Project: Research-practical project “Living Communities”
Funding: It is carried out in cooperation with the Living Tradition Foundation and the Synodal Charity Department with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund.
Research team: Ivan Zabaev, Elena Prutskova, Polina Vrublevskaya, Elizaveta Kostrova, Tatiyana Krihtova, Valeriya Elagina, Markin Kirill, Oreshina Daria, Nikolay Emeliyanov
About the project
The aim of the project is to develop social activities of Orthodox parishes and NGOs in order to increase their efficiency in solving local social problems, including those in conjunction with secular and state actors. The addressees and participants of the events are activists of parishes, employees of confessional and secular NGOs, employees of diocesan departments for charity and social service in five regions of five federal districts of the Russian Federation. Social assistance to vulnerable groups of the population makes an important part of activities of many parishes. Their relatively small size and good integration into the local community allows parishes to respond flexibly to the specifics of local needs for social support of citizens and to adapt to specific tasks. We see examples when the parish succeeds in transforming the social environment and realizing social projects. More often, however, such results are not achieved no matter how willing active parishioners are to develop social activities. Insufficient funding is the most obvious obstacle. Still, fundraising may not be the solution in all cases. The Active Tradition Foundation has already held a series of seminars to improve fundraising skills among parish activists. As a result, the effect of training activities turned out to be more reliable after a preliminary social analysis of the local current situation. Practitioners often lack a common vision of the structure of their activities and an understanding of their potential in connection with the available opportunities. Hence, it will be useful to study socially active parishes in order to identify criteria and reasons for success of certain practices, while at the same time observing less active parishes with a focus on their specific difficulties. Such a comparison will make it possible to develop meaningful locally oriented recommendations to increase the efficiency in solving local social problems of the projects that are already being implemented, as well as to increase the general number of social initiatives.
The project will include (1) five ethnographic expeditions to regional Orthodox parishes to study their social activities; and (2) thirty local events (workshops, online lectures, and presentations of the results of the ethnographic research) for the representatives of target groups, which will improve their competence in developing social projects and give them recommendations on their activities from experts. As a result of the project activities, those who organize and implement social activities in Orthodox parishes and NGOs will be able to develop existing and new initiatives based on the unique sociological data and specially developed methodological recommendations on possible strategies for increasing the effectiveness of social projects for the local community.
Relevant news
SEMINARS
Seminar №1. 11.06.2024
At the introductory seminar, participants discussed possible strategies for working with the field data. Possible ways of describing the material were identified as: the ways of locating churches by place and the fact of church activity during the Soviet period; the juxtaposition of the figures of the priest and the social worker on the mental map of the church community; the intersection of questionnaire data with in-depth interview data. The desired strategies for working with the data were also discussed, according to the research interests of the participants and the expectations of the seminar colleagues.
Seminar №2. 18.06.2024
At the second seminar, participants discussed possible strategies for analyzing project data and outlined three approaches to systematization. One approach involves coding interviews based on indicators developed as part of the operationalization of the concept of a «living communities». Another option focuses on identifying a common problem or several key issues that appear most frequently in the cases. The third approach involves moving from the analysis of individual interviews to broader generalizations, allowing for the construction of a comprehensive picture based on the collected data.
Seminar №3. 02.07.2024
At the third seminar, participants discussed the extent to which the existing operationalization of the concept of a “living communities” is suitable for analyzing interview transcripts. They noted that many potentially significant factors mentioned by respondents are not adequately reflected in the proposed indicators. Additionally, it was acknowledged that interviews do not always reveal the negative aspects of parish life: certain issues remain unspoken, either because they seem too obvious to respondents or because they prefer not to discuss conflicts and problems within the community. Particular attention was given to the metaphors of illness and healing as a potential tool for theorization. What is living can experience pain and go through periods of crisis. It is especially revealing when a parish community undergoes conflicts yet manages to maintain its integrity and continue its development. As a result, it was decided to temporarily abandon the previously developed operationalization scheme.
Seminar №4. 26.09.2024
At the seminar, participants discussed the results of interview coding and the core categories that help outline the structure of parish life. One of the key observations was the central role of the rector in most parishes. This sparked a debate on whether to dedicate a separate analysis to the figure of the rector, detailing his role and specific characteristics, or, conversely, to focus on the structure and dynamics of the community without emphasizing his personality. A third approach would be to examine different models of interaction between the rector and parishioners. In addition to the rector, the social worker also plays a significant role in parish life, influencing decision-making related to parishioner activities. In some regions, such as the Voronezh region, this function is performed by women’s councils. A typical portrait of a social worker emerges: most often, this is a woman aged 40–50. At the end of the meeting, participants discussed the weaknesses of existing approaches to operationalizing the concept of a «living communities» and possible ways to improve them.
Seminar №5, 10.10.2024
At the fifth seminar of the «Living Communities» project, the structure of the upcoming monograph and the refinement of indicators for assessing the «vitality» of parishes were discussed. Three options for organizing the text were proposed: chapters dedicated to individual cases, grouping parish cases by theoretical categories, or structuring chapters by operationalization indicators. Participants highlighted the need to refine the operationalization of «vital» parishes, as current indicators fail to capture the differences between types of priests and their impact on parish organization. The discussion focused on the cases of parishes in Baltiysk and Ostrogozhsk. In Baltiysk, the influence of the local environment on parish activity was examined, while in Ostrogozhsk, attention was given to the role of women’s councils as religious analogues of secular institutions.
Seminar № 6. 24.10.2024
At the seminar, the cases of two churches in Khabarovsk were discussed. Particular attention was given to the characteristics of parish communities that do not fit previously established typologies, including the «blurred» type. Using the example of the cathedral, participants examined how the absence of a stable identity tied to the community impacts parishioners’ active participation in church life. The potential use of parish social media pages as an additional data source was also considered. A key outcome of the seminar was the agreement on an interview coding methodology based on Strauss and Glaser’s approach, emphasizing the identification of core categories, actions, and processes.
Seminar № 7. 07.11.2024
At the seventh seminar of the «Living Communities» project, key analytical categories of parish life were discussed: discipline, justice, charisma, enthusiasm, and family. The discussion was based on analytical materials prepared by the participants. Topics included the impact of factors such as the rector’s position, the «second person», and parish structure on the «vitality» of the parish community. In addition, conditions for distinguishing «closed» and «open» communities were examined. The seminar also raised the question of whether it is appropriate to define subcategories within broader analytical categories, such as «love» and «family».
Seminar № 8. 21.11.2024
The seminar examined various types of participation in parish life and their potential impact on the functioning of Orthodox religious communities. Additional attention was given to structural and contextual factors influencing the «vitality» of parishes, including the church’s spatial proximity to the historical and geographical center of the city, the rector’s age, and established pastoral traditions. The second part of the discussion focused on issues related to the systematization of data on parish communities within the framework of the «Living Communities» project database.
Seminar №9. 05.12.2024
The ninth seminar of the «Living Communities» project focused on analyzing the impact of spatial and geographical factors on the non-liturgical activities of Orthodox parishes. The keynote speaker, MSU master’s student Yaroslav Kuksin, presented the results of a study on the geographical distribution of non-liturgical activities among Moscow’s parish communities. The analysis revealed a clear differentiation across three zones. In central Moscow, parish activity is relatively low, which can be attributed to the limited availability of space for events in historical churches, competition from secular organizations (cultural centers, NGOs), and the low density of residential buildings, which reduces the potential audience. In New Moscow, there is a dynamic development of non-liturgical initiatives, whereas semi-peripheral areas occupy an intermediate position.
Additionally, the participants examined the issue of interaction among three key actors in the urban space—parish communities, local residents, and municipal authorities. The need to study their cooperation or conflicts at the district level was emphasized, which could become the subject of future research.
Seminar №10. 10.12.2024
The tenth meeting of the «Living Communities» project focused on structuring a summary table consolidating the results of data analysis across all studied parish communities. At the current project stage, a database of 20 case studies has been compiled, each containing a sufficient volume of interviews for analysis. Key categories defining a community’s «liveliness» — such as activity, sustainability, and engagement — have already been identified for each case.
Although the core data has been systematized in a unified table, participants proposed supplementing it with new indicators for in-depth analysis. Specifically, to explore the relationship between a community’s «liveliness» and the role of the priest, it was decided to introduce variables for clergy typology: years of service since ordination, level and focus of education (secular or theological), as well as personal interests, and non-liturgical initiatives. In the future, this data may form the basis for a separate table compiling information on priests who participated in interviews for the «Living Communities» project and its sequel. This will enable cross-analysis of the role of the clergyman’s personality in shaping the dynamics of parish life.
Seminar №11. 24.12.2024
The seminar focused on discussing the 
concept of the «second person» as a mediator of a unique mode of communication within the parish community. This figure has no formal obligations within the church community but plays a key role in establishing and maintaining connections both within the parish and beyond. Unlike the priest, the «second person» is not a cleric, which allows parishioners to build horizontal rather than vertical relationships with them. In this way, they create an alternative source of authority, fostering open and informal interaction within the community.
Seminar №12. 21.01.2025
The seminar focused on analyzing the unique characteristics of Orthodox Christianity in the Far East. The interviews highlighted that the Khabarovsk Territory is perceived as a region where traditions had to be revived practically from scratch after the Soviet era. Indigenous small-numbered peoples, primarily the Nanai, remain largely uninvolved in Orthodox practices. This was exemplified by a past conflict over an initiative to translate the Bible into the Nanai language, which local communities interpreted as an imposition of a religion alien to their culture. Organizational challenges were also discussed: in Khabarovsk, due to the small number of churches and a shortage of priests, a single clergyman often serves multiple parishes without being permanently assigned to a specific community. This has led to a functional division among churches — for example, one parish may host a Sunday school, while another focuses on choir activities, and so on.
Seminar №13. 30.01.2025
At the latest meeting of the 
«Living Communities» project, participants discussed interviews with priests conducted in parish communities of the Samara and Rostov regions, as well as previously prepared analytical materials. The participants concluded that the activities of parishioners in the Rostov region are largely shaped by the Cossack identity of the local villagers who attend the church. In this case, the connection of the local population to Cossack heritage and noble families comes to the fore, fostering their solidarity and self-organization.
For describing the case study from the Samara region, the category of «help» may prove key. Initially, people come to the church to help others, and through this interaction, they learn about one another. Notably, the church’s charitable initiatives involve not only parishioners but also volunteers, including non-Orthodox individuals.
Seminar № 14. 04.02.2025
At the fourteenth seminar of the «Living Communities» project, participants continued their discussion of materials from the shared database of parish communities. The meeting focused on selecting the most compelling and significant cases to be included in the final monograph. During the discussions, several cross-cutting themes and categories were identified that unite parish communities across various regions. Key recurring categories include: the concept of «the second person», the role of the parish priest, empowerment, and the preservation of traditions.
