Orthodox Church

“Returning the Stolen Latin Souls”: The Policy of Polonization of Orthodoxy in the Interwar Poland

The policy of the Polish government towards the Eastern Orthodoxy in the northeastern regions was turning tougher on the eve of the Second World War. Polish officials feared that the USSR would meddle in Polish domestic affairs using the Orthodox Church, and therefore they tightened control over the Church and the flock. The government wanted to tie the Orthodox community closer to the Polish nation.

Moscow’s Diocesan Revolution

In the months after the February Revolution, the Church was convulsed by a general revolt against ecclesiastical authority. The Church survived this revolt, and organized an “All‑Russian Council (Sobor)” from September of 1917 until August of 1918, which re‑established the Patriarchate of Moscow and negotiated a reform of the Church’s authority structure. The ultimate success of the reform process depended on the ability of the Church’s various communities to forge a com‑ promise in the midst of a political and ecclesiastical revolution.

Microhistory of the Failed Apocalypse: The Village of Podavikha and Its Inhabitants in August–December 1932

This article provides a phenomenological interpretation of the eschatological experience of the participants in the movement that captured the Kungur and Ordinsky districts of what is now Perm Territory in the second half of 1932. Its center was the small village of Podavikha. During the movement’s liquidation by the the OGPU, the leadership and parish clergy of Kungur eparchy were unsure of their position in relation to what had happened. Someone put the name “Ivanovskaya secta” into circulation, after the movement’s spiritual leader, Protopriest Ivan Kotelnikov.

Controversial Ecclesiological Issues of the Pan-Orthodox Council Agenda and the Question of Sovereign Power in the Orthodox Church

The article discusses ecclesiological issues that were included in the agenda of Pan-Orthodox Council but found no solution in the pre-conciliar debates: the Orthodox Diaspora; proclamation of autocephaly; the role of the Diptychs. The author then examines the issue of primacy in the Universal Church. All these questions can be combined and connected with the issue of the supreme or sovereign power in the Orthodox Church: its localization and mechanics for the implementation.

’The Calendar Question’: Conciliar Discussions Throughout History and Today

This article examines the role of church councils in reaching a common date for Easter in the first millennium (the Quartodeciman debates, the First Ecumenical Council and after), as well as attempts towards a pan-Orthodox solution of the calendar issue in the 20th century (with a special focus on Russia).

The Pan–Orthodox Council: Shaping New Orthodox Geopolitics

The Orthodox Church is a complex geopolitical reality, and it does not constitute a homogenous block. On the contrary, the rise of irredentism during the 19th century has created the basis for constant territorial fragmentation throughout the 20th century. Surprisingly, the worldwide Orthodox population continues to increase. The convergence of these two phenomena is a starting point for a reinvestigation of Orthodox power in international affairs, as well as a profound strategic change affecting the communion of the fourteen local Orthodox Churches.

Orthodox Commonwealth: A Typology of Autocephalous Churches

The paper explores the relationships between the fourteen independent Eastern Orthodox churches making part of a so called diptychon — a list of churches placed in order of “honor”. These fourteen churches take part at the Pan-Orthodox Council in June 2016. The author firstly defines the current meaning of church “autocephalous” status and then creates a typology of the Orthodox ecclesiastical subjects drawing upon history, current situation, and structural features.

The “Last Times”: the Perception of Time by Residents of the Russian Province in the First Half of the 20th Century

Religion and Nation in Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania: Three Eastern Orthodox Models

According to many analysts, there is a general affinity between Eastern Orthodoxy and nationalism, especially in Southeastern Europe. The present article aims to draw a more differentiated picture and shows that in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia religious nationalism developed with different intensity and along different paths. Among the three countries compared, Bulgaria has the weakest tradition of Orthodox sacralization of both nation and politics.

Religion and Сonstructs of National Identities in Eastern Europe in the 20th Century: An Introduction

Introducing the main theme of the issue, the paper is trying to abandon commonplaces and clichés and to emphasize the subjects that were not in focus in earlier research. The papers of this volume show local complexities in how religious factor played in the history of Eastern Europe in the twentieth century. The thesis that some confessions are more engaged in the nation-building than others, seems to be a simplification, because Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants were equally involved in the process of constructing national identity. 

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