Russian Orthodox Church: History, Politics, and Revival

Introduction

The Russian Orthodox Church has been through many evolutions and challenges along the way to becoming more than a thousand years old. The Church originally emerged from a pagan society and was greatly influenced by existing Christian beliefs from neighboring regions. This paper reviews the changes that the Church has undergone — including the attacks on its beliefs, buildings, and monasteries by the Bolsheviks, who advanced the strict atheistic philosophy that communism promoted.

The Founding of the Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church is believed to be over a thousand years old. Author Alexander Negrov offers that as an approximate time frame, explaining that Christianity was first introduced to this "pagan Slavic nation" in the tenth century (Siebeck, 2008, p. 25). What helped bring Christianity to "Old Russia" was the fact that among her neighbors was the Byzantine Empire, Negrov explains. As a result of that proximity, SS. Cyril (Constantine) brought word of Christ to the south of Old Russia between 826 and 869. Another event that launched Christianity into Old Russia was the baptism of Princess Olga of Kiev in roughly 954 or 955 (Negrov, 25).

Negrov offers two of what he calls the "greatest events in the history of the Russian people": the baptism of Prince Vladimir I (c. 956–1015) and the "Baptism of Russia in 988" (25). These two pivotal events are credited with the launch of "Eastern Christendom in Russia," Negrov explains, and subsequent to those events, Russian Orthodoxy can be viewed as an "organic part of the universal church" (25).

As to the question of when the Holy Bible became available in Old Russia, Negrov writes that brothers Cyril and Methodius of Thessalonica translated the Bible into the Old Slavic language around 862–863 (26). Those initial translations were handwritten, Negrov continues, and it was not until the latter part of the sixteenth century that the printed Bible became available in Russia (26). There were notable men who spent considerable time reading and re-reading the Holy Scriptures, among them Iaroslav the Wise, known as the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 (Negrov, 27). It is said that Iaroslav read Scripture "continually day and night," and his practice made an impression on other scholars.

Moreover, the history of the Russian Orthodox Church that Negrov presents includes the fact that biblical studies and the spread of the word of God — initially intended to "impact the lives and morals of the Russian people" — were also used "for educational purposes" (30). The author asserts that Russian culture was positively impacted by Christianity and that Christianity in fact "shaped the very manner of thinking" (30).

Meanwhile, Genghis Khan's military forces took over Russia in 1220; Russia was therefore under Mongol (Tartar) authority from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, according to research by the University of Toronto. During that period, the Russian Orthodox Church held a "favored position" because it was granted immunity from taxation, and there was a "remarkable growth of monasticism" in that era. A very important religious center was established in the mid-fourteenth century — the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. In 1448, the Russian bishops of the Orthodox Church elected their own patriarch, a pivotal development because previously all decisions regarding bishops had to be approved by Constantinople. It meant that the Russian Orthodox Church was "thenceforth autocephalous" — that is, autonomous and independent of outside authority (University of Toronto, 2008).

Russian Orthodox Church Architecture

The architectural focus of all Orthodox churches is the altar, according to the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The altar is set apart from the rest of the church by an "icon screen," also known as the iconostasis. In the center of the altar — known as the "holy of holies" — there is a table from which the Eucharist is celebrated, and only those deemed spiritually gifted are allowed to enter the altar (OCA). Every Russian Orthodox Church has a nave, where worshipers gather and where choirs and chanters carry out their duties; in other Christian denominations the nave would typically be called the sanctuary. The third pivotal portion of a Russian Orthodox Church is the vestibule or narthex, which is where congregants enter the church (OCA). Typically, the Russian Orthodox narthex is larger and more dramatic than its counterpart in North American churches.

Outside, the archetypal Russian Orthodox Church features distinctive domes — sometimes one but often several — and the number of domes carries symbolic meaning. An Orthodox Church with five domes is thought to represent "Christ surrounded by the four evangelists" (OCA). An Orthodox Church with three domes is believed to represent the Holy Trinity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear from a close review of the events that led to the demise of the old Soviet Union that Gorbachev was the architect of the new way of life in Russia. An article in The New York Times (Keller, 1988) points out that Gorbachev met with the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church in April 1988 to begin the steps necessary to restore the Church's freedom to practice its beliefs. The meeting at St. Catherine's Palace was believed to be "the first publicized reception for religious leaders in the Kremlin in more than 40 years," Keller writes.

It is important to note that at the time of this meeting the Communist Party was still in existence, but Gorbachev was determined to demonstrate to the nation that he would not tolerate discrimination against any religion — and certainly not against the Russian Orthodox Church. At that time, approximately 40 million people out of a population of 280 million considered themselves Christian believers, and the majority of those believers were Russian Orthodox. The meeting between Gorbachev and Patriarch Pimen of the Russian Orthodox Church was broadcast on television; Gorbachev was smiling when he said, "Believers are Soviet people, workers, patriots, and they have the full right to express their conviction with dignity" (Keller).

There is a great deal to learn from the Russian Orthodox Church and its history. This paper has reviewed the origins of the Church, its growth, and the formidable struggles it endured in order to survive. Those events serve as examples of religious perseverance in the face of tyranny and political harassment — a lesson that applies universally to all who wish to be free from unjust policies and official indifference.