For the great majority of Orthodox Russians who found themselves in exile after the Bolshevik Revolution, but remained committed to the life of the church, the Moscow Council of 1917–18 appeared as a heavenly gift granted to the Church in Russia before a long time of tribulation. And so it surely was. But this council was not a gift only to the Church of Russia and those churches subject to it at the time: it was relevant for the whole Church, although it was, strictly speaking, a regional council.