Bishop Gregory (Grabbe) and his role in the opening of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia on the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate (1990-1995)

In this article, the author studies the formation and organizational structure of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) on the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate in the former Soviet Union during the early 1990’s. Te author focuses on organizational, political and religious aspects in the development of the major diocesan centers of the ROCOR in Russia and analyzes their activity, with a special focus on the role of Bishop Gregory (Grabbe). Te author is able to identify the reasons behind the ideological successes of the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR in creating diocesan structures in Russia, and to offer explanations of the refusal of a part of the ROCOR’s Russian parishes to participate in the restoration of canonical communion between the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate, which took place on May 17, 2007.