For those of us interested in the various Orthodox Churches, this volume is a real blessing. Densely packed with information, it provides a road map for understanding the course of the national expressions of the Eastern Orthodox family of churches. Each chapter describes the circumstances of the Orthodox Church in a country or geographical area.
The political entanglements that made the past century a difficult one for the Orthodox churches are well documented in this volume, which gives the impression one is reading a political, rather than religious, history. Because of the penetration of the Orthodox faith in culture, a close relationship exists between church and state. In countries where a majority of the population is Orthodox, national identity became linked with religious identity. An Title (Frequency) Telephone/Fax Percentage of Email; Website Political/Economic/ Social Coverage Romania (continued) The Diplomat (M) +40-21-2101-336/ 45/45/10
In a lively introduction, Kallistos Ware discusses the troubled history of the 20th century. Citing Vladimir Lossky, “the only true Tradition is living and creative, formed by the union of human freedom with the grace of the Holy Spirit,” Ware asks what the open doors are before the Orthodox Church. He points out that all Orthodox churches faced radical changes from the beginning to the close of the century. The political climate remained the same in none of the countries surveyed. In Russia, it went from tsarist favor to clamor for church reform to the Bolshevik revolution to the current post-communist regime. These dramatic changes produced incredible tensions within the church. I was surprised that the chapter on Russia included no mention of Father Alexander Men or other pre-glasnost era priests who defied authorities, but these are forgivable omissions given the history that needed to be covered.
Those acquainted with contemporary Orthodox history will not be surprised to find familiar themes: the status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey, the increased pressure of secularization, and the lack of inter-Orthodox unity in the area of church administration and jurisdiction. Those not familiar with this latter Orthodox problem may be surprised to see that the main areas of contention are not doctrinal but interchurch conflicts. This tension is repeated in almost every chapter with national churches struggling for autocephaly (the right to select their own primate). Also repeated are difficulties with political rulers and the struggle for ecclesiastical independence.
Because this one-volume collection is an unparalleled resource and has information not easily available elsewhere, I suspect it will be used as a reference in many scholarly publications. In particular, the individual bibliographies are a treasure of primary source materials, albeit in various national languages. The work would have been helped by maps, as the authors assume a thorough geographical knowledge of each country. While an atlas would be a useful companion, the real problem lies in the changing borders that have plagued these churches over the centuries. In the 20th century, the dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires after World War I and the domination and then collapse of the USSR have rewritten borders. An index would also be helpful. These are minor points of criticism, however, easily overcome by serious scholars who will find this volume invaluable in tracing the history of particular churches.
James Stamoolis is a consultant to educational and missionary organizations and author of Eastern Orthodox Mission Theology Today