This volume is the result of the work of 15 researchers from four former communist countries (Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova) who approach the relationship between political power and the churches in Central and Eastern Europe during communism from an interdisciplinary perspective, exploring several directions: biographies (reconstructing the fate of the heroes of anti-communist resistance); institutions (analysing the mechanisms of repression); memorialisation (museum representations of communist repression); and cultural (cinematographic) representations of the communist past. Dragoș Ursu – PhD in History, with a thesis on political detention in Romania; post-doctoral researcher at the University of Alba Iulia; interested by the history of communist regimes, political repression, memory of anti-communist resistance, state-church relations in the 20th century.

Religious organizations in many countries of the communist world have served as agents for the preservation, defense, and reinforcement of nationalist feelings, and in playing this role have frequently been a source of frustration to the Communist Party elites. Although the relationship between governments and religious groups varies according to the particular country and group in question, the mosaic of these relationships constitutes a revealing picture of the political reform shaping the lives of Soviet and East European citizens.

Disgraceful collusion. Heroic resistance. Suppression of faith. Perseverance of convictions. The story of Christianity in twentieth-century Eastern Europe is often told in stark scenes of tragedy and triumph. Overlooked in the retelling of these dramas is how the region's clergy and lay believers lived their faith, acted within religious and political institutions, and adapted their traditions---while struggling to make sense of a changing world. The contributors to this volume, coming from the U.S. and Western and Eastern Europe, look beyond the narratives of resistance and collaboration. They offer surprising new evidence from archives and oral history interviews, and they provide fresh interpretations of Christianity as it was lived and expressed in modern Europe: from religiosity in the industrial cities of the late nineteenth century to current debates over immigration and European identity; from theological debates in East Germany to folk healing in post-socialist Bulgaria; and, counter-intuitively, from religious fervor among the Czechs to indifference among the Poles. Addressing Christianity in diverse forms---Orthodox, Protestant, Roman and Greek Catholic---as an integral part of the region's politics, society, and culture, this collection is a major addition to studies of both Eastern Europe and religion in the twentieth century. "A volume that specialists in the history of Christianity in other regions of the world will read with great interest, and a degree of envy. As an historian of religion in Western Europe, I can say that although there is a vast literature on the religious history of the nineteenth century and a growing literature on the twentieth century, there is nothing quite like this." From the Foreword by Hugh McLeod, author of The Religious Crisis of the 1960s. "This is a path-breaking book in two different ways. It contributes to the re-evaluation of the nature of modern European religion generally, and to the nature of religion in the modern world." Jeffrey Cox, University of Iowa, author of Imperial Fault Lines: Christianity and Colonial Power in India.

"Anyone trying to understand... the recent history of Eastern Europe (including the Soviet Union) will find this book... extremely useful.... a common sense view of theory and historical study.... a successful product that both enlightens and informs." --American Historical Review "... valuable reading." --Journal of the American Academy of Religion "... welcome and insightful... " --Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists "It is an important study that produces a fairly rich bounty of information about political-religious relationships, the tie between the church and state, and the influence of religious beliefs on society." --Slavic Reviww "... deserves intensive attention by scholars... " --Journal of Church and State "The book's strengths lie in its range, documentation, strongly analytical, and subtly nuanced treatment, consistent awareness of the complexity and dynamism of the various church-state relationships, and its generally judicious blend of theoretical and empirical aspects." --History "Cross and Commissar is a sober, richly documented analysis that is useful and fascinating. It is well written, researched, and organized and fills an unfortunate lacuna in the literature in the area of church-state relations." --The Annals of the American Academy "This monograph is a tour de force... " --Modern Greek Studies Yearbook Communist regimes take an active stance vis-à-vis religion, framing religious policies with an eye toward broader political objectives. Cross and Commissar provides the first systematic, comparative attempt at applying social-scientific theories to illuminate the nature of church-state interaction and the contemporary religious scene in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

Despite widespread persecution, Orthodox churches not only survived the Cold War period but levels of religiosity in Orthodox countries remained significant. This book examines the often surprising relations between Orthodox churches and political regimes. It provides a comprehensive overview of the dynamics between Eastern Christianity and politics from the end of the Second World War to the fall of communism, covering 40 Orthodox churches including diasporic churches in Africa, Asia, America and Australia. Based on research from recently-opened archives and publications in a wide range of European languages, it analyses church-state relations on both sides of the Iron Curtain. It discusses the following key themes: the relationship between Orthodox churches and political power; religious resistance to communism; the political control of churches; religion and propaganda; monasticism and theological publications; religious diplomacy within the Orthodox commonwealth; and religious contacts between East and West.

Coming at a time of enormous transformations in the one-time Communist bloc, this volume provides a much-needed perspective on the significance of church-state relations in the renaissance of civil society in the region. The essays collected here accentuate the peculiarly political character of Protestantism within Communist systems. With few identifiable leaders, a multiplicity of denominations, and a tendency away from hierarchical structures, the Protestant churches presents a remarkably diverse pattern of church-state relations. Consequently, the longtime coexistence of Protestantism and Communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union affords numerous examples of political accommodation and theological adaption that both reflect and foreshadow the dramatic changes of the 1990s. Based on extensive field research, including interviews with notable figures in the Protestant churches in the region, the essays in this volume address broad topics such as the church's involvment in environmentalism, pacifism, and other dissident movements, as well as issues particular to Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, (1949-1989), Hungary, Yugoslavia (1945-1991), Bulgaria, and Romania. The final volume in the three-volume work "Christianity Under Stress," Protestantism and Politics in Eastern Europe and Russia will prove invaluable to anyone hoping to understand not only the workings of religion under Communism, but the historical and contemporary interactions of church and state in general. Contributors. Paul Bock, Lawrence Klippenstein, Paul Mojzes, Earl A. Pope, Joseph Pungur, Sabrina Petra Ramet, Walter Sawatsky, N. Gerald Shenk, Gerd Stricker, Sape A. Zylstra