The Concept of Canonical Territory in the Russian Orthodox Church

Abstract

If, on this panel, we deal with different ‘Conceptions of “space” in Russia’, we will only be able to completely grasp this set of issues if, besides the cultural dimension and the philosophical context, we will also give attention to the ecclesial understanding of ‘space’. Already the fact that popular-scientific books often speak of ‘Holy Russia’ shows that Christian faith had a shaping effect on the identity of the Russian people. From the 10th century onwards, Byzantine Christendom gained such shaping power for the Russian culture and history that both in the self-awareness and in the outside perception it was self-explanatory to talk about Russia to be an ‘Orthodox country’. This lasted even during the 20th century, when communist dictators tried to crush ecclesial life in the Soviet Union. After the break up of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church once more gained an important role in society, although it seems to be no longer such a shaping power for the majority of the population as being often assumed in the self-presentations of the Patriarchate.KeywordsChristian FaithLocal ChurchConceptual BoundaryReligious MarketChurch HistoryThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.