A pivotal period in Russian history, the Time of Troubles in the early seventeenth century has taken on new resonance in the country's post-Soviet search for new national narratives. The historical role of the Orthodox Church has emerged as a key theme in contemporary remembrances of this time—but what precisely was that role? The first comprehensive study of the Church during the Troubles, Orthodox Russia in Crisis reconstructs this tumultuous time, offering new interpretations of familiar episodes while delving deep into the archives to uncover a much fuller picture of the era. Analyzing these sources, Isaiah Gruber argues that the business activity of monasteries played a significant role in the origins and course of the Troubles and that frequent changes in power forced Church ideologues to innovate politically, for example inventing new justifications for power to be granted to the people and to royal women. These new ideas, Gruber contends, ultimately helped bring about a new age in Russian spiritual life and a crystallization of the national mentality.

"...a thoughtful and objective treatise for understanding the ecclesiastical crisis that has been created by the Ecumenical Patriarchate's granting autocephaly to schismatic groups in Ukraine." - +TIMOTHEOS, Metropolitan of Bostra (Patriarchate of Jerusalem) "We pray to the Almighty God and the Most-Holy Theotokos that this division ends quickly and Church order will reign again. We are pleased that writings such as this work by Metropolitan Nikiforos are working towards this correction." +LONGIN, Bishop of New Gracanica and Midwestern America (Church of Serbia) "This lively analysis presents the situation of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine in an accessible way to both theologians, the faithful, and all people interested in the topic of the unity of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine." +ABEL, Archbishop of Lublin and Chelm (Church of Poland) "This is a serious study of a crisis in the life of our Orthodox Church worldwide that deserves to be widely read as we seek to understand the underlying issues more clearly and find a conciliar solution that brings both unity and peace." +JURAJ, Archbishop of Michalovce and Košice (Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia) This is essential reading for all Orthodox believers to better understand what the Ukrainian crisis means for the future of their Church. It will also assist others to see beyond the characterization of the crisis as a political event in the context of relations between Russia and the West. It makes clear that at its heart this is an ecclesiological dispute calling out for a conciliar solution. In the autumn of 2018 the Russian Orthodox Church broke communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople following the latter Synod's announcement of their intention to create an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). In December of that year a formal council was convened in Kiev and this new ecclesial body was created from two Ukrainian groups previously considered schismatic by all of the Orthodox churches worldwide. All of this transpired without any attempt by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to seek a consensus of all the Orthodox churches before embarking this course of action. More than two years later the newly created OCU remains unrecognised by the overwhelming majority of the world's Orthodox believers notwithstanding that it has in that time been been recognised as Orthodox by the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the Churches of Cyprus and Greece. But even this recognition has not been without significant dissenting voices. Among these is the Abbot of the renowned Kykkos monastery in Cyprus, Metropolitan Nikiforos. In this pithy text he eloquently explains why the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate have created a schism in the Orthodox Church worldwide and how in turn they reflect the promotion of a new ecclesiology that distorts the traditional understanding of the Orthodox Church as headed only by Christ Himself. He is clear that the only road to healing and unending schism is a return to a form of inter-Orthodox relations which respects both conciliarity and hierarchy. In doing this he stresses his utmost respect for the historical place of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the hope that it will turn back from the path it is currently on to resume its rightful place in the plurality of the Orthodox Church.

This volume explores the churches of Ukraine and their involvement in the recent movement for social justice and dignity within the country. In November of 2013, citizens of Ukraine gathered on Kyiv's central square (Maidan) to protest against a government that had reneged on its promise to sign a trade agreement with Europe. The Euromaidan protest included members of various Christian churches in Ukraine, who stood together and demanded government accountability and closer ties with Europe. In response, state forces massacred over one hundred unarmed civilians. The atrocity precipitated a rapid sequence of events: the president fled the country, a provisional government was put in place, and Russia annexed Crimea and intervened militarily in eastern Ukraine. An examination of Ukrainian churches’ involvement in this protest and the fall-out that it inspired opens up other questions and discussions about the churches’ identity and role in the country’s culture and its social and political history. Volume contributors examine Ukrainian churches’ historical development and singularity; their quest for autonomy; their active involvement in identity formation; their interpretations of the war and its causes; and the paths they have charted toward peace and unity.

Making use of the formerly secret archives of the Soviet government, interviews, and first-hand personal experiences, Nathaniel Davis describes how the Russian Orthodox Church hung on the brink of institutional extinction twice in the past sixty-five years. In 1939, only a few score widely scattered priests were still functioning openly. Ironically, Hitler's invasion and Stalin's reaction to it rescued the church -- and parishes reopened, new clergy and bishops were consecrated, a patriarch was elected, and seminaries and convents were reinstituted. However, after Stalin's death, Khrushchev resumed the onslaught against religion. Davis reveals that the erosion of church strength between 1948 and 1988 was greater than previously known and it was none too soon when the Soviet government changed policy in anticipation of the millennium of Russia's conversion to Christianity. More recently, the collapse of communism has created a mixture of dizzying opportunity and daunting trouble for Russian Orthodoxy. The newly revised and updated edition addresses the tumultuous events of recent years, including schisms in Ukraine, Estonia, and Moldova, and confrontations between church traditionalists, conservatives and reformers. The author also covers battles against Greek-Catholics, Roman Catholics, Protestant evangelists, and pagans in the south and east, the canonization of the last Czar, the church's financial crisis, and hard data on the slowing Russian orthodox recovery and growth. Institutional rebuilding and moral leadership now beckon between promise and possibility.

This book evaluates the convergence between Vladimir Putin and Russian Orthodox Church on Russian foreign policy these last years. Indeed, in his message to the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow on December 1, 2017, Vladimir Putin underlined the historic role played by Russian Orthodox Church to maintain unity and stability. Russian Orthodox Church occupies a central place in Vladimir Putin's political strategy today. While some people are worried about the state's influence on the Orthodox Church, others are worried about the growing rise of the Orthodox Church and its influence on some political decisions. In recent years, Vladimir Putin is suspected of using this church to awaken patriotism and boost its popularity among a nostalgic Russian population who seek its new identity after the collapse of Soviet Empire. Moreover, in his confrontation with West, Vladimir Putin, as the Russian Orthodox Church, consider itself, as the only protector of Christian values in Europe and elsewhere. This book will firstly analyze the current place of the "traditional religions" in contemporary Russia. The second chapter will concern a brief history of Russian Orthodox Church and its role in Russian society. The third chapter will focus on the influence of Russian Orthodox Church on Vladimir Putin's policy and their cooperation and divergence on the foreign policy. Finally, the case of Ukrainian and Syrian conflict will be analyzed.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine and the European refugee crisis have led to a dramatic increase in forced displacement across Europe. Fleeing war and violence, millions of refugees and internally displaced people face the social and political cultures of the predominantly Christian Orthodox countries in the post-Soviet space and Southeastern Europe. This book examines the ambivalence of Orthodox churches and other religious communities, some of which have provided support to migrants and displaced populations while others have condemned their arrival. How have religious communities and state institutions engaged with forced migration? How has forced migration impacted upon religious practices, values and political structures in the region? In which ways do Orthodox churches promote human security in relation to violence and ‘the other’? The book explores these questions by bringing together an international team of scholars to examine extensive material in the former Soviet states (Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Belarus), Southeastern Europe (Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania), Western Europe and the United States.