Missionary work is closely tied to the life of the early Church. In fact, it is the holy work of evangelizing the Gentiles that our Lord Jesus Christ began with his divine teaching and his sacrifice on the cross, and, in general, with his entire redemptive work. The apostles and disciples of Christ continued this holy missionary work, obeying his command on the day of his ascension into heaven: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen.” (Matt. 28:19-20)…
Section: State of Affairs
The Romanian Orthodox Church After Communism
Over the past three and a half decades, Europe has undergone profound change. The collapse of communism and subsequent democratization of Eastern Europe after 1989, along with integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), forced former communist countries to adapt rapidly. Romania, which joined NATO in 2004 and EU in 2007, underwent painful but ultimately successful reforms. Among domestic actors shaping this transformation, one of the more influential ones has been the Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC), which claims adherence from about 74% of the country’s population of 19 million, according to the 2021 population census…
The Church of Georgia in Process: A Case of Delayed Transition from the Soviet Era to Democracy Tamara Grdzelidze
Paradoxically, during the Soviet era, a time when compliance with the Soviet government was mandatory, churches exhibited a significant degree of resistance, if not outright opposition, to the Soviet regime….
Greek Orthodox and Greek Melkite Catholics in Antioch Today: Any New Perspective for Reconciliation?
Three centuries have passed since the fateful date of 1724 and the events that led to the split of the Greek Patriarchate of Antioch. Far from bringing the two Greek churches, Orthodox and Catholic, closer together, the commemoration in 2024, celebrated unilaterally on both sides, has only highlighted the gap that risks distancing and alienating them from one another…
Orthodoxy In Modern Times: Serbian Orthodox Church
From nearly every hill in Belgrade, the monumental Cathedral of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, dominates the horizon. Its history reflects, in many ways, the evolving relationship between the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) and the state, as well as the Church’s place within society. The idea for the Cathedral on Vračar Hill first emerged after the Berlin Congress in 1878, when Serbia gained independence, as the pursuit of national sovereignty was inseparable from the quest for religious autonomy, fusing the two identities into a single bond….
United States Army Chaplaincy: A Model for Interfaith Work
I entered the United States Chaplaincy in the summer of 1990, a time that I thought was relatively peaceful and stable. It had been almost one year since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and one year before the demise of the Soviet Union. Little did I know that my next twenty-five years of service would begin with the invasion of Kuwait and end with the Iraqi war. Twenty-five years of an army at war in places that most Americans did not even know, such as Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, to name a few…
“Peace Unto All”—When Peace Becomes Controversial
“Peace Unto All” (www.mir-vsem.info) was established in Germany in October 2023, when it became clear that the persecution of anti-war priests in Russia had become systematic. At the time, around ten priests were sanctioned for refusing to recite the prayer for the “Victory of Holy Rus” and for publicly opposing the so-called “holy war.” The founders, Father Valerian Dunin-Barkovsky, journalist Svetlana Neplikh-Thomas, musician Pavel Fahritdinov, and this writer, recognized the need for action…
Russkii Mir, the Romanian Legionnaire Movement, and Religious Fascism
This article examines two important religiously based movements within Orthodoxy in terms of their relationship to fascism: the Legion of the Archangel Michael (better known as the Iron Guard), which flourished in Romania between 1927 and 1944; and the ideology of Russkii mir (the Russian world), the official policy of the Russian State and the[…..]
Who Are We, or How Do We Live? The Question of Orthodox Christian Identity in the Marketplace
Identity is defined as “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is; a close similarity or affinity; and in mathematics, a transformation that leaves an object unchanged.” (Oxford Dictionary) How do these definitions help us understand Orthodox Christian tradition and the question of identity? In particular, how can an authentic Orthodox[…..]
Picking a Side: American Civic Religion and Orthodox Christianity
To believe that there will ever be a singular American Orthodox Church is, in light of the past half century’s worth of evidence, the same as believing that you will one day receive a letter from Hogwarts: A fun and childish fantasy that comes from reading comforting fiction. Moreover, Eastern Orthodox Christianity will never be[…..]
Toward an Orthodox Ethos of Freedom
“We call upon all clergy, theologians, teachers, and lay persons within the Orthodox Church in America never to contradict these teachings by preaching or teaching against the Church’s clear moral position; by publishing books, magazines, and articles which do the same; or producing or publishing similar content online. . . .”
Concord and Discord in Search for Harmony
Throughout history, the Church has seen many contentious issues pose challenges to her structure and teachings. In the process of discernment that naturally followed every such disruption, the Church wisely listened to and considered the multiplicity of voices within the choir of Orthodoxy. Some of these voices were in discord with the initial stance of[…..]
Opportunities and Threats
Much of the language one hears online from Orthodox Christians in reaction to our present age conveys danger, threat, fear, and enemies, and a need to be watchful, on guard, militant, and even aggressive in defense of the faith. In this view of the Church, our mission is to defend the truth of Orthodoxy (apologetics),[…..]
Narcissus, Echo, and the Sacred Value of Academic Freedom
In highlighting features of narcissistic relationships, the myth of Narcissus and Echo can help us appreciate the importance of academic freedom for the health of the Church. Stories often give us a glimpse of our own lives from outside our usual, egocentric frame of reference. An example of this is found in 2 Samuel chapter[…..]
The Silent Cruelty of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
In our time of deep divisions in American cultural life, and as the church attempts to make sense of dramatic social transformation in a fast-changing world, ecclesial leaders have often fallen back on statements reaffirming traditional teachings as a soft means of underscoring the enduring traits of church belief and common life. Nowhere is this[…..]
Nones and Dones: America’s Changing Face(s) and Why People Don’t Go to Church
Monastic Martyria or Witness in the Internet Age
The advent of the Internet, along with mobile devices that ensure our 24/7 connection with it, has changed us and continues to change us. And by “us” I mean not only all of humanity in general, but more specifically the smaller “us” that are church communities. While “we,” as the broader globalized society of today,[…..]
Academic Freedom
This article considers academic freedom—understood as a scholar’s freedom of conscience to pursue research without interference or retribution— and its application within the Church as a freedom to think, ask questions, speak, do research, and propose new ideas that address contemporary culture. After cataloging some of the challenges to academic freedom, the article looks at[…..]
For the Life of the World: Conscience and Discernment
For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church is a social doctrine statement prepared by a commission of Orthodox scholars appointed by His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and chaired by Archdeacon John Chryssavgis. The team of scholars who collaborated on the document included David Bentley Hart,[…..]
Conscience and War: Saying Yes, Saying No
Terrence Malick’s new film, A Hidden Life, is closely based on the life of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who was beheaded in Berlin in 1943 for refusing to make an oath of allegiance to Hitler or serve in the armies of the Third Reich. For Jägerstätter, his conscience became his cross.
Between the Agora and the Catacombs: Orthodox Faith and Culture in the Twenty-First Century
We stand at a major threshold. For the first time in our history, most of the population has virtually unlimited access to education and culture. Innumerable sources of information and communication are now available. Never before has the great treasure trove of Christian art and thought been so accessible.
Obergefell v. Hodges: Questions for Orthodox Christians
On June 26, 2015, the nine justices of the Supreme Court of the United States issued a slim-majority decision that is profoundly reshaping American law and society. In a vote of 5 to 4, the court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage is a legally protected right throughout the United States. This brief[…..]
No One Is Good: The Liturgical Root of Christian Anthropology
Christian anthropology cannot arise out of a theoretical intellectual vacuum. It is rooted in the one, true anthrōpos, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of God; in him and in his relation to the world and to God. True to him, his ecclesial body, the Church, is commissioned to manifest that anthropology to[…..]
Kings and Canons: Regalism and Orthodox Canon Law
The common Orthodox canonical tradition essentially represents the church law of the Byzantine Empire. This becomes evident when comparing the pre-Constantinian and post-Constantinian canonical orders. Before Emperor Constantine, the canonical order was primarily based on biblical exegesis, charismatic decision-making, customs, the advice of prominent bishops, advisory opinions of local synods, and pseudepigraphic church orders attributed[…..]
“Defender of Faith”: Christian Monarchy and Religious Pluralism
Establish a national church led by your head of state and call this individual “Defender of the Faith”: to some contemporary ears this might sound like a recipe for a coercive, farright form of Christian nationalism. When King Charles III was crowned in Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023, in the first explicitly Christian coronation[…..]
Gnosticism and the Theological Limits of Gender Theory
The incarnation is by far the most shocking aspect of Christianity. The resurrection of a god is not an unusual feature of mythic traditions around the world: Osiris, Baldr, Quetzalcoatl, and Dionysus all came back from the dead. But the idea that a god, let alone the God, would take on a mortal body and[…..]
Orienting Deification: Queer Bodies and the Manifold Works of God
Contemporary Eastern Orthodox discussion of sexuality and embodiment generally assumes a static, binary gendered essentialism. Opponents of female ordination, same-sex relationships, and the legitimacy of transgender persons generally define appropriate roles and relationships according to binary essentialism.
Propaganda, Truth, and the War
Putinism and the Culture Wars of the West
Putinism as the New Fascism
What Is Church?
ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate: Past, Present, and Future
Facing Our History of Complacency about War
Rape as an Instrument of Genocide: War Crimes Deconstructed
Unholy Marriage: Symphonia Gone Wrong
The Gloaming of Christendom
Around the beginning of the twentieth century, historians started to consider that they had gotten the Middle Ages all wrong. The glimmering light of antiquity had not been extinguished in a moment, like a snuffedout candle.
“Preserve the Fullness of Thy Church”: Fighting Fundamentalism, Defending Dialogue, and Reclaiming Catholicity
The Church in Times of Crisis: A Refuge or a Driver for Change?
Outside the Bishops’ Omniscience, There Is No Freedom! The Romanian Orthodox Church in the Age of Autocracy
“How to Expand the Mission”
Though it was originally written as a reflection for the OCA’s upcoming All-American Council in July of 2015, I believe what follows applies to all Orthodox Christians in North America. The theme of mission and evangelization permeates our ecclesial atmosphere.
They Never Met… Church and Civil Society in Present-Day Russia
I have to begin by admitting that this is a difficult topic for me. The recent history of Russia fills me with sadness and bitterness, and by history I mean the course of political, social, and religious life. At the same time, though, this is a chance to look directly and honestly at what has[…..]
Orthodoxy and Public Discourse
Recently the Orthodox world has been abuzz with excitement in anticipation of the upcoming Holy and Great Pan-Orthodox Council. While the announcement of such a landmark event may justify some enthusiasm among our faith’s adherents, given Orthodoxy’s characteristic resistance to the idea of change and growth and the Church’s habitual tendency to withdraw from historical[…..]
Xenia Loutchenko (interviewed by Christopher Stroop), Religion and Politics in Russia: An Insider’s View
Xenia Loutchenko interviewed by Christopher Stroop
The Problem of Fear: A Reflection on the Words of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
In June of 2000 Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh gave a long interview in London, part of which was published several days later by the Parisian Russian language newspaper Russkaya Mysl. In that interview, Vladyka Anthony pondered the atmosphere of internal fear which was beginning to permeate the Orthodox Church.
Orthodox Fundamentalism: From Religion to Politics
In this paper, I want to explore the phenomenon of fundamentalism, which has become an inalienable part of contemporary religious discourse. First, I want to chart the origins of the fundamentalist movement in antimodernist Protestantism and its parallels in the Roman Catholic sphere, and to look at its development in the later twentieth century. In[…..]
Address to the Holy and Great Council
Your All-Holiness, holy brothers,I do not think it to be a disadvantage that I, in speaking after many brothers, am constrained to repeat many things that have already been said. The event we are experiencing is an extraordinary and very great one, and for this reason, while stressing its significance and expressing our joy, we[…..]
“To Coin New Names”: the Imperative of Reform and the Danger of Marginalization
As is known, the Orthodox Church defines itself as the church that preserves the fullness of faith and truth, deeming Christian catholicity and universality as its own characteristics. The Church’s tradition is presented by contemporary Orthodox theologians—such as Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon, Nikos Nisiotis, and Vladimir Lossky—as what is new, what is novel in[…..]
The Firmament of Grace: Hospitality in Interfaith Dialogue
My work as a prison chaplain in a secular, pluralistic institution frequently throws social questions into sharper relief. For example, I have a mandate to maintain the institutional chapel not just as a “faith-neutral space” but as a sacred precinct that is hospitable to those of all faiths and of none. This understanding reflects a[…..]
Ethnophyletism, Phyletism, and the Pan-Orthodox Council
The Pan-Orthodox Council held in Crete in June 2016 established its succession to the Council held in Constantinople in 1872. Both councils dealt with the topic of nationalism, which the majority of scholars agree is a modern phenomenon: nationalism, and even national identity, constitute an intrinsic feature of modernity. Yet each of the two councils[…..]
“Thicket of Idols”: Alexander Schmemann’s Critique of Orthodoxy
Father Alexander Schmemann died in 1983, long before the resurgence of the Orthodox Churches in Eastern Europe could be realistically imagined, with what this might mean for the emergence of a powerful Orthodox voice worldwide. Today, global Orthodoxy is more free than it has been in centuries and—despite continuing divisions—has the ability to start coming[…..]
The Orthodox Fraternity
The Orthodox Fraternity in Western Europe was born and took form in a specific historical context: the arrival in Western Europe of immigrants from several Orthodox countries. There were the Greeks and Russians first, then Serbs, Romanians, and Lebanese. The settlement of these Orthodox Christians in Western Europe resulted in the juxtaposition of several jurisdictions,[…..]
Orthodox and White?
On March 15, 2019, Brenton Tarrant, a self-proclaimed white supremacist from Australia, shot up two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing fifty men, women, and children at prayer. The 76-page manifesto he published online prior to the attack contains some of the predictable code terms that litter white supremacist and nationalist literature, websites, and social[…..]
The Orthodox Church in Dialogue with Judaism: Toward an Official Document?
An official document of understanding between two communities necessarily begins with an encounter, and so it must be for the Orthodox Christians and the Jews. Spurred by the tragedies of the Second World War, many in the Christian community have recognized the importance of such an encounter, not only for the healing of God’s people,[…..]
Praying to an Absent God: A Comparative Critique of Religious Nationalism
The modern emergence of nationalism is often interpreted as evidence of the modern decline of religion. Nationalism can be understood as the defining of a political community in terms of a single territory or ethnic group, and as ruled by a single state that predicates itself on the legitimacy and consent of its nation. What[…..]
Regime of Timelessness: On the Centennial Meeting of Osip and Nadezhda Mandelstam
Historian Timothy Snyder recently posed a question: Which key lessons from twentieth-century resistance to tyranny will be most useful in the near future? To understand the experience of resisting terror and overcoming fear, we should not only read Hannah Arendt, but also Nadezhda Mandelstam
The Russian Exarchate: A Eulogy
1,092 miles separate Constantinople and Moscow. The only two cities on earth ever to have served as capitals of Orthodox Christian empires are today the seats of the two most important, powerful, and (perhaps most significantly, in this image-driven age) visible Orthodox hierarchs: Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and[…..]
Ukraine and Problems of Primacy and Autocephaly
In 2019, two events manifested the institutional crisis in the global Orthodox Church: the liquidation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of the Russian Tradition in Western Europe and the controversial creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) as a new autocephalous church. The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate were the[…..]
Learning to Hate the Church?
In a lecture in 1947, the very influential pediatrician and psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott shocked a lot of people by openly acknowledging that parents and children sometimes hate each other, and that this is not only perfectly normal, but a necessary achievement for healthy development among children.
Life and Death in the Time of Covid-19
The world has reached an unusual moment in history: a single disease has made a deep and lasting impression on the population of the entire planet. The sickness and death may last a long time. The consequences of the shutdown necessary to control the burden of the pandemic on medical infrastructure have left joblessness, poverty,[…..]
The Communion Spoon as Icon
One of the “icons” of the Byzantine Divine Liturgy that is receiving a lot of press in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is the communion spoon. In what follows I will first explore what is meant by “icon” in Byzantine theology, why it is that the sacramental life of the Church operates through sacred[…..]
Historical Revisionism and Contemporary Iconoclasm: A Secular Problem?
The cruel murder of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and systemic racism have added fuel to ongoing culture wars, debates on social justice, and calls for a wide-ranging revision of the historic and cultural landscape. How does this wide-ranging social upheaval correlate to the history and contemporary self-understanding[…..]