There are older Christian Churches existing within the Soviet Union, but none can compare with the Russian Orthodox Church in terms of its impact on Russian culture. Richard Chartres guides us through its long history, from the tenth-century to the Revolution of 1917.
This lecture is part of Richard Chartres' series on Religion in Russia on the Eve of the Millennium. The other lectures in this series are:
The Christian Church in the Soviet Period
The Religious Picture Today in the Soviet Union

Richard John Carew Chartres is the 132nd Lord Bishop of London, in office in November 1995 until 2017. He was previously Bishop of Stepney (1992-1995) and Gresham Professor of Divinity (1987-1992). His Gresham lectures covered topics as varied as prayer, the Shroud of Turin and the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. He read history at Trinity College, Cambridge and was ordained as a priest in 1974. He is very concerned with environmental issues, and since 2006 has the led the Church of England's Shrinking the footprint campaign. In 2008, the Independent on Sunday named him the 75th most important environmental campaigner in Britain.
All the previous lectures by the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dr Richard Chartres can be accessed on our website here.