ABSTRACT
With the celebration of the millennium of Christianity in Russia in 1988, the Russian Orthodox Church emerged from the shadows of repression into plain view of the world. With the collapse of communism shortly thereafter and the concomitant resurgence of religion in the former Soviet bloc, Russian Christianity received even more extensive coverage in both the religious and secular press. The image of Russian Orthodoxy presented in this coverage often baffled Western observers, who, on the one hand, expressed respect for the church’s resilience but, on the other hand, were perplexed by the antagonistic spirit sometimes expressed by church leaders.
