Russian Orthodox History

The Russian Church, the largest Orthodox Church in the world and the second largest Christian Church after the Catholic Church, continues to generate no small share of scholarly and popular attention. Late this year, Eerdmands, which has done so much to make Bulgakov's works available in English, as I have shown on here repeatedly, is bringing out Thomas Bremer, Cross and Kremlin: A Brief History of the Orthodox Church in Russia (Eerdmans, October 2013), 192pp.

About this book we are told:

Russian political history and Russian church history are tied together very tightly. One cannot properly understand the overall history of Russia without considering the role of the Orthodox Church in Russia.

Cross and Kremlin uniquely surveys both the history and the contemporary situation of the Russian Orthodox Church. The first chapter gives a concise chronology from the tenth century through the present day. The following chapters highlight several important issues and aspects of Russian Orthodoxy -- church-state relations, theology, ecclesiastical structure, monasticism, spirituality, the relation of Russian Orthodoxy to the West, dissidence as a frequent phenomenon in Russian church history, and more.