doctoral studies at the Department of Medieval History at the Jesuit-affiliated independent school – Fordham University. Dvorkin graduated with a Ph.D. in Medieval studies in 1988 with a dissertation titled "Ivan the Terrible as a Religious Type". His mentor was John Meyendorff. Early career In late 1988, Dvorkin moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked at the bureau of the Voice of America radio station. At the same time, he became the subdeacon and altar server of Bishop in the Washington St. Nicholas Cathedral. In 1991, Dvorkin moved to Germany and started working as an editor for Radio Liberty in Munich. Dvorkin's time in America, as well as his reasons for leaving and returning to Russia, are not fully accounted for, fueling rumors about Dvorkin's true allegiances. Anti-cult activism Dvorkin returned to Russia on 31 December 1991. In March 1992, he started working in the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis. At this work Dvorkin encountered some new religious movements, primarily the "Mother of God center", a homegrown Russian sect. In 1993, Dvorkin coined the term "totalitarian sect," which would become the catch-all label for new religious movements. The term "totalitarian" played on fears of return to Soviet-era repressions. Dvorkin called Hitler along with Lenin "founders of the most evil totalitarian sects". In 1993 Dvorkin founded the first Russian anti-cult organization: Saint Irenaeus of Lyons Information and Advisory Center (Информационно-консультационный центр св. Иринея Лионского) with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow, Patriarch Alexy II and became its head. Through this center, Dvorkin adapted the Western anti-cult movement to the Russian situation, making his target small organizations, few of whom had any serious presence in Soviet times, and which were easy to marginalize. Many of these organizations have already become targets for Western anti-cultists. Until the Russian Orthodox Church dropped into the opposition with the more mainstream Christian denominations, center personnel tried to cooperate with them. Despite the fact that the center was created under the umbrella of the Russian Orthodox Church, it portrayed superficial secularism, which allowed it to influence both the orthodox and secular audiences. Through the center conferences were organized, brochures were published, and a website was maintained. Dvorkin himself gave lectures and numerous interviews to various media. His role was so great that the anti-cult movement in Russia had been largely defined by him; he was called "the enemy number one of religious extremists". In