RT Article
T1 The Internal Discussions in the Belarusian Orthodox Church on Identity and Policy Issues: A Contemporary Perspective
JF Journal of religion in Europe
VO 15
IS 1/4
SP 81
OP 104
A1 Mudrov, Sergei Aleksandrovič
A1 Zacharov, Nikolaj Valerʹevič 1978-
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2022
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1826844589
AB Based on extensive fieldwork across Belarus, this article analyses an ongoing discussion within the Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC) regarding various issues that are key in assessing the country’s identity politics and politico-ideological developments. Since the independence of Belarus in 1991, the Church has continuously played an important public and societal function. A special agreement, signed between the Church and Belarusian Government in 2003, has fostered Church cooperation with various governmental institutions, including educational establishments. Discussing the contribution of the BOC to the construction of a distinct Belarusian national identity, we will address the national language, relationships with the state, foreign policy orientation and the Church’s autocephaly. The empirical part of this study is based on seventeen in-depth interviews with clergymen and laypeople from the BOC. Our study shows that Church representatives have not hesitated to develop their profound perspectives on the important issues of identity politics and the relationships of the BOC and state, and these perspectives were often reflective of wider debates within Belarusian intellectual circles.
K1 Autocephaly
K1 Belarusian language
K1 Nation-building
K1 Identity
K1 Belarus
K1 Orthodox Church
DO 10.1163/18748929-bja10051