From Open Democracy:

On the eve of the election of a new Patriarch, Iannis Carras reviews a new book about the role of the Russian Orthodox Church during the transition from communism. John and Carol Garrard cast fresh light on the late Patriach Aleksii’s diplomatic skills, which his successor sorely needs to match.

Read the complete review here.

John and Carol wrote an article for the PUP blog after news of the Patriarch’s passing.

Lucky Severson at Religion and Ethics Newsweekly examines the phenomenon of interracial churches in the U.S. Among his interviewees is Michael Emerson, author of People of the Dream. There is also an extended transcript of their interview available on the Web site that answers among other questions:

Lucky Severson: Will the election of Barack Obama have an impact on interracial churches? Will we see more of them?

Michael Emerson: Oh, yeah. I think with President Obama there’s going to be a discussion, because he himself is multiracial, because we have for the first time a non-white president. There’s going to be talk about what does this mean? What is it? Are we in a new era? And I think it’s going to open up a wider place for a discussion about we ought to come together in our churches, in our neighborhoods, in our work places, in our clubs and our networks. I think it’ll be more acceptable to talk about it. We’ll see what happens. It’ll take some time. But I think it will.

John Garrard is professor of Russian studies at the University of Arizona. Carol Garrard is an independent scholar. Together they are the authors of three books including Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent.

Whoever will occupy the “throne” that Aleksy II’s death has vacated will set his personal stamp upon the Patriarchate, but there is little doubt that the union of Russian Orthodoxy and Russian patriotism which Aleksy initiated will continue.  This relationship has been successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.  Consider but one small example of Aleksy’s remarkable achievements vís a vís the Russian military and its need to staff isolated listening posts in the Far North.

Russia still has universal conscription for young men, all of whom are eligible—including those who wish to become monks.  The Russian military also had a problem staffing the isolated and forbidding radar listening posts in the Far North.  These posts are located within what used to be monasteries, but had over time been outfitted with the infrastructure of the Soviet military.  No one in the Russian military has spoken on the record about the problem of morale at these posts, but it is easy to imagine that young men, without anything else to do but listen for up to ten hours a day in the frozen north would turn to making home made vodka on their off hours.

Princeton University Press and the Stafford Little Fund of the University Public Lecture Series are pleased to sponsor a series of lectures by Ian Buruma. Buruma’s lectures titled “No Divine Right: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents” will be presented at 8 p.m. Mondays, Nov. 3, 10 and 17, in McCosh 10 at Princeton University.