A comprehensive analysis of the dominant trends shaping the contemporary religious situation in the Republic of Moldova, with particular attention to the geopolitical foundations and ramifications of the activities of religious hierarchs. The author examines the state of Orthodoxy in Moldova, to which the overwhelming majority of the country’s citizens belong. Particular attention is paid to its division between two alternative jurisdictional identities: one within the Romanian Orthodox Church and the other within the Russian Orthodox Church. The article draws on a substantial body of relevant statistical, sociological, and factual evidence. The author subjects a wide range of recent ecclesiastical documents, statements by religious leaders, and declarations issued by national and intergovernmental authorities to scholarly analysis. The study acquires particular semantic density through its reflection on the role of the Orthodox Church of Moldova and its leaders in the ideological support for Russia’s war against Ukraine provided by the Russian Orthodox Church. The research is interdisciplinary, combining a religious studies perspective with historical, sociological, political-science, and axiological approaches.
Following the victory of the communist regime in 1944, the new Albanian state built its institutions on a materialist worldview that stood in direct opposition to the universal principles of freedom of conscience and religious belief. The state progressively restricted religious practice until it banned it altogether. This anti-religious campaign proceeded along two tracks: anti-religious political propaganda and the adoption of legal acts prohibiting the practice of religion. A 1967 decree-law banned religious belief outright, and the 1976 Constitution declared Albania the first atheist state in the world. This paper is based on an analysis of legal acts, scholarly literature, archival documents, and contemporary testimony. Through these measures the regime banned religious belief and confiscated the property of religious communities, while subjecting clergy to harsh punitive measures: internment, imprisonment, torture, and execution. The study rests on comparative, historical, and normative methods. The ban on religion sought to replace God with the figures of communism, in the service of a world communist revolution. The results show that religious belief was not an obstacle to the development of communist society; the principal obstacle was the state-controlled economy.
This paper examines the geopolitical and societal effects of the 2026 patriarchal succession within the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), by analyzing how the recent election of Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III on May 11, 2026, impacts Georgia’s European Union integration efforts. The GOC is seen as the foundation of Georgian national identity and state legitimacy, also deeply rooted in the legacy of the late Patriarch Ilia II. The enthronement of the new Patriarch Shio III may reinforce the anti-Western narratives deployed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has actively delayed Georgia’s EU accession through illiberal policies such as the "Foreign Agents Law." By combining sociological theories of ethno-religious nationalism with contemporary media analysis, this article explores the evolving church-state relations in Georgia. It argues that Shio III’s leadership could complicate Georgia’s EU integration process. The article concludes that by mobilizing traditionalist rhetoric against European secularism to protect Georgian identity, the new patriarchal regime could provoke a domestic paradox–advancing pro-Russian narratives, creating internal fragmentation inside the Church, and pushing away its pro-European, modernist believers.
This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the methods employed by Muslim peoples in the former Soviet Union to preserve their traditional, spiritual, and religious identity under the systemic anti-religious policies, ideological pressures, and repressive measures of the Soviet totalitarian regime. Despite the Soviet authorities' efforts to rapidly secularize society and reshape public consciousness through scientific atheism, the enduring commitment of Muslim communities to their traditional values is clearly demonstrated. The study examines the closure of mosques, the restriction of religious rituals, and the severe obstacles encountered in performing daily worship. Furthermore, it thoroughly explores the role of Sufi brotherhoods as an informal spiritual stronghold. The dialectical relationship between the compromise-oriented policies of official religious directorates on the one hand, and the activities of "parallel mullahs" among the populace on the other, is illustrated. The research findings prove that the Islamic factor during the Soviet era served not merely as a religious belief, but as a primary mechanism for preserving ethnic and national identity.
Based on an analysis of research from sociological centers and institutes consistently operating in Ukraine, the authors present a comprehensive overview of the main trends occurring within the realm of state-church and inter-church relations. Specifically, the article addresses the trends in the self-identification of Orthodox believers in Ukraine, the dynamics of which sociologists have tracked since the beginning of the twenty-first century, as well as the changes unfolding in inter-Orthodox relations following the 2022 full-scale invasion. Crucial to this analysis is the highlighted inconsistency of state institutions in implementing the new law, Про захист конституційного ладу у сфері діяльності релігійних організацій [On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations] (2024). Among other developmental trends in state-church relations, the authors identify: significant shifts in inter-Orthodox relations, particularly the distancing of the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) from Russian propaganda clichés; the struggle of churches to elevate their authority within Ukrainian society; the persistent idea among both civil servants and public activists regarding the creation of a “state church”; the dominance of social identity among Ukrainians alongside a low level of religious identity; a growing societal demand for the digitalization of religious organizations and the rising popularity of online ministry; a gradual shift in public opinion regarding the root causes of inter-church conflicts; a rising public demand for the national orientation of churches; and an increase in public life events and state institutional functions to which representatives of religious organizations are invited. The analysis leads to the conclusion that public opinion is being primed for a shift in the model of state-church relations in Ukraine - moving away from the Soviet-inherited paradigm of the «separation of church (religious organizations) from the state, and school from the church (religious organizations)» toward a model of «partnership relations between the state and the church (religious organizations)».
The paper examines the impact of religion on a country’s economic development, analyzing how religious values and institutions influence economic behavior. The research employs a qualitative, comparative, and historical approach based on the systematic analysis of primary and secondary sources. Religion can promote economic growth by strengthening work ethics, education, and social order. Still, it may also hinder development through inefficient resource allocation and regulatory influence. In the context of the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Georgia, the study highlights the relationship between Orthodox teaching and economic thought. Drawing on the epistles and sermons of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II (1933–2026), the article identifies primary socio-economic challenges: unemployment, low living standards, migration, agricultural development, small business support, demographic challenges, healthcare improvement, globalization, and reducing dependence on imports, among others. The findings suggest that Ilia II’s views constitute an important component of Georgian socio-economic thought and may provide a value-based perspective for addressing contemporary socio-economic challenges and promoting sustainable development.
On June 11, 2026, the Volyn Orthodox Theological Academy (Lutsk, Ukraine) hosted the international theological conference “Transfiguration: Tradition and Eschatology”, bringing together scholars, clergy, philosophers, chaplains, psychologists, and researchers from several countries. This report examines the conference’s principal theological and interdisciplinary themes, including deification, eschatology, ecclesiology, ecological responsibility, pastoral care, military and medical chaplaincy, digital technologies, and the Church’s response to war and post-war reconstruction.
This article examines the relationship between religious identity, language, and educational experience in the context of the Russian Empire’s educational and Orthodox missionary policies in the Kazakh Steppe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The primary objective of the study is to analyze the spiritual-cognitive resilience of traditional Islamic educational institutions in response to the policy of Orthodoxization and Russification implemented by the tsarist administration through the system of Nikolai Ilminsky. The author examines the phenomenon of colonial diglossia which emerged during this period, wherein Russian-Christian texts were increasingly elevated as the administrative "High-variant," while the Kazakh-Turkic identity, rooted in Islamic values, was positioned as the "Low-variant." The article argues that the methodology of instruction using the Arabic script in traditional qadim schools contributed to the formation of a resilient cognitive framework that helped preserve Islamic religious identity in the face of Orthodox missionary efforts. Furthermore, it illustrates how the early generation of Kazakh intellectuals (the Alash elite), who emerged amidst this dual systemic pressure, negotiated the constraints of colonial diglossia to develop a bilingualism that combined Western analytical tools with an Islamic-national identity. This research is situated at the intersection of the sociology of religion, postcolonial studies, and psycholinguistics.
Right now my region, like much of the world, is living through upheavals that reach both nature and politics at their foundations. When I look around and take the political crises seriously — the mass protests in Serbia, the long erosion of checks and balances in Hungary, the bitter fight over the courts and the rule of law in Poland — one question keeps surfacing: are we witnessing genuinely fundamental change, or only a reshuffling on the surface of power? That question is exactly what makes the problem of core values so urgent, and so current.
The article examines foreign assistance to Pentecostal communities in the Ukrainian SSR and the mechanisms of its criminalization by Soviet state security agencies in 1932–1935. Drawing on GPU–NKVD criminal investigation files, secret police reports, party-state documentation, personal correspondence, and memoir sources, the study reconstructs transnational channels of humanitarian support, practices of resource distribution, and the transformation of survival strategies into objects of political repression. Particular attention is devoted to two distinct models of foreign assistance. The Odessa case demonstrates a centralized system connected to the former leadership of the All-Ukrainian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith and transnational Pentecostal networks associated with the Assemblies of God. In contrast, the Pyatikhatki case reveals a decentralized model based on personal ties between Nikolai Dobrogorskii and the German Protestant philanthropist Ernst Brockhaus. The article argues that these models represented different forms of the “moral economy” of humanitarian aid, shaping both the effectiveness of resource distribution and the level of solidarity within religious communities. The study also analyzes the role of the Torgsin system as a mechanism through which foreign currency was converted into food and essential goods under famine conditions. It demonstrates that access to humanitarian resources generated new social hierarchies, inequalities, and conflicts inside Pentecostal communities, while Soviet authorities increasingly interpreted foreign correspondence and financial transfers as evidence of “counterrevolutionary” and “fascist” activity. The article concludes that the criminalization of foreign aid reflected a broader Stalinist strategy aimed not only at suppressing political opposition, but also at destroying autonomous forms of religious and social solidarity that connected Soviet citizens with the outside world.
A review of Oleksandr Geychenko, Roman Soloviy, and Yevgeny Ustinovich, eds. Beatitudes and Terror: A Ukrainian Theological Response to Russian Aggression. Trans. from Ukrainian by Mykola Leliovskyi. Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library, 2025. Pp. 240. £17.99 (paperback). ISBN: 978-1-78641-191-4.
The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of Caritas charitable organizations in Ukraine, which are affiliated with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Caritas Ukraine) and the Roman Catholic Church (Caritas-Spes Ukraine), in the realities of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Particular attention is focused on considering how the fundamental ideas of Christian love, mercy, common good, and solidarity are embodied in the various practices of humanitarian, spiritual, and other support that these institutions provide to different categories of the population of Ukraine, especially those who have suffered from the destructive consequences of the war. Types of such support include, in particular, the provision of financial assistance, social protection, psycho-social support, food security, provision of housing, creation of opportunities for education, and receiving services from health care institutions, restoration of livelihoods, community development, and volunteering.
This article examines the evolution of the Russian Empire’s educational policies toward Islamic schools in the Kazakh Steppe from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1917 Revolution. While the early imperial administration initially tolerated Islamic institutions for pragmatic governance, the latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed a decisive paradigm shift toward systematic surveillance and restriction. Drawing on archival records and colonial administrative decrees, the study analyzes the implementation of the "Ilminsky system" and the compulsory introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet as tools for cultural assimilation and Russification. The research highlights the dual nature of colonial education: while the Tsarist authorities sought to produce loyal bureaucratic functionaries through Russo-Kazakh schools, the local Muslim populace and national figures like Ibrahim Altynsarin navigated these constraints to preserve religious and cultural identity. By deconstructing the mechanisms of state control over maktabs1 and madrasas,2 the article concludes that the imperial educational policy was not merely a pedagogical project but a critical component of a broader strategy to undermine the spiritual autonomy of the Kazakh subjects and ensure the stability of the imperial borderlands.
A review of Damian Cyrocki, The Mariavites: Heresy, the Apocalypse, and Poland’s Female Savior. Equinox Publishing, 2025. ISBN: 978-1800505650
This article examines Theodor Zöckler’s pastoral ministry in Stanislaviv during the First World War and the difficult years of postwar reconstruction, and assesses the relevance of that experience for churches in contemporary Ukraine. Drawing on archival records, institutional reports, church periodicals, correspondence, and historical scholarship, the study analyzes how Zöckler combined spiritual care with evacuation, humanitarian relief, medical service, child protection, education, vocational training, and institutional advocacy. Historical-genetic, problem-chronological, hermeneutic, and comparative methods are used to reconstruct the transformation of his ministry under conditions of occupation, forced displacement, political transition, and economic collapse. The findings show that Zöckler’s response moved beyond episodic charity. It sought to preserve communal continuity, distribute responsibility among trained church workers, mobilize transnational Protestant networks, and restore the agency of people affected by war. The article argues that the lasting significance of this model lies not in reproducing its early-twentieth-century institutions, but in critically appropriating its principles: holistic care, professionalized service, institutional resilience, inclusion, accountability, and long-term accompaniment. These principles provide a historically grounded framework for considering the social vocation of churches during Russia’s war against Ukraine and in future community reconstruction. критично засвоївши його принципи: цілісний погляд, професійне обслуговування, інституційна стійкість, інклюзивність, підзвітність довготривалого супроводу. Ці принципи забезпечують історично обґрунтовану основу для розгляду соціального звернення церков під час війни Росії проти України та в майбутньому відтворенні громади.
This work analyzes the current state and specifics of the activity of religious organizations in the social sphere of Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the transformation of religious social work in the conditions of a full-scale war, where religious communities have become key agents of humanitarian, psychological and spiritual assistance. The article examines the mechanisms of interaction between the church, the state and non-governmental organizations in solving social problems. The findings are based on the practical experiences of those working with internally displaced persons (IDPs), veterans, large families, and individuals facing difficult life circumstances. Unique methods of denominational assistance combining professional social standards with elements of pastoral care and volunteer service (diakonia) are highlighted. The documents that legally regulate the social service of churches and the need for professional training of church social workers are explored. Confessional social work in Ukraine today is not only an additional resource of the state social protection system, but also an independent, highly effective tool for supporting social cohesion and the mental health of the nation.
This article examines the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (hereafter, ROC) and its relations with Soviet authorities in the Ukrainian SSR between 1946 and 1951. It draws on archival materials introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time-specifically, reports by commissioners of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Council for the Affairs of Religious Cults in the Ukrainian SSR, with particular reference to Vinnytsia region. Relations between the ROC and the Soviet authorities, in authors opinion, should be regarded in the context of a noticeable easing of anti-religious pressure under Stalin's totalitarian regime compared to the 1930s. This shift was driven both by the revival of religious life during the Nazi occupation and by the Soviet leadership's intention to use church institutions to strengthen its domestic and international position. In particular, the restoration of church activity was meant to signal to the Western Allies (the United States and Great Britain) a reduction in repression and the existence of religious freedom in the USSR. Accordingly, in 1943 the Russian Orthodox Church was reestablished in the Soviet Union, but as a structure fully subordinated to the state, in which the higher clergy cooperated with the NKVD/MGB. In effect, this pragmatic decision did not entail a cessation of atheist propaganda but rather incorporated the Church into the state apparatus. The Councils established to supervise and protect the rights of religious communities frequently acted unlawfully themselves, arbitrarily deregistering churches, depriving priests of their right to serve, imposing illegal taxation, and exerting moral pressure on both clergy and believers. The Podillia region is of particular scholarly interest due to its prewar borderland status between the Soviet Union and European states. Even after the war, Podillia remained multi-confessional with a relatively high level of religiosity, which caused a particular concern for Soviet authorities. On the one hand, this situation necessitated the implementation of anti-religious measures; on the other, it required the use of covert and manipulative instruments in order to avoid provoking mass resistance among clergy and believers, while simultaneously seeking to maintain the international image of the USSR during the early Cold War years, particularly among allies within the socialist camp.
Anya Starzhevska began helping her fellow Ukrainian refugees very soon after her own flight from Odesa to Warsaw in February-March 2022. Based at Warsaw Bible Church, she has taken on myriad administrative responsibilities including assistance for Ukrainian refugees in transit to farther west--Warsaw's main railway station is a 20-minute walk from the New Life Center at Warsaw Bible Church. Other roles she has been filling include facilitating the provision of shelter, food, and clothing for refugees; gatherings of Ukrainian refugee entrepreneurs; trauma care sessions with refugee mothers and children, and language and professional training events. On occasion she has also returned to Odesa and traveled to other cities in Ukraine in connection with her ministry with Mission Eurasia.
The article is devoted to a comprehensive cultural and religious analysis of the processes of militarization of religious worldview in modern Russia using the example of public speeches of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, as well as the symbolic space of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Particular attention is paid to the study of the mechanisms of sacralization of war through the integration of historical memory, Orthodox rhetoric, and the state ideology of the "Russian world." The study analyzes the peculiarities of the interpretation of World War II as the sacred foundation of modern Russian identity, as well as the ways of transforming evangelical narratives of sacrifice into the concept of religiously justified military duty. In the sermons of Patriarch Kirill there is a rethinking of Christian ethical principles through the prism of state patriotism and military mobilization, which forms a specific model of quasi-religious legitimation of war. The role of historical figures in the formation of a sacralized pantheon of military glory, which is used to substantiate the historical continuity of the Russian military tradition, is separately investigated. It is concluded that the modern religious policy of the Russian Orthodox Church demonstrates a tendency towards the formation of a model of "civil religion," in which Orthodoxy acts as an instrument of cultural legitimization of state military policy and the formation of militarized collective memory.
A review of Reymont, Władysław. A Pilgrimage to Jasna Góra. Translated from Polish by Filip Mazurczak. Waterloo, Ontario: Arouca Press, 2020. Pp. xxiv + 111. PB, $17.95. ISBN 978-1-989905-15-9. Also HB.
