Contacts of the Moscow patriarchate with regional Christian associations and international Christian youth organizations during the years of the chairmanship of metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) in the department for external church relations

The years of the chairmanship of Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod (1960-1972) in the Department for External Church Relations were marked by contacts of the Russian Orthodox Church with regional ecumenical associations and youth Christian organizations in the inter-Christian sphere. This area of international contacts of the Moscow Patriarchate has been little studied in scientific literature. The purpose of this article is to offer general reader an opportunity to familiarize himself with the specifics of inter-Christian relations of the Russian Church in the early second half of the 20th century in their regional and youth segment using archival materials, primarily from the Archive of the Department for External Church Relations. The contacts of the Russian Church with regional inter-Christian associations and international youth Christian organizations were a continuation of relations with the World Council of Churches and served the cause of Christian unity. At the same time, they allowed the Moscow Patriarchate to strengthen its authority in countries and continents where there was interest for the Soviet foreign policy - the United States and Europe, Africa and South Asia. This led to a juxtaposition of secular and ecclesiastical diplomacy.