Kazarian, Nicolas
RELIGION AND CHURCH IN RUSSIA AND WORLDWIDE
(2016) “The Pan-Orthodox Council: Shaping New Orthodox Geopolitics”, Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkov' v Rossii i za rubezhom 34(1): 102-126.
The Orthodox Church is a complex geopolitical reality, and it does not
constitute a homogenous block. On the contrary, the rise of irredentism
during the 19th century has created the basis for constant territorial
fragmentation throughout the 20th century. Surprisingly, the worldwide
Orthodox population continues to increase. The convergence of these two
phenomena is a starting point for a reinvestigation of Orthodox power in
international affairs, as well as a profound strategic change affecting
the communion of the fourteen local Orthodox Churches. This article
examines how Orthodoxy, through the process of convening a Holy and
Great Council, has responded to geopolitics by developing new approaches
and new Orthodoxy identities; how the territorial changes affected
their strategies in the Diaspora; what was their role in new
international conflicts. The first part of the article deals with an
epistemological approach to place Orthodoxy in the context of
geopolitical studies, while the second part highlights the persistence
of a bipolar paradigm opposing the Patriarchates of Constantinople and
Moscow. Finally, the paper considers geopolitical challenges for
Orthodoxy created by today’s politico-religious crisis in Syria.