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Feeding activism in Russia: the transgressive politics of the church potluck

ABSTRACT Themes of fellowship are prominent in the words and actions of participants in Moscow’s Christian communities, especially as congregations promote social events as fundamental modes of religious expression and experience. Food sharing activities are noteworthy among these events, as they fit within theological traditions that celebrate how food mediates the many different communities and experiences that constitute religious life in Moscow. Food’s mediating capacity does not obviate difference, however, but rather illuminates conflict and compels communities to grapple with this conflict. Faith communities mobilize this disruptive, transgressive capacity of food to engage in social action. Drawing on fieldwork among Moscow-based Christian communities, this paper examines how the forms of community and commensality that are produced through food-sharing activities become meaningful opportunities for addressing critical issues such as poverty, racism, and xenophobia.