Knox, Zoe, 1975-2019-09-252019-09-252017-05-112004http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/164934"The Soviet regime's cessation of the repression of individual believers and religious communities in the late 1980s allowed unprecedented religious freedom. The demise of materialist Marxism-Leninism and the collapse of the USSR permitted the advent of ideological pluralism. The new pluralism in the religious sphere challenged the Moscow Patriarchate (MP), the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), to reclaim its prerevolutionary position at the centre of Russia's religious life. This paper examines the obstacles the Patriarchate encountered during the first postsoviet decade."engWith permission of the license/copyright holderPatriarchyMoscowreligious freedomReligious pluralismOrthodox ChurchPolitical ethicsChristian denominationsOrthodox (Eastern, Oriental)Comparative religion and interreligious dialogueReligious pluralismArticle