Doubly Chosen
Book Description
In the decades following Stalin's death, an extraordinary spiritual phenomenon emerged within the Soviet Union that challenges conventional understanding of religious identity and conversion. Thousands of Russian Jewish intellectuals made the profound decision to embrace Orthodox Christianity, first during the 1960s and again in the 1980s, creating a complex tapestry of faith, culture, and resistance.
Judith Deutsch Kornblatt explores this remarkable journey through extensive oral interviews conducted across Russia, Israel, and the United States. She reveals how these conversions represented far more than simple religious transformation. Instead, they emerged as acts of moral courage within a repressive system, driven by deep solidarity with Russian Christian dissidents and their spiritual values.
The book illuminates the unique Soviet conditions that fostered these conversions: the near-complete suppression of Judaism as a living religious practice, the shift from religious to ethnic Jewish identity, and an intense yearning for authentic spiritual meaning. Paradoxically, many converts discovered that embracing Russian Orthodoxy actually awakened a renewed and positive connection to their Jewish heritage.
Through careful analysis of personal testimonies, Kornblatt demonstrates how the Russian Orthodox Church became both a symbol of national culture and a pathway to spiritual fulfillment. These stories reveal the complex interplay between faith, identity, and resistance in a society where religious expression carried profound political implications.
This groundbreaking study offers invaluable insights into the human search for spiritual authenticity amid cultural and political upheaval.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~6 hours)
📄 Length: 200 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche
- ✓ Explore Konversion
- ✓ Explore History
- ✓ Explore Judaism, relations
- ✓ Strengthen your faith journey
- ✓ Explore Jews, soviet union
- ✓ Explore Juden
- ✓ Explore Jewish Christians
