Missions of the Russian Orthodox Church as a Tool of Diplomacy: from History to the Present

The aim of the article was to determine the role of the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church in the context of its historical-political development. The methodological basis of the study meant a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach using systemic, civilizational, historical-chronological and structural-functional methods, as well as the method of comparative analysis and institutional approach. The results obtained allow us to conclude that, in the modern world, the Russian Orthodox Church has been noted for its active participation in missionary activity, which has also set itself the goal of spreading the ideas of the ‘Slavic’ or ‘Russian world’ among the peoples of Asia and Africa. The spiritual values preached through the missionary work of the Russian Orthodox Church, taking into account its contribution to the Russian state and culture, are gradually becoming the basis for popularizing the Russian national idea, which is dialectically positioning itself as the main civilizational vector of the international policies of the Russian Federation. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church has a rather strong influence on the formation of the image of the Russian Federation in the eyes of the world community, this is so, in part, due to its spiritual missions.