Eastern Orthodox Studies Unit and Ethics Unit

Orthodox Dissent

Often thought of as a stalwart pillar of the status quo, Orthodox Christianity has also served as a vehicle for oppositional politics and theologies in a variety of historical and social contexts. We invite both paper and panel proposals that analyze how Orthodox Christian thought and practice have manifested as principled opposition to prevailing modes of injustice, either political or ecclesiastical. Examples of this ethical approach include but are not limited to: Sts. Maria Skobtsova and Alexander Schmorell, who were martyred by the Nazis; Fr. Alexander Men, a prominent dissident in the Soviet Union; Ukrainian Orthodox resisting Russian invasion and occupation; Belarusian Orthodox resisting the Lukashenko regime; Russian Orthodox resisting Putin’s regime within Russia; and Orthodox human rights activists and thinkers concerned with gender justice and/or the rights of sexual or religious minorities in Orthodox contexts. We also welcome proposals addressing this topic from an historical perspective, including examples from Christian tradition, such as martyrdom and hagiography. This session is interested in, and open to, a wide range of methodological and disciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to ethics, theology and religious thought, sociology and anthropology, history, political science, and international relations.