Ideological traditionalism and organisational innovation in Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical governance

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Patrikios, Stratos (2020) Ideological traditionalism and organisational innovation in Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical governance. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 35 (3). pp. 415-432. ISSN 1353-7903 (https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2020.1814604)

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Abstract

Studies of church governance approach religious change either as 'soft' transformation (ideological and discursive adjustments implemented by clerical elites) or as 'hard' restructuring (shifts in decision-making processes and administrative forms). This article illustrates that the joint, rather than separate, consideration of the two types of change provides a more nuanced description of the internal dynamics of religious organisations. Employing a framework with comparative applicability, which breaks with standard theoretical approaches, the empirical application examines a case in which the two types of change coincided: the Orthodox Church of Greece in the late twentieth century, where a radically conservative ideological transformation accompanied a particular instance of bureaucratic modernisation (lay involvement in high-level ecclesiastical governance).

ORCID iDs

Patrikios, Stratos ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8716-1269;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)