The Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow in a global age: acomparison

Abstract

This overview article will attempt a comparison between the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow in terms of the way they have articulated their strategy and agenda on a national and international level since the collapse of the Communist Bloc in 1989/1991. New and comparatively young Patriarchs came to office at the beginning of the 1990s. This paper focuses on the way each of them has tried to cope with recent changes in global politics, such as the changing role of religious institutions in the modern world and the consequences of the collapse of ideological bipolarity. The new circumstances under which both Patriarchates function have engendered numerous problems and conflicts between the two Patriarchates and between them and other religious institutions, as well as within the jurisdictions of each Patriarchate. As a second step, we will attempt to identify the changing policies of the last two decades, assess their consequences, and sketch out possible scenarios for the future. This will also take into consideration the election of the new Patriarch of Moscow in January 2009.