No. 37 - 12/2024:
The Pandemic and the Paradox of Orthodoxy

Metreveli, Tornike (ed.). 2024. The Pandemic and the Paradox of Orthodoxy, Euxeinos 14 (37). doi.org/10.55337/37.

Editorial by Tornike Metreveli

A Pandemic Shock. How Key Orthodox Churches in Ukraine Faced the Challenge of COVID-19 by Tetiana Kalenychenko 

The pandemic exposed the weaknesses and lines of polarization that were present in the church environment in Ukraine. Although the churches have had different reactions to these global events, in general they have seen the outward manifestation of both internal and external challenges. However, the crisis became an important space for solving internal problems, which only intensified and deepened after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, and required much faster and more critical reactions of religious leaders on different levels. 

Orthodoxy and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania and Bulgaria: Political Turmoil, Informal Networks, and Religious Scepticism by Lucian N. Leustean 

Romania and Bulgaria stood out in the European Union as the countries with the lowest COVID vaccination rates. The article argues that Orthodox churches have played an influential role regarding the ways in which the population adhered (or failed to adhere) to national health measures. In Romania, the Church was divided between official and informal networks of social and political power which led to an increase in the far-right movement. In Bulgaria, the Church was closely associated with the government’s stance towards supporting health measures and, in the long term, political protests became associated with anti-vaccination program. 

Ritual Arrhythmia and Religious Dissonance: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Greek and Cypriot Orthodoxies by Vasilios N. Makrides and Eleni Sotiriou 

This article analyzes the discussion and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic within the Orthodox Churches of Greece and Cyprus. First, we investigate the attitudes, responses, and reactions of these churches towards the various facets of the pandemic. Second, our research also covers the area of “lived religion” by exploring the religious practices of active believers and their responses to the transformations and innovations in their religious habits and towards official church policies. Using Lefebvre’s “rhythmanalysis,” we concentrate on the phenomenon of “ritual arrhythmia” that resulted not only in the disruption of ritual life, but also in ritual transformation and innovation. By combining these two different strands of research, we aim to provide a more holistic picture of what “pandemic Orthodoxy” looked like in our specific contexts.

Believers and Priests during COVID-19: Serbian Orthodox Church Liturgical Practices by Stefan Radojkovic 

Serbian Orthodox Church clergy’s reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 were, if anything, as complex and diverse as the thinking and actions of believers in Serbia (including Kosovo-Metohija). This was particularly visible regarding the need for liturgical practice adaptation and the way of administering communion. In order to untangle complex issue of contradictory and undefined statements, recommendations, and consequential actions taken by priests and believers, lived religion approach was applied to uncover whether liturgical practices were adapted and in what way. Also, we have outlined reasons that could explain the adaptations during a global crisis.