Continuity and Change in Orthodox Christianity in Contemporary Russia: Enduring Legacies and New Developments in the Making

Tobias Koellner,Milena Benovska

doi:10.3390/rel12121053

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two cities of European Russia, this article analyzes continuity and changes in Orthodox Christianity. In so doing, we emphasize property restitution, the renovation of sacred sites, and the importance of religious education in public schools and parishes. Based on that ethnographic material, we address three related research topics. First, we would like to discuss the importance of Orthodox Christianity for contemporary Russia. Second, we aim to show that an understanding of the Russian Orthodox Church as a national church underscores the local and internal differences as well as the complexities of everyday interactions. Finally, we address the notion of postsocialism and discuss its limits and potentials for the analysis of contemporary Russia.

Highlights

In the last three decades, the Russian Orthodox Church, once persecuted and domesticated during the socialist era (Dragadze 1993), re-emerged in the public sphere and is one of the crucial social forces in Russian society today
This is about the relationship of church and state and politics and religion: How can we describe the church–state relationships, and do we really witness the emergence of a national church in contemporary Russia?
The first topic that we addressed in this article was the relevance of Orthodox Christianity in contemporary Russia

Summary

Introduction

In the last three decades, the Russian Orthodox Church, once persecuted and domesticated during the socialist era (Dragadze 1993), re-emerged in the public sphere and is one of the crucial social forces in Russian society today. A classification of Orthodox Christianity as an ideology is highly questionable from our perspective, this discussion impressively shows the close connection of Russian Orthodoxy to identity issues The state-organized and centrally planned economy gave way to competition and private entrepreneurship; in the political sphere, we saw the advent of some forms of political competition and electoral legitimization; and in the religious sector, a re-emergence of religion and religious competition can be witnessed We address this topic in our last research question and ask to what extent the category of postsocialism is still relevant and meaningful for the analysis of contemporary Russia. We will show that at the local level, the relationship is prone for competition, open conflict, and unintended consequences

Property Restitution and the Refurbishment of Sacred Sites

Religious Education in Public Schools and in Parishes

Continuity and Change

Conclusions