Movement towards Christian Unity and/or Defense of the Russian Orthodox Church during the Years of Persecution: the Activities of Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod to Establish and Develop Dialogue with Non-Orthodox Churches

The article is devoted to the activities of Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod’s Contribution, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, the most influential church leader of his time in Establish Dialogue with Non- Orthodox Churches in the period 1960–1978. Based on the materials of the official publication of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, testimonies of contemporaries and research by church historians, the reasons that guided the bishop in actively developing dialogue, as well as the means and fruits of this dialogue are analyzed.