The history of the intertwined relationships woven by the Taizé Community amongst Christians of Eastern European countries in the second half of the last century has not yet been written. Yet it is a fundamental chapter for understanding the unique international influence of the community. The encounter with the different faces of a Christian youth beyond the Iron Curtain, who in Taizé had their first experience of a unified European space, was to become one of the main directions of the communitys effort from the early 1960s. The contributions of this volume intend to throw a first light on this story, relying on a completely unpublished documentation and on the testimony of many protagonists involved in the construction of this unique continental and ecumenical network.

Silvia Scatena is Full Professor of History of Christianity at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and a Fellow at the Foundation for Religious Sciences in Bologna, Italy. She was a member of the editorial board of the international journal of theology "Concilium" and she is currently the director of the journal "Cristianesimo nella storia". Her researches focused on the history of the Second Vatican Council, its reception in Latin America and on the history of ecumenism.

This volume examines the history of contacts and bonds of friendship and solidarity intertwined by the Taizé Community amongst Christians and Churches of Eastern European countries in the second half of the last century.