| Christianity by country |
|---|
 |
 Christianity portal |
Christianity in Russia is the most widely professed religion in the country. The largest tradition is the Russian Orthodox Church. According to official sources, there are 170 eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church, 145 of which are grouped in metropolitanates.[1] There are from 500,000 to one million Old Believers, who represent an older form of Russian Orthodox Christianity, and who separated from the Orthodox Church in the 17th century as a protest against Patriarch Nikon's church reforms.
The Catholic Church estimates that there are from 600,000 to 1.5 million Catholics in the country, exceeding government estimates of about 140,000.[2][3][4] There is one Catholic Archdiocese, Mother of God at Moscow, with three suffragan dioceses (Saint Clement at Saratov, Saint Joseph at Irkutsk, Transfiguration at Novosibirsk) and the Apostolic Prefecture of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.[5] According to the Slavic Center for Law and Justice, Protestants make up the second or third largest group of Christians in Russia, with approximately 3,500 organizations and more than 1 million followers. A large number of missionaries operating in the country are from Protestant denominations.[2]
Christianity was the religious self-identification of 47.1% of the Russian population in 2012.[6] Other polls give different results: In the same year 2020 the Levada Center estimated that 63% of Russians were Christians;[7] in 2020 the Public Opinion Foundation[8] estimated that 63% of the population was Christian; in 2011 the Pew Research Center estimated that 71% of Russians were Christians;[9] in 2011 Ipsos MORI estimated that 69% of Russians were Christians;[10] and in 2021 the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) estimated that ~67% of Russians were Christians.[11]
The Russian "law on non-governmental organizations" that took effect in April 2007 requires non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Evangelical churches, to register with state agencies, list their funding sources, and provide records of all meetings. Since 2016, they also face increased restrictions on public and private evangelism as a result of the Yarovaya law.
- ^ Religion and mass media Institute of Russia site
- ^ a b US State Department Religious Freedom Report on Russia, 2006
- ^ http://c2.kommersant.ru/ISSUES.PHOTO/OGONIOK/2012/034/ogcyhjk2.jpg Archived 2017-03-20 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL image file]
- ^ "Главная страница проекта "Арена" : Некоммерческая Исследовательская Служба "Среда"".
- ^ GCatholic Directory
- ^ Arena - Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia. 2012 National Survey of Religions in Russia. Sreda.org
- ^ "ВЕРА В СВЕРХЪЕСТЕСТВЕННОЕ" (in Russian). Levada Center. 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Об оскорблении религиозных чувств" (in Russian). Фонд Общественное Мнение, ФОМ (Public Opinion Foundation). 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe". Pew Research Center. 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Views on globalisation and faith" (PDF). Ipsos MORI. 5 July 2011. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2013.
- ^ "Великий пост — 2021" (in Russian). Levada Center. 21 April 2021.