Introduction

The November 2013–February 2014 Maidan demonstrations in Ukraine sent shockwaves across Eastern Europe. Peaceful demonstrators were killed amid unusual scenes taking place in the centre of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Crossing religious divides, clergy carried banners, blessed and confessed people in front of protesting crowds and the police. In March 2014, after Russia’s takeover of Crimea and the beginning of the conflict in the Donbas region, clergy condemned the occupation outside military barracks. Some helped the displaced population find shelter and support by negotiating safe corridors of travel between the conflict areas and the rest of the country. Similar scenes of religious mobilisation were visible in Southeastern Europe. In the summer of 2015, in what became known as the ‘European refugee crisis’, hundreds of thousands of migrants crossed the Aegean Sea and headed towards European Union (EU) Member States. Passing through predominantly Orthodox countries in the region, many religious communities mobilised their faithful to offer food and clothing. That autumn, after governments in the region closed their borders with the EU and migrants became stranded in camps along the Balkan route, some faith-based organisations continued to offer material and pastoral care. ¹