Abstract
After the 1917 Revolution many Russians suffered the pains of exile. Emigration was an extreme situation marked by many losses.
However, it also brought new creative impulses, including innovation in church tradition. Using as examples two Orthodox nuns - Mother Maria Skobtsova (1891-1945) and Sister Joanna Reitlinger (1898-1988) - I will show how this situation of being in exile, physically and interiorly, meant a return to the sources of their own tradition and at the same time opened up space for creating new authentic tradition.
In conclusion I will analyse how these two examples of authentic Orthodox spiritual journeys can inspire an understanding of contemporary Orthodox identity, based on a dynamic understanding of church tradition and a patristic interpretation of the biblical assertion that human beings are made in God's image and likeness.