the status and role of the orthodox church in russia’s ruling system 1917- 2010

the main purpose of this essay is the recognition of the status and role of the orthodox church in russia’s ruling system from 1917-2010; therefore, the question that is put forth in this research is: what correlation existed between the orthodox church and russia’s ruling system? in order to respond to this question, a major hypothesis is highlighted: the government and the orthodox church have regularly had limited affiliation and their relationship is based upon non-interference. in addition, the orthodox church has had a leading role in defending and maintaining the national identity as well as advancing the national language and culture. allocating identity is one of the functions of the orthodox church; in other words, one can say that russia’s identity is intertwined with the christian orthodox. to investigate this hypothesis, references have been made to the new “freedom of belief and act” rule and the correlation between religion and politics in the west