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The article is dedicated to theoretical and practical aspects of how the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) implements is social projects working with foreign labor migrants on the territory of the Russian Federation. The role of the Church is evaluated simultaneously through analyzing the practice of implementing projects for sociocultural adaptation of migrants, which take place under the aegis and with the participation of ecclesiastical institutions. The main research problem of the article is to fund out whether church bodies are ready to work with labor migrants and to evaluate their effectiveness. The study relies on analyzing church-state agreements and ecclesiastical documents on migration and related issues. This made possible defining the legal boundaries for the activities of Orthodox religious associations working in the field of sociocultural adaptation of foreign labor migrants. Critical documentary analysis contributed into characterizing the official position of the Church and the positions of Orthodox activists and representatives of intelligentsia. To identify conflicting opinions the research implied analysis of two opposite positions on the issue of migration: nationalists, who intend to make Orthodoxy the property of the Russian ethnic nation, and supporters of unlimited proselytism. Our vision of grassroots social work with migrants resulted from a qualitative analysis of network data related to social projects of the Orthodox community, as well as from participant observation done by one of the authors who took part in one of such projects. The study concludes that the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the sphere of sociocultural adaptation of foreign labor migrants should be evaluated as insufficiently effective to become stimulating both for strengthening the Orthodox community and for increasing its social capital. more...

The article introduces a new document of the GPU Secret Department on the instigating the Renovationist split in the Russian Orthodox Church. This is the postal telegram No. 24968s of May 29, 1922, signed by the Head of the Secret Operative Directorate of the GPU V. R. Menzhinsky, and by the Head of the Secret Department of the GPU T. P. Samsonov. This telegram is part of a set of directives issued by the GPU, which initiated and regulated the church schism in 1922. Earlier, the researchers at Orthodox Svyato-Tikhonovsky University of Humanities published two directives of the GPU Secret Department, sent out from Moscow in the summer and fall of 1922. The documents describes the specific role that the GPU played in the beginning of the campaign to instigate split in spring-summer of 1922. In particular, the telegram deals with the actions of the GPU at the very beginning of the campaign. The document shows that by this time, the leadership of the GPU had already developed two main strategies, which they then adhered to steadily during the campaign: complete secrecy and strict control over the actions of the renewed clergy. The publication also describes specific measures taken by the GPU in Siberia immediately after receiving the Circular of May 29, 1922: the establishment of the renovationist Siberian church department ("Sibtserkov’") and the trials of the Tomsk Vicar and Barnaul Archbishop Victor (Bogoyavlensky) and the Irkutsk and Verkholensk Archbishop Anatoly (Kamensky). more...

Kalach caves dug out in a chalk relic in the town of Kalach, Voronezh region, is an underinvestigated historical and cultural heritage site. The archive materials found in the funds of RSHA, together with evidence of local people, provide insight into the final period of the cult dungeon functioning in the late XIX – early XX centuries. At that time the rural community of Kalach made an attempt to establish there an official orthodox cave monastery. On the 11th of August, 1885, residents of Kalach authorized peasants Ivan Serjakov, Matvey Bezugly and Gavriil Lebedinsky to solicit different authorities for a monastery foundation. The community also allocated 1300 roubles and 36 dessiatines of land area for the monastery arrangement. The rural community request was examined in Voronezh Ecclesiastical Consistory, Voronezh Provincial Government, Voronezh Provincial Peasant Council and in the Second (Peasant) Senate Department. The attempt was not successful, it encountered resistance of authorities. Meanwhile the cave diggers managed to accommodate the caves and arrange regular divine service by the local secular clergy. Functioning of the caves as a sacred locus for the rural community was interrupted by revolution events of early XX century. At present Kalach caves are put on Russian cultural heritage register. more...

The article analyzes the ideas of the Orthodox clergy about cemeteries related to their management, profitability, improvement, assessments of the state of this space, determined by the location of the cemetery in system of values, symbolic meanings and normative emotional models. The study revealed a contradiction between the appearance of the vast majority of urban and rural cemeteries and the idea of the clergy about the "proper" in this area. It was considered what was included in the concept of an “ideal cemetery” and what obstacles prevented the realization of this ideal: an inefficient administrative system, a lack of funds and enthusiasm from both the clergy and parishioners, especially in rural areas, as well as conflicting ideas about the attitude towards cemeteries in church ideology and in traditional folk culture, which was characterized by fear of the “unclean place” and the desire to avoid the dead, which was not typical for the clergy, better educated and professionally accustomed to the spectacle of ordinary death. In addition, the measures of the clergy to introduce the “correct order” of the organization of the cemetery space were studied: criticism of the inaction of the clergy, attempts to influence the priests through religious and value motivation and practical recommendations for bringing the appearance of the cemeteries in line with the “proper”; coupled with this, preaching to the people with various ways of argumentation and forms of emotional impact, including appealing to the idea of Christian virtue and duty, respect for dead ancestors and “kinship feeling”, arousing fear of possible punishment from above for neglecting the “holy place”, awakening national-confessional competitiveness. more...

Below is published a letter from the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) to Metropolitan Eleuthery of Lithuania and Vilna (Bogoyavlensky). The letter, written most likely in the second half of July or early August 1929, is an answer to the question about the situation in the Russian Church, as well as about the attitude of the hierarchy to the compromise course of Metropolitan Sergius. First of all, the Lithuanian hierarch was interested in the position of three authoritative archpastors. These were the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky), Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov) and Archbishop Seraphim (Samoilovich). All these archpastors, now canonized, to one degree or another condemned the policy of compromises with the God-fighting authorities. However, the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens tried to smooth out the real situation. Thus, he presented Metropolitan Peter as his supporter rather than his opponent, referring primarily to the dubious testimony of Bishop Vasily (Belyaev). At the same time, Metropolitan Sergius considered his rights equal to the rights of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens. Metropolitan Sergius explained his disagreement with the compromises of Metropolitan Kirill and Archbishop Seraphim with personal motives or ignorance. According to the Deputy Locum Tenens, resistance to his compromise course is insignificant and is gradually fading. The introductory article and notes provide comments on the statements of Metropolitan Sergius. more...

The article examines the main directions, forms and methods of missionary activity of the Tobolsk-Tyumen diocese among the indigenous population of the North of Western Siberia in 1990 – 2010. The research was based on publications in the diocesan periodical press, the works of the Tobolsk Theological Seminary, field materials of the authors. The article examines the state of Orthodoxy among the indigenous population by the early 1990s, the specifics of the organization and implementation of the diocesan mission in the territories of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (KhMAO) and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YANAO). It is shown that in the post-Soviet period, in the conditions of changing relations between the state and the Russian Orthodox Church, the restoration of its missionary activity and the expansion of the Orthodox space in the historically nurtured territories gradually took place. It is concluded that educational, apologetic, informational forms of work were the most common in the missionary activity of the Tobolsk–Tyumen diocese in the North of Western Siberia in 1990 - 2010. The fulfillment of socially significant functions by the diocese contributed to the expansion of the Orthodox presence in the territory. In the 1990s, the missionary activity of the diocese among the indigenous population of the North was limited due to insufficient material and financial situation, lack of personnel and premises for religious rites, parish work. In the 2000s, in the context of establishing stable ties with government administrations of various levels, missionary activity acquired a large-scale character. The article notes that the practice of the Orthodox mission has led to the development of recommendations for the organization of missionary work among the indigenous population, and the specifics of the activities associated with the remoteness and inaccessibility of the northern territories – to the emergence of new forms of missionary expedition. more...

The article is devoted to the problem of the conversion of non-believers of the Russian Empire to the Orthodox faith in the second half of the XIX century. These gentiles had to resist their society in particular, their families, or break social ties. Based on journalistic sources, the author reconstructs the activities of Maria Kosminichna Kabanova and Ekaterina Vasilyevna Melkova, who show examples of individual missionary service of women carried out in the 1870s-1890s in the Orenburg and Samara dioceses, respectively. The article highlights the ways in which missionaries carried out their activities and examines the features of their interaction with the structure of the Orthodox Missionary Society. Basing on the example of the missionaries’ service it is noted how important it was for the Russian Orthodox Church to organize shelters for the newly converted orthodox people so that they could safely establish in their faith. Because of this, the emphasis is put on the fact that the shelters created by the missionaries were not an artificial phenomenon, but arose in response to an existing need. M. K. Kabanova and E. V. Melkova indicated with the help of their service, which occurred at the same time, certain changes which took place in the society because of the Great Reforms. It is seen both through the tendency of the people to acquire the desire to serve the Church and the mission and through the newly opened possibility to change their social status of women. more...

The publication is dedicated to the reaction of the student of the Leningrad Theological Seminary, priest Vasily Zavodchikov (1924–2008) to the renunciation of religion and the Church, announced in December 1959, the Orthodox theologian, former professor of the Leningrad theological schools and former archpriest Alexander Alexandrovich Osipov (1911–1967). In December 1959, priest Vasily Zavodchikov wrote and sent an «Open Letter» to A. A. Osipov, in which he tried to explain that Osipov’s public departure from the Church was not only a betrayal of Orthodoxy, but also his deep moral error. The letter, emotional in form and not entirely literary, should be considered as an important historical and socio-psychological document that allows us to better understand the era of the «Khrushchev Thaw”, which became a time of new persecution for the Church. In addition, this publication presents materials regarding the renegadeness of A. A. Osipov, compiled by Father Vasily in 1999, and now also a historical document that allows us to evaluate the psychology of perception of what happened in 1959 by a clergyman who survived the times of the atheism and assessed Soviet atheism from the point of view of new, «post-Soviet» realities. more...

The publication introduces documents characterising the Vatican’s perception of religious processes in the occupied territories of the USSR that took place in 1941-1942. The main of them – “Memorandum on the Religious Situation in Russia” - was drawn up in the General Curia of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order) and sent to the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs in May 1942. It presents a sketch of the information available to the Vatican about religious sentiments in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union. On the basis of this information, it is concluded that the anti-religious policy of the Soviet authorities had collapsed and that since the turn of the 1930s and 1940s there had been a religious revival in the USSR, witnessed by Catholic chaplains who had entered its territory at the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. From the point of view of the author of the note, this provides a unique chance for the unfolding of a Catholic mission in Soviet Russia. The author puts forward specific proposals necessary, in his opinion, for the deployment of this mission. In particular, he proposes the creation of a special body to supervise missionary activity, as well as the involvement of lay people in mission. more...

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) more...

В статье рассматривается реализация советской государственно-конфессиональной политики в отношении православных верующих Западной Сибири в конце 1950 — начала 1960-х гг. В качестве источниковой базы исследования выступили архивные материалы Исторического архива Омской области, Государственного архива Новосибирской области, Государственного архива Республики Алтай, Государственного архива Алтайского края. Многие архивные данные вводятся в научный оборот впервые, что в свою очередь позволяет существенно расширить источниковую основу изучаемой проблемы. В рассматриваемый период религиозная жизнь населения регламентировалась большим количеством постановлений и инструкций, формирующих вектор государственно-конфессиональной политики. Массово закрывались храмы, происходило упрощение церковных обрядов и их адаптация под условия, в которых они совершались. Широкое распространение получила так называемая народная религиозность, нашедшая выражение в соблюдении определенных обрядов и ритуалов. Однако уже к середине 1960-х гг. административное закрытие церквей и давление местных органов власти на верующих привели к снижению проявлений религиозных настроений среди населения. more...

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) more...

В статье проанализированы церковно-государственные отношения накануне и во время празднования Тысячелетия крещения Руси в 1988 г. Источниковая база проведенного исследования представлена архивными материалами, хранящимися в Государственном архиве Российской Федерации (ГАРФ) и Российском государственном архиве новейшей истории (РГАНИ). Исследуемый период во взаимоотношениях советского государства и Русской православной церкви (РПЦ) характеризовался постепенной демократизацией положения церкви в стране, что было вызвано рядом причин: активизация деятельности самой церкви, стремящейся найти способы участия в общественно-политической жизни страны; перемены в массовом сознании прихожан, требовавших демократизации положения РПЦ в стране; внешнеполитическая конъюнктура, ставившая перед советским правительством задачу показать западным партнерам соблюдение в стране принципа свободы совести и вероисповедания. Кроме того, очевидно, что свою роль в обозначенных процессах сыграло желание М. С. Горбачева и части партийно-государственной верхушки привлечь церковь к решению кризисных проблем, замедлявших темпы «перестройки». В итоге, празднование Тысячелетия крещения Руси стало не только церковным, но и государственным праздником, что позволило церкви и государству продолжить диалог о «взаимовыгодном сотрудничестве» и отменить ряд норм административного давления на РПЦ. Церковь же, в свою очередь, воспользовавшаяся сложившейся возможностью, приняла новый церковный Устав, самостоятельно урегулировав ряд внутрицерковных вопросов. more...

Drug addiction is a complex spiritual, political, medical, social and legal problem. Trying to solve it, the state is developed an anti-drug policy that includes a possibility for religious organizations to participate in the prevention of non-medical drug use and the rehabilitation of drug addicts. In 2012 the Church approved a document “On the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the rehabilitation of drug addicts” and actively developing social work. The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the Approval of the Strategy of the State Anti-Drug Policy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030" calls on religious organizations to develop a position that will enrich the anti-drug ideology according to "traditional values" . This calls the Church the task of developing a theological argument about the dangers of drug use. In this regard, it seems relevant to analyze the theoretical and practical developments of the ROC in this area. The author of the article asks the questions: What are the legal and theological grounds for the ROC's approach to the problem of drug addiction? What anthropological ideas are used to describe the phenomenon of drug addiction? The first part of the article presents a systematization of theoretical ideas related to the topic of drug addiction, reflected in the church regulations of the ROC. The second part presents an analysis of the opinions of clergy and lay practitioners. The author comes to the conclusion that by developing its own approach, the Church remains in the field of the political, medical, legal aspects of the problem, which leads to the ideologization of the language in which the Church speaks about the problem. more...

In the pre-revolutionary period, parochial schools were a special stage in the educational system of the Russian Empire. The active work of the Russian Orthodox Church laid the foundation for the enlightenment of the northern peripheries of the Russian Empire. The article focuses on the peculiarities of the organization of primary education in schools of the Kola District of the Arkhangelsk Region in the 19th - early 20th centuries. The article is based on the analysis of the documents of the Kola District School Department, which are kept in the State Archives of the Murmansk Region (fund I-133) and the documents of the Kem’-Kola District School Department, which are represented in the National Archives of the Republic of Karelia (fund 419). These documents include teachers' reports on the progress of studies, correspondence between the School Board and village administrators regarding the organization of schooling, the supply of books to schools, lists of learning aids for teaching in parochial elementary schools, annual reports on the progress of students, as well as reports of inspectors and supervisors on the work of parochial schools. It demonstrates that the main difficulties in the organization of education in the North were: the dependence of the study cycle on the seasonal economic calendar of the population, the ignorance of the indigenous (Sámi) population of the Russian language, and the low interest of the students in receiving a certificate of completion of the course which entitled them to IV grade military service exemption. The article reviews the content of school educational programmers and peculiarities of educational process in elementary parochial schools of the Kola North in 19th - early 20th centuries. A conclusion is made that education in parochial schools had a practical value. more...

The article is devoted to the events connected with the next aggravation of church-state relations in the late 1950s. The author focuses on the organization of work on the inventory of property of church parishes, which was carried out in 1959. The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church. All parishes operating in the post-war period were subject to revision. In order to implement this project, the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church developed standard forms with questions for distribution through its commissioners for parishes of all regions, territories and autonomous republics of the USSR. The questionnaires were based on the form of pre-revolutionary clear sheets. The forms filled out by the staff of the parishes were the so-called "Observation cases for religious buildings (premises) belonging to religious associations (communities)." Almost all of these documents have been preserved in the archives. The observational cases on the temples of the Moscow region were postponed in the Central State Archive of the Moscow Region (TSGAMO) in the fund 7383 (Authorized by the Council for Religious Affairs under the USSR Council of Ministers for the Moscow Region). The author comes to the conclusion that the inventory of parish property in the 1950s was of a repressive nature, due to the fact that the purpose of the whole event was to increase economic pressure on the Church as a whole and on the basic element of the church structure - the parish. In addition, the documents that compiled the Observation Files show that simultaneously with the information about the material values owned by religious associations, the authorities once again attempted to monitor all church activities at the parish level – to find out the extent of the religiosity of the population and the degree of its involvement in church life. The article is based on archival materials, a number of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. more...

In the mid-90s of the twentieth century, two bishops’ meetings of the Russian Orthodox Church the Moscow Patriarchate and the Church Abroad, i.e. Patriarch Alexiy II and the Berlin-German Archbishop Mark, quietly and almost imperceptibly took place. These meetings continue the policy of the understanding the paths of both parts of the Russian Orthodox Church and strengthening the dialogue. Using archival documents, the author in this article examines these meetings and also presenting their context. There were tensions in relations between the two parts of the Russian Church, and despite of all the tensions archbishop Mark visited Russia in 1996, where a meeting with the patriarch took place, which was a continuation of the meeting in Munich in 1995. In the Russian Church Abroad, there are attempts to resolve the problems that have arisen after the admission of banned clerics of the Moscow Patriarchate. The author concludes that in the ROCA there are tendency to move from the ideological positions and isolations towards realism. The internal discussions of ROCOR, caused by these bishops’ meetings, made it possible to raise the dialogue with the MP to a new level. more...

The publication of two letters of the famous merchant, discoverer of the Northern Sea Route Mikhail Konstantinovich Sidorov to the first Yeniseisk and Krasnoyarsk bishop Nikodim (Kazantsev) is presented. The surviving texts dating back to the 1860s testify to the trusting relationship between these two outstanding contemporaries, emphasize their worldview and range of interests. Among the subjects mentioned in the letters there are M.K. Sidorov's donations in favor of the spiritual educational institutions of the Yeniseisk diocese, his service as an honorary guardian of the Krasnoyarsk Religious School, related with that requests of the archpastor, a conflict around the Yeniseisk Convent. At the same time, their communication was not limited exclusively to issues of church life. The bishop was aware of M.K. Sidorov's plans to search for passage through the northern seas and supported this initiative. As the Yeniseisk archpastor, he was particularly interested in the state of the territory of the diocese entrusted to him in the lower reaches of the Yenisei – the Turukhansk Region. The versatility of Bishop Nikodim's personality is emphasized by the mention of his works on the publication of the biography of the Siberian First Martyr Vasily Mangazeyskiy, as well as the telescope sent to him by M.K. Sidorov – a necessary attribute in long journeys to unfamiliar places. Among other things, the letters contain the names of a number of well-known statesmen, high church hierarchs, and large entrepreneurs, which characterizes the correspondents' acquaintances and connections, their social position. more...

In this work, a source study of the report of priest Vasily Yagunov to the dean of the 33rd deanery district of the Tomsk diocese, written in 1913, was carried out. It is permanently stored in the State Archive of the Novosibirsk Region, in the collection of the Siberian Commission of Eastpart. This source is interesting, first of all, because it reflects the contradictory social processes that took place in the distant Siberian province in the chronological period preceding the First World War, the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War. The increase in the number of archeographic works on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church determines the relevance of the chosen research format. This allows not only to introduce new sources into circulation, but also to make them useful for research on related scientific aspects. Through the analysis of the text of the report, the problem of the decline in the religiosity of the Siberian peasantry, which took place in the early 1910s, was studied. The published source allows you to identify the causes that caused the described phenomenon. In the introductory part of the work, the connection between the issue presented in the publication and the general historiography of the problem under study is given. The theoretical basis of the study was the anthropological approach, the principle of consistency, biographical and historical-genetic methods. This methodological totality made it possible, after an overview characterizing the personality of the author of the document (priest Vasily Yagunov), to analyze the process of moral and religious deviations, which was gaining momentum in the Siberian peasantry, using the example of everyday hooliganism of young people in churches. The published historical source may be of interest to a wide range of readers who study the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, social history, provincial everyday life and Siberian local history. more...

The published letter was written by the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) to the Patriarch of Constantinople Benjamin (Psaomas). The occasion was a meeting of the heads of the main movements of the Russian Church abroad in 1935, chaired by Patriarch Barnabas of Serbia. As a result of the negotiations, the Russian Church Abroad, the North American Metropolia and the Western European Exarchate restored communication among themselves. This caused discontent of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), who hoped to subordinate the entire Russian church abroad. Attempts to influence Patriarch Barnabas were unsuccessful. In this regard, the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens appealed to Patriarch Benjamin of Constantinople. Russian Russian Orthodox Church In his letter, the Metropolitan pointed out that the Serbian Church wants to create a kind of "double" of the Russian Church on the basis of the Russian Church Abroad, and then at the Pan–Orthodox Council to achieve the necessary solution - the introduction of second marriage for the clergy.The appeal to the Fanar looks strange for several reasons. Firstly, the Patriarchate of Constantinople openly supported the Renovationist schism in those years and, almost at the same time, uncanonically, without asking the opinion of the Moscow Patriarchate, transferred the Latvian Church to its jurisdiction. Secondly, the Serbian Church, and especially the Russian Church Abroad, which was under its patronage, were against non-canonical innovations, and it was naive to assume that they would promote the second marriage of the clergy. The published letter of Metropolitan Sergius had no consequences. Later, when the situation of the Russian Church improved, the parties tried not to recall this letter, as well as other polemical messages. more...

Становлению церковного музея способствовало развитие церковно-исторической науки, а также включение в культуроохранную деятельность просвещенного духовенства и научной интеллигенции. Формирование во второй четверти XIX в. государственной системы охраны памятников вызвало необходимость развития памятникоохранительного движения РПЦ. Для сохранения и трансляции православного историко-культурного наследия повсеместно открываются церковные музеи. На рубеже XIX — первой четверти ХХ в. Святейший правительствующий Синод издал ряд указов, направленных на сохранение наследия церкви, а также на развитие и расширение церковных музеев на территориях, где большинство населения исповедовало православие. Волна повсеместного открытия музеев, подведомственных РПЦ, в том числе музеев Сибири, приходится на первую четверть ХХ в. Церковными музеями Сибири формировались собрания, не только отражающие развитие РПЦ в регионе, но и быт и культуру местного коренного населения. После захвата власти большевиками в России церковные музеи были практически повсеместно ликвидированы, а коллекции распределены между хранилищами государственных музеев или уничтожены. Подобная участь постигла коллекции Тобольского древлехранилища, собрание же Томского церковно-археологического музея исчезло практически бесследно. Только музей Обдорской духовной миссии за счет собрания краеведческого характера, вызывающего большой интерес среди исследователей Сибири, смог интегрироваться в музейную государственную сеть и продолжить свою деятельность. В процессе ликвидации и ограбления церквей и монастырей, изъятия властями церковных ценностей и колоколов, православному культурному наследию был нанесен серьезный ущерб. Последующая в послевоенный период либерализация государственно-церковных отношений дала толчок открытию церквей и, соответственно, духовных заведений, при трех из них возобновили свою деятельность церковно-археологические кабинеты. На территории Западной Сибири восстановления деятельности музеев РПЦ не было, так как открытия православных семинарий в советский период, согласно церковной политике государства, здесь не планировалось. С ренессансом православия в конце 1980-х гг. наблюдается поступательное возрождение и становление церковных музеев. В Западной Сибири современные церковные музеи получают свое постепенное развитие только с начала ХХI в. more...

В статье анализируются вопросы формирования и развития системы приходов Барнаульского духовного правления (БДП) второй половины XVIII — начала XIX в., предполагающие восстановление перечня населенных пунктов (составных частей приходов БДП), построение границ приходов с помощью ГИС-модели и проведение анализа динамики численности и состава населенных пунктов приходов. Делается вывод о том, что в составе БДП (образованного в 1750 г.) действовали приходы нескольких разновидностей: при заводах (7), рудниках (1), военных укреплениях (3), сельские (13), городские (6). Одними из самых первых появляются приходы при военных укреплениях, часть из них формируется еще до образования БДП. К концу 1760-х гг. формируется основной массив заводских приходов и общин при рудниках. Хронология образования сельских низовых (первичных) элементов церковной системы самая широкая — начиная с первой половины XVIII в. и до 1780-х гг. Процесс появления приходов БДП был во многом обусловлен политикой власти по развитию металлургической промышленности в регионе, а также активной колонизацией. На 1755 г. в составе БДП насчитывалось 242 населенных пункта, на 1780 г. — 385, на 1800 г. — 619, на 1820 г. — 780, на 1829 г. — 545. Количество приходов также не было стабильным — сеть окончательно оформилась к 1787 г. в количестве 23 общин. Однако в 1829 г. их состав сократился до 16. На начальном этапе работы БДП зафиксированы приходы в границах только одного населенного пункта. Рекордсменами по максимальному числу объектов выступали общины с центрами в селах — Чингисском (99) и Белоярском (98). more...

The article is devoted to the analysis of the conversation of I. V. Stalin with the leaders of the Moscow Patriarchate, held on the night of September 5, 1943. In the course of this conversation, Stalin actually disavowed a number of key provisions of the decree “On the separation of Church and State”. Firstly, his establishment of the Council for the Russian Orthodox Church meant that the state recognised the Church as an integral system. Secondly, the instruction to “ensure the right of the bishop to dispose of church funds” implied the legalisation of diocesan structures. Thirdly, the permission to have candle factories in dioceses was tantamount to granting religious organisations certain legal rights. Moreover, Stalin expressed his willingness to provide the “church centre” with subsidies directly forbidden by decree, which the metropolitans refused on every occasion. Should they agree, the meeting could have initiated a revision of the decree with the participation of the party concerned. As a result of the conversation, two of the metropolitans’ ten requests were implemented within a few days, designed for international resonance: the election of the patriarch and the publication of the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”. Permitting the organization of theological courses, Stalin also proposed to open academies and seminaries. In response to a request by metropolitans to open churches in a number of dioceses, Stalin said that there would be no obstacles on the part of the government. The admission of clergymen in the executive bodies was also allowed without objections, but in 1961 this clause was annulled as a “gross violation of Leninist norms”. The resolution of other issues, such as the amnesty of bishops, the lifting of restrictions on clergy who had served their sentences, arbitrariness in taxation, was ostponed. As an encouragement from the government, the patriarchate received a new residence — a non-ecclesiastical building, which was listed for the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Stalin’s demonstrative move towards the Orthodox Church testified that the elimination of religion in the public space of the USSR was postponed for an indefinite period of time. The analysis suggests that while this move was positive, it was forced, contradictory and accompanied by the increasing state control over church life. more...

The Doukhobors are a religious sect that emerged in Russia in the 18th century. Because of their beliefs and practices contrary to the Russian Orthodox Church, they are considered heretics by the Church. This negative perception is also reflected in their nomenclature and they are called Doukhobor which translates to spirit wrestler. The Doukhobors perceive and use this name in the sense of wrestling with the spirit, not against it. In religious terms, they care more about spiritual things than material, visible things. For this reason, they do not accept the Church, the sacraments, the icons and the cross. They have problems with the Church and therefore with the state authority. The Church and the statesmen struggle with the Doukhobor in various ways. Exile and migration are two of these methods of struggle. The aim was to keep them away from the Orthodox population and prevent them from spreading their teachings. Thus, the Doukhobors first migrated to Malachnaya Vodu. Due to various problems experienced here, they were exiled to the Caucasus. They lived in three different settlements in the Caucasus; Tbilisi, Yelizavetpol and Kars. In the late 19th century, a crisis of religious leadership caused a split in the sect. Peter Verigin, the religious leader of one section, made some changes in the teaching. Actions that can be characterized as a rebellion against the authority of the state, which is put in opposition to the authority of God by saying "No one can serve two masters". In three places in the Caucasus weapons were burned in religious rituals. Because of this rebellion, they are subjected to further repression. They were deported to a mountainous region of Georgia where living conditions were very difficult. Nevertheless, they did not back down and persisted in their teachings. With the efforts of L. N. Tolstoy and his friends, who were aware of the unfavorable conditions of the Doukhobors, it was decided that they should migrate to a suitable place. As a result, while some of the Doukhobor stayed where they were, others migrated to Canada. This article aims to describe the history of the Doukhobors in the 18th and 19th centuries, from their emergence to the migration of some of them to Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) more...

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) more...

In this paper, we reconsider the ways to understand the ministry and life of a priest, based on empirical evidence. We propose supplement the understanding that sees it as a normative way of exercising the priesthood as unaltered throughout life with an approach to priesthood as changing over time and therefore going through a number of significantly different stages that involve specific conditions to proceed to the next one. In contrast to the normative image of a priest in pastoral theology, empirical evidence suggests that the ministry and life of a priest are constituted by a series of different stages -- from accepting the priesthood after ordination to aging and the leaving at the end of life. The concept of pastoral temptation used by pastoral theology can be contrasted with the concept of developmental crisis. The latter can lead to mistakes and temptations, up to the abandonment of the priesthood, but in case of productive comprehension leads to the passage to a new stage of ministry. A developmental crisis is a passage from one stage of ministry to the other, which is characterized by following: 1) it brings to collision with something fundamentally new, which arises from the accumulated positive experience but finds the priest unprepared; 2) it is potentially dangerous, 3) it ends up with a breakdown or passage to a new stage, 4) it is never repeated afterwards, e.g. during the passage to a new stage. Pastoral temptation is always a situational distortion of ministry. This implies: 1) the danger of distortion of the ministry as a whole, up to its collapse and loss of the priesthood; 2) potential threat throughout the entire period of the priest's ministry, temptation can come back regardless of the accumulated experience, 3) possibility of a developmental crisis. If temptations must be avoided, although this is not always possible, if they are external, then passages are not only inevitable, but directly necessary for the spiritual growth of the priest and and help acquire the fullness of pastoral experience. The passage to the next stage is not always accompanied or is a reaction to a crisis, understood as a pastoral temptation or a life catastrophe. On the contrary, it can be interpreted not as one-time, but as an extended period of accumulation of pastoral experience that occurs at every stage of the ministry and life of a priest. In the paper, we provide a primary description of the main developmental crises and stages in the ministry and life of a priest: the acceptance of the priesthood, pastoral development, an active priest, a mature priest, an experienced priest, aging and leaving”. Each stage corresponds to the corresponding group of steps of the "Ladder" by St. John Climacus. Situations in which the crisis component of the passagts appears, and various types of reaction to them are analyzed. Criticism of the psychological understanding of the ministry and life of a priest is offered. Including criticized the concept of "pastoral burnout". more...

This article makes public an extremely important document of the first (according to the will of Holy Patriarch Tikhon) candidate for the position of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Hieromartyr Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov). It was written in April 1934 and summarised his understanding of the current state of aff airs in the church together with possible ways of overcoming the situation created by the policy of Patriarchal Locum Tenens Sergiy (Stragorodsky). Hieromartyr Kirill was firmly committed to the legacy of the Council of 1917–1918 and to the Patriarchal Administration established by the Council. The most important canonical acts which, in his opinion, should have been used in the current circumstances, were the Resolution of the Supreme Church Administration under Patriarch Tikhon of November 20, 1920 and the Patriarchal testamentary decree of January 7, 1925. Metropolitan Kirill’s associate was Hieromartyr Bishop Damaskin (Tsedik). He convincingly supported their position using the letters of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Petr (Polyansky) of 1929–1930. These clearly showed that Metropolitan Sergiy signifi cantly exceeded his authority and appropriated rights that he had not been endowed with. The publication also includes a document most likely compiled by Bishop Damaskin, based on the opinions of Metropolitans Kirill and Petr. Both documents are cited according to the same source, i.e. the notebook of Bishop Damaskin, seized from him during his arrest in 1934, and now kept in Jordanville, the spiritual center of the Russian Church Abroad. more...

The article analyzes the events in Omsk on February 15-22, 1918, when an attempt by the regional Soviet authorities to implement the "Decree on the separation of church from state and school from church" led to riots in, Soviet historiography called the "priest's rebellion". In the course of these events, the novice and housekeeper of the bishop's house, Nikolai Tsikura, was killed and later canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The aim of the work is to analyze the circumstances of the death of Nikolai Tsikura in the context of the events of the Civil War that broke out in Russia. Along with published reports in periodicals and published and unpublished memoirs, one of the key evidence of the topic under consideration is the act record of the death of Nikolai Tsikura, stored in the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region. The article introduces into scientific circulation a brief description of the personality of Nikolai Tsikura, given to him in connection with the events of the “priest’s rebellion” in the memoirs of Omskovite M.A. Stolpovsky, who personally knew him. After analyzing two points of view on the cause of the murder of Nikolai Tsikura (he defended the bishop during the arrest or was killed for no apparent reason), the author notes the absence of a source that allows to unambiguously answer that question. When analyzing the circumstances of the death of Nikolai Tsikura, special attention is paid to the fact that the bells rang by killed priest triggered the mass unrest in Omsk, brought the people out into the streets who defended Bishop Sylvester and other arrested priests from possible reprisals and postponed for a month the implementation in Omsk of the “Decree on the separation of church from state and school from church.” It is emphasized that the canonization of Nikolai Tsikura in In 2000, continued the church tradition of venerating him as a holy new martyr started in 1918 at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. more...

The article is devoted to the experience of the Russian Orthodox Church in the fortresses and fortifications of the Left Wing of the Caucasian Cordon Line. During the study of the available literature and sources available to us, it was revealed that the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) was based on the principles of tolerance towards local peoples and Islam. Analyzing the activities of the ROC on the cordon Line, it is worth noting that initially churches on the Line were erected as regimental ones, with military units - to maintain moral and ethical values among Orthodox soldiers. The Russian government, at the founding of the first fortresses of the Caucasian Line, saw cordon fortifications as the agony of confrontation, which, in their opinion, could only be used as a dividing line between the troops and the highlanders. At the beginning of the 19th century, the fundamental idea of Caucasian politics changed and the policy was transformed from defensive to civilian colonization of the region, where the activities of the church were presented more than just overseeing and observing the spiritual needs of military personnel on the Line. The churches, both civil and military, participated in the complex process of acculturation in the region, where, by means of their functioning, they pushed the boundaries of the idea and perception of the mountaineers about Russia, carried out missionary activities in spreading Orthodoxy on the Lines, supported the ritual and everyday life of the Orthodox population of the region - civil and military. The activities of the Russian Orthodox Church extended to the issues of the dissemination of education, which in general had a positive trend for the region. In the fortifications and fortresses of the Left Wing of the Caucasian Cordon Line, the activity of the ROC was relative, in comparison with the Right Wing of the Line. This was due to the fact that the main concentration of the Orthodox population was concentrated there. more...

The article investigates the specific features in the territorial structure of the church parish on the Andoma pogost district of the Olonets uyezd during the first half of the 18th century. The set problem has not been the subject of close analysis in the historiography yet. Approving the idea that the parish on the North-West of Russia was coherent with the small district (volost’) in 17—18th centuries, emphasizing the unity of the parish, scientists mainly focused on the problem of identifying the general features of the parish and on classification of parishes. The study is based on a comparative analysis of data that were fixed in the reports of the local priests in 1708 and confessional records in 1769. The reconstruction of the grid of all mentioned in the sources villages were used for visualizing the groups of villages, inhabitants of which belonged to different parts of the parish. The revealing data as well as the reconstruction of peculiarities how the clergy was attached to one or another church and how the staff of the clergy was divided into two parts allow us to conclude that the church parish of the Andoma pogost district had significantly more complicated structure, especially in comparative with the structure of church parishes of not very vast districts (volosts). According to tradition the parish was divided into two parts for regulating mechanism of material support of the clergy, distributing obligations among them and satisfaction spiritual needs of the laity. Both parts of the parish had a significant degree of self-dependence: each had its own church, own clergy that was included in the common clergy staff (shtat), and the strictly geographically localized group of villages. The stable using of archaic practices in the territorial organization of the parish during the first half of the 18th century suggests that the local community managed to adapt them to the newly approved legislative principles, aimed at unifying and enlarging church parishes. This was largely possible as the state and church policy took into account archaic traditions of local communities and was aimed on results in the long term. more...

This publication introduces into scientific circulation a new archival source on the history of the renovationist schism in the Russian Orthodox Church — the protocols of the meetings of the commission of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) "On values" under the leadership of a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) and the Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the Republic L.D. Trotsky. The documents were identified among the protocols of other commissions in the affairs of the Revolutionary Military Council, stored in the Russian State Military Archive. The decisions of the "On Values" Commission make it possible to reasonably judge the leading role of L.D. Trotsky in the preparation and conduct of a large church schism, including the consolidation of clergy loyal to Soviet power, sending him to provocative negotiations with Patriarch Tikhon, the issue of an opposition magazine, the organization of trials against Christians, the convening of an renovationist "local council", agitation support for schismatics, etc. The activities of the commission were conspiratorial in nature and still remained unknown to historical science. Meanwhile, it was this camouflaged structure that preceded the succession of it in October 1922 and the well-studied Commission of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on the separation of the church from the state. The texts offered to readers confirm and detail the fact of the well-managed control of secret work on the decomposition of the Russian Church by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), that is, its criminal attitude to Soviet law in the policy of planting atheism among the people of Russia. more...

The article examines the policy of the Soviet government in relation to the Russian Orthodox Church in Crimea, traces the changes in the internal state of the Crimean diocese in the period from 1948 to 1961, analyzes the methods of party and state bodies to close the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church in Crimea and attempts to counter this by Archbishop Luka (V.F. Voino-Yasenetsky). The features of the implementation of the episcopal vocation are revealed on the example of the activities of the head of the diocese. During the years of “scientific atheism”, persecutions were aimed at “re-educating” believers, as well as leveling the significance of religion in the eyes of society. The fight against religion was carried out by the forces of not only the law enforcement system, but also the party and Soviet authorities, management and collectives of enterprises, trade unions, the Komsomol, and public organizations. Various methods have been used to achieve these goals. In the press and on the radio, biased and biased materials about religion and the church, as well as notes concerning specific clergymen, were posted. Priests were harassed, removed from registration, and deprived of the opportunity to preach. Pressure was exerted on the heads of dioceses and clergy, and an active propaganda campaign was conducted. On various far-fetched reasons, religious organizations were liquidated, religious buildings were demolished, and applications for the opening of new ones were rejected by the authorities. One of the methods of pressure on the Russian Orthodox Church was to increase the tax burden on religious organizations. The believers were also prosecuted. Representatives of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church played a significant role in this process. more...

Abstract. The article analyzes the cases of the Moscow Revolutionary Tribunal, directed against the clergy and believers, deposited in the funds of the Central State Archive of the Moscow region. Along with high-profile processes, such as the "Case of the Council of United Parishes" ("The case of A.D. Samarin, N.D. Kuznetsov") 1919-1920, the Moscow trials ("The 1st and 2nd trials of churchmen") of 1922, which resulted from a campaign to seize church values, the author examines lesser-known cases accusing rural clergy of resisting the Decree on the separation of Church and state and counter-revolutionary activities. Analyzing the sentences of the Moscow Revolutionary Tribunal handed down in the period of 1918-1920s. with regard to the clergy and clergy, as well as laypeople, the author comes to the conclusion that the main purpose of the tribunal was a policy of intimidation of the clergy and believers, demonstration of the omnipotence of the new government and the permissiveness of its punitive bodies. The general trend in the work of the Moscow Revolutionary Tribunal was the practice of issuing initial demonstratively harsh sentences, which were immediately replaced by lighter, and sometimes even conditional, sentences at the same meeting of the tribunal. In some cases, the mitigation of sentences took place in several stages, as a result, even those initially sentenced to death were released within 2-3 years after arrest. The article notes that most of the clergy tried by the Moscow Revolutionary Tribunal no longer left the field of view of the organs of the Cheka-OGPU-NKVD and were subsequently arrested, many more than once. For them, the fact of conviction and even acquittal by the revolutionary tribunal became a kind of marker that marked the future victims of the repressive system. more...

This article reconstructs the evolution of renovationist schism in the Kuban Diocese, which was one of the main outposts of the schism in the country, based on a wide range of unpublished sources from state and departmental archives. A characteristic feature of the development of the renovationist movement in the region was its support by the overwhelming majority of the clergy of the diocese. More than twelve Kuban clerics became self-appointed hierarchs, some were members of the governing renovationist bodies. The socio-political specifics of the Cossacks and their involvement in the events of the Civil War were reflected in church life, and the clergy, through cooperation with the authorities, sought to whitewash their ministry during the reign of the Volunteer Army. Despite the high religiosity, unlike other southern regions, the anti-renewal movement was local in nature and did not become widespread. As a result of the most severe repressive measures, dozens of clergy who did not recognize the renovationist «Higher Church Administration» (VTsU) were expelled from the region, including the vicar Bishop of Yeisk, Eusebius (Rozhdestvensky), archpriests Alexander Makov and Alexander Purlevsky, etc. The direct connection of the Kuban clergy with the leaders of renovationism, the highest bodies of the Soviet vertical and the leadership of the security agencies provided the necessary support for the schism and the preservation of monopoly in church life for two decades. more...

The article examines the period of the history of the Transfiguration of the Valaam Monastery of 1918 - 1939, before the evacuation to Heyniavesi. The famous Russian monastery, which belonged to the Diocese of Finland and Vyborg of the Orthodox Russian Church, had to adapt to life in independent Finland. The conditions of the monastery existence had changed significantly after the declaration of independence of this country and the change of the state system in Russia. In 1918, the Finnish government awarded the diocese the status of the second state church of the national minority. Despite the difficulties of socio-political, economic and jurisdictional nature, active finnization, which included the imposed calendar reform, the monastery became a symbol of steadfastness, evidence of the greatness of Russian culture and loyalty to Orthodoxy for Russian emigration around the world. The monastery leadership managed to find a common language with the church and secular authorities of Finland, the monastery won the respect and love of ordinary Finlanders. It can be said that the monastery has found its place in a new Western society. However, the author believes that it is possible to assert about the "prosperity" or "flourishing" of the Valaam Monastery at that time only conditionally, in comparison with the sad fate of monasteries in the USSR. She recalls the contradictory events in the story of the Valaam Monastery in the period, which influenced the fate of its inhabitants and the monastery itself, contributed to the reduction in the number of the brotherhood and the appearance of a "split" in it, and proves that visible well-being was the attribute of an artificially created image, although it had a positive meaning. more...

The article is devoted to the analysis of the situation of Orthodox parish priests in Belarus in the post-war 20th century. On the basis of various archival materials, the author characterizes the change of legal, economic and social status of Orthodox parish priests. The demarcation of the Soviet-Polish frontier, which lasted till the early 50s of the 20th century, led not only to the reduction of the number of the Orthodox parishes in Belarus, but also to the appearance of priests, who were left without parishes. The Orthodox priests were not provided with comfortable conditions for adaptation in the post-war realities of Soviet Belarus. The priests had to get a compulsory registration, without which they were not allowed to perform their services. The policy of the Soviet authorities in the BSSR during 1944–1954 in relation to the Orthodox Church completely refutes the thesis about a “golden decade” in the existence of the Church. Immediately after the liberation of Belarus, the authorities began arresting priests, who were accused of collaborating with the Nazi administration. The collectivization of agriculture in Western Belarus and high taxation greatly aggravated the financial situation of the priests. The parish reform of 1961 put priests in difficult conditions for survival and led to the outbreak of a deep crisis of the Church. more...

Using various types of sources — ego-documents, investigative materials and periodicals — this article provides previously unknown data on the stay of Bishop Sofroniy (Arefi ev) at Yakut see in 1919–1921. It shows the signifi cance of his activities which were characterised as the “beginning of the rise” in the religious attitudes of churchgoers and as the revival of diocesan life. The fate of the last bishop of Yakutia and Viliuy Sofroniy refl ects all the vicissitudes in the history of Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, the hostages of which were representatives of the clergy: he was transferred from one see to another, tried to survive and preserve his clerical rank, did not avoid arrests, exile, temporary fall into Renovationism and, in the end, execution by shooting. The Yakut period in his life was short and lasted only two years. It was a difficult time in the life of the diocese, churchgoers and the archpriest. The article shows that during this period, he managed to gain respect of local residents, which triggered his arrests and the subsequent exile. It is emphasised that the bishop in conditions of the first years of the Soviet state made eff orts to revitalise church activity: he made pastoral trips, supported the structuring of life in monasteries, arranged congregational meetings, readings, discussions, lectures in churches and educational institutions. He organised church singing events, made choirs, ran several church cocerts. Of interest is the information about the desire of the diocesan archbishop to infl uence revolutionary tribunals; F.G. Sivtsev in his diary mentions that local Soviet authorities made executions during periods of his absence. The data gathered in this article are supposed to complement and make more precise our information about Bishop Sofroniy (Arefi ev) and, on the whole, the information about archpriests of the Russian Orthodox Church, about victims of political repression in the fi rst half of the 20th century. more...

The article examines the confessional aspect of the state migration policy in the Kalmyk lands of Astrakhan Province in the second half of the 19th century. It analyses the features of religious policy in the resettlers’ villages in the Kalmyk lands and reveals its infl uence on the process of the development of parishes. The conclusion of the study is that the main religious component of the state resettlement policy in the Kalmyk lands was assisting the Russian Orthodox Church in forming a parish system in order to serve the spiritual needs of the resettled farmers. The resettlement project was intended primarily to make settlements along roads of strategic importance and transfer part of the Kalmyks to a sedentary lifestyle. It did not directly aff ect the Christianisation of the Kalmyks, but in the future it meant that new settlements would create more favorable conditions for the deployment of missionary activities. In this regard, the state imposed a ban on the resettlement of Old Believers and sectarian population to the Kalmyk lands and took measures to prevent the strengthening of the position of the Buddhist clergy in new settlements. The article pays special attention to the characteristics of the relations between the authorities and the resettled people as to the issue of creating a network of Orthodox parishes; the article reveals the sources of funding for the development of parishes, the diffi culties encountered here, and the results. The necessity of parishes was related both to the farmers’ religiosity and to everyday needs of their daily life. It is shown that despite the desire of the farmers to quickly build a church and open a parish, the tempo of these processed in diff erent settlements varied. They were infl uenced by the intensity of the infl ux of migrants and their fi nancial situation, success in adapting to the conditions of a new place of residence and establishing economic activities. After analysing the facts of parish development for each locality, the article demonstrates that in general it was completed by the beginning of the 20th century. The draws on a wide range of documents from one central and two regional archives of Russia, many of which are made public for the fi rst time. more...

This article analyses the evolution of the religious policy of the Soviet government in 1922 and the role of security organs (ВЧК, ГПУ) in the implementation of the new course of relations with the church. The campaign to confi scate church valuables, which actually became the state robbery of churches, was not a strategic result of the supreme power, but only an instrument of Lenin’s attack on the Church, in the process of which a more important task became apparent, i.e. to institutionalise the diff erentiation of the clergy and the division of its administrative apparatus. The implementation of these plans led in practice to the formation of a new mechanism, i.e. an interaction between the party and the state security organs in the sphere of religious policy. Within the framework of the new model, the State Political Directorate (ГПУ) received offi cial authorisation to manage internal church aff airs using specifi c methods of investigative work, and local offi cials were appointed by the State Political Directorate to control church policy. Exercising their authority to decentralise church government, local security organs switched to using a clergy-based intelligence network, which established control over the administration of dioceses. The fi rst step in the systematic work was dealing with “church” data as with a separate corpus of information and the establishmentl of its structure, the maintenance of which was entrusted to the VI division of the Secret Department of the State Political Directorate. more...

The article examines the relationship of the Tobolsk and Siberian diocesan bishops with the governors and governors-general in the synodal period. It is noted that during the entire period under review, these relations were correct and generally constructive. There were no cases of acute irreconcilable conflicts between representatives of the spiritual and secular authorities at the level of the diocese - the province. In some cases, these relationships went beyond formal communication. It is indicated that the subject of common concern and active interaction was, first of all, the issues of Christianization of the indigenous population of the region. There has been an evolution from energetic support for missionary activity from governors to a more cautious, restrained attitude. The secular authorities feared the unrest of the "foreigners", complications with the payment of yasak, so interference in their internal affairs began to be perceived as an attempt on the usual world order that had developed in previous years. It is noted that the Tobolsk rulers sought to use secular power as an additional tool to control the behavior of parishioners, their timely observance of Orthodox rituals. At the same time, governors and governors-general relied on diocesan bishops in solving a number of important social and political tasks, while making sure that the clergy did not go beyond the competencies outlined by legislation. It is concluded that the cooperation of the spiritual and secular authorities unfolded on a wide range of problems: from the popularization of medical knowledge among the rural population to the creation of Orthodox public organizations, from agitation against participation in the uprising of E. Pugachev to translations into "foreign" languages of the texts of the Holy Scriptures and legislative acts. more...

The article deals with an influential church figure of the XX century. Leonid Dmitrievich Aksenov, a friend of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, and in the 1930s a consultant to the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens (later Patriarchal Locum Tenens) of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). The work traces Aksenov's life path, starting from his studies at the Pskov Theo-logical Seminary to his martyrdom in 1937. A lawyer, a full state councilor, and a philanthropist, he was always at the center of church life: he participated in the congress of learned monasticism held in July 1917, and was a member of the Local Council of 1917-1918. The documents pre-sented in the article show that L. D. Aksenov was closely connected with His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. After the October Revolution of 1917, Aksenov actively worked in the Orthodox frater-nities of Petrograd, provided legal support to the clergy, and financially helped the exiled. For helping the repressed and active church activities, he was arrested several times by the OGPU authorities. Twice he served his sentence in correctional labor camps. Until his last arrest, he helped Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), advised him, and dealt with problems of the liturgi-cal language. In 1937, along with other church leaders close to Metropolitan Sergius, he was ar-rested and shot after an investigation. more...

The article presents a little-studied aspect of religious life in Russia during the First World War, associated with mass conversions to the Orthodox faith of prisoners of war of the Slavs – former soldiers and officers of the Austro-Hungarian army. The study was based on sources representative of the stated problem – the records of the birth books of Orthodox churches in Omsk for 1915–1917, the official church magazine «Omsk Eparchialnye Vedomosti» and reports of the Omsk gendarme administration. The connection of the issue under study with historiography is given, on the basis of which the controversial issue related to the number of prisoners of war of the Slavs attached to Orthodoxy in Omsk is indicated. The anthropological approach, problem-chronological, statistical and historical-comparative methods formed the methodological basis of the study. This theoretical combination made it possible to analyze the process under study in maximum detail, to identify qualitative indicators, linking everything that happened with the specific historical situation and the personalities of the church hierarchs who served in Western Siberia. The factors that determined the decision to convert to Orthodoxy of captured Slavs who were in Omsk during the First World War – Czechs, Rusins, Poles are indicated. The authors come to the conclusion about the «Omsk phenomenon» of the Slavs prisoners of war joining Orthodoxy, thanks to the ascetic activity of the missionaries of the Omsk and Pavlodar dioceses, who were headed by Bishop Sylvester (Olshevsky). As can be seen from the study, the dynamic development of this process was ensured by the official ideology that dominated the Russian Empire, based on Orthodox values. The issue studied in the article is analytically stated in terms of aspects related to the quantitative, ethnic, confessional, and social characteristics of the converts. The authors emphasize that the fall of the monarchy as a result of the Russian Revolution led to a change in the paradigm of the country's development and immediately put an end to the mass conversions of Slavs prisoners of war to Orthodoxy in Omsk. The publication may be of interest to researchers of the peoples of Eastern Europe, military and social history, as well as national and religious politics. more...

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Our paper aims to present a comprehensive study of the present-day freethinkers in Moscow and St Petersburg. By means of a questionnaire-based survey (N=669), we analyse social and political attitudes and features of freethinkers’ worldview. The article proposes an operational defi nition of a freethinker. In compliance with this defi nition, we, for example, exclude from the study representatives of other faiths. Beside the analysis of the general sample, the article identifi es the specifi city of the organised freethinking in both capitals. Organised freethinking is represented by a number of public organisations and non-formal societies of cultural, educational, and social orientation whose aim is to criticise religion, church and to promote secular ideas in society. Apart from the questionnaire, we have used data of 14 interviews with leaders of organisations and with their active members. The data obtained by the questionnaire show that freethinkers do not make up a homogenous community, but are a milieu that consists of subgroups with diff erences in their worldview, political preferences, attitudes to religion and the church. The following previously observed regularities have been confi rmed: the freethinker is most often a man younger than 39, with a higher or incomplete higher technical education, with medium income. A signifi cant percentage of those inclined to superstitions shows a contradictory character of freethinkers’ worldview. Anticlerical and antireligious attitudes are rather strong, but the interviewees demonstrate tolerance towards religious persons. There is no signifi cant diff erences between those belonging to organisations and communities (N=150) and other freethinkers in terms of their social and demographic properties or views. But the organised freethinkers have a more active position as to defending their ideals in the Internet and in the public domain. Organised freethinking in both capitals is not a mass phenomenon. Despite the increase in the anticlerical attitudes in society, freethinkers are not eager to unite into organisations and are considerably disjointed. more...

This article examines church life in Tashkent and Central Asian diocese during the period of its post-war revival, when the diocese was led by Revd. Guriy (Egorov). It studies several aspects of church life, i.e. the opening of churches, return of former church buildings to communities and construction of new ones, establishment of parish life, organisation of supply of parishes with candles, service books and church utensils. The role of the authorised representatives of the Council for the Russian Orthodox Church in the process of restoring church life is also analysed. It is shown that in the period 1944?1948 the authorised representatives in one way or another contributed to the opening of churches in the republics of Central Asia. The article reveals unique features of Tashkent and Central Asian diocese and the associated diffi culties. Revd. Guriy, despite various diffi culties, actively visited the diocese parishes (many of which for decades or never at all saw the ruling bishop), consecrated newly opened churches, paid attention to parish issues, pointed out defi ciencies and helped to overcome them. Under Revd. Guriy, the number of parishes in the diocese reached its maximum of 67 (he visited 61 parishes in person). When there came a cooling in church-state relations, Revd. Guriy actively defended low-income parishes from closure, and also changed tactics, turning his eff orts to industrial centres in Central Asian republics. more...

This publication introduces an important document from the Archive of foreign policy of the Russian Federation. This document illustrates the attitude of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Aff airs of the USSR towards the Patriarchate of Constantinople at one of the most critical moments of its history (April 1924) and allows one to assess the Commissariat’s good awareness of the state of aff airs in the Eastern church. The published source shows difficult situation of the primary Patriarchate on the one hand, and its strong involvement in political intrigues on the other hand, which the author of the document (presumably, the representative of the USSR in Turkey Ya. Z. Surits) cynically offered to make use of. The published analytical report pays much attention to the problem of the so-called Anatolian church (better known as the “Turkish Orthodox Church”). It is noteworthy that the Soviet diplomat did not give unambiguous assessments and recommendations to his Moscow administration. His key suggestion was to send a representative of the Russian Renovationist schism to Istanbul and then use him in order to infl uence the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Soviet interests. This proposal appeared to be interesting to the administration of the Commissariat, but for some reason was not implemented, which partially prevented the worst-case scenario of the development of relations between the Russian and Constantinople Churches; in this worst scenario, the Fanar would have become fully affiliated with the Soviet Renovationism (in the end, this affi liation was less defi nitely pronounced). more...

The article is based on materials of state archives of Krasnoyarsk region, most of which are made public for the fi rst time. It examines the stages in the anti-church policy of Soviet authorities in Yenisey Province in the 1920s at uyezd and volost’ levels. Two main stages are identifi ed, i.e. the campaign for the separation of the church from the state and campaign for the confi scation of church valuables. The article analyses the legislative acts and organisational structure of the anti-church policy, evaluates main results of the actions performed as well as the reaction of the local population. The article gives an in-depth reconstruction of events associated with the confi scation of church valuables in Krasnoyarsk District. It concludes that there was no massive repression against the church in the 1920s. However, the rural churches suff ered an enormous economic damage, while the subsistence of the clergy was made entirely the duty of church-goers. At the same time, ideological work to shape non-religious mindset commenced. This work did not come to be successful in this period. The records show the discontent of the rural population as to the policy of Soviet authorities and specifi c leaders. This was one of the reasons for the withdrawal from toughening the antichurch policy. The hardest period for the church was the 1930s due to the beginning of collectivisation. Despite certain regional features, the experience of conducting antichurch policy in Siberia in the studied period can be regarded as a refl ection of the history of Russia on the whole. more...

The article discusses the reaction of the clergy of a typical Russian city to the revolutionary events of 1917. It shows changes in the role of the Orthodox Church in Tsaritsyn in the situation of a national crisis. The analysis is based primarily on materials of those local newspapers which under the circumstances of the proclaimed freedom of press could reliably refl ect the problems of society and presented diverse points of view on their solution depending on political preferences of the editorial offices. The article identifi es the main diffi culties in the activity of parishes, i.e. the increase in anti-church attitudes, lack of agreement among the clergy, deterioration in the financial situation of the Church, confl icts both within the clergy and between priests and the church-goers. During the First World War, the Church in Tsaritsyn managed to organise assistance to the needy and consolidate all the forces of society, but after the fall of the monarchy in Russia, a great deal of time and eff ort was spent on participating in rallies, marches, and public prayers in support of the Provisional Government. The consistent position of the clergy as to preserving civil peace did not find much response in the people, and the new authorities did not ensure interaction with the Russian Orthodox Church which was excluded from solving current issues at the local level. The democratisation of parish life and the activity of the clergy in the election process did not lead to the strengthening of the position of the Church in society, but, on the contrary, contributed to the involvement of priests in political strife. The authority and role of Orthodox pastors in preserving the moral foundations of the population was steadily declining. The main reason for the strengthening of this trend was the inability of priests to respond to the challenges of the revolutionary time, their absorption in ensuring their daily subsistence and petty squabbles, especially over the preservation of their own positions. The local clergy did not become the driving force of the revolution in 1917, although they supported the Provisional Government en masse. The advent of Bolsheviks to power was a complete surprise for the Orthodox Church, which is perfectly illustrated by the example of the situation in Tsaritsyn. more...

This study proposes a theological analysis of early 20th century various liturgical translations of one the most highly used liturgical texts – the Anaphora of St John Chrysostom. The goal of this study is to reveal the theological particularities of the various translations; the author then proposes her own interpretation of specific elements within the text of the Eucharistic prayer. The study also attempts to illustrate various translators’ personal approaches to the text of the Anaphora when rendering it into Russian language. The author focuses on the translations of Fr Sergei Petrovsky, Fr Pyotr Polyakov, Fr Vasily Adamenko (later Hieromonk Theophan), and Bishop Makary (Opotsky), occasionally making reference also to other translations. The authors and compilers of the published translations were closely acquainted with the possibilities that translation into Russian language presented for their task of translating the text of the Anaphora, given that they were brought up and received their spiritual education in a prerevolutionary linguistic environment. The beginning of the 20th century saw the development of a tradition of research into the text of the Eucharistic prayers, as can be seen from looking at the curricula of courses in Liturgics being taught at Russia’s spiritual academies at that time, as well as reviewing Masters and Doctoral theses, written by graduates of these same academies. A theological basis for the given translations can therefore be assumed. Translations of liturgical texts, for instance A Collection of Ancient Liturgies (Sobranije drevnikh liturgij), were produced within the framework of dedicated academic research, thanks to which interested readers had the opportunity to acquaint themselves with ancient liturgical practice. Thanks to A Collection of Ancient Liturgies and other liturgical studies undertaken at the spiritual schools, there arises a translation initiative which proposed the integration of academic research and pastoral practice. The authors of these translations hoped not only to educate by making the practice of church liturgy more accessible to the participants with their translations, but aspired even to enable lay people to participate more actively and thoughtfully in worship. At the same time, the fact that some of the translations appear in a form intended for use by clergy when serving liturgy, shows that it was possible for clergy to make use of such texts. The conclusions of this study show that the authors of the translations not only translated the original Greek of the Anaphora into Russian, but made use of theological interpretation when doing so, thereby proposing clarification and interpretation within the framework of the translations themselves. more...