ABSTRACT
The analysis of the tensions in the post-communist Russian Church in the diaspora began in terms of established narratives, looking at the cultural dichotomies of East and West. That Russia as a nation and Russians in general felt and feel threatened by the West is observable in many spheres, independent of its truth in reality. It is this emphasis on diversity and multipolarity which has characterised Russian universalism from Daniliveskii to our own times. The Russian diaspora parishes were not the usual battleground for such tensions, as both sides could be considered conservatives by wider society, but this only shows how far the delineation of such groups has come over the last 20 years. Russia's internal controversies also had a huge role to play in her renewed interest in the diaspora. The crises in the Russian Church in the diaspora showed the symbiotic relationship between so many micro and macrocosmic forces.
