The article exemplifies the field of an historical geography of religion, specifically focusing on the spatial aspect of inter-denominational relations. It analyses the impact of routes and distances on religious practice, arguing that space played a pivotal role in administering church services. Three case studies from different regions of Eastern Europe – Bukovina (today divided between Romania and Ukraine), Latgale (eastern Latvia) and Suwałki region (Polish-Lithuanian borderland) – focus on the exchangeability of religious services (baptisms, marriages and funerals) between various Christian denominations, as registered in metrical records. On this basis it is possible to state that in the multi-confessional environment with limited access to a priest of a certain denomination a common practice for the faithful, although officially banned, was to go to a priest of another confession. In this respect spatial realities affected religious practices more than official regulations.

这篇文章举例说明了宗教历史地理学的领域，特别关注教派间关系的空间方面。它分析了路线和距离对宗教活动的影响，认为空间在管理教堂服务方面发挥了关键作用。来自东欧不同地区的三个案例研究——Bukovina（今天分为罗马尼亚和乌克兰）、Latgale（拉脱维亚东部）和 Suwałki 地区（波兰-立陶宛边境地区）——重点关注宗教服务（洗礼、婚姻和葬礼）之间的可交换性在格律记录中登记的各种基督教教派。在此基础上，可以说在多教派环境中，与特定教派的牧师接触有限，这是信徒的普遍做法，尽管官方禁止，是去另一个告解的牧师那里。在这方面，空间现实对宗教习俗的影响大于官方规定。