The
paper explores the relationship between Orthodoxy and nationalism in
the Russian Orthodox tradition. It employs the term “Orthodoxy” when
referring to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in general, while using
“Russian Orthodoxy” to signify the historically constructed
specificities of Christianity in the Russian lands. On its turn,
nationalism is approached as a modern phenomenon that does not simply
reflect a national identity, but becomes an ideology that by equating
“nation” with “state” has the potential to bring mass political
mobilization on historical and cultural grounds. The paper presents a
critical analysis of the wide spread view that Orthodoxy has been
genetically connected with nationalism, which in the Russian case is
claimed to has existed since the baptism of Kievan Rus’. Therefore, the
author’s aim was to specify the temporary limits of the marriage between
nationalism and Orthodoxy in Russian Orthodoxy and to trace its
evolution and major concepts. This is done through an analysis of those
features of Russian Orthodoxy that are blamed for the development of
specific expansionist nationalism: the language of liturgy and Cyrillic
alphabet; the model of church-state relations, often defined as
caesaropapism; and the Russian Orthodox Church itself. The paper gives a
central place to this Church as a key factor in the symbiosis of
Orthodoxy and nationalism in Russia.
Panorthodox Synod, An International Forum for Theological Reflection and Discussion on the Holy and Great Council and Ecumenical Dialogue