Orthodox Paradoxes

The Russian Orthodox Church, by virtue of being the largest Orthodox church in the world (as they ceaselessly remind everyone, especially in Constantinople...), already commands considerable attention both popular and scholarly, but the events in Russia and Ukraine under Putin have only magnified the attention. A book just released explores the nature of Orthodoxy in Russia, at once "traditional" and yet (pace certain fatuous apologists) capable of adapting to new situations:  Katya Tolstaya, Orthodox Paradoxes: Heterogeneities and Complexities in Contemporary Russian Orthodoxy (Brill, 2014), 406pp.

About this book the publisher tells us:

The contemporary Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is in a paradoxical situation: On all levels of Church life, new practices and concepts are considered to belong to Orthodox tradition, yet at the same time Orthodoxy is regarded as the most “unchangeable” and normative of the Christian confessions. So what makes tradition? The nineteen contributions in this volume examine the ambiguities and complexities created by the dynamic between tradition and innovation within the ROC in relation to the fundamental tenets of Orthodoxy. By this focus, the volume offers new insights and highlights the question how to define (Orthodox) Tradition. It addresses “unorthodox” topics of Orthodox paradoxes.

Contributors include: Tatiana Artemyeva, Alexei Beglov, Wil van den Bercken, Per-Arne Bodin, Page Herrlinger, Nadieszda Kizenko, Anastasia Mitrofanova, Stella Rock, and Alexander Verkhovsky.