Table of contents:
- What made Stalin change his mind about the ROC
- How Stalin received the metropolitans in the Kremlin
- How the situation of believers changed after September 1943
- Why Stalin's idea to make Moscow an Orthodox Vatican was not realized
Video: How Stalin made from Moscow the Orthodox Vatican, uniting all the currents of the church
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
After the October Socialist Revolution of 1917, the new state launched a campaign to eradicate religion and its prejudices in the country. However, a quarter of a century later, when the Great Patriotic War broke out, the policy towards the Church changed. To inspire the people to fight the Nazi-German invaders, the secular government united with the patriotic clergy. Rapprochement against the background of confrontation with a common enemy led Stalin to plans to oust the Vatican from the scene of world influence, strengthening the position of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
What made Stalin change his mind about the ROC
The pre-war period of Soviet power was characterized by large-scale oppression of all religious denominations in the country. The widespread closure of churches and monasteries, the purposeful destruction of the system of spiritual education, the destruction of religious books, repression of clergy - all were aimed at destroying the former influence of the Church, in which the authorities saw a potential competitor.
It seemed after such an attitude that the surviving clergy had to harbor resentment and support the fascists, who promised to rid the country of the communists and their ideas. However, the Orthodox Church did not become an accomplice of the enemy; on the contrary, it supported the Soviet regime and called on the faithful to defend the Fatherland in trouble. A few hours after Germany's attack on the USSR, the locum tenens, Metropolitan Sergius, appealed to the flock to take up arms against the invaders and start transferring funds to help the front.
As a result of the activity of the Church, by 1944 it was possible to collect more than 200 million rubles. Thanks to donations for defense, a tank column was created, which was named in honor of Dmitry Donskoy, and a squadron named after St. Alexander Nevsky was formed. In addition, in 1942, the Patriarchate called on Orthodox believers from a number of European countries to stop supporting the Nazis and stop killing brothers in faith.
The patriotism of clergymen in the most difficult time for the USSR, their real contribution to the cause in the name of victory forced Stalin to reconsider his attitude towards the ROC and provide it with state support.
How Stalin received the metropolitans in the Kremlin
In the early autumn of 1943, Stalin gathered Malenkov, Beria and Karpov (the latter was listed as a candidate for the post of head of "church affairs") to announce the decision to create a Council for the affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the evening of the same day, Metropolitans Alexy, Sergius and Nikolai arrived in the Kremlin office of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, where Molotov and Karpov were already present. Stalin, after a positive statement about the patriotic activities of the ROC, invited the clergy to frankly tell what church problems they are most worried about.
In the opinion of the metropolitans, first of all, it was necessary to solve several issues at once: to hold a Council of Bishops, to elect a patriarch; open new churches and theological educational institutions; organize the release of a monthly religious magazine; ease the taxation of priests; to establish work on the production of candles and cult attributes.
In addition, provide clerics with the right to be elected to the executive bodies of religious communities; allow parishes to support religious centers with funds; allocate premises for the Patriarchate and the Patriarch. The bishops also touched upon topics that are unpleasant for the authorities about the fate of convicted priests and the freedom to choose a place of residence for those who were released from a camp or prison.
After listening to the metropolitans without objections and comments, Stalin promised them to deal with the problems: later he ordered Karpov to personally deal with all issues. The conversation ended at almost two o'clock in the morning, and on the morning of September 5, at a solemn service in the Epiphany Cathedral, the believers learned about the conversation with Stalin and about the Bishops' Council planned in three days.
How the situation of believers changed after September 1943
Stalin's promises after a personal meeting with the metropolitans did not disagree with the case. On September 8, at the Council of Bishops that took place, the Patriarch of All Russia was elected - Metropolitan Sergius became him. On September 9, 1943, Stalin and Molotov got acquainted with the project developed by Merkulov for the creation of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, and after 5 days a decree on its formation was approved.
Theological academies were opened in Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev. In addition to the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod was formed under the Patriarch. In the military USSR, a real revival of Orthodoxy began: despite the difficulties that arose, everything that metropolitans had agreed on with Stalin during a meeting in the Kremlin was gradually being implemented. Since the fall of 1943, priests were allowed to participate in citywide public work; they were not hindered in their desire to go to the front, publish religious literature, etc.
At the end of January 1945, an event unthinkable before the war took place, which last took place in 1918. A meeting of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in Moscow, which was attended by representatives of Orthodox Patriarchies from Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Georgia, and the states of the Middle East. Guests of military missions and foreign embassies, photo reporters and journalists gathered at a religious event, the task of which was to elect a new patriarch and approve regulations on the management of the Russian Orthodox Church.
By the end of the war, the unity of the state and the Church had reached such a scale that Stalin had the idea to make Moscow an Orthodox likeness of the Vatican.
Why Stalin's idea to make Moscow an Orthodox Vatican was not realized
With the help of the creation of the “Moscow Vatican,” the Soviet leader planned: first, to extend the influence of the USSR to all countries with the Orthodox faith; secondly, to diminish the importance of the Catholic Vatican, depriving it of its existing authority and influence. In 1948, it was even planned to convene an Ecumenical Council in order to "resolve the issue of obtaining the title of Ecumenical for the Moscow Patriarchate."
However, grandiose plans were not destined to come true. First, in the winter of 1947, due to illness, Patriarch Maxim of Constantinople retired, who showed sincere sympathy for the Soviet Union. Then the Vatican, underestimated by Stalin, began to weave intrigues, compromising the Russian Church, including with the help of the Western press. In the end, in 1948, the Soviet leadership also lost interest in this idea: everything that Stalin planned with respect to Turkey, Greece, Israel collapsed, and there was simply no need for the previously significant Eastern Orthodox hierarchies.
Today even atheists are interested in the secret of the Tiara of the Pope - why there were three crowns on the headdress of the pontiffs.
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