Following the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed with each other for global influence. The rivalry between the two powers also extended into the sphere of religion. While the West, specifically the United States of America, collected evidence of religious persecution in the USSR and offered support to believers behind the Iron Curtain, the Soviet Union denied the allegations and presented itself as a champion of religious freedom.
The officially atheistic Soviet state skillfully used the divide-and-rule strategy to control religious groups at home and engage them in promoting the Soviet agenda abroad. For example, the Russian Orthodox Church, which has enjoyed Stalin’s support since 1943, was seriously weakened as a result of the Khrushchev’s anti-religious campaign of the late 1950s and early 1960s. During the same period, however, the Church representatives became visible in the international arena. In 1961, the Russian Orthodox Church joined the World Council of Churches, a Christian ecumenical organization founded in 1948. Moreover, the Russian Orthodox observers attended the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), the twenty-first council of the Catholic Church.
Based on archival documents, Soviet and Western press, and other sources, this paper explores the ecumenical dialogue as an instrument of Soviet religious diplomacy during the Cold War, particularly in the 1960s-1980s. First, the study looks at the participation of Soviet representatives in the international ecumenical fora. Second, it examines how delegates from the West were received in the USSR, particularly in Soviet Ukraine. The paper thus demonstrates how the officially atheistic Soviet state instrumentalised religion for diplomatic purposes.
