New Generation of Russian Orthodox Leaders Contains Both More Liberals and More Reactionaries, Mitrokhin Says

Paul Goble     

            Staunton, Dec. 7 – One of the most widely spread assumptions of observers of the Russian scene is that each succeeding generation of those who emerge as leaders will be ever more liberal. But with respect to the Russian Orthodox Church that assumption is deeply flawed, according to Nikolay Mitrokhin.

            Instead, the specialist on Russian Orthodoxy at the University of Bremen says, the rising generation contains a range of opinions much like those of its predecessor, ranging from the liberal to the reactionary (moscowtimes.ru/2025/12/07/venichka-i-vladimirskaya-eparhiya-provintsialnii-anekdot-o-sovremennoi-russkoyazichnoi-pravoslavnoi-kulture-a182133).

            He draws this conclusion on the basis of a close examination of how people on both sides of this divide have acted in recent cases in various bishoprics of the ROC MP and notes that while Putin may be the final arbiter, he often is not involved and the struggle over outcomes reflects divisions within younger priests and bishops that the Patriarchate can’t easily stop.

            This split means both that it is a mistake to think that Russian Orthodoxy is moving in the same direction in an uncontested way in various parts of the country or that the leadership of the church after Kirill passes from the scene will be either one way or the other. The jury is still out on that.