Description
Lexington Books The American YMCA and Russian Culture The Preservation and Expansion of Orthodox Christianity 1900-1940 2015 Edition by Matthew Lee Miller
In The American YMCA and Russian Culture, Matthew Lee Miller explores the impact of the philanthropic activities of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) on Russians during the late imperial and early Soviet periods. The YMCA, the largest American service organization, initiated its intense engagement with Russians in 1900. During the First World War, the Association organized assistance for prisoners of war, and after the emigration of many Russians to central and western Europe, founded the YMCA Press and supported the St. Sergius Theological Academy in Paris. Miller demonstrates that the YMCA contributed to the preservation, expansion, and enrichment of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It therefore played a major role in preserving an important part of pre-revolutionary Russian culture in Western Europe during the Soviet period until the repatriation of this culture following the collapse of the USSR. The research is based on the YMCA's archival records, Moscow and Paris archives, and memoirs of both Russian and American participants. This is the first comprehensive discussion of an extraordinary period of interaction between American and Russian cultures. It also presents a rare example of fruitful interconfessional cooperation by Protestant and Orthodox Christians. Table of contents :- Prologue Chapter I.The YMCA and Russia: A Profile of Good WorksChapter II.The YMCA and Russia: Wrestling with the Issues Chapter III.Confessional Confrontation: Perceptions, Images, and CorrectivesChapter IV.Work among Working RussiansChapter V. "Service with Fighting Men": The Y among SoldiersChapter VI.The Russian Student Christian Movement at HomeChapter VII.The Russian Student Christian Movement Abroad Chapter VIII."The Hunger for Books": Serving a Starving ReadershipChapter IX.Teachers and Priests: The St. Sergius Theological Academy Chapter X.Sustaining an Orthodox Commonwealth Epilogue Bibliography Appendix: A Note on Archival Sources