scholarly journals American Conservatives and the Allure of Post-Soviet Russian Orthodoxy

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1036
Author(s):  
Sarah Riccardi-Swartz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Transnational Politics ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodoxy ◽  
Political Actors

This article explores the growing affinity for the post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church by far-right Orthodox converts in the United States, highlighting how the spiritual draw to the faith is caught up in the globalizing politics of traditionalism and a transnational, ideological reimaging of the American culture wars. Employing ethnographic fieldwork from the rural United States and digital qualitative research, this study situates the post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church in the international flows of conservativism focused on reclaiming social morals and traditional religiosity. In doing so, this article sheds light on how the post-Soviet Orthodox Church is viewed politically by a growing contingent of American religious and political actors who are turning to Russian Orthodoxy and Putin’s government during this New Cold War moment of tension between the United States and Russia. I argue that the allure of the post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church for conservatives in the West offers us a window into how the institution is situated imaginatively within transnational politics, thereby providing us insights into the rapidly transforming culture wars fomenting globally.

scholarly journals Relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the territory of the United States in the early XX century

2021 ◽  
pp. 118-126
Author(s):  
Philip Viktorovich Yuzlikeev
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
North America ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Of Greece

Due to the fact that the tradition of close relation between the Orthodox Church and the state has formed since the time of the Byzantine Empire, the reflection of foreign policy ambitions of the Greek government on the foreign activity of the Patriarchate of Constantinople seems absolutely justifiable. In the early XX century, North America was a center of Greek migration, and simultaneously, the territory of proliferation of the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church; therefore, the United States spark particular interest in this case. The Patriarch of Constantinople attempted to dispute the jurisdictional affiliation of the United States by issuing the corresponding tomos. This article is dedicated to interaction between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church in the territory of the United States during the 1908 – 1924. The author explores the influence of Greece upon the relationship between the two Orthodox jurisdictions in North America. The activity of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the United States is compared to political events of Greece. The history of Orthodoxy in the United States in the first quarter of the XX century is highly researched however, the actions of church organizations are not always viewed from the perspective of the foreign policy of the countries involved. The conclusion is made on the possible influence of the Greek governmental forces on the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which in turn, stepped into the jurisdictional conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church.

scholarly journals Theophan Fan Noli: Albanian American hierarch, politician, and writer

Sabornost ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 177-186
Author(s):  
Mile Subotić
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
The United States ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Balkan Wars ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Church

Metropolitan Theophan Fan Noli was a leader of the Church both in America and his native Albania. He was a pioneer in calling for a united Orthodox Church in America and in the use of English in services. Noli began his life of service in the Church in the United States organizing Albanian parishes. With the Balkan Wars and the independence of Albania, Fan Noli devoted more of his time to the cause of Albania. He was Prime Minister of Albania in 1924. After a change in political climate, Bishop Theophan was forced to leave Albania. He was able to return to the United States in 1932. Upon arriving he retired from politics and resumed his duties as bishop of the Albanian Orthodox Church in America. Bishop Noli considered his Albanian Church as a daughter of the Russian Orthodox Church in America and looked to it for the creation of a single Orthodox Church in America. He continued to lead his flock and to advocate Orthodox unity until his death in 1965.

Together and Apart: The Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian Empire, and Orthodox Missionaries in Alaska, 1794–1917

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse D. Murray
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Civilizing Mission ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Native Culture ◽  
Moral Standards ◽  
The Russian Empire

Addressing Russian Orthodox missions in the Alaskan periphery of the Russian Empire, this article discusses the flexibility of Russian Orthodox missionaries in adapting concepts of Orthodoxy and Russianness to the circumstances of their mission in Alaska and to their individual experiences there. Consulting a range of missionary writings from 1794–1917, including reports, journals, letters, and articles in church periodicals, Murray assesses varying interpretations and methods of promoting the civilizing mission, christianization, and russification over the long nineteenth century. Efforts in education and promoting moral standards were vital to the missions but always incorporated respect for the native culture. Recognizing the importance of this periphery even after the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867, the missionaries continued to perceive the converted Alaskan communities as tied to Russian Orthodox culture and identity and their educational and moral efforts as essential to the construction of good citizens for the new political power.

scholarly journals Life of Russian Orthodox Clergy in the United States at the End of the 19th Century (Reflected in the correspondence of the Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod Konstantin Pobedonostsev)

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-61
Author(s):  
V. V. Pechatnov
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
The United States ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Foreign Ministry ◽  
The 19Th Century

Using little-known correspondence of the Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod Konstantin Pobedonostsev with the bishop Nickolay (Ziorov) — head of Russian Orthodox Church in the United States in 1892–1898 — the article explores the everyday life of Russian clergy in America. This correspondence is deposited at the Russian State Historical Archive in St. Petersburg and has not been published or studied before. The author analyzes Pobedonostsev’s role in the diocese affairs. This examination is new both in the Church’s history and recently published literature on Pobedonostsev. Yet the Ober-Procurator’s supervision was of utmost importance for the Russian mission in the United States, faced with the crucial challenge of adapting itself to the alien cultural environment. Pobedonostsev was well informed about the situation with the Russian mission, helped to solve many personnel, financial and organizational problems, was a chief promoter of its interests before the Russian imperial government — Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Finance, the State Council, and the Tzar’s court. Pobedonostsev also stayed in touch with the US diplomatic mission in Russia and Russian diplomats in the United States. He was very close with bishop Nickolay who regarded the Ober-Procurator as his main benefactor and constantly turned to him for advice and assistance. Pobedonostsev strongly supported the bishop’s reforms of missionary activities in education, parish life, and propagation of Orthodoxy, as well as his efforts to defend the Russian Orthodox mission’s interests before American authorities. No wonder their extensive correspondence richly reflected the diocese’s life with all its problems and needs. The article highlights their close cooperation in recruiting qualified clergymen for American service, which was the key task for the mission that suffered from a shortage of reliable professional personnel. Pobedonostsev-Nickolay cooperation greatly contributed to the diocese progress, which later reached its peak under Nickolay’s successor bishop Tikhon (Bellavin). Their correspondence sheds new light on the personalities of both men united by their fervent devotion to the Orthodox Church and highly conservative views. It also presents a revealing case study of the interaction between Russian ecclesiastic and state authorities as well as their perception of American culture. The author’s main methodological approach consisted in text analysis of the archival documents juxtaposed against the context of Russian-American relations and the realities of American life.

scholarly journals The Foreign Press about the Change of Attitude of Soviet Power to Orthodoxy in 1943 (According to TASS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 62-171
Author(s):  
Drobotushenko Evgeny V. ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
South America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
The Press

The article analyzes a selection of materials of the foreign press, made by the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) in 1943 on the reaction to the change in the attitude of the Soviet government to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is presented in one of the files of the state archive of the Russian Federation (SARF). In the collection mentioned, there are notes and articles of various editions of the countries of Europe, and also the States of North and South America, Africa, Australia. The claimed problems have not been seriously analyzed from the scientific point of view so far. The author notes that the negative and positive assessments of the transformation of the religious policy of the USSR were clearly divided into the two camps: the countries that supported the USSR in 1943 and the countries that had opposite views. The rhetoric of the press in the United States, Canada and England differed significantly from that one in Europe as a whole, and even more in Nazi Germany, Italy and Romania. The press of countries that were far away from the events, for example, the States of South America or Australia, reflected a neutral attitude to what was happening. Against this background, all actions of the Soviet authorities were assessed as superficial, temporary, and “fake”. According to the critics, they were forced. In reality, there was no question of freedom of religion in the USSR. In turn, the press of the allied countries relatively highly appreciated the changes in the policy of the Soviet state. It is obvious that the problems stated in the title of the article require further serious scientific analysis, which implies a large volume of work with foreign media of the time under consideration and with archival sources. Keywords: religion, Orthodoxy, freedom of religion, Patriarch, Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, mass media

scholarly journals Social doctrine of Russian Orthodoxy: will it be two steps back?

2002 ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Oleksandr N. Sagan
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodoxy ◽  
Socialist System ◽  
Social Doctrine ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
The Social

The fall of the socialist system in the early 90's of the twentieth century. led to the return of the Orthodox Churches of Europe to the active social and political life of the post-Soviet countries. Therefore, the adoption in August 2000 by the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of the social doctrine became a necessary stage in the development of Russian Orthodoxy, and at the same time marked the beginning of a new time of not only this Church, but the whole Ecumenical Orthodoxy. However, this serious doctrine did not cause any serious attention, except for one or two colloquiums organized by the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate. The wave of theological and non-fiction works on the hot topics raised in the Doctrine also did not happen to the experts.

scholarly journals Biblical Interpretation in the Russian Orthodox Church: An historical and hermeneutical perspective

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 352-365
Author(s):  
A. Negrov
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodoxy ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation

for an understanding of biblical interpretation within the Russian Orthodox Church. Its purpose is not to advocate pro or contra Russian biblical scholarship, but to place the emphasis on the history of biblical interpretation in the Russian Orthodox Church and on Orthodox biblical hermeneutics. Two considerations are specifically pertinent to the study of this topic. First, the history of biblical interpretation is surveyed from a sole and specific perspective - from within a· historico-dogmatic development of the Russian Orthodox Church from the Kiev period of its history (9_13th century) till the Synodal period (1721-1917). Second, it is true that once originated, the Biblical Study in Russian Orthodoxy went its own way and developed its own fundamental principles of interpretation. Although many principles correlated and corresponded with general principles of biblical interpretation, in essence they form "Russian Orthodox Hermeneutics". This paper seeks to establish an outline of the essential elements of Orthodox biblical hermeneutics as they developed in the history of interpretation.

Greek Orthodoxy Arrives in America

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-38
Author(s):  
Alexander Kitroeff
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Greek Orthodox ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Greek Immigrants

This chapter recounts the arrival and settlement of the Greek immigrants and culminates in the creation of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in 1922. It talks about the first churches the Greek immigrants established that provided them with a sense of community and security and underscored their ties with the Greek homeland. It also looks into the decision of immigrants to not become absorbed in the Russian Orthodox Church. This chapter explores the settlement of the Greek immigrants that was laden with difficulties, ranging from the uneven quality of the immigrant priests to divisions that reflected the political polarization that had occurred in Greece. It also discusses the dynamic metropolitan that was sent to the United States by the Greek government that restored order by creating a centralized governing body with authority over Greek Orthodox affairs all over the United States.

Counter-reformation in Russian Orthodoxy: Popular Response to Religious Innovation, 1922-1925

Slavic Review ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory L. Freeze
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Internal Conflict ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodoxy ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
Proletarian Revolution ◽  
The Church

In March 1922 (in the very heat of the campaign to confiscate Church valuables), L.D. Trotskii sent a memorandum to the Politburo, arguing that the “proletarian revolution had finally reached the Church.” Indeed it had: over the next few years the Russian Orthodox Church would undergo tremendous convulsions and intense internal conflict. In May 1922, amidst a violent confrontation with the bolshevik state over the seizure of Church valuables, a small group of radical priests took control of the Church and engineered a temporary but controversial withdrawal of Patriarch Tikhon from active leadership. Their aim was not only to end the conflict with Soviet authorities (by recognizing its legitimacy and endorsing its confiscation of church valuables), but also to implement fundamental reforms in Russian Orthodoxy.

Russian Orthodoxy and Secularism

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-75
Author(s):  
Kristina Stoeckl
Keyword(s):  
Civil Religion ◽  
The State ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Lived Religion ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Traditional Values ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodoxy ◽  
Western Modernity ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

Abstract Russian Orthodoxy and Secularism surveys the ways in which the Russian Orthodox Church has negotiated its relationship with the secular state, with other religions, and with Western modernity from its beginnings until the present. It applies multiple theoretical perspectives and draws on different disciplinary approaches to explain the varied and at times contradictory facets of Russian Orthodoxy as a state church or as a critic of the state, as a lived religion or as a civil religion controlled by the state, as a source of dissidence during Communism or as a reservoir of anti-Western, anti-modernist ideas that celebrate the uniqueness and superiority of the Russian nation. Kristina Stoeckl argues that, three decades after the fall of Communism, the period of post-Soviet transition is over for Russian Orthodoxy and that the Moscow Patriarchate has settled on its role as national church and provider of a new civil religion of traditional values.

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