромное значение, т. к. несмотря на прошедший век, отделяющий нас от событий той эпохи, его роль не до конца осмыслена и оценена. Его наследие нуждается в серьезном и вдумчивом исследовании, а многие из идей, высказанных тогда, были бы полезны и востребованы сегодня. Одна из основных проблем, которая была поставлена на повестке заседания Поместного собора 1917-1918 гг. - это Миссионерская деятельность Церкви. Начиная с XVIII в. этот вопрос стаял в России краеугольным камнем, т. к. в церковной миссии ощущался явный упадок. Это было связано, прежде всего, с тем, что Церковная миссия не имела централизованной организации, с помощью которой бы данная деятельность носила бы не эпизодический, а регулярный характер. Целью данной статьи является подробное рассмотрение миссионерской проблематики в работах и решениях Поместного Собора 1917-1918 гг. В ходе исследования автор выделяет проблемы Православной Миссии в России в нач. XX в., проводит анализ основных документов и постановлений Собора, относящихся к данной тематике, и ставит вопрос об их жизнеспособности на сегодняшний день. The local Council of 1917-1918 is of great importance for the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. Despite the past century separating us from the events of that era, its role is not fully understood and appreciated. His legacy needs serious and thoughtful research, and many of the ideas expressed then would be useful today. One of the main problems that was put on the agenda of the meeting of the local Council of 1917-1918 is the Missionary activity of the Church. Since the XVIII century this question had bacame the cornerstone in Russia because the Church’s mission became noticeable decline. This was due to, first of all, the fact that the Church mission did not have a centralized organization, with the help of which this activity would be not episodic, but regular. The aim of this article is a detailed consideration of missionary issues in the works and decisions of the local Council of 1917-1918. In the course of the study, the author highlights the problems of the Orthodox Mission in Russia in the early XX century, analyzes the main documents and resolutions of the Council relating to this topic, and raises the question of their viability today.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095394682110453
Author(s):  
Carrie Frederick Frost

In a span of twenty years, two of the autocephalous churches of the Orthodox Christian world released documents addressing the social realities of contemporary life: the Russian Orthodox Church's Basis of the Social Concept (2000) and the Ecumenical Patriarch's For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church (2020). This article offers a side-by-side comparison and analysis of the documents’ treatments of matters of birth and death, including childbirth, abortion, miscarriage, end-of-life care, euthanasia, suicide, and a vision of a good death. Detailed comparison demonstrates remarkable accord between the two churches on many of these matters. Differences of omission and emphasis appear to be indicative of contrasting demographic and historical situations, with the exception of one, notable divergence between the churches, all of which are discussed. The striking degree and depth of consonance between the documents offers potential for cooperation and unity as the two churches negotiate their conflicts while also seeking to guide their flocks and offer Orthodox Christian witness in an increasingly desacralized world.


Author(s):  
Andrei Gennadievich Shishkin

Opera “The Greek Passion”, based upon Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel “Christ Recrucified”, demonstrated the Biblical story in “passions” of the XX century: in 2019 it was staged for the first time in Russia by Ural Opera Ballet Theatre. The article analyzes Martinu’s interpretation of the genre of passion, related to music and folk mistrial nature of this genre. Experience of interaction of the theatre in the course of staging the spectacle with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church is reviewed. The research describes the transformation of conflict between true and false Christianity, the themes of inner transfiguration of a person. Analysis is conducted within the methodological framework of the modern theory and history of culture, in combination of culturological, philosophical and theatrological methods of interpretation. It is noted that the captured by stage directors idea on conversion of Christianity into a part of cultural tradition that can lead to the loss of its spiritual content. A conclusion is made that art and religion can be viewed as the equivalents ways of acquainting with the generally recognized humanistic values.


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