Relations between the Soviet government and the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Great Patriotic War caused an increase in religious sentiment in the country. On the very first day of the war, the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Sergius (Stragorodsky), appealed to church pastors and believers to stand up for the defense of the Motherland and do everything necessary to stop the enemy’s aggression. The Metropolitan emphasized that in the ongoing battle with fascism, the Church is on the side of the Soviet state. “Our Orthodox Church,” he said, “has always shared the fate of the people... Do not abandon your people now. She blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland.” Pastoral messages were sent to all church parishes. The overwhelming majority of clergy from their pulpits called on the people to self-sacrifice and resistance to the invaders. The church began collecting funds necessary to arm the army, support the wounded, sick, and orphans. Thanks to the funds raised by the church, combat vehicles were built for the Dmitry Donskoy tank column and the Alexander Nevsky squadron. During the Great Patriotic War, hierarchs of other traditional faiths of the USSR - Islam, Buddhism and Judaism - took a patriotic position. Soon after the invasion of Hitler's troops into the territory of the Soviet Union, the Main Directorate of Reich Security of Germany issued special directives allowing the opening of church parishes in the occupied territories. Father Sergius’s special appeal to believers who remained in enemy-occupied territory contained a call not to believe German propaganda, which claimed that the Wehrmacht army entered the territory of the Soviet Union in the name of liberating the church from atheists. In the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, the German attack on the Soviet Union was perceived differently. For a long time, the Church Abroad did not express its attitude towards the war. However, Hitler’s leadership was unable to obtain from the head of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky), an appeal to the Russian people about the assistance of the German army. Many hierarchs of the Church Abroad took an anti-German position during the war. Among them was John of Shanghai (Maksimovich), who organized money collections for the needs of the Red Army, and Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev), who forbade emigrants to fight against Russia. Metropolitan Benjamin, who was in America, carried out enormous patriotic work among the Russian colony in America; at the end of 1941, he became the honorary chairman of the Russian-American “Committee for Assistance to Russia.” Many figures of the Russian Orthodox Church took an active part in the European Resistance Movement. Others made their contribution to the cause of comprehensive assistance to the Soviet Union in countries such as the USA and Canada, China and Argentina. The sermon of Metropolitan Nicholas of Kyiv and Galicia in the Church of the Transfiguration about the responsibilities of believers in the fight against fascism stopped the activities of the “Union of Militant Atheists” (established in 1925), and closed anti-religious periodicals. In 1942, Metropolitans Alexy (Simansky) and Nikolay were invited to participate in the Commission to investigate the atrocities of the Nazis. The threat of a fascist invasion, the position of the Church, which declared the war against Germany “sacred” and supported the Soviet government in the fight against the enemy, forced the leaders of the USSR to change their attitude towards the Church. In September 1941, on September 4, 1943, the three highest hierarchs of the Russian Church, led by Metropolitan Sergius, were invited by the head of the Soviet state, J.V. Stalin, to the Kremlin. The meeting indicated the beginning of a new stage in relations between state power and the Church. At the mentioned meeting, a decision was made to convene a Council of Bishops and return the surviving bishops from exile. The Council of Bishops took place on September 8, 1943. Built at the expense of funds collected by the Russian Orthodox Church, 19 bishops took part in it (some of them were released from prison for this purpose). The council confirmed Metropolitan Sergius as patriarch. In October 1943, the Council for Religious Affairs under the Government of the USSR was created. On November 28, 1943, the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On the procedure for opening churches” was issued. According to this decree, churches began to open in the country. If in 1939 there were just over 100 churches and four monasteries operating in the USSR, then by 1948 the number of open churches increased to 14.5 thousand, with 13 thousand priests serving in them. The number of monasteries increased to 85. The growth of religious educational institutions was also observed - 8 seminaries and 2 academies. The “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” began to appear, and the Bible, prayer books and other church literature were published. Since 1943, due to the destruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 1931, the Elokhovsky Epiphany Cathedral, where the Patriarchal Chair was located, became the main temple of the country. After the death of Patriarch Sergius on May 15, 1944, Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod became locum tenens of the Throne, according to his will. On January 31 - February 2, 1945, the First Local Council of the Russian Church took place. In addition to the bishops of the Russian Church, the cathedral was attended by the patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, and representatives of other local Orthodox churches. In the “Regulations on the Russian Orthodox Church” approved at the Council, the structure of the Church was determined, and a new Patriarch was elected. This was the Metropolitan of Leningrad, Alexy (Simansky). One of the priority areas of his activity was the development of international relations with Orthodox churches. Conflicts between the Bulgarian and Constantinople Churches were resolved. Many supporters of the Church Abroad, the so-called Renovationists and Grigorievists, joined the Russian Orthodox Church, relations with the Georgian Orthodox Church were restored, and in the churches in the territories liberated from occupation the clergy was cleared of fascist collaborators. In August 1945, according to a decree of the authorities, the church received the right to acquire buildings and objects of worship. In 1945, according to a decree of the authorities, the church received the right to acquire buildings and objects of worship. The decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 1946-1947 were received with great enthusiasm in the church environment of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USSR and abroad. on the right to grant Soviet citizenship to citizens of the Russian Empire living abroad. Metropolitan Evlogy was the first Russian emigrant to receive a Soviet passport. After many years of emigration, many bishops and priests returned to the USSR. Among them were Metropolitan of Saratov - Benjamin, who arrived from the USA, Metropolitan Seraphim, Metropolitan of Novosibirsk and Barnaul - Nestor, Archbishop of Krasnodar and Kuban - Victor, Archbishop of Izhevsk and Udmurtia - Yuvenaly, Bishop of Vologda - Gabriel, who arrived from China, Archimandrite Mstislav, who came from Germany, rector of the Cathedral in Kherson, Archpriest Boris Stark (from France), Protopresbyter Mikhail Rogozhin (from Australia) and many others. As the years of the Great Patriotic War showed, religion, which contained enormous spiritual and moral potential, which it has retained to this day, helped our people withstand the aggression of Nazi forces and defeat them.
Historical sources:
Russian Orthodox Church and the Great Patriotic War. Collection of church documents. M., 1943.
Sunday June 22, 1941, the day of the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, coincided with the celebration of the memory of All Saints who shone in the Russian land. It would seem that the outbreak of war should have exacerbated the contradictions between and the state, which had been persecuting it for more than twenty years. However, this did not happen. The spirit of love inherent in the Church turned out to be stronger than resentment and prejudice. In the person of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, the Metropolitan gave an accurate, balanced assessment of the unfolding events and determined her attitude towards them. At a moment of general confusion, confusion and despair, the voice of the Church sounded especially clearly. Having learned about the attack on the USSR, Metropolitan Sergius returned to his modest residence from the Epiphany Cathedral, where he served the Liturgy, immediately went to his office, wrote and typed with his own hand the “Message to the Pastors and Flock of Christ’s Orthodox Church.” “Despite his physical disabilities - deafness and immobility,” Archbishop Dimitri (Gradusov) of Yaroslavl later recalled, “Metropolitan Sergius turned out to be unusually sensitive and energetic: he not only managed to write his message, but also sent it to all corners of his vast Motherland.” The message read: “Our Orthodox faith has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not leave her people even now. She blesses with heavenly blessing the upcoming national feat...” In the terrible hour of the enemy invasion, the wise first hierarch saw behind the alignment of political forces in the international arena, behind the clash of powers, interests and ideologies, the main danger that threatened to destroy thousand-year-old Russia. The choice of Metropolitan Sergius, like every believer in those days, was not simple and unambiguous. During the years of persecution, he and everyone else drank from the same cup of suffering and martyrdom. And now with all his archpastoral and confessional authority he convinced the priests not to remain silent witnesses, much less to indulge in thoughts about possible benefits on the other side of the front. The message clearly reflects the position of the Russian Orthodox Church, based on a deep understanding of patriotism, a sense of responsibility before God for the fate of the earthly Fatherland. Subsequently, at the Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church on September 8, 1943, the Metropolitan himself, recalling the first months of the war, said: “We did not have to think about what position our Church should take during the war, because before we had time to determine, somehow their position, it had already been determined - the fascists attacked our country, devastated it, took our compatriots captive, tortured and robbed them in every possible way. .. So simple decency would not allow us to take any other position than the one we took, that is, unconditionally negative towards everything that bears the stamp of fascism, a stamp hostile to our country.” In total, during the war years, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens issued up to 23 patriotic messages.
Metropolitan Sergius was not alone in his call to the Orthodox people. Leningrad Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) called on believers to “lay down their lives for the integrity, for the honor, for the happiness of their beloved Motherland.” In his messages, he first of all wrote about the patriotism and religiosity of the Russian people: “As in the times of Demetrius Donskoy and Saint Alexander Nevsky, as in the era of the struggle against Napoleon, the victory of the Russian people was due not only to the patriotism of the Russian people, but also to their deep faith in helping God’s just cause... We will be unshakable in our faith in the final victory over lies and evil, in the final victory over the enemy.”
Another close associate of the Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich), also addressed the flock with patriotic messages, who often went to the front line, performing services in local churches, delivering sermons with which he consoled the suffering people, instilling hope for God’s almighty help, calling the flock to loyalty to the Fatherland. On the first anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War, June 22, 1942, Metropolitan Nicholas addressed a message to the flock living in the territory occupied by the Germans: “It has been a year since the fascist beast flooded our native land with blood. This enemy is desecrating our holy temples of God. And the blood of the murdered, and the devastated shrines, and the destroyed temples of God - everything cries out to heaven for vengeance!.. The Holy Church rejoices that among you, people’s heroes are rising up for the holy cause of saving the Motherland from the enemy - glorious partisans, for whom there is no higher happiness than fight for the Motherland and, if necessary, die for it.”
In distant America, the former head of the military clergy of the White Army, Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov), called upon God's blessing on the soldiers of the Soviet army, on the entire people, the love for whom did not pass or diminish during the years of forced separation. On July 2, 1941, he spoke at a rally of many thousands in Madison Square Garden with an appeal to his compatriots, allies, to all people who sympathized with the fight against fascism, and emphasized the special, providential nature of the events taking place in the East of Europe for all mankind, saying that The fate of the whole world depends on the fate of Russia. Vladyka Benjamin paid special attention to the day the war began - the day of All Saints who shone in the Russian land, believing that this is “a sign of the mercy of the Russian saints towards our common Motherland and gives us great hope that the struggle that has begun will end in a good way for us.”
From the first day of the war, the hierarchs in their messages expressed the attitude of the Church to the outbreak of the war as liberation and fair, and blessed the defenders of the Motherland. The messages consoled believers in sorrow, called them to selfless work in the rear, courageous participation in military operations, supported faith in the final victory over the enemy, thereby contributing to the formation of high patriotic feelings and convictions among thousands of compatriots.
A description of the actions of the Church during the war years will not be complete unless it is said that the actions of the hierarchs who disseminated their messages were illegal, since after the resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars on religious associations in 1929, the area of activity of clergy and religious preachers was limited to the location of the members of the serviced them of the religious association and the location of the corresponding prayer room.
Not only in words, but also in deeds, she did not leave her people, she shared with them all the hardships of the war. Manifestations of the patriotic activity of the Russian Church were very diverse. Bishops, priests, laity, faithful children of the Church, accomplished their feat regardless of the front line: deep in the rear, on the front line, in the occupied territories.
1941 found Bishop Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky) in his third exile, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. When the Great Patriotic War began, Bishop Luke did not stand aside and did not harbor a grudge. He came to the leadership of the regional center and offered his experience, knowledge and skill to treat soldiers of the Soviet army. At this time, a huge hospital was being organized in Krasnoyarsk. Trains with wounded were already coming from the front. In October 1941, Bishop Luka was appointed consultant to all hospitals in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and chief surgeon of the evacuation hospital. He plunged headlong into the difficult and intense surgical work. The most difficult operations, complicated by extensive suppuration, had to be performed by a renowned surgeon. In mid-1942, the period of exile ended. Bishop Luke was elevated to the rank of archbishop and appointed to the Krasnoyarsk see. But, heading the department, he, as before, continued surgical work, returning the defenders of the Fatherland to duty. The archbishop's hard work in Krasnoyarsk hospitals produced brilliant scientific results. At the end of 1943, the 2nd edition of “Essays on Purulent Surgery”, revised and significantly expanded, was published, and in 1944 the book “Late Resections of Infected Gunshot Wounds of Joints” was published. For these two works, Saint Luke was awarded the Stalin Prize, 1st degree. Vladyka donated part of this prize to help children who suffered in the war.
Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad carried out his archpastoral labors just as selflessly in besieged Leningrad, spending most of the blockade with his long-suffering flock. At the beginning of the war, there were five active churches left in Leningrad: St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral, Prince Vladimir and Transfiguration Cathedrals and two cemetery churches. Metropolitan Alexy lived at St. Nicholas Cathedral and served there every Sunday, often without a deacon. With his sermons and messages, he filled the souls of the suffering Leningraders with courage and hope. On Palm Sunday, his archpastoral address was read in churches, in which he called on believers to selflessly help soldiers with honest work in the rear. He wrote: “Victory is achieved not by the power of one weapon, but by the power of universal upsurge and powerful faith in victory, trust in God, who crowns with the triumph of the weapon of truth, “saving” us “from cowardice and from the storm” (). And our army itself is strong not only in numbers and the power of weapons, but the spirit of unity and inspiration that lives the entire Russian people flows into it and ignites the hearts of the soldiers.”
The activity of the clergy during the days of the siege, which had deep spiritual and moral significance, was also forced to be recognized by the Soviet government. Many clergy, led by Metropolitan Alexy, were awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad.”
Metropolitan Nikolai of Krutitsky and many representatives of the Moscow clergy were awarded a similar award, but for the defense of Moscow. In the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate we read that the rector of the Moscow Church in the name of the Holy Spirit at the Danilovsky cemetery, Archpriest Pavel Uspensky, did not leave Moscow during the troubled days, although he usually lived outside the city. A 24-hour watch was organized in the temple; they were very careful to ensure that random visitors did not linger in the cemetery at night. A bomb shelter was set up in the lower part of the temple. To provide first aid in case of accidents, a sanitary station was created at the temple, where there were stretchers, dressings and the necessary medicines. The priest's wife and his two daughters took part in the construction of anti-tank ditches. The energetic patriotic activity of the priest will become even more significant if we mention that he was 60 years old. Archpriest Pyotr Filonov, rector of the Moscow church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Roshcha, had three sons who served in the army. He also organized a shelter in the temple, just like all citizens of the capital, in turn he stood at security posts. And along with this, he carried out extensive explanatory work among believers, pointing out the harmful influence of enemy propaganda that penetrated the capital in leaflets scattered by the Germans. The word of the spiritual shepherd was very fruitful in those difficult and anxious days.
Hundreds of clergy, including those who managed to return to freedom by 1941 after serving time in camps, prisons and exile, were drafted into the ranks of the active army. Thus, having already been imprisoned, S.M. began his combat journey along the war fronts as deputy company commander. Eternally, the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen. Viceroy of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in 1950–1960. Archimandrite Alipiy (Voronov) fought for all four years, defended Moscow, was wounded several times and was awarded orders. The future Metropolitan of Kalinin and Kashin Alexy (Konoplev) was a machine gunner at the front. When he returned to the priesthood in 1943, the medal “For Military Merit” glittered on his chest. Archpriest Boris Vasiliev, before the war a deacon of the Kostroma Cathedral, commanded a reconnaissance platoon in Stalingrad, and then fought as deputy chief of regimental intelligence. In the report of the Chairman of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church G. Karpov to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A.A. Kuznetsov on the state of the Russian Church dated August 27, 1946, indicated that many members of the clergy were awarded orders and medals of the Great Patriotic War.
In the occupied territory, clergymen were sometimes the only link between the local population and the partisans. They sheltered the Red Army soldiers and themselves joined the partisan ranks. Priest Vasily Kopychko, rector of the Odrizhinskaya Assumption Church in the Ivanovo district in the Pinsk region, in the first month of the war, through an underground group of a partisan detachment, received a message from Moscow from the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, read it to his parishioners, despite the fact that the Nazis shot those who had the text appeals. From the beginning of the war until its victorious conclusion, Father Vasily spiritually strengthened his parishioners, performing divine services at night without lighting, so as not to be noticed. Almost all residents of the surrounding villages came to the service. The brave shepherd introduced parishioners to the reports of the Information Bureau, talked about the situation at the fronts, called on them to resist the invaders, and read messages from the Church to those who found themselves under occupation. One day, accompanied by partisans, he came to their camp, became thoroughly acquainted with the life of the people's avengers, and from that moment became a partisan liaison. The rectory became a partisan hangout. Father Vasily collected food for the wounded partisans and sent weapons. At the beginning of 1943, the Nazis managed to uncover his connection with the partisans. and the Germans burned down the abbot’s house. Miraculously, they managed to save the shepherd’s family and transport Father Vasily himself to the partisan detachment, which subsequently united with the active army and participated in the liberation of Belarus and Western Ukraine. For his patriotic activities, the clergyman was awarded medals “Partisan of the Great Patriotic War”, “For Victory over Germany”, “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War”.
Personal feat was combined with fundraising from parishes for the needs of the front. Initially, believers transferred money to the account of the State Defense Committee, the Red Cross and other funds. But on January 5, 1943, Metropolitan Sergius sent a telegram to Stalin asking for permission to open a bank account into which all the money donated for defense in all churches in the country would be deposited. Stalin gave his written consent and, on behalf of the Red Army, thanked the Church for its labors. By January 15, 1943, in Leningrad alone, besieged and starving, believers donated 3,182,143 rubles to the church fund for the defense of the country.
The creation of the tank column “Dmitry Donskoy” and the squadron “Alexander Nevsky” with church funds constitutes a special page in history. There was almost not a single rural parish on the land free from fascists that did not make its contribution to the national cause. In the memories of those days, the archpriest of the church in the village of Troitsky, Dnepropetrovsk region, I.V. Ivleva says: “There was no money in the church treasury, but it was necessary to get it... I blessed two 75-year-old old women for this great cause. Let their names be known to people: Kovrigina Maria Maksimovna and Gorbenko Matryona Maksimovna. And they went, they went after all the people had already made their contribution through the village council. Two Maksimovnas went to ask in the name of Christ to protect their dear Motherland from rapists. We went around the entire parish - villages, farmsteads and settlements located 5-20 kilometers from the village, and as a result - 10 thousand rubles, a significant amount in our places devastated by German monsters.”
Funds were collected for the tank column and in the occupied territory. An example of this is the civic feat of priest Feodor Puzanov from the village of Brodovichi-Zapolye. In the occupied Pskov region, for the construction of a column, he managed to collect among the believers a whole bag of gold coins, silver, church utensils and money. These donations, totaling about 500,000 rubles, were transferred by the partisans to the mainland. With each year of the war, the amount of church contributions grew noticeably. But of particular importance in the final period of the war was the collection of funds that began in October 1944 to help the children and families of Red Army soldiers. On October 10, in his letter to I. Stalin, Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad, who headed Russia after the death of Patriarch Sergius, wrote: “May this concern on the part of all believers of our Union for the children and families of our native soldiers and defenders facilitate their great feat, and may it unite us even more close spiritual ties with those who do not spare their blood for the freedom and prosperity of our Motherland.” The clergy and laity of the occupied territories after liberation were also actively involved in patriotic work. Thus, in Orel, after the expulsion of fascist troops, 2 million rubles were collected.
Historians and memoirists have described all the battles on the battlefields of World War II, but no one is able to describe the spiritual battles committed by the great and nameless prayer books during these years.
On June 26, 1941, in the Epiphany Cathedral, Metropolitan Sergius served a prayer service “For the Granting of Victory.” From that time on, similar prayers began to be performed in all churches of the Moscow Patriarchate according to specially compiled texts “A prayer service for the invasion of adversaries, sung in the Russian Orthodox Church during the days of the Great Patriotic War.” In all churches there was a prayer composed by Archbishop Augustine (Vinogradsky) in the year of the Napoleonic invasion, a prayer for the granting of victories to the Russian army, which stood in the way of civilized barbarians. From the first day of the war, without interrupting its prayer for a single day, during all church services, our church fervently prayed to the Lord for the granting of success and victory to our army: “O give unabated, irresistible and victorious strength, strength and courage with courage to our army to crush our enemies and adversaries and all their cunning slander...”
Metropolitan Sergius not only called, but he himself was a living example of prayerful service. Here is what his contemporaries wrote about him: “On his way from the northern camps to the Vladimir exile, Archbishop Philip (Gumilevsky) was in Moscow; he went to the office of Metropolitan Sergius in Baumansky Lane, hoping to see Vladyka, but he was away. Then Archbishop Philip left a letter to Metropolitan Sergius, which contained the following lines: “Dear Vladyka, when I think of you standing at night prayers, I think of you as a holy righteous man; when I think about your daily activities, I think of you as a holy martyr...”
During the war, when the decisive Battle of Stalingrad was nearing its end, on January 19, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens in Ulyanovsk led a religious procession to the Jordan. He fervently prayed for the victory of the Russian army, but an unexpected illness forced him to go to bed. On the night of February 2, 1943, the Metropolitan, as his cell attendant, Archimandrite John (Razumov) said, having overcome his illness, asked for help to get out of bed. Rising with difficulty, he made three bows, thanking God, and then said: “The Lord of the armies, mighty in battle, has overthrown those who rise up against us. May the Lord bless his people with peace! Maybe this beginning will be a happy ending." In the morning, the radio broadcast a message about the complete defeat of German troops at Stalingrad.
The Monk Seraphim Vyritsky accomplished a wondrous spiritual feat during the Great Patriotic War. Imitating St. Seraphim of Sarov, he prayed in the garden on a stone in front of his icon for the forgiveness of human sins and for the deliverance of Russia from the invasion of adversaries. With hot tears, the great elder begged the Lord for the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church and for the salvation of the whole world. This feat required from the saint indescribable courage and patience; it was truly martyrdom for the sake of love for one’s neighbors. From the stories of the ascetic’s relatives: “...In 1941, grandfather was already 76 years old. By that time, the disease had weakened him greatly, and he could practically not move without assistance. In the garden behind the house, about fifty meters away, a granite boulder protruded from the ground, in front of which a small apple tree grew. It was on this stone that Father Seraphim raised his petitions to the Lord. They led him by the arms to the place of prayer, and sometimes they simply carried him. An icon was fixed on the apple tree, and grandfather stood with his sore knees on the stone and stretched out his hands to the sky... What did it cost him! After all, he suffered from chronic diseases of the legs, heart, blood vessels and lungs. Apparently, the Lord Himself helped him, but it was impossible to look at all this without tears. We repeatedly begged him to leave this feat - after all, it was possible to pray in the cell, but in this case he was merciless both to himself and to us. Father Seraphim prayed as much as he could - sometimes an hour, sometimes two, and sometimes several hours in a row, he gave himself completely, without reserve - it was truly a cry to God! We believe that through the prayers of such ascetics Russia survived and St. Petersburg was saved. We remember: grandfather told us that one prayer book for the country could save all the cities and towns... Despite the cold and heat, wind and rain, and many serious illnesses, the elder insistently demanded that we help him get to the stone. So day after day, throughout the long, grueling war years...”
Then many ordinary people, military personnel, and those who had left God during the years of persecution also turned to God. Theirs was sincere and often bore the repentant character of a “prudent thief.” One of the signalmen who received combat reports from Russian military pilots over the radio said: “When pilots in downed planes saw their inevitable death, their last words were often: “Lord, accept my soul.” The commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal L.A., repeatedly publicly demonstrated his religious feelings. Govorov, after the Battle of Stalingrad Marshal V.N. began visiting Orthodox churches. Chuikov. The belief became widespread among believers that throughout the war Marshal G.K. carried the image of the Kazan Mother of God with him in his car. Zhukov. In 1945, he again lit the unquenchable lamp in the Leipzig Orthodox church-monument dedicated to the “Battle of the Nations” with the Napoleonic army. G. Karpov, reporting to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the celebration of Easter in Moscow and Moscow region churches on the night of April 15-16, 1944, emphasized that in almost all churches, in varying numbers, there were military officers and enlisted personnel.
The war re-evaluated all aspects of the life of the Soviet state and returned people to the realities of life and death. The revaluation took place not only at the level of ordinary citizens, but also at the government level. An analysis of the international situation and the religious situation in the occupied territory convinced Stalin that it was necessary to support the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan Sergius. On September 4, 1943, Metropolitans Sergius, Alexy and Nikolai were invited to the Kremlin to meet with I.V. Stalin. As a result of this meeting, permission was received to convene the Council of Bishops, elect a Patriarch at it and resolve some other church problems. At the Council of Bishops on September 8, 1943, Metropolitan Sergius was elected His Holiness the Patriarch. On October 7, 1943, the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church was formed under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which indirectly testified to the government's recognition of the existence of the Russian Orthodox Church and the desire to regulate relations with it.
At the beginning of the war, Metropolitan Sergius wrote: “Let the thunderstorm approach, We know that it brings not only disasters, but also benefits: it refreshes the air and expels all sorts of miasma.” Millions of people were able to rejoin the Church of Christ. Despite the almost 25-year dominance of atheism, Russia has transformed. The spiritual nature of the war was that through suffering, deprivation, and sorrow, people eventually returned to faith.
In its actions, the Church was guided by participation in the fullness of moral perfection and love inherent in God, by the apostolic tradition: “We also beseech you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good of each other and everyone” (). Preserving this spirit meant and means remaining One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
Sources and literature:
1 . Damaskin I.A., Koshel P.A. Encyclopedia of the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945. M.: Red Proletarian, 2001.
2 . Veniamin (Fedchenkov), Metropolitan. At the turn of two eras. M.: Father's House, 1994.
3 . Ivlev I.V., prot. About patriotism and patriots with big and small deeds // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 1944. No. 5. P.24–26.
4 . History of the Russian Orthodox Church. From the restoration of the Patriarchate to the present day. T.1. 1917–1970. St. Petersburg: Resurrection, 1997.
5 . Marushchak Vasily, protod. Saint-Surgeon: Life of Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky). M.: Danilovsky blagovestnik, 2003.
6 . Newly glorified saints. Life of the Hieromartyr Sergius (Lebedev) // Moscow Diocesan Gazette. 2001. No. 11–12. pp.53–61.
7 . The most revered saints of St. Petersburg. M.: “Favor-XXI”, 2003.
8 . Pospelovsky D.V. Russian Orthodox in the 20th century. M.: Republic, 1995.
9 . Russian Orthodox Church in Soviet times (1917–1991). Materials and documents on the history of relations between the state and / Comp. G. Stricker. M.: Propylaea, 1995.
10 . Seraphim's blessing/Comp. and general ed. Bishop of Novosibirsk and Berdsk Sergius (Sokolov). 2nd ed. M.: Pro-Press, 2002.
11 . Tsypin V., prot. History of the Russian Church. Book 9. M.: Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, 1997.
12 . Shapovalova A. Rodina appreciated their merits // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 1944. No. 10.S. 18–19.
13 . Shkarovsky M.V. Russian Orthodox under Stalin and Khrushchev. M.: Krutitskoye Patriarchal Compound, 1999.
Plan
Introduction
1. Russian Orthodox Church on the eve of World War II (1937-1941)
1.1. Bolshevik terror and the Russian Orthodox Church
1.2. Beginning of World War II. Russian Orthodox Church and Bolshevik propaganda in the near abroad.
2. Russian Orthodox Church during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
2.1. The reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church to the country's entry into the great battle.
2.2. Religious policy of Nazi Germany in the occupied territories
3. Changes in the policy of the atheistic state in relation to the Russian Orthodox Church during the Second World War
3.1. A turning point in relations between the Church and the Bolsheviks
3.2. Russian Orthodox Church under His Holiness Patriarch Sergius
3.3. The period of triumph of the Red Army. Russian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Alexy I.
4. Attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church during the apogee of Stalinism (1945-1953)
Conclusion
Applications
Bibliography
Introduction
Forever and ever, remembering the gloom
Ages that have passed once and for all,
I saw that it was not to the Mausoleum, but to your altar
The banners of the enemy regiments fell.
I. Kochubeev
Relevance of the topic:
The Russian Orthodox Church played an important role during the Great Patriotic War, supporting and helping the people to withstand this unequal battle with extermination, when it itself was subject to persecution not only by the enemy, but also by the authorities.
Nevertheless, during the Great Patriotic War, the Church addressed its parishioners with a call to defend the Motherland to the end, for the Lord will not leave the Russian people in trouble if they fiercely defend their land and fervently pray to God.
The support of the Russian Orthodox Church was significant, its power was also appreciated by the Bolsheviks, therefore, during the most intense period of the war, the atheist state suddenly changed the course of its religious policy, starting cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church. And although it did not last long, this fact did not pass without a trace in the history of our country.
In this regard, this essay has the following objectives:
1. Consider the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church on the eve of World War II.
2. Analyze the policy of the Bolsheviks in relation to the Russian Orthodox Church during the Great Patriotic War.
3. Establish the relationship between the situation on the WWII fronts and the relationship between the Bolsheviks and the Church.
4. Draw conclusions about how the atheism of the Bolshevik system affected modern Russian society.
1. Russian Orthodox Church on the eve II World War (1937-1941)
1.1. Bolshevik terror and the Russian Orthodox Church
The results of the census signaled a colossal failure of the “Union of Militant Atheists.” For this, the union of five million people was subjected to “cleansing”. About half of its members were arrested, many were shot as enemies of the people. The authorities did not have any other reliable means of atheistic education of the population other than terror. And it fell upon the Orthodox Church in 1937 with such total coverage that it seemed to lead to the eradication of church life in the country.
At the very beginning of 1937, a campaign of mass church closures began. At a meeting on February 10, 1937 alone, the permanent commission on religious issues considered 74 cases of liquidation of religious communities and did not support the closure of churches only in 22 cases, and in just one year over 8 thousand churches were closed. And, of course, all this destruction was carried out “at the numerous requests of the working collectives” in order to “improve the layout of the city.” As a result of this devastation and ruin, about 100 churches remained in the vast expanses of the RSFSR, almost all in large cities, mainly those where foreigners were allowed. These temples were called “demonstrative”. Slightly more, up to 3% of pre-revolutionary parishes, have survived in Ukraine. In the Kyiv diocese, which in 1917 numbered 1,710 churches, 1,435 priests, 277 deacons, 1,410 psalm-readers, 23 monasteries and 5,193 monastics, in 1939 there were only 2 parishes with 3 priests, 1 deacon and 2 psalm-readers. In Odessa, there is only one functioning church left in the cemetery.
During the years of pre-war terror, mortal danger loomed over the existence of the Patriarchate itself and the entire church organization. By 1939, from the Russian episcopate, in addition to the head of the Church - the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Sergius, 3 bishops remained in the departments - Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad, Archbishop of Dmitrov and administrator of the Patriarchate Sergius (Voskresensky) and Archbishop of Peterhof Nikolai (Yarushevich), administrator of the Novgorod and Pskov dioceses.
1.2. The beginning of the Second World War. The Russian Orthodox Church and Bolshevik propaganda in the near abroad
On September 1, 1939, the Second World War began with the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland. Not only in human life, but also in the life of nations, the destinies of civilizations, disasters come as a result of sins. The unparalleled persecution of the Church, the civil war and regicide in Russia, the racist rampage of the Nazis and the rivalry over the spheres of influence of the European and Pacific powers, the decline of morals that swept through European and American society - all this overflowed the cup of God’s wrath. There were still 2 years of peaceful life left for Russia, but there was no peace within the country itself. The war of the Bolshevik government with its people and the internal party struggle of the communist elite did not stop; there was no peaceful silence on the borders of the Soviet empire. After the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and 16 days after the German attack on Poland, the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border and occupied its eastern voivodeships - the original Russian and Orthodox lands: Western Belarus and Volyn, separated from Russia by the Treaty of Riga (1921) of the Soviet government with Poland, as well as Galicia, which for centuries was separated from Rus'. On June 27, 1940, the Soviet government demanded that Romania, within four days, clear the territory of Bessarabia, which belonged to Russia until 1918, and Northern Bukovina, cut off from Rus' in the Middle Ages, but where the majority of the population had Russian roots. Romania was forced to submit to the ultimatum. In the summer of 1940, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which belonged to Russia before the revolution and civil war, were annexed to the Soviet Union.
The expansion of the borders of the Soviet state to the west territorially expanded the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Moscow Patriarchate received the opportunity to actually manage the dioceses of the Baltic states, Western Belarus, Western Ukraine and Moldova.
The establishment of the Soviet regime in the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus was accompanied by repressions. In Volyn and Polesie alone, 53 clergy were arrested. However, they did not destroy the church life of Western Rus'. Almost all parishes that survived during the Polish occupation were not closed by the Soviet authorities. Monasteries also continued to exist; True, the number of inhabitants in them was significantly reduced; some were forcibly removed from the monasteries, others left them themselves. Land plots and other real estate were confiscated from monasteries and churches, churches were nationalized and transferred for use to religious communities, and civil taxes were established on “clergy.” A serious blow to the Church was the closure of the Kremenets Theological Seminary.
Bolshevik propaganda through newspapers and radio tried to discredit the Orthodox clergy in the eyes of the masses, to kill faith in Christ in the hearts of people, the “Union of Militant Atheists” opened its branches in the newly annexed regions. Its chairman, E. Yaroslavsky, lashed out at parents who did not want to send their children to Soviet atheistic schools that had opened in the western regions. In Volyn and Belarus, brigades were created from hooligan teenagers and Komsomol members who caused scandals near churches during services, especially on holidays. For such atheistic activities for the celebration of Easter in 1940, the “Union of Militant Atheists” received 2.8 million rubles from the state treasury, which was not rich at that time. They were spent mainly in the western regions, because there the people openly celebrated the Resurrection of Christ and Easter services were performed in every village.
In 1939–1941 In legal forms, church life was essentially preserved only in Western dioceses. More than 90% of all parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church were located here, monasteries operated, all dioceses were governed by bishops. In the rest of the country, the church organization was destroyed: in 1939 there were only 4 departments occupied by bishops, including the head of the Church, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, about 100 parishes and not a single monastery. Mostly elderly women came to the churches, but religious life was preserved even in these conditions, it glimmered not only in the wild, but also in the countless camps that disfigured Russia, where priest-confessors cared for the condemned and even served the liturgy on carefully hidden antimensions.
In the last pre-war years, the wave of anti-church repressions subsided, partly because almost everything that could be destroyed was already destroyed, and everything that could be trampled was trampled. The Soviet leaders considered it premature to strike the final blow for various reasons. There was probably one special reason: the war was raging near the borders of the Soviet Union. Despite the ostentatious peacefulness of their declarations and assurances of the strength of friendly relations with Germany, they knew that war was inevitable and were unlikely to be so blinded by their own propaganda as to create illusions about the readiness of the masses to defend communist ideals. By sacrificing themselves, people could only fight for their homeland, and then the communist leaders turned to the patriotic feelings of citizens.
2. Russian Orthodox Church during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
2.1. The reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church to the country's entry into the great battle
His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy noted that the military and labor feat of our people during the war years became possible because the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army and Navy, as well as home front workers, were united by a high goal: they defended the whole world from the deadly threat hanging over it threats from the anti-Christian ideology of Nazism. Therefore, the Patriotic War became sacred for everyone. “The Russian Orthodox Church,” the Message says, “unshakably believed in the coming Victory and from the first day of the war blessed the army and all the people to defend the Motherland. Our soldiers were preserved not only by the prayers of their wives and mothers, but also by the daily church prayer for the granting of Victory.” In Soviet times, the question of the role of the Orthodox Church in achieving the great Victory was hushed up. Only in recent years have studies begun to appear on this topic. Portal editors "Patriarchia.ru" offers his commentary on the Message of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy regarding the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Great Patriotic War.
Fantasy versus document
The question of the real losses suffered by the Russian Church in the Great Patriotic War, as well as the religious life of our country in general during the years of the struggle against fascism, for obvious reasons, until recently could not become the subject of serious analysis. Attempts to raise this topic have appeared only in recent years, but they often turn out to be far from scientific objectivity and impartiality. Until now, only a very narrow range of historical sources have been processed that testify to the “works and days” of Russian Orthodoxy in 1941 - 1945. For the most part, they revolve around the revival of church life in the USSR after the famous meeting in September 1943 of J. Stalin with Metropolitans Sergius (Stragorodsky), Alexy (Simansky) and Nikolai (Yarushevich) - the only active Orthodox bishops at that time. Data about this side of the life of the Church are quite well known and do not give rise to doubt. However, other pages of church life during the war years have yet to be truly read. Firstly, they are much less well documented, and secondly, even the existing documents have hardly been studied. Now the development of materials on the church-military theme is just beginning, even from such large and relatively accessible collections as the State Archives of the Russian Federation (works by O.N. Kopylova and others), the Central State Archives of St. Petersburg and the Federal Archives in Berlin (primarily works by M.V. Shkarovsky). Processing most of the church, regional and foreign European archives from this point of view is a matter for the future. And where the document is silent, imagination usually roams freely. In the literature of recent years, there has been a place for anti-clerical speculation and unctuous pious myth-making about the “repentance” of the leader, the “love of Christ” of the commissars, etc.
Between the old persecutor and the new enemy
When addressing the topic “The Church and the Great Patriotic War,” it is truly difficult to maintain impartiality. The inconsistency of this plot is due to the dramatic nature of the historical events themselves. From the first weeks of the war, Russian Orthodoxy found itself in a strange position. The position of the highest hierarchy in Moscow was unambiguously formulated by the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Sergius, already on June 22, 1941, in his message to the “Pastors and flock of Christ’s Orthodox Church.” The First Hierarch called on the Orthodox Russian people to “serve the Fatherland in this difficult hour of trial with all that everyone can” in order to “dispel the fascist enemy force into dust.” Principled, uncompromising patriotism, for which there was no distinction between the “Soviet” and the national hypostasis of the state that clashed with the Nazi evil, will determine the actions of the hierarchy and clergy of the Russian Church in the unoccupied territory of the country. The situation in the western lands of the USSR occupied by German troops was more complex and contradictory. The Germans initially relied on the restoration of church life in the occupied territories, since they saw this as the most important means of anti-Bolshevik propaganda. They saw, obviously, not without reason. By 1939, the organizational structure of the Russian Orthodox Church was practically destroyed as a result of the most severe open terror. Of the 78 thousand churches and chapels that operated in the Russian Empire before the start of the revolutionary events, by this time there remained from 121 (according to O.Yu. Vasilyeva) to 350-400 (according to M.V. Shkarovsky). Most of the clergy were repressed. At the same time, the ideological effect of such an anti-Christian onslaught turned out to be quite modest. According to the results of the 1937 census, 56.7% of USSR citizens declared themselves believers. The result of the Great Patriotic War was largely predetermined by the position that these people took. And in the shocking first weeks of the war, when there was a total retreat of the Red Army on all fronts, it did not seem obvious - the Soviet power brought too much grief and blood to the Church. The situation in the western territories of Ukraine and Belarus, which were annexed to the USSR immediately before the war, was especially difficult. Thus, the situation in the west and east of Belarus was strikingly contrasting. In the “Soviet” east, parish life was completely destroyed. By 1939, all churches and monasteries here were closed, since 1936 there was no archpastoral care, and almost the entire clergy was subjected to repression. And in Western Belarus, which until September 1939 was part of the Polish state (and it also did not favor Orthodoxy), by June 1941 there were 542 functioning Orthodox churches. It is clear that the majority of the population of these areas had not yet undergone massive atheistic indoctrination by the beginning of the war, but they were deeply imbued with the fear of an impending “purge” by the Soviets. In two years, about 10 thousand churches were opened in the occupied territories. Religious life began to develop very rapidly. Thus, in Minsk, only in the first few months after the start of the occupation, 22 thousand baptisms were performed, and 20-30 couples had to be married at the same time in almost all the churches of the city. This inspiration was viewed with suspicion by the occupiers. And immediately the question of the jurisdictional affiliation of the lands on which church life was restored became quite acute. And here the true intentions of the German authorities were clearly outlined: to support the religious movement solely as a propaganda factor against the enemy, but to nip in the bud its ability to spiritually consolidate the nation. Church life in that difficult situation, on the contrary, was seen as an area where one could most effectively play on schisms and divisions, nurturing the potential for disagreement and contradictions between different groups of believers.
"Natsislavie"
At the end of July 1941, the main ideologist of the NSDLP, A. Rosenberg, was appointed Minister of the Occupied Territories of the USSR at the end of July 1941. The earliest circular of the Main Directorate of Imperial Security concerning religious policy in the East dates back to September 1, 1941: “On the understanding of church issues in the occupied regions of the Soviet Union.” This document set three main goals: supporting the development of the religious movement (as hostile to Bolshevism), fragmenting it into separate movements in order to avoid the possible consolidation of “leading elements” to fight against Germany, and using church organizations to help the German administration in the occupied territories. The longer-term goals of the religious policy of Nazi Germany in relation to the republics of the USSR were indicated in another directive of the Main Directorate of Reich Security of October 31, 1941, and concern about the massive surge in religiosity was already beginning to show through: “Among the part of the population of the former Soviet Union, liberated from the Bolshevik yoke, there is a strong desire to return to the authority of the church or churches, which especially applies to the older generation.” It was further noted: “It is extremely necessary to prohibit all priests from introducing a shade of religion into their preaching and at the same time take care to create as quickly as possible a new class of preachers who will be able, after appropriate, albeit short training, to interpret to the people a religion free from Jewish influence. It is clear that the imprisonment of “God’s chosen people” in the ghetto and the extermination of this people ... should not be violated by the clergy, who, based on the attitude of the Orthodox Church, preach that the healing of the world originates from Jewry. From the above it is clear that the resolution of the church issue in the occupied eastern regions is an extremely important task, which, with some skill, can be perfectly resolved in favor of a religion free from Jewish influence; this task, however, has as its prerequisite the closure of those located in the eastern regions churches infected with Jewish dogmas." This document quite clearly testifies to the anti-Christian goals of the hypocritical religious policy of the neo-pagan occupation authorities. On April 11, 1942, Hitler, in a circle of associates, outlined his vision of religious policy and, in particular, pointed out the need to prohibit “the establishment of single churches for any significant Russian territories.” In order to prevent the revival of a strong and united Russian Church, some schismatic jurisdictions in the west of the USSR were supported, which opposed the Moscow Patriarchate. Thus, in October 1941, the General Commissariat of Belarus set as a condition for legalizing the activities of the local episcopate that it pursue a course towards autocephaly of the Belarusian Orthodox Church. These plans were actively supported by a narrow group of nationalist intelligentsia, which not only provided all possible support to the fascist authorities, but also often pushed them to more decisive actions to destroy canonical church unity. After the dismissal of Metropolitan of Minsk and All Belarus Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky) and his imprisonment by the SD, in August 1942, with the zeal of the Nazi leadership, the Council of the Belarusian Church was convened, which, however, even experiencing powerful pressure from rabid nationalists and occupation authorities, postponed the decision on the issue of autocephaly until the post-war period. In the fall of 1942, Germany's attempts to play the anti-Moscow "church card" intensified - plans were being developed to hold a Local Council in Rostov-on-Don or Stavropol with the election as Patriarch of Archbishop Seraphim (Lyade) of Berlin, an ethnic German belonging to the jurisdiction of the ROCOR. Bishop Seraphim was one of the bishops with a vague past, but clearly pro-fascist sympathies in the present, which was clearly manifested in the appeal to the foreign Russian flock, which he published in June 1941: “Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! The punishing sword of Divine justice fell on the Soviet government, on its minions and like-minded people. The Christ-loving Leader of the German people called on his victorious army to a new struggle, to the struggle that we have long thirsted for - a sacred struggle against the atheists, executioners and rapists entrenched in the Moscow Kremlin... Truly, a new crusade has begun in the name of saving peoples from the power of the Antichrist ... Finally, our faith is justified!... Therefore, as First Hierarch of the Orthodox Church in Germany, I appeal to you. Be part of the new struggle, for this struggle is your struggle; this is a continuation of the struggle that began back in 1917, but alas! - ended tragically, mainly due to the betrayal of your false allies, who in our days have taken up arms against the German people. Each of you will be able to find your place on the new anti-Bolshevik front. “The salvation of all,” which Adolf Hitler spoke about in his address to the German people, is also your salvation—the fulfillment of your long-term aspirations and hopes. The final decisive battle has come. May the Lord bless the new feat of arms of all anti-Bolshevik fighters and give them victory and victory over their enemies. Amen!" The German authorities quickly realized what an emotional patriotic charge the restoration of Orthodox church life in the occupied territories carried and therefore tried to strictly regulate the forms of worship. The time of holding services was limited - only in the early morning on weekends - and their duration. Bell ringing was prohibited. In Minsk, for example, the Germans did not allow crosses to be erected on any of the churches that opened here. All church property that ended up on occupied lands was declared by them to be the property of the Reich. When the occupiers considered it necessary, they used churches as prisons, concentration camps, barracks, stables, guard posts, and firing points. Thus, a significant part of the territory of the oldest Polotsk St. Euphrosyne Monastery, founded in the 12th century, was allocated for a concentration camp for prisoners of war.
New mission
A very difficult feat was undertaken by one of the closest assistants of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), Exarch of the Baltic States Sergius (Voskresensky). He is the only active bishop of the canonical Russian Church who remained in the occupied territory. He managed to convince the German authorities that it was more profitable for them to preserve the dioceses of the Moscow, rather than the Patriarchate of Constantinople, an “ally” of the British, in the north-west. Under the leadership of Metropolitan Sergius, extensive catechetical activity was subsequently launched in the occupied lands. With the blessing of the Bishop, in August 1941, a Spiritual Mission was created in the Pskov, Novgorod, Leningrad, Velikoluksk and Kalinin regions, which by the beginning of 1944 managed to open about 400 parishes, to which 200 priests were assigned. At the same time, most of the clergy of the occupied territories more or less clearly expressed their support for the patriotic position of the Moscow hierarchy. There are numerous - although their exact number cannot yet be established - cases of execution by the Nazis of priests for reading the first letter of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) in churches. Some church structures legitimized by the occupation authorities almost openly - and with the ensuing risk - declared their obedience to Moscow. Thus, in Minsk there was a missionary committee under the leadership of Bishop Panteleimon’s closest associate, Archimandrite (later martyr) Seraphim (Shakhmutya), who, even under the Germans, continued to commemorate the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius during divine services.
Clergy and partisans
A special page in Russian church history during the war was assistance to the partisan movement. In January 1942, in one of his messages to the flock who remained in the occupied territories, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens called on people to provide all possible support to the underground struggle against the enemy: “Let your local partisans be for you not only an example and approval, but also an object of constant care . Remember that every service rendered to the partisans is a merit to the Motherland and an extra step towards our own liberation from fascist captivity.” This call received a very wide response among the clergy and ordinary believers of the Western lands - wider than could be expected after all the anti-Christian persecutions of the pre-war period. And the Germans responded to the patriotism of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian priests with merciless cruelty. For promoting the partisan movement, for example, in the Polesie diocese alone, up to 55% of the clergy were shot by the Nazis. In fairness, however, it is worth noting that sometimes unreasonable cruelty was manifested from the opposite side. Attempts by some members of the clergy to stay away from the struggle were often assessed - and not always justifiably - by the partisans as betrayal. For “collaboration” with the occupiers, in Belarus alone, underground units executed at least 42 priests.
Church contribution More than a dozen books will, of course, be written about the feat that hundreds of monastics, church and clergymen, including those awarded orders of the highest dignity, suffered in the name of the Motherland. If we dwell only on some facts of a socio-economic nature, then we should especially note the burden of financial responsibility for supporting the army, which the Russian Orthodox Church took upon itself. By helping the armed forces, the Moscow Patriarchate forced the Soviet authorities to at least to a small extent recognize its full presence in the life of society. On January 5, 1943, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens took an important step towards the actual legalization of the Church, using the fees for the defense of the country. He sent a telegram to I. Stalin, asking for his permission for the Patriarchate to open a bank account into which all the money donated for the needs of the war would be deposited. On February 5, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars gave his written consent. Thus, the Church, although in a detrimental form, received the rights of a legal entity. Already from the first months of the war, almost all Orthodox parishes in the country spontaneously began collecting funds for the established defense fund. Believers donated not only money and bonds, but also products (as well as scrap) made of precious and non-ferrous metals, clothes, shoes, linen, wool and much more. By the summer of 1945, the total amount of monetary contributions for these purposes alone, according to incomplete data, amounted to more than 300 million rubles. - excluding jewelry, clothing and food. Funds for defeating the Nazis were collected even in the occupied territory, which was associated with real heroism. Thus, the Pskov priest Fyodor Puzanov, close to the fascist authorities, managed to collect about 500 thousand rubles. donations and transfer them to the “mainland”. A particularly significant church act was the construction, at the expense of Orthodox believers, of a column of 40 T-34 Dimitri Donskoy tanks and the Alexander Nevsky squadron.
The price of ruin and sacrilege 
The true scale of the damage inflicted on the Russian Orthodox Church by the German occupiers cannot be assessed with accuracy. It was not limited to thousands of destroyed and devastated churches, countless utensils and church valuables taken away by the Nazis during the retreat. The Church has lost hundreds of spiritual shrines, which, of course, cannot be redeemed by any indemnities. And yet, the assessment of material losses, as far as possible, was carried out already during the war years. On November 2, 1942, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Extraordinary State Commission was created to establish and investigate the atrocities of the Nazi invaders and their accomplices and the damage they caused to citizens, collective farms (collective farms), public organizations, state enterprises and institutions of the USSR (ChGK) . A representative from the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) of Kiev and Galicia, was also included in the Commission. The Commission's staff developed an approximate diagram and list of crimes against cultural and religious institutions. The Instructions for the Registration and Protection of Monuments of Art noted that damage reports should record cases of robbery, removal of artistic and religious monuments, damage to iconostases, church utensils, icons, etc. Witness testimony, inventories, and photographs should be attached to the acts. A special price list for church utensils and equipment was developed, approved by Metropolitan Nicholas on August 9, 1943. The data received by the ChGK appeared at the Nuremberg trials as documentary evidence of the prosecution. In the appendices to the transcript of the meeting of the International Military Tribunal dated February 21, 1946, documents appear under numbers USSR-35 and USSR-246. They show the total amount of “damage to religious cults, including heterodox and non-Christian denominations,” which, according to ChGK calculations, amounted to 6 billion 24 million rubles. From the data given in the “Certificate on the Destruction of Religious Buildings” it is clear that the largest number of Orthodox churches and chapels were completely destroyed and partially damaged in Ukraine - 654 churches and 65 chapels. In the RSFSR, 588 churches and 23 chapels were damaged, in Belarus - 206 churches and 3 chapels, in Latvia - 104 churches and 5 chapels, in Moldova - 66 churches and 2 chapels, in Estonia - 31 churches and 10 chapels, in Lithuania - 15 churches and 8 chapels and in the Karelo-Finnish SSR - 6 churches. The “Reference” provides data on prayer buildings of other faiths: during the war, 237 churches, 4 mosques, 532 synagogues and 254 other places of worship were destroyed, a total of 1027 religious buildings. The materials of the ChGK do not contain detailed statistical data on the monetary value of the damage caused to the Russian Orthodox Church. However, it is not difficult, with a certain degree of convention, to make the following calculations: if during the war years a total of 2,766 prayer buildings of various denominations were damaged (1,739 losses of the Russian Orthodox Church (churches and chapels) and 1,027 of other denominations), and the total amount of damage was 6 billion. 24 million rubles, then the damage to the Russian Orthodox Church reaches approximately 3 billion 800 thousand rubles. The scale of destruction of historical monuments of church architecture, which cannot be calculated in monetary terms, is evidenced by the incomplete list of churches damaged in Novgorod alone. German shelling caused enormous damage to the famous St. Sophia Cathedral (11th century): its middle chapter was pierced by shells in two places, in the northwestern chapter the dome and part of the drum were destroyed, several vaults were demolished, and the gilded roof was torn off. St. George's Cathedral of the Yuryev Monastery is a unique monument of Russian architecture of the 12th century. - received many large holes, due to which through cracks appeared in the walls. Other ancient monasteries of Novgorod were also severely damaged by German bombs and shells: Antoniev, Khutynsky, Zverin, etc. The famous Church of the Savior-Nereditsa of the 12th century was reduced to ruins. Buildings included in the ensemble of the Novgorod Kremlin were destroyed and severely damaged, including the Church of St. Andrew Stratelates of the 14th-15th centuries, the Church of the Intercession of the 14th century, and the belfry of the St. Sophia Cathedral of the 16th century. etc. In the vicinity of Novgorod, the Cathedral of the Cyril Monastery (XII century), the Church of St. Nicholas on Lipna (XIII century), the Annunciation on Gorodishche (XIII century), the Church of the Savior on Kovalevo (XIV century), the Church of the Assumption on Gorodishche (XIII century) were destroyed by targeted artillery fire. Volotovo Field (XIV century), St. Michael the Archangel in the Skovorodinsky Monastery (XIV century), St. Andrew on Sitka (XIV century). All this is nothing more than an eloquent illustration of the true losses that the Russian Orthodox Church suffered during the Great Patriotic War, which for centuries had been building a unified state, deprived of almost all its property after the Bolsheviks came to power, but considered it an absolute duty to rise to the top during the years of difficult trials. All-Russian Golgotha.
Vadim Polonsky
On Sunday June 22, 1941, the day of all saints who shone in the Russian land, fascist Germany entered into war with the Russian people. On the very first day of the war, the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Sergius, wrote and typed with his own hand “Message to the shepherds and flocks of Christ’s Orthodox Church,” in which he called on the Russian people to defend the Fatherland. Unlike Stalin, who took 10 days to address the people with a speech, the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne immediately found the most precise and most necessary words. In a speech at the Council of Bishops in 1943, Metropolitan Sergius, recalling the beginning of the war, said that then there was no need to think about what position our Church should take, because “before we had time to somehow determine our position, it had already been determined - the Nazis attacked our country, devastated it, took our compatriots into captivity.” On June 26, the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne performed a prayer service for the victory of the Russian army in the Epiphany Cathedral.
The first months of the war were a time of defeats and defeat of the Red Army. The entire west of the country was occupied by the Germans. Kyiv was taken, Leningrad was blocked. In the fall of 1941, the front line was approaching Moscow. In this situation, Metropolitan Sergius drew up a will on October 12, in which, in the event of his death, he transferred his powers as Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne to Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad.
On October 7, the Moscow City Council ordered the evacuation of the Patriarchate to the Urals, to Chkalov (Orenburg), the Soviet government itself moved to Samara (Kuibyshev). Apparently, the state authorities did not fully trust Metropolitan Sergius, fearing a repetition of what his close assistant, Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky), Exarch of the Baltic states, did in the 30s. During the evacuation from Riga before the arrival of the Germans, he hid in the crypt of the temple and remained in the occupied territory along with his flock, taking a loyal position to the occupation authorities. At the same time, Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) remained in canonical obedience to the Patriarchate and, as far as he could, defended the interests of Orthodoxy and the Russian communities of the Baltics before the German administration. The Patriarchate managed to obtain permission to travel not to distant Orenburg, but to Ulyanovsk, former Simbirsk. The administration of the renovationist group was also evacuated to the same city. By that time, Alexander Vvedensky had acquired the title of “Holy and Blessed First Hierarch” and pushed the elderly “Metropolitan” Vitaly to a secondary role in the Renovation Synod. They traveled on the same train with the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne. The Patriarchate was located in a small house on the outskirts of the city. Next to the Head of the Russian Orthodox Church were the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archpriest Nikolai Kolchitsky, and the cell attendant of the Locum Tenens, Hierodeacon John (Razumov). The outskirts of a quiet provincial town became the spiritual center of Russia during the war years. Here, in Ulyanovsk, the Exarch of Ukraine who remained in Moscow, Metropolitan Nicholas of Kiev and Galicia, Archbishops Sergius (Grishin) of Mozhaisk, Andrei (Komarov) of Kuibyshevsk and other bishops came to see the Primate of the Russian Church.
On November 30, Metropolitan Sergius consecrated a church on Vodnikov Street, in a building that had previously been used as a hostel. The main altar of the temple was dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The first liturgy was served without a professional choir, with the singing of the people who had gathered with great joy in the church, which essentially became a patriarchal cathedral. And on the outskirts of Simbirsk, in Kulikovka, in a building that was once a temple, and then disfigured, with holy domes, was used as a warehouse, a renovationist church was built. Alexander Vvedensky, the self-appointed first hierarch, “Metropolitan” Vitaly Vvedensky, and the renovationist false archbishop of Ulyanovsk Andrei Rastorguev served there. About 10 people came to their services, some only out of curiosity, and the church on Vodnikov Street was always crowded with praying people. This tiny temple for some time became the spiritual center of Orthodox Russia.
In the First Hierarchal messages to the flock, which Metropolitan Sergius sent from Ulyanovsk to the churches of Russia, he denounced the invaders for their atrocities, for the shedding of innocent blood, for the desecration of religious and national shrines. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church called on the inhabitants of the regions captured by the enemy to courage and patience.
On the first anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, Metropolitan Sergius issued two messages - one for Muscovites, and the other for the all-Russian flock. In his Moscow message, the locum tenens expressed joy at the defeat of the Germans near Moscow. In a message to the entire Church, its head denounced the Nazis, who, for propaganda purposes, arrogated to themselves the mission of defenders of Christian Europe from the invasion of communists, and also consoled the flock with the hope of victory over the enemy.
The closest associates of the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitans Alexy (Simansky) and Nikolai (Yarushevich), also addressed patriotic messages to the flock. Metropolitan Nicholas two weeks before the fascist invasion left Kyiv for Moscow. Soon after this, on July 15, 1941, he, retaining the title of Exarch of Ukraine, became Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia. But throughout the war he remained in Moscow, acting as administrator of the Moscow diocese. He often went to the front line, performing services in local churches, delivering sermons with which he consoled the suffering people, instilling hope in God's almighty help, calling on his flock to be faithful to the Fatherland.
Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad did not separate from his flock throughout the terrible days of the blockade. At the beginning of the war, there were only five functioning Orthodox churches in Leningrad. Even on weekdays, mountains of notes about health and repose were given. Due to frequent shelling and bomb explosions, the windows in the temples were broken by the blast wave, and a frosty wind blew through the temples. The temperature in the temples often dropped below zero, and the singers could barely stand on their feet from hunger. Metropolitan Alexy lived at St. Nicholas Cathedral and served there every Sunday, often without a deacon. With his sermons and messages, he supported courage and hope in people left in inhuman conditions in the blockade ring. In Leningrad churches, his messages were read, calling on believers to selflessly help soldiers with honest work in the rear.
Throughout the country, prayers for the granting of victory were held in Orthodox churches. Every day during the divine service a prayer was offered: “For the hedgehog to give unremitting, irresistible and victorious strength, strength and courage with courage to our army to crush our enemies and our adversary and all their cunning slander...”
The defeat of Hitler's troops at Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of the war. However, the enemy still had powerful military potential at that time. Its defeat required enormous effort. For decisive military operations, the Red Army needed powerful armored vehicles. Tank factory workers worked tirelessly. Fundraising was underway throughout the country for the construction of new combat vehicles. By December 1942 alone, about 150 tank columns were built with these funds.
Nationwide concern for the needs of the Red Army did not bypass the Church, which sought to make its feasible contribution to the victory over the Nazi invaders. On December 30, 1942, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius called on all believers in the country to send “to our army for the upcoming decisive battle, along with our prayers and blessings, material evidence of our participation in the common feat in the form of the construction of a column of tanks named after Dmitry Donskoy.” The entire Church responded to the call. In the Moscow Epiphany Cathedral, the clergy and laity collected more than 400 thousand rubles. The entire church of Moscow collected over 2 million rubles; in besieged Leningrad, Orthodox Christians collected one million rubles for the needs of the army. In Kuibyshev, old people and women donated 650 thousand rubles. In Tobolsk, one of the donors brought 12 thousand rubles and wished to remain anonymous. A resident of the village of Cheborkul, Chelyabinsk region, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vodolaev wrote to the Patriarchate: “I am elderly, childless, with all my soul I join the call of Metropolitan Sergius and contribute 1000 rubles from my labor savings, with a prayer for the speedy expulsion of the enemy from the sacred borders of our land.” The supernumerary priest of the Kalinin diocese, Mikhail Mikhailovich Kolokolov, donated a priestly cross, 4 silver vestments from icons, a silver spoon and all his bonds to the tank column. Unknown pilgrims brought a package to one Leningrad church and placed it near the icon of St. Nicholas. The package contained 150 gold ten-ruble coins of royal minting. Large training camps were held in Vologda, Kazan, Saratov, Perm, Ufa, Kaluga and other cities. There was not a single parish, even a rural one, on land free from fascist invaders that did not make its contribution to the national cause. In total, more than 8 million rubles and a large number of gold and silver items were collected for the tank column.
Workers from the Chelyabinsk tank plant took the baton from the believers. The workers worked day and night at their places. In a short time, 40 T-34 tanks were built. They formed a church-wide tank column. Its transfer to Red Army units took place near the village of Gorelki, five kilometers northwest of Tula. The 38th and 516th separate tank regiments received formidable equipment. By that time, both had already gone through a difficult battle path.
Considering the high significance of the patriotic contribution of the clergy and ordinary believers, on the day of the transfer of the column, March 7, 1944, a solemn meeting was held. The main organizer and inspirer of the creation of the tank column, Patriarch Sergius, due to serious illness, was unable to personally be present at the transfer of tanks to units of the Red Army. With his blessing, Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) spoke to the personnel of the regiments. Having reported on the patriotic activities of the Church and its unbreakable unity with the people, Metropolitan Nicholas gave parting instructions to the defenders of the Motherland.
At the end of the meeting, Metropolitan Nikolai, in memory of the significant event, presented the tankers with gifts from the Russian Orthodox Church: the officers received engraved watches, and the rest of the crew members received folding knives with many accessories.
This event was celebrated in Moscow. Chairman of the Affairs Council
G. G. Karpov gave a special reception to the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on March 30, 1944. It was attended by: from the Military Council of Armored and Mechanized Troops of the Red Army - Lieutenant General N.I. Biryukov and Colonel N.A. Kolosov, from the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Sergius and Metropolitans Alexy and Nikolai. Lieutenant General N.I. Biryukov conveyed to Patriarch Sergius the gratitude of the Soviet command and an album of photographs capturing the solemn moment of the transfer of the tank column to the wars of the Red Army.
For their courage and heroism, 49 tankmen of the Dimitri Donskoy column from the 38th regiment were awarded orders and medals of the USSR. Another, the 516th Lodz Separate Flamethrower Tank Regiment, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on April 5, 1945.
The tankers summed up the results of their battle in Berlin. By May 9, 1945, they had destroyed: over 3,820 enemy soldiers and officers, 48 tanks and self-propelled guns, 130 various guns, 400 machine gun emplacements, 47 bunkers, 37 mortars; about 2,526 soldiers and officers captured; captured 32 military warehouses and much more.
The moral impact of the tank column on our army was even greater. After all, she bore the blessing of the Orthodox Church and her incessant prayer for the success of Russian weapons. The church column gave the believers the comforting knowledge that Orthodox Christians did not stand aside and that, according to their strengths and capabilities, each of them participated in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
In total, more than 200 million rubles were collected from parishes during the war for the needs of the front. In addition to money, believers also collected warm clothes for the soldiers: felt boots, mittens, padded jackets.
During the war years, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens addressed believers with patriotic messages 24 times, responding to all the main events in the military life of the country. The patriotic position of the Church was of particular importance for Orthodox Christians of the USSR, millions of whom participated in combat operations at the front and in partisan detachments, and worked in the rear. The difficult trials and hardships of the war became one of the reasons for the significant increase in people's religious feelings. Representatives of different segments of the population sought and found support and consolation in the Church. In his messages and sermons, Metropolitan Sergius not only consoled believers in sorrow, but also encouraged them to selflessly work in the rear and courageously participate in military operations. He condemned desertion, surrender, and collaboration with the occupiers. Maintained faith in the final victory over the enemy.
The patriotic activity of the Russian Orthodox Church, manifested from the first day of the war in moral and material assistance to the front, quickly won recognition and respect both among believers and atheists. Soldiers and commanders of the active army, home front workers, public and religious figures and citizens of allied and friendly states wrote about this to the USSR Government. A number of telegrams from representatives of the Orthodox clergy with messages about the transfer of funds for defense needs appear on the pages of the central newspapers Pravda and Izvestia. Anti-religious attacks in periodicals cease completely. Stops
its existence as the “Union of Militant Atheists” without official dissolution. Some anti-religious museums are closing. Temples are starting to open without legal registration. On Easter 1942, by order of the commandant of Moscow, unhindered movement around the city was allowed for the entire Easter night. In the spring of 1943, the Government opened access to the Iveron Mother of God icon, which was transported from the closed Donskoy Monastery for worship at the Resurrection Church in Sokolniki. In March 1942, the first Council of Bishops during the war years met in Ulyanovsk, which examined the situation in the Russian Orthodox Church and condemned the pro-fascist actions of Bishop Polycarp (Sikorsky). More and more often in Stalin's speeches one hears a call to follow the behests of the great ancestors. According to his instructions, one of the most revered Russian saints, Alexander Nevsky, along with other commanders of the past, is again declared a national hero. On July 29, 1942, the Military Order of Alexander Nevsky was established in the USSR - the direct successor to the order of the same saint, created by Peter the Great. For the first time in the entire history of the existence of the Soviet state, the hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church takes part in the work of one of the state commissions - on November 2, 1942, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia Nikolai (Yarushevich), administrator of the Moscow diocese, becomes, according to the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, one of the ten members Extraordinary State Commission to establish and investigate the atrocities of the Nazi invaders.
In the first years of the war, with the permission of the authorities, several bishops' sees were replaced. During these years, episcopal consecrations were also carried out, mainly of widowed archpriests of advanced years, who managed to receive spiritual education in the pre-revolutionary era.
But 1943 was preparing even greater changes for the Russian Orthodox Church.