His kingdom come: orthodox pastorship and social activism in revolutionary Russia

Abstract

Hedda analyzes ideas and activities of parish clergy serving in St. Petersburg, capital of imperial Russia, in order to discover how Russian Orthodox Church responded theologically and pastorally to profound social, economic, and cultural changes that transformed Russia during 19th and early 20th centuries. The challenges of modernity forced Orthodox clergy, like other members of educated society, to re-examine their interpretation of church's earthly mission and their own role in fulfilling it. During mid-19th century, Orthodox theologians began to argue that church had a responsibility to society as well as to individuals, and to assert that its mission was to lead believers in building a society that manifested gospel principles of love, mercy, charity, and justice.The idea of creating the kingdom of God on earth inspired many clergymen, who dramatically increased their social outreach work in last two decades of 19th century: preaching during church services, teaching outside their churches, organizing charities, establishing temperance societies, and engaging in a host of other activities that involved them in daily lives of their parishioners. The clergy's work culminated in 1905, when a workers' organization established by an Orthodox priest became a mass political movement whose activities sparked a revolution.His Kingdom Come challenges many common assumptions about Orthodox Church as a weak and passive institution that did not respond to demands of modern world - demonstrating that it played an active and creative role in late imperial society, albeit on its own terms rather than those of its secular critics. This book will be of particular interest to those who study politics and society of Russia in imperial period, history of Russian Orthodox Church in modern era, relationship of religious institutions to society and culture, and history of religious-social thought in other post-Enlightenment societies.