Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New Opportunities

COVID-19 pandemic that reached Russia in March 2020, affected Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in a negative way. Following the recommendations about the closure of the churches in Russia in late March 2020, ROC confronted serious challenges. This article problematizes position of ROC that faced a dile...

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Main Author: Viktoriia Demydova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi 2022-01-01
Series:Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi
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Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2043995
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author Viktoriia Demydova
author_facet Viktoriia Demydova
author_sort Viktoriia Demydova
collection DOAJ
description COVID-19 pandemic that reached Russia in March 2020, affected Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in a negative way. Following the recommendations about the closure of the churches in Russia in late March 2020, ROC confronted serious challenges. This article problematizes position of ROC that faced a dilemma whether to close churches and put some of them onto the brink of poverty, or to perform religion’s main function and support citizens morally and spiritually. This article seeks to answer the question about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Russian Orthodox Church. It is argued that ROC has been affected by pandemic to a significant extent. First, ROC faced troubles in its relations with the government. Till the last minute, churchmen were resisting decision of the authorities to close the churches. Second, COVID-19 pandemic posed a threat to the position of ROC in Russian society: flock had distanced from the Church due to the isolation measures adopted. Third, financial contributions of the citizens have deteriorated that has led to the financial crisis within the Church. Fourth, split between different groups of clergy has deepen during the pandemic. Finally, pandemic caused not only new challenges, but also new opportunities for ROC. Thus, there is a chance to launch online services to avoid gap between flock and the Church. Second, the Church has the chance to redefine its ideology and worldview to address new issues of the post-COVID world. Author concentrates on the period between March 2020 and October 2021 and embraces qualitative methodology.
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spelling doaj-art-dbbfab80e4334df7b2b37dcb10b198fd2025-02-02T14:34:01ZengSivas Cumhuriyet ÜniversitesiCumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi1303-12792022-01-0123136238410.37880/cumuiibf.10141312057Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New OpportunitiesViktoriia Demydova0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5447-1033İSTANBUL GELİŞİM ÜNİVERSİTESİCOVID-19 pandemic that reached Russia in March 2020, affected Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in a negative way. Following the recommendations about the closure of the churches in Russia in late March 2020, ROC confronted serious challenges. This article problematizes position of ROC that faced a dilemma whether to close churches and put some of them onto the brink of poverty, or to perform religion’s main function and support citizens morally and spiritually. This article seeks to answer the question about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Russian Orthodox Church. It is argued that ROC has been affected by pandemic to a significant extent. First, ROC faced troubles in its relations with the government. Till the last minute, churchmen were resisting decision of the authorities to close the churches. Second, COVID-19 pandemic posed a threat to the position of ROC in Russian society: flock had distanced from the Church due to the isolation measures adopted. Third, financial contributions of the citizens have deteriorated that has led to the financial crisis within the Church. Fourth, split between different groups of clergy has deepen during the pandemic. Finally, pandemic caused not only new challenges, but also new opportunities for ROC. Thus, there is a chance to launch online services to avoid gap between flock and the Church. Second, the Church has the chance to redefine its ideology and worldview to address new issues of the post-COVID world. Author concentrates on the period between March 2020 and October 2021 and embraces qualitative methodology.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2043995covid-19moscow patriarchateorthodox churchpandemicrussia.covid-19moskova patrikhanesiortodoks kilisesipandemirusya.
spellingShingle Viktoriia Demydova
Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New Opportunities
Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi
covid-19
moscow patriarchate
orthodox church
pandemic
russia.
covid-19
moskova patrikhanesi
ortodoks kilisesi
pandemi
rusya.
title Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New Opportunities
title_full Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New Opportunities
title_fullStr Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New Opportunities
title_full_unstemmed Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New Opportunities
title_short Russian Orthodox Church and Covid-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and New Opportunities
title_sort russian orthodox church and covid 19 pandemic new challenges and new opportunities
topic covid-19
moscow patriarchate
orthodox church
pandemic
russia.
covid-19
moskova patrikhanesi
ortodoks kilisesi
pandemi
rusya.
url https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2043995
work_keys_str_mv AT viktoriiademydova russianorthodoxchurchandcovid19pandemicnewchallengesandnewopportunities