The Unknown Europe

“This propitious and important publication is at once an invitation, passport, and contextualizing guided tour informing of the lands, peoples, and stories of the historically significant ‘other Europe.’”


—Joseph Loya, Director, Russian Area Studies Concentration Program, Villanova University





“After decades of slumber, many of us are being freshly reawakened to the urgency of political and religious developments in Russia and Eastern Europe. Yet even for the historically minded among us, few in the West know the stories of the peoples and cultures of what Payton rightly calls ‘the unknown Europe.’ Here, finally, is a beautiful, accessible, and trustworthy overview, proven through decades of study, travel, and relationships, from one of the West’s finest interpreters of Eastern Europe. You will not be disappointed.”


—Robert J. Joustra, Associate Professor of Politics and International Studies, Redeemer University





“As a native of Eastern Europe—the subject of this book—I am impressed by the fairness and accuracy by which James Payton presents the centuries-long history of this vast area, by focusing on the eleven most-important watershed events. Payton is writing from a general Western vantage point, specifically from a distinctly North American perspective. He insists that viewing Eastern Europe primarily by focusing on the period of its Soviet domination yields a warped impression. It is much more accurate to affirm, as he does, the crucial role of the Christian Byzantine Empire in the formation of Eastern European cultures.”


—Paul Mojzes, founding editor of Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe





“This meticulous study brings alive the unknown, mysterious, and still exotic elements of Eastern Europe that were forgotten by the West. In James Payton’s writing, Eastern Europe comes alive, and memories of long-gone ancestors help us make sense of and conceptualize solutions to the problems facing the region today. This book is an invaluable resource for all those who are ready and willing to take the journey to the other Europe.”


—Ines Angeli Murzaku, Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Seton Hall University