Missiological reflections on the life and work of the ever-memorable metropolitan Nicodim (rotov)

This paper is a kind of reflection on the life and work of Metropolitan Nicodim (Rotov), an attempt to understand why today, criticisms and accusations of his theological attitudes and Church policies which included participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Ecumenical movement are still heard. Analysis of such criticisms shows that they are mostly unfair and incorrect. What Metropolitan Nicodim is being blamed for, has come today to rank among the main focuses of the Church mission: peacebuilding, orientation to renewal, creativity, ecumenism (cooperation in the labour of the Christian mission). Another accusation, namely “Sergianism”, loyality to the political regime, requires a special judgement. For the most part, the Metropolitan’s fault-finders belong to a religious-psychological type that today is called fundamentalist.