The Russian Orthodox Church and the territory

The breakup of the Soviet Union and accelerated globalization raise several issues for the Russian Orthodox Church. Since this church was, from the start, organized around the Russian state, emergence of the new states has been unsettling. Migrations following the fall of the Berlin Wall have also shifted the equilibrium; and the ecclesiastical hierarchy has, once again, raised the question of jurisdiction over persons living outside Russia. Even as conflicts have arisen among the Orthodox (between the Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates), on Russian territory the salvation market is increasingly competitive despite the Russian state's support for the Church. Important political and economic issues have been grafted onto religious differences. In this context, the Russian Orthodox Church is designing new spaces and affirming collective identities around the notions of "canonical territory" and "civilization", which are far removed from an ever moving reality in the religious sphere.