The first complete modern history of the Russian Orthodox Church from the revolution to the present day, this unique two-volume work is a thoroughly researched original study based on published sources, official Soviet writings, samizdat materials, unpublished biographies, and extensive personal interviews with Russian church leaders and recent emigres. This remarkable blend of scholarly research and personal reflection provides the reader with an "insider's view" of contemporary Russian church history and religious life.

Pospielovsky skillfully analyzes the vents which contribute to the mosaic underlying the survival, growth, and the often precarious situation of the Russian Orthodox Church today: revolutionary turmoil; the reestablishment of a canonical, patriarchal administration; persecution and the attempt at wholesale liquidation of the Church; schismatic movements and "catacomb" groups; and stunning successes in the ideological competition with Marxist atheism. With its extensive appendices, footnotes, and bibliography, this is a work that is essential reading for scholars, laymen and women, theologians, ecumenical church leaders, statesmen and politicians - all who are concerned for the religious freedom and human rights in our modern world.