The Orthodox Church during the war, memories. Russian Orthodox Church during the Great Patriotic War

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 about 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 church-military topics is just beginning, even from such large and relatively accessible collections as the State Archives Russian Federation(works by O.N. Kopylova and others), the Central State Archives of St. Petersburg and the Federal Archives in Berlin (primarily the works of 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. 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 those occupied by German troops was more complex and contradictory. western lands THE USSR. The Germans initially relied on the restoration of church life in the occupied territories, because they saw this as the most important means 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 he was appointed Minister of Occupied Territories of the USSR chief ideologist NSDLP A. Rosenberg, who is hostile to Christianity in essence, but wary in form and considers Orthodoxy only a “colorful ethnographic ritual.” 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 soon as possible new class 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 the legalization of 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 later war time. 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 for religious services was limited - only 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

Special Russian page church history wartime - help partisan movement. In January 1942, in one of his messages to the flock remaining 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 undertook important step on the way to 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, the belfry of St. Sophia Cathedral XVI V. 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 occurred during the Great Patriotic War suffered the Russian Orthodox Church, which for centuries created a unified state, deprived of almost all its property after the Bolsheviks came to power, but considered it an absolute duty to ascend to the all-Russian Golgotha ​​during the years of difficult trials.

Vadim Polonsky

The Lord will have mercy on Russia and lead it through suffering to great glory.

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov

As a result of the First World War, unleashed by the so-called “world community,” the last kingdoms on earth - Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian - were destroyed. World power passed into the hands of a secret world government, which everywhere, with the help of money and violence, imposed its liberal “democratic” order, and in Germany, the end result of democracy - a fascist dictatorship. It seemed to them that there was not much to it: to move pro-fascist Europe, led by Germany, against Russia in order to completely destroy the Orthodox country, which still stood as an insurmountable obstacle to the path of world evil, in the fire of this war. On the eve of this aggression, the Soviet government unexpectedly managed to split the united front of the aggressors and break out of isolation. The country was undergoing a large-scale rearmament of the Army, which was planned to be completed by the end of 1942.

The situation of the Russian Orthodox Church on the eve of the war seemed to be catastrophic: out of 57 thousand churches, only a few thousand remained, out of 57 seminaries, not a single one remained, out of more than 1000 monasteries, not a single one. There was no Patriarch either. The “Union of Militant Atheists,” the largest “non-profit organization” of those years, planned to close the last Orthodox church already in 1943. It seemed that Russia was lost forever. And only a few knew then that from the moment of the destruction of the Orthodox Kingdom on March 2, 1917, the Mother of God herself took Russia under her leadership, notifying us of this with the miraculous appearance of her Sovereign image. It is now a widely known fact that in the summer of 1941, during the most critical days of the war, the Mother of God appeared to Metropolitan Elijah (Karam) of the Lebanese Mountains through his fervent solitary prayers. She discovered what needs to be done so that Russia does not perish. To do this, temples, monasteries, spiritual educational establishments. Bring back priests from prisons, from the fronts, and start serving them. Don’t surrender Leningrad to the enemy, surround the city with the Kazan Icon. Prayers should be served in front of this icon in Moscow. This icon should be in Stalingrad, which cannot be surrendered to the enemy. The Kazan icon must go with the troops to the borders of Russia, and when the war is over, Metropolitan Elijah must come to Russia and talk about how she was saved. The Bishop contacted representatives of the Russian Church and the Soviet Government and conveyed to them the will of the Mother of God. I.V. Stalin promised Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Metropolitan Sergius to fulfill everything that Metropolitan Elijah had conveyed, because he no longer saw any possibility of saving the situation. Everything happened as predicted. After the Victory, in 1947, Metropolitan Elijah visited the USSR more than once. He was awarded the Stalin Prize (200 thousand rubles), which, together with a donation from Lebanese Christians (200 thousand dollars), he donated for the orphaned children of Red Army soldiers. By agreement with Stalin, he was then presented with a cross and a panagia with precious stones from all the republics of the Soviet Union - in gratitude from all our land.

Even on the first day of the war, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) called the Patriotic War sacred cleansing thunderstorm and called on all Christians to defend their Motherland and the Church with all their might from the fascist invaders. Obviously, he was familiar with the prophecy of St. Anatoly of Optina, spoken after the revolution, that the Germans would soon enter Russia, but only in order to rid it of godlessness. And their end will come in their own land. The same assessment of the outbreak of war as the Patriarchal Locum Tenens and the same confidence in the coming Victory were voiced in the address of the Chairman of the State Defense Committee I.V. Stalin to the Soviet people on July 3, 1941:

“Comrades! Citizens! Brothers and sisters! Soldiers of our army and navy!

I am addressing you, my friends!...The war with Nazi Germany cannot be considered an ordinary war.... It is...about the life and death of the peoples of the USSR, about whether the peoples of the Soviet Union should be free, or fall into enslavement.. .. All our strength is in support of our heroic Red Army, our glorious Red Navy! All forces are used to defeat the enemy! Forward, for our Victory!” In those same days, the song “Holy War” was sung for the first time, which became a national march. Great victory. It was written by A.V. Alexandrov, who served as a psalm-reader in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the 1920s.

I.V. Stalin called for turning the country into a single military camp during the Great Patriotic War, where there is no place for laxity and the usual profiteering from military supplies, but “everything for the front, everything for Victory.” He uttered prophetic words that echoed like an alarm bell in every heart that loves the Motherland: “Our cause is just, Victory will be ours!”

From the very first days of the War, millions of believers went to the front. The Red Army soldiers, defending the Fatherland, showed miracles of heroism, as has been the case at all times. The Nazis, who did not receive any resistance in Europe, were dumbfounded by the tenacity and fighting qualities of our soldiers. This is evidenced by their numerous letters home, now published in many publications. Already in the very first days of the War, fascist pilots, for example, received instructions not to approach Soviet aircraft closer than 100 meters in order to avoid ramming, which immediately became a common method in air battles. Hundreds of fascist tanks were burned using ordinary “glass containers” with a flammable mixture. Sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a former student, killed 309 fascists in the first year of war alone. Home front workers were in no way inferior to front-line soldiers, performing 7-8 or more daily norms. Even teenagers in the factories of Udmurtia gave 2-3 adult norms. In the Cathedral of St. Alexandra Nevsky works as treasurer of A.A. Mashkovtseva, who is 73 years old length of service! During wartime, as teenagers, they worked in an artel that sewed pouches for machine guns produced by the current Kalashnikov concern. They often stayed to work at night because... machine guns without their production could not be sent to the army. And then the adults, appreciating their childish work, issued work books for them. Mason of Izhstroy M.I. Kamenshchikova and two assistants laid 28,200 bricks during a shift - this was an all-Union record; they lifted an entire floor of an industrial building! Not a single modern builder can believe such a result. For this labor feat, she received a bonus of 2 thousand rubles, her friends - 1 thousand each (the general’s monthly salary was then 2,200 rubles).

Moscow legend has conveyed to us that in October 1941, J.V. Stalin turned for advice to Blessed Matrona (who wandered around Moscow apartments without registration) and she predicted victory for him if he did not leave Moscow. The traditional military parade on Red Square breathed new strength into the city’s defenders. “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat, Moscow is behind us!” - this call of the political instructor of the Panfilov heroes V.K. Klychkov accurately reflects the fighting spirit of the defenders of the Fatherland. I will give an excerpt from the speech of the Chairman of the State Defense Committee I.V. Stalin at the military parade on November 7, 1941: “Comrade Red Army men and Red Navy men, commanders and political workers, partisans and partisans! The whole world looks at you as a force capable of destroying the predatory hordes of German invaders... The war you are waging is a war of liberation, a just war. Let the courageous image of our great ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dimitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dimitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov - inspire you in this war. Death to the German occupiers! Long live our glorious Motherland, its freedom and independence!” According to the testimony of Air Marshal Alexander Golovanov, in December 1941, in conditions of absolutely unflyable weather and with a frost of fifty degrees outside, on the instructions of J.V. Stalin, he made a “fly-over of the cross” over Moscow on an LI-2 plane with the miraculous Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God on board. And already on December 9, the city of Tikhvin was liberated.

It was near Moscow that Hitler, who had easily conquered Europe with the help of the money of Western bankers and the satanic forces with whom he regularly came into contact, felt unable to resist Divine grace. Here, by and large, his forecasts did not come true and all his plans failed. During the Nativity Fast, the Red Army began its offensive, aided by truly Siberian frosts, and the position of the Nazis became no better than Napoleon’s “great” army. It was they who first appeared in penal units, where an unprecedented number of soldiers ended up - 62 thousand people. To date, entire volumes of testimonies have been collected about the miraculous assistance of the Holy Heavenly Powers to our soldiers. Wehrmacht soldiers, who more than once saw “Madonna helping the Russians” in the sky, reported the same in their letters.

On Christmas Day 1942, in his Archpastoral Message, Metropolitan Sergius wrote: “Near Moscow the enemy was overthrown and expelled from the Moscow region.... So, dare, stand courageously and unshakably, maintaining faith and fidelity, and see salvation from the Lord: the Lord will overcome and overcome for you...". This is a continuation of the gospel science of Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov, “The Science of Victory”: “Pray to God, victory comes from Him! God is our general! This first offensive of ours lasted until Easter.

In 1942, Easter was very early - April 5th. The holiday coincided with the 700th anniversary of the defeat of German knights by Alexander Nevsky on the ice of Lake Peipsi. The Germans were driven back from Moscow, the front stabilized. On Saturday, April 4, at 6 o’clock in the morning, the radio announced, quite unexpectedly for everyone, that the Moscow commandant’s office was allowing free movement on Easter night. This was the first demonstrative step towards the interests of the country's Orthodox Christians during the years of Soviet power. The people received this news with delight. This is what is written in the report of the head of the NKVD of Moscow and the Moscow region M.I. Zhuravleva: “In total, 85 thousand people attended services in 124 operating churches in the Moscow region (as of June 22, there were only 4 operating churches, but with the beginning of the War, churches were spontaneously opened). From the messages received by the NKVD Directorate it is clear that the believing population and clergy in connection with religious holiday Easter, as well as the received permission for the unhindered movement of the population... on the night of April 4-5 reacted positively, as evidenced by the following statements: “Everyone says that the Soviet government oppresses believers and the Church, but in reality it turns out not so: despite state of siege, they were allowed to perform religious services, walk around the city without passes, and so that the people knew about it, they announced it on the radio...”

“Lord, what a joyful day today is! The government accommodated the people and allowed them to celebrate Easter. Not only were they allowed to walk around the city all night and serve church services, they also gave us cheese curds, butter, meat and flour today. Thanks to the government."

After that Easter, the Church called on all the people to raise funds for arming the Army and helping the wounded. There was also a collection of donations in the churches of Udmurtia. The priest of the Assumption Church in Izhevsk, V.A. Stefanov, gave all his savings - 569 thousand rubles, and in 1944, parishioners and clergy of Udmurtia contributed 1,108 thousand rubles to the Defense Fund and 371 thousand rubles in bonds. The foreman of a tractor brigade from Azino, P.I. Kalabin, contributed 155 thousand rubles for the construction of tanks and aircraft. and another 10 thousand rubles. to the Defense Fund. (This is a donation comparable to the cost of a T-34 tank).

In the winter of 1942, with a frost of twenty degrees, the unheated and newly cleared Yelokhovsky Cathedral in Moscow was full of people praying for victory to be granted to the Russian army. Cathedral parishioner G.P. Georgievsky recalled the days of Great Lent in 1942: “Everyone tried to confess and receive communion. There were so many people who wanted to fast that the priests were forced to offer communion during the presanctified liturgies on Wednesdays and Fridays. On ordinary days for Communion, especially on some Saturdays, so many communicants gathered that the service began at 6:30 am. in the morning and ended at 4-5 o’clock in the afternoon.” Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) served in Leningrad throughout the blockade, living in an unheated church building. The city leadership, at his request, allocated “Cahors” and flour for worship in all seven churches of the city, however, the liturgical prosphora was baked the size of a small button.

This joint work of the state and the church to repel the fascist invasion was the beginning of a radical change in their relations. But the rapprochement of the positions of the Church and the Soviet government began even earlier. Here are its main stages:

2. August 16, 1923 - the Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, signed by J.V. Stalin, was sent to all party organizations, prohibiting the pogrom of the Church and the persecution of believers.

4. On November 11, 1939, the Politburo decided to cancel the instructions of V.I. Lenin dated May 1, 1919, ordering the destruction of churches and mass executions of the clergy. The Solovetsky camp is closed. Over 30,000 “church members” were released from the Gulag.

5. Summer 1941. The Will of the Mother of God on how Russia can be saved was conveyed to the Soviet leadership. This was done by Metropolitan Elijah (Karam) of the Lebanese Mountains.

The years 1941-1942 showed J.V. Stalin that, despite the persecution, the attitude of the Church towards the Russian state did not change. The Church is doing everything to protect him. This led to a sharp turn in relations that began after the historic meeting of J.V. Stalin with the highest hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church on September 5, 1943. At that meeting, a decision was made on the immediate restoration of the Moscow Patriarchate, the educational and publishing work of the Church, and the creation of bodies regulating state-church relations. In conclusion, J.V. Stalin said words that allow us to understand that such a sharp turn in attitude towards the Church was not shared by all of his fellow party members : “This, lords, is all I can do for you for now.” Indeed, the decade of rapid revival of the Russian Orthodox Church that followed this meeting ended with the death of J.V. Stalin on March 5, 1953. During wartime, the leadership of the army and defense industry was dominated by Russian patriots who had not forgotten God. From the top leadership, I.V. Stalin almost graduated from the Tiflis Theological Seminary, sang in the choir of the Exarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, A.I. Mikoyan studied at the Theological Academy, church singers in his youth were G.K. Zhukov, V.M. Molotov, K E. Voroshilov. The Chief of the General Staff, former colonel of the Tsarist Army B.M. Shaposhnikov openly professed Orthodoxy. A.M. Vasilevsky, who replaced him in this post, is the son of a priest who served in Kineshma at that time, and the head of counterintelligence “SMERSH” V.S. Abakumov is the priest’s brother. Directly from exile, Bishop Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky) was appointed Chief Surgeon of all evacuation hospitals in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and at the same time Bishop of Krasnoyarsk and Yenisei. At the end of the war, he was awarded the Stalin Prize, 1st degree, for his work in the field of purulent surgery.

The clergy in the occupied territories were in the most difficult situation. The fascist authorities demanded their assistance and prayers for the victory of German weapons. Failure to fulfill their demands or to pay tribute to the name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' during services was punishable by reprisals from the Germans or policemen; partisans and underground fighters were punished for serving the occupiers. Most of the clergy in the occupied areas did not cooperate with the occupiers. Priest Alexander Romanushko in Belarus, instead of holding a funeral service for a policeman killed by partisans, took the entire police garrison and all the relatives of the murdered man to the partisans. Although there were also many traitors. Someone even composed an akathist to “the blessed Adolf Hitler”! It was these people who, in the majority, came under repression by the Soviet government after the War.

In those heroic years, the whole world looked with hope and gratitude at the heroic struggle of our people against fascism.

"I want to pay tribute to the Russian people, from whom the Red Army has its origins and from whom it receives its men, women and supplies. The Russian people give all their strength to war and make the highest sacrifices."

<...>The world has never seen greater selflessness than that shown by the Russian people and their army under the command of Marshal Joseph Stalin." (1943)

US President Franklin Roosevelt.

"The destinies of humanity are at stake in this great battle. On one side there is light and progress, on the other there is darkness, reaction, slavery and death. Russia, while defending its socialist freedom, is fighting at the same time for our freedom. By defending Moscow, they are defending London".

L. Feuchtwanger. 1942

“It is with the greatest admiration and respect that I send my sincere congratulations on the 25th anniversary of the Red Army and Navy, which so courageously defended the amazing achievements of Soviet civilization and destroyed a mortal threat to the future development of human progress.”

A. Einstein. February 1942

"I don't know what communism is, but if it creates people like those fighting on the Russian front, we must respect it. It is time to discard all slander, because they give their life and blood so that we can live We should give not only our money, but all the spiritual capacity for friendship that we possess, to help them<...>Russia, you have won the admiration of the whole world. Russians, the future is yours."

Charlie Chaplin. 1943

This prophecy of a non-Orthodox, but an honest man, completely coincides with the prophecy of St. Seraphim of Sarov: “The Lord will have mercy on Russia and will lead it through suffering to great glory.”

But even then completely different voices were heard. Senator G. Truman, who in August 1945, having become president, tested atomic bombs on Japan, even at the beginning of the war said without hiding that “if the Germans win, then we must help the Russians, and if the Russians win, we must help the Germans.” , and let them kill each other as much as possible." That's what they did. Immediately after Churchill's speech in Fulton in 1946, a meeting of US industrial magnates took place, as if waiting in the wings. It was like they were off the chain. Here are excerpts from their resolution: “Russia is an Asian despotism, primitive, vile and predatory, erected on a pyramid of human bones, skilled only in arrogance, betrayal and terrorism.” To put the conqueror of European fascism in its place, this meeting of racists called for placing their atomic bombs “in all regions of the world and without any hesitation dropping them wherever it is expedient.” And this was said about the allies, who only a year and a half earlier saved the Anglo-American troops from defeat in the Ardennes, when the same Churchill humiliatedly asked Stalin to organize a “major Russian offensive on the Vistula front” so that the Germans would transfer part of their troops from France to the Eastern Front . These are the words from Stalin's response to Churchill, published a week after the Fulton speech on March 14, 1946 in the newspaper Pravda. “In essence, Mr. Churchill and his friends in England and the United States are presenting nations that do not speak English with something like an ultimatum: accept our dominance voluntarily, and then everything will be all right, otherwise war is inevitable<...>but nations shed blood during 5 years of brutal war for the sake of freedom and independence of their countries, and not in order to replace the rule of the Hitlers with the rule of the Churchills." Eleven years after the Victory, N. Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the CPSU will almost completely repeat Churchill's Fulton speech regarding The Soviet state and Marshal of Victory I.V. Stalin, will release Bandera and policemen from the camps and promise to “show the last priest on TV.” A little later, A.I. Solzhenitsyn, this “literary Vlasovite,” begged from the “world community” Nobel Prize, cried out: “I need this prize. Like a step in position(?), in battle! And the sooner I get it, the harder I’ll become, the harder I’ll hit!” And together with all his enemies, he hit Mother Russia, who was seriously ill with decaying communism, with a backhand. In those years, he curried himself with all his might: “There is no nation in the world more despicable, more abandoned, more alien and unnecessary than the Russian.” He used the words spoken a long time ago by the Asian Khan Tamerlane about Jewish moneylenders. Today he is echoed by liberals from the fifth column, for example, G. Khazanov: “In this country goats with plucked sides graze, mangy inhabitants timidly make their way along the fences. I am used to being ashamed of this homeland, where every day is humiliation, every meeting is like a slap in the face, where everything - the landscape and the people - offends the eye. But how nice it is to come to America and see a sea of ​​smiles!” There are also many of these in our time, especially in Ukraine.

The spiritual content of the Great Patriotic War is clearly indicated by its chronology. The war began on June 22, the Day of All Saints, who shone in the Russian land. The historical defeat of the Germans near Moscow began on December 5-6, 1941. These days, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky. And on July 17, 1944, the day of the murder of the Royal Family, 56 thousand fascist prisoners of war were escorted through the streets of Moscow. Thus, Soviet Russia, waging a victorious war with Germany, which the last Russian Sovereign was not allowed to defeat, honored the day of His memory.

The Great Patriotic War ended on Easter, and on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, June 24, a Victory Parade was held on Red Square. And at the behest of Generalissimo I.V. Stalin, warrior George on a white horse accepted it! How did the Church treat Stalin? Like all the people - with delight.

The ever-memorable Archpriest Dimitry Dudko, who spent many years in prison: “If you look at Stalin from the Divine point of view, then he is truly a special person, given by God, preserved by God. Stalin saved Russia and showed what it means to the whole world.”

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy 1 (Simansky) before the funeral service on the day of J.V. Stalin’s funeral said: “The great leader of our people, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, has passed away. The power, the great, social power, in which our people felt their own strength, with which they were guided in their creative works and enterprises, with which they consoled themselves for many years, was abolished. There is no area where the gaze of the great Leader does not penetrate.... As a man of genius, in every matter he discovered what was invisible and inaccessible to the ordinary mind.” I.V. Stalin, as a man of his era, wavered in his faith in God, together with all of Russia, and together with all of Russia, in the end, came to Repentance, preserving the Church of Christ among all temptations.

Fortunately, the best representatives of our young generation are able to distinguish between truth and lies, understand the continuous nature of the historical process and realize its high spiritual meaning. For example, this is what Honored Artist of Russia Oleg Pogudin said: “It took a war for the people’s heads to get back into place at least a little bit... If we speak from the position of a believer, then the Great Patriotic War is a huge act of redemption. The stunning, fantastic feats of sacrifice, self-denial, and love that people demonstrated during these years generally justified the entire existence of the Soviet period in Russian history.”

To this I just want to add: “Let us bow to those great years...” Everything else is from the evil one.

Vladimir Shklyaev , employee of the Missionary Department of the Izhevsk diocese

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. ROC 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 Kiev 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 war began with the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland. World War. 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 Russia. 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.” With a serious blow the Church saw 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 in 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

Details that were kept silent - Professor of the Kyiv Theological Academy Viktor Chernyshev.

Each era in its own way tested the patriotism of believers, constantly educated by the Russian Orthodox Church, their willingness and ability to serve reconciliation and truth. And each era has preserved in church history, along with lofty images of saints and ascetics, examples of patriotic and peacemaking service to the Motherland and people best representatives Churches.

Russian history is dramatic. Not a single century has passed without wars, large or small, that tormented our people and our land. The Russian Church, condemning the war of aggression, has at all times blessed the feat of defense and defense of the native people and the Fatherland. Story Ancient Rus' allows us to trace the constant influence of the Russian Church and great church-historical figures on social events and the destinies of people.

The beginning of the twentieth century in our history was marked by two bloody wars: the Russian-Japanese (1904-1905) and the First World War (1914-1918), during which the Russian Orthodox Church provided effective mercy, helping refugees and evacuees disadvantaged by the war , hungry and wounded soldiers, created infirmaries and hospitals in monasteries.

Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky)

“On June 22, at exactly 4 o’clock, Kyiv was bombed...” How did the Church react?

The 1941 war struck our land as a terrible disaster. Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), who headed the Russian Orthodox Church after Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin), wrote in his Appeal to pastors and believers on the very first day of the war: “Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people... She will not abandon her people even now. She blesses with heavenly blessing the upcoming national feat... blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland...”

Addressing Soviet soldiers and officers, brought up in the spirit of devotion to another - the socialist Fatherland, its other symbols - the party, the Komsomol, the ideals of communism, the archpastor calls on them to follow the example of their Orthodox great-grandfathers, who valiantly repelled the enemy invasion of Russia, to be equal to those who performed feats of arms and with heroic courage he proved his holy, sacrificial love for her. It is characteristic that he calls the army Orthodox; he calls for sacrificing oneself in battle for the Motherland and faith.

Transfer of the tank column “Dimitri Donskoy” to units of the Red Army

Why did the Orthodox collect donations during the war?

At the call of Metropolitan Sergius, from the very beginning of the war, Orthodox believers collected donations for defense needs. In Moscow alone, in the first year of the war, parishes collected more than 3 million rubles to help the front. 5.5 million rubles were collected in the churches of besieged, exhausted Leningrad. The Gorky church community donated more than 4 million rubles to the defense fund. And there are many such examples.
These funds, collected by the Russian Orthodox Church, were invested in the creation of a flight squadron named after. Alexander Nevsky and a tank column named after. Dmitry Donskoy. In addition, the fees were used to maintain hospitals, help disabled war veterans and orphanages. Everywhere they offered up fervent prayers in churches for victory over fascism, for their children and fathers on the fronts fighting for the Fatherland. The losses suffered by the country's population in the Patriotic War of 1941-1945 were colossal.

Address of Metropolitan Sergius

Which side should you be on: a difficult choice, or a compromise?

It must be said that after the German attack on the USSR, the position of the Church changed dramatically: on the one hand, the locum tenens Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) immediately took a patriotic position; but, on the other hand, the occupiers came with an essentially false, but outwardly effective slogan - the liberation of Christian civilization from Bolshevik barbarism. It is known that Stalin was in panic, and only on the tenth day of the Nazi invasion he addressed the people through a loudspeaker in an intermittent voice: “Dear compatriots! Brothers and sisters!..". He also had to remember the Christian appeal of believers to each other.

The day of Hitler's attack fell on June 22, this is the day of the Orthodox holiday of All Saints who shone in the Russian land. And this is not accidental. This is the day of the new martyrs - the many millions of victims of the Lenin-Stalinist terror. Any believer could interpret this attack as retribution for the beating and torment of the righteous, for the fight against God, for the last “godless five-year plan” announced by the communists.
All over the country, bonfires of icons, religious books and sheet music of many great Russian composers (D. Bortnyansky, M. Glinka, P. Tchaikovsky), the Bible and the Gospel burned. The Union of Militant Atheists (LUA) organized bacchanals and pandemoniums of anti-religious content. These were real anti-Christian sabbaths, unsurpassed in their ignorance, blasphemy, and outrage against the sacred feelings and traditions of their ancestors. Churches were closed everywhere, clergy and Orthodox confessors were exiled to the Gulag; There was a total destruction of the spiritual foundations in the country. All this continued with manic desperation under the leadership first of the “leader of the world revolution”, and then of his successor – I. Stalin.

Therefore, for believers this was a known compromise. Or unite to resist the invasion in the hope that after the war everything will change, that this will be a harsh lesson to the tormentors, that perhaps the war will sober up the authorities and force them to abandon their atheistic ideology and policy towards the Church. Or recognize the war as an opportunity to overthrow the communists by entering into an alliance with the enemy. It was a choice between two evils - either an alliance with the internal enemy against the external enemy, or vice versa. And it must be said that this was often an insoluble tragedy of the Russian people on both sides of the front during the war.

What does Scripture say about the Patriotic War?

But the Holy Scripture itself said that “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy...” (John 10:10). And the treacherous and cruel enemy knew neither pity nor mercy - more than 20 million who fell on the battlefield, were tortured in fascist concentration camps, ruins and fires on the site of thriving cities and villages. Ancient Pskov, Novgorod, Kyiv, Kharkov, Grodno, and Minsk churches were barbarically destroyed; Our ancient cities and unique monuments of Russian church and civil history were bombed to the ground.
“War is a terrible and disastrous business for those who undertake it needlessly, without truth, with the greed of robbery and enslavement; all the shame and curse of heaven lies on him for the blood and for the misfortunes of his own and others,” he wrote in his address to to believers June 26, 1941 Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod, who shared with his flock all the hardships and deprivations of the two-year siege of Leningrad.

Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) during the Great Patriotic War - about the war, about duty and the Motherland

On June 22, 1941, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) had just celebrated the festive Liturgy when he was informed about the beginning of the war. He immediately delivered a patriotic speech-sermon that in this time of general trouble, the Church “will not abandon its people even now. She blesses... and the upcoming national feat.” Anticipating the possibility of an alternative solution for the believers, the bishop called on the priesthood not to indulge in thoughts “about possible benefits on the other side of the front.”

In October, when the Germans were already near Moscow, Metropolitan Sergius condemned those priests and bishops who, finding themselves under occupation, began to collaborate with the Germans. This, in particular, concerned another metropolitan, Sergius (Voskresensky), exarch of the Baltic republics, who remained in the occupied territory, in Riga, and made his choice in favor of the occupiers. The situation was not easy. And the incredulous Stalin, despite the appeal, sent Vladyka Sergius (Stragorodsky) to Ulyanovsk, allowing him to return to Moscow only in 1943.
The Germans' policy in the occupied territories was quite flexible; they often opened churches desecrated by the communists, and this was a serious counterbalance to the imposed atheistic worldview. Stalin also understood this.

In order to confirm Stalin in the possibility of changing church policy, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) wrote a message on November 11, 1941, in which, in particular, he sought to deprive Hitler of his claims to the role of defender of Christian civilization: “Progressive humanity declared a holy war for Hitler for Christian civilization, for freedom of conscience and religion." However, the topic of protecting Christian civilization was never directly accepted by Stalinist propaganda. To a greater or lesser extent, all concessions to the Church until 1943 were of a “cosmetic” nature.

"black sun", an occult symbol used by the Nazis. The image on the floor in the so-called Obergruppenführer Hall at Wewelsburg Castle, Germany.

Alfred Rosenberg and the true attitude of the Nazis towards Christians

In the Nazi camp, Alfred Rosenberg, who headed the Eastern Ministry, was responsible for church policy in the occupied territories, being the governor-general of the “Eastern Land,” as the territory of the USSR under the Germans was officially called. He was against the creation of territorial unified national church structures and was generally a convinced enemy of Christianity. As you know, the Nazis used various occult practices to achieve power over other nations. Even the mysterious structure of the SS “Ananerbe” was created, which made voyages to the Himalayas, Shambhala and other “places of power”, and the SS organization itself was built on the principle of a knightly order with the corresponding “initiations”, hierarchy and represented the Hitler oprichnina. His attributes were runic signs: double lightning bolts, a swastika, a skull and crossbones. Anyone who joined this order clothed himself in the black vestments of the “Fuhrer's Guard”, became an accomplice in the sinister karma of this satanic semi-sect and sold his soul to the devil.
Rosenberg especially hated Catholicism, believing that it represented a force capable of resisting political totalitarianism. He saw Orthodoxy as a kind of colorful ethnographic ritual, preaching meekness and humility, which only played into the hands of the Nazis. The main thing is to prevent its centralization and transformation into a single national church.

However, Rosenberg and Hitler had serious disagreements, since the former’s program included the transformation of all nationalities of the USSR into formally independent states under the control of Germany, and the latter was fundamentally against the creation of any states in the east, believing that all Slavs should become slaves Germans. Others must simply be destroyed. Therefore, in Kyiv, at Babi Yar, machine gun fire did not subside for days. The death conveyor here worked smoothly. More than 100 thousand killed - such is the bloody harvest of Babyn Yar, which became a symbol of the Holocaust of the twentieth century.

The Gestapo, together with police henchmen, destroyed entire settlements, burning their inhabitants to the ground. In Ukraine there was more than one Oradour, and more than one Lidice, destroyed by the Nazis in Eastern Europe, a - hundreds. If, for example, 149 people died in Khatyn, including 75 children, then in the village of Kryukovka in the Chernihiv region, 1,290 households were burned, more than 7 thousand residents were killed, of which hundreds of children.

In 1944, when Soviet troops fought to liberate Ukraine, they everywhere found traces of the terrible repressions of the occupiers. The Nazis shot, strangled in gas chambers, hanged and burned: in Kiev - more than 195 thousand people, in the Lviv region - more than half a million, in the Zhytomyr region - over 248 thousand, and in total in Ukraine - over 4 million people. A special role in the system of Hitler’s genocide industry was played by concentration camps: Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, Flossenburg, Mauthausen, Ravensbrück, Salaspils and other death camps. In total, 18 million people passed through the system of such camps (in addition to prisoner of war camps directly in the combat zone), 12 million prisoners died: men, women, and children.

The Church is often called the “second power”; most secular tsars perceived Orthodoxy as a tool for maintaining their autocracy. The authorities tried not to spoil relations with the Orthodox Church. Representatives of the clergy had privileges and a special status. Orthodoxy has always brought the Russian peasant into the difficult life peace of mind and a sense of protection from above. The church was involved in charity work; in parochial schools children were given elementary education. She often stood up for the offended, one way or another, gave her assessment of political transformations, that is, she took an active position in the life of the state.

The Bolsheviks, when they came to power, did not openly advocate atheism, although their leaders had long ago lost touch with religion. The first events also said nothing about the colossal disruption that would unfold in the coming years. IN AND. Lenin wrote on November 20, 1917 in an address “To all working Muslims of Russia and the East”: “Muslims of Russia, Tatars of the Volga region and Crimea, Kyrgyz and Sarts of Siberia, Turkestan, Turks and Tatars of Transcaucasia, Chechens and highlanders of the Caucasus, all those mosques and "Whose prayer houses were destroyed, whose beliefs and customs were trampled upon by the tsars and oppressors of Russia! From now on, your beliefs and customs, your national and cultural institutions are declared free and inviolable."

One of the first decrees of the Soviet government was the decree on the separation of church and state of January 23, 1918. The decree itself did not carry an anti-religious, anti-church connotation. In most European countries, the church was separated from the state back in the era of bourgeois revolutions. Western society is undoubtedly secular in nature. But in most countries the state officially supports those religious organizations, which are most consistent with national interests and traditions. In England it is the Anglican Church (its head is the Queen), in Sweden, Norway, Denmark it is Lutheran; in Spain, Portugal - Catholic, etc. As for Eastern societies, they are characterized by the inseparability of the secular and religious spheres of life. Consequently, the act of separation of church and state in Russia meant a movement in a Western direction.

However, this act was accepted and in fact became the legislative basis for persecution against the church. The first to come under attack was the Orthodox Church as the official church of old Russia. In addition, other churches were located in territories where there was not yet Bolshevik power. The closure of churches, the confiscation of church valuables, and reprisals against clergy began already in the first months after the October events of 1917. On October 13, 1918, Patriarch Tikhon addressed the Council of People's Commissars with a message in which he wrote: "...Bishops, clergy, monks and nuns are being executed , not guilty of anything, but simply on a sweeping accusation of some vague and indefinite counter-revolutionism."

There were 78 thousand operating on the territory of pre-revolutionary Russia. Orthodox churches, 25 thousand mosques, more than 6 thousand synagogues, 4.4 thousand Catholic churches, more than 200 Old Believer churches in Georgia and Armenia. The number of churches in Russia by 1941 had decreased by 20 times. Most of the temples were closed in the 30s. By 1938, more than 40 thousand houses of worship were closed. These are not only Orthodox churches, but also mosques, synagogues, etc. In 1935-1936. The government banned the activities of the Synod and the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 25 regions there was not a single functioning temple, and in 20 regions there were 1-5 temples.

The clergy were also destroyed. IN AND. Lenin, in a secret instruction dated August 19, 1922, wrote: “The more representatives of the reactionary clergy and the reactionary bourgeoisie we manage to shoot on this occasion, the better.” Thus, the clergy and the bourgeoisie are concepts of the same order for Lenin. This is true from the point of view of civilizational affiliation. The creation of a new one could be successful only if the spiritual foundation was destroyed and its carriers were destroyed.

In 1926, the “Union of Atheists of the USSR to Fight Religion” was created, which was then renamed the “Union of Militant Atheists.” The number of its members grew: 1926 - approximately 87 thousand people; 1929 – more than 465 thousand; 1930 – 3.5 million people; 1931 - approximately 51 million. The growth in the number of active fighters against religion shows how rapidly the spiritual sphere was collapsing. It is curious that pro-Western movements in Christianity, especially such as Baptistism, which seemed stupid and savage, were persecuted most cruelly. However, it was not possible to eliminate religion.

Half-strangled religious confessions were nationalized, subordinated to party-state control and carried out in their activities only those things that did not contradict socialist ideology, that is, in practice there was not separation from the state, as the Decree of 1918 provided, but the subordination of the church to the state.

Trying to keep my inner world in balance, many people stubbornly clung to traditional religious beliefs. Anti-religious campaigns, while achieving some success, in a number of cases caused the opposite reaction. Previously banned materials from the 1937 All-Union Population Census show that, despite the obvious fear of revealing adherence to religion, a significant part of the population admitted that they believed in God. Of the nearly 30 million illiterate adults (over 16 years of age), more than 25 million (84%) are registered as believers. Of the 68.5 million literate population, 30 million (44%) were also believers.

Generations that grew up in Soviet times had no idea about the role of traditional religions in society and perceived the activities of church organizations negatively. However, that part of society that had lost contact with traditional religion accepted a new one. It had its own paraphernalia: red corners, portraits and monuments of leaders, etc. Its own ritual, its own dogma. Marxism-Leninism was only an outer shell, under which traditional Russian values ​​were often hidden.

The idea of ​​the messianic, saving role of Russia was transformed into the idea of ​​the USSR as the vanguard of the world revolution, which should pave the way to the future for all peoples and help them on this difficult path. Internationalism in fact turned out to be the basis for a harsh Russification policy and the imposition of the Russian model. Leaders, who were perceived as bearers and interpreters of higher values, also became objects of worship. The process of charismatization of the leaders began immediately and gained momentum as the Bolshevik Party consolidated its hold on power. Gradually V.I. Lenin developed into a charismatic leader and then, after his death, was canonized as new Christ or the prophet Muhammad.

IN AND. Lenin always behaved like a prophet, surrounded by disciples and followers, and not like the leader of a political party. It is well known that in the Bolshevik Party and in his circle he did not tolerate people who disagreed with him and showed independence in judgment and behavior. This resulted in constant splits, exceptions, and demarcations, starting from the Second Congress of the RSDLP and until the end of his life.

The formation of the image of a charismatic leader began after the Bolsheviks came to power. However, little was achieved during Lenin's lifetime. In the full sense of the word, he became a charismatic leader, almost a god, after his death. "Lenin lived, Lenin is alive, Lenin will live!" - this slogan could be found both on the streets of the capital and in a small village. Why not “Christ is Risen!”

New leader I.V. Stalin took over as a faithful disciple, a faithful Leninist. His charismatization occurred in the 30s. He became a god during his lifetime. His portraits hung everywhere, and monuments were erected in cities and towns. Cities, streets, schools, factories, collective farms, divisions, regiments, etc. were named after him. The press glorified the leader. Here are lines from the pages of the Pravda newspaper. January 8, 1935: “Long live the one whose genius led us to unprecedented successes - the great organizer of the victories of Soviet power, the great leader, friend and teacher - our Stalin!” March 8, 1939: “Let the father live, long live our dear father - Stalin the sun!”

The deification of the leaders imparted “holiness” to the regime. In the mass consciousness, this meant the adoption of new values ​​and new life guidelines. The system, which was largely based on violence, acquired a spiritual basis.

It is characteristic that during the war years the emphasis was placed on the Russian people. Russian patriotism became one of the most important sources of victory. I.V. constantly addressed the Russian theme. Stayin, especially in the first, most difficult period of the war, on November 6, 1941, he spoke about the impossibility of defeating “... the great Russian nation, the nation of Plekhanov and Lenin, Belinsky and Chernyshevsky, Pushkin and Tolstoy, ... Suvorov and Kutuzov.”

Christianity has always carried a charge of great moral strength, which was especially important during the war years. They drew consolation and strength from religion for life and work in the most difficult conditions of war. The Russian Orthodox Church called for humility and patience, for mercy and brotherhood. The war revealed the best features of Russian Orthodoxy.

In 1943, the orders of A. Nevsky, A. Suvorov, M. Kutuzov, and other prominent Russian military leaders and naval commanders were established, the St. George Ribbon was introduced, and the pre-revolutionary uniform of the Russian army was returned. Orthodoxy received greater freedom than other faiths. Already on June 22, 1941, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius made an appeal to believers, calling on them to stand up for the defense of the Motherland in their hands and take part in raising funds for the defense fund.

A number of telegrams from representatives of the Orthodox clergy with messages about the transfer of funds for defense needs in the first months of the war appeared on the pages of the central newspapers Pravda and Izvestia, information about the work of the Orthodox Church was also given there, and biographies of the newly elected Patriarchs Sergius and Alexy were published. That is, the patriotic activities of the Church were covered in the press and recognized by the authorities. Dozens of clergy were released from the camps, including 6 archbishops and 5 bishops.

On Easter 1942, Moscow allowed unhindered traffic throughout the city throughout the night. In 1942, the first Council of Bishops during the entire war was convened in Ulyanovsk. In the spring of 1943, the government opened access to the Iveron Mother of God icon, which was brought from the closed Donskoy Monastery for worship at the Resurrection Church in Moscow.

For the period from 1941 to 1944. The church contributed more than 200 million rubles to the country's defense fund. In the very first years of the war, more than three million rubles were collected in Moscow churches for the needs of the front and defense. The churches of Leningrad collected 5.5 million rubles. The church communities of Nizhny Novgorod collected more than four million rubles for the defense fund in 1941-1942. During the first half of 1944, the Novosibirsk diocese collected about two million rubles for wartime needs. With funds raised by the Church, an air squadron named after Alexander Nevsky and a tank column named after Dmitry Donskoy were created.

Here are some more examples. Bishop Bartholomew, Archbishop of Novosibirsk and Barnaul, called on people to donate to the needs of the army, performing services in churches in Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Barnaul, Tyumen, Omsk, Tobolsk, Biysk and other cities. The fees were used to purchase warm clothes for soldiers, to maintain hospitals and orphanages, to restore areas damaged during the German occupation and to help disabled war veterans.

Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad remained with his flock in besieged Leningrad throughout the siege. “...ignites the hearts of soldiers by the spirit of unity and inspiration that now lives the entire Russian people,” read his address to believers on Palm Sunday.

On September 4, 1943, Stalin met with the highest hierarchs of the Orthodox Church. It marked a warming in relations between the authorities and the church. The regime decided to use traditional religion to mobilize forces and resources in the fight against the external enemy. By order of I.V. Stalin was given the task of restoring the normal practice of religious rites “at a Bolshevik pace.” A decision was also made to create theological academies in Moscow, Kyiv and Leningrad. Stalin agreed with the clergy on the need to publish church books. Under the patriarch, it was decided to form the Holy Synod of three permanent and three temporary members. A decision was made to form the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In general, it should be noted that the war had a significant and positive impact on the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Soviet government. After the war, the People's Commissariat of Education issued a decree on the preferential admission of front-line soldiers to educational institutions. In this matter, the church followed the decision of the authorities; a lot of front-line soldiers were studying at the seminary at that time. For example, I.D. Pavlov, the future Archimandrite Kirill, he became the confessor of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.

During the war years, there was a legend among the people that during the attack on Moscow, an icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God was placed on a plane, the plane flew around Moscow and consecrated the borders, as in Ancient Rus', when an icon was often taken to the battlefield so that the Lord would protect the country. Even if it was unreliable information, people believed it, which means they expected something similar from the authorities.

At the front, soldiers often made the sign of the cross before battle - asking the Almighty to protect them. The majority perceived Orthodoxy as a national religion. The famous Marshal Zhukov, together with the soldiers, said before the battle: “Well, with God!” The people maintain a legend that Zhukov carried the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God along the front lines.

During the “period of change” (1917-1941), the Bolsheviks abandoned the traditional Russian religion. But during the war, “the time to collect stones,” it was necessary to return to the original Russian, traditions helped unite the people on the basis of a common, common religion. Hitler understood this well. One of his instructions was that the fascists should prevent the influence of one church on a large area, but the emergence of sects in the occupied territories, as a form of schism and disunity, should be encouraged.

Stalin did not organize church revival, he restrained it. In the Pskov region, before the arrival of the Germans, there were 3 churches, and by the time the Soviet troops returned, there were 200 of them. In the Kursk region, before the Germans, there were 2, but there were 282, but in the Tambov region, where Soviet power remained unchanged, there remained 3 churches. Thus, the first 18 churches were allowed to open only almost six months after Stalin’s meeting with the metropolitans by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of February 5, 1944. And from total number The Council of Ministers satisfied only 17% of believers' requests for the opening of churches received in 1944-1947.
On November 16, 1948, the Synod was forced to make a decision to prohibit turning sermons in churches into lessons on the Law of God for children. Moreover, in the late 40s and early 50s, churches again began to be taken over for clubs and warehouses. In 1951, during the harvest in the Kursk region alone, by order of the district executive committees, about 40 buildings of existing churches were covered with grain for many months. Communists and Komsomol members who performed religious rites began to be persecuted. A new wave of arrests of the most active clergy began. For example, in September 1948, Archbishop Manuil (Lemeshevsky) was arrested for the seventh time. If on January 1, 1949, there were 14,447 officially opened Orthodox churches in the country, then by January 1, 1952, their number decreased to 13,786 (120 of which were not operational due to their use for grain storage).

During and after the war, Stalin's policy towards the Church saw two turning points. Today, the positive turnaround of 1943-1944 is more often remembered, but we should not forget the new “ice age” that began in the second half of 1948. Stalin wanted to make Moscow an Orthodox Vatican, the center of all Orthodox churches in the world. But in July 1948, the Pan-Orthodox Conference (with the participation of Metropolitan Elijah) did not at all lead to the result expected in the Kremlin: the hierarchs of churches that found themselves far from Soviet tanks(primarily Greece and Turkey) showed intransigence. And Stalin, realizing that he would not be able to use religious resources in global politics, sharply lost interest in church affairs. So, the cynical pragmatism of Stalin’s church policy during the war and the immediate transition to new persecutions in 1948 indicate that Stalin did not have any ideological crisis, conversion, or return to faith.

Several departments were responsible for the implementation of religious policy in the occupied territory of the Nazis - from the special Ministry of Religions to the military command and the Gestapo. In the occupied territories, at the beginning of the war, the Germans allowed churches to operate. Some priests accepted fascist culture, citing the fact that the Church was being persecuted in Russia. And yet, most clergy showed themselves humbly during the war, forgetting past grievances. The Nazis stopped the practice of opening churches because the priests conducted patriotic sermons among the population. Now priests were beaten and shot.

The Orthodox Church united with the secular authorities in the fight against the fascists. The war was declared holy, liberating, and the Church blessed this war. Besides financial assistance, The Church morally supported people, at the front and in the rear. At the front they believed in the miraculous power of icons and the sign of the cross. Prayers acted as peace of mind. In their prayers, the rear workers asked God to protect their relatives from death. The Orthodox Church made a significant contribution to the all-Soviet struggle against the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. The position of the Orthodox Church in Soviet Russia strengthened for a time. But the government followed, first of all, its own interests, and this strengthening was only temporary. Ordinary people often believed in God and relied on him as support from above.