Orthodoxy in the EU

Orthodoxy is one of the most important issues within the REVACERN project because of several reasons. Being the least studied Christian denomination by social sciences, it will make an attempt to answer to many open questions concerning the methodology of its research. The second reason is linked with the Cold War isolation of most Orthodox countries, which contemporary church history and religious development remain still unexplored. On the one hand, this means to bring new unknown data and empirical knowledge to the world-wide academic community. On the other, it will contribute with some theoretical insights to the study of Orthodoxy. Another important condition for its study is the opening of many archives that have been kept in secret under communism. In addition to the documentary sources researchers can make sociological and anthropological interviews with active participants and witnesses of the processes in the lives of the Orthodox churches in that period. The intense dynamics of the Orthodox Church’s life and the growing role of the Orthodox countries in the European Union and in the world as a whole is another reason for such research on Orthodox Christianity in its various dimensions – social, cultural, institutional, political, etc.

Until recently the studies on Orthodoxy were focused mostly on its theological aspects as if this denomination exists out of a real living society. Therefore, the papers in this subarea cover a wide range of issues in an attempt to lay grounds for the further academic interdisciplinary study of Orthodoxy. It raises many questions about contemporary Orthodoxy, but the major one is: What is the role of Orthodoxy and its churches in contemporary society at national and global levels?  

The proposed papers cover almost all European countries, but the emphasis is on the former communist states where Orthodoxy is traditionally the religion of the majority of population, i.e. Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Macedonia. They are focused on three groups of problems: Orthodoxy and society, the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the state, Orthodox churches in international affairs.