As a reporter for Jahanbanou I attended the significant academic symposium “From Denial to Revival: The Role of Women in Preserving Orthodox Religion in Russia from the Soviet Era to the Present,” jointly organized by the International Office and the Vice Presidency for Research of Jamiat al-Zahra (peace be upon her).
In an atmosphere rich with academic curiosity and mutual cultural respect, Dr. Elena Sergeyevna Rogatina, a distinguished professor from the Department of Islamic Studies at the Orthodox Theological Academy of Kazan, Russia, presented a profound, well-documented, and impactful narrative of the challenging journey of Orthodox Christian women believers. The symposium was conducted in Russian with simultaneous Persian translation, which itself added to the intercultural richness of the dialogue.
She began with an overview of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and then moved to the heart of the topic: the era of systematic religious suppression in the Soviet Union. Dr. Rogatina explained, with tangible examples, how the communist government, under the promise of equality and progress, actively worked to erase religious identity and the traditional role of the family.
In this section, her emphasis was on how, during those dark years, women—often known as mothers and babushkas (grandmothers)—became the invisible pillars of resistance. In kitchens, behind closed doors, and in complete secrecy, they not only kept small religious rituals alive but also, by whispering prayers and telling Bible stories to children, saved the connective thread between generations from being severed. In her interesting interpretation, these women transferred theology from the closed churches to the space of the kitchens.
However, the part of Dr. Rogatina’s speech that was particularly inspiring for the audience was her analysis of women’s role in the period of remarkable revival after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. She explained that with the opening of the political space, women this time appeared not in a passive role, but as proactive and organized activists.
Groups known as “White Scarves,” consisting of the same mothers and grandmothers from the era of suppression as well as eager younger women, entered the scene. Dr. Rogatina noted that the activities of these women went beyond the physical reconstruction of destroyed churches. They undertook the reconstruction of a nation’s historical and spiritual memory. They organized religious literacy classes in parks and apartments, prepared traditional religious foods, and taught rituals that had been performed in secret for nearly seventy years. According to the speaker, it was these women who transformed religion from a hidden private possession into a vibrant public asset and brought it back to the heart of society.
In the final section, the professor from the Kazan Theological Academy analyzed the complex and multifaceted situation of Orthodox women in contemporary Russia. On one hand, women today enjoy greater social freedoms compared to the past; they work in various professions, including in church-affiliated institutions, they have powerful women’s charity associations, and priests’ mothers play an important role in religious education in local churches. On the other hand, Dr. Rogatina pointed to the internal structural limitations of the Orthodox Church, which, based on a traditional interpretation of texts, reserves priestly and episcopal positions only for men.
Thus, although women were the driving force of revival at the lowest and middle levels, there is a certain glass ceiling within the church’s formal hierarchy. Nevertheless, she emphasized the indirect and powerful influence of women on the broader societal sphere—an influence exerted through the institution of the family, the education of the younger generation, and even participation in shaping public discourse on issues such as family and social ethics.
Attending this symposium was a valuable opportunity to understand a lesser-known aspect of contemporary Russian history. Dr. Elena Sergeyevna Rogatina’s narrative, beyond being a dry historical analysis, was a tribute to the transformative role of women in preserving a nation’s identity. Their story is one of transition from secret heroism in the era of terror to active participation in the era of reconstruction. This report reflects a part of the depth of the presented material and shows how the will and faith of a group of women can save a spiritual heritage from the brink of annihilation and link it to a hopeful future.
Faeze Aghamohammady