The Moscow Council and the ecclesiastical organization of the Russian diaspora in Europe in the 1920s-1930s

This article by Antoine Nivière examines the relationship between the Moscow Council of 1917-1918 and the ecclesiastical organization of the Russian diaspora in Western Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. Drawing on historical and canonical study, it analyzes the manner in which the three jurisdictions arising from emigration — the Synod Abroad of Karlovci, the Archdiocese of Metropolitan Evlogy, and the parishes linked to the Patriarchate of Moscow — received, interpreted, or rejected the conciliar decisions. The main argument is that the Council constituted a central ecclesiological reference, but one that was appropriated in different ways according to the theological sensibilities and political stakes specific to each entity. The contribution of the article is to show, drawing on previously unpublished archival sources, that the Parisian Archdiocese was the jurisdiction that most faithfully applied the conciliar principles, particularly with regard to diocesan governance associating clergy and laity, while the other structures departed from them significantly.