‘My Strength Is Made Perfect in Weakness’ : Russian Orthodoxy and Forced Displacement

Abstract

This chapter analyses the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the context of forced displacement in Russia. The author has used historical and sociological methods and material to observe the trends of migration and waves of forced displaced people from the Soviet period till the 2000s. It analyses the state of church-state relations in Russia, the role of religion in civil society, the specifics of religious belonging, and the historical perspective and social activity of the Orthodox Church. The author concludes that the support of forcibly displaced people by the Russian Orthodox Church became effective in the context of the transformation of the Church itself, and under the conditions of religious diversity and competition with other Christian confessions in Russia.