Russian Orthodox Church in WWII. The contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Fathers on the front line

Sunday June 22, 1941, the day of the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, coincided with the celebration of the memory of All Saints who shone in the Russian land. It would seem that the outbreak of war should have exacerbated the contradictions between and the state, which had been persecuting it for more than twenty years. However, this did not happen. The spirit of love inherent in the Church turned out to be stronger than resentment and prejudice. In the person of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, the Metropolitan gave an accurate, balanced assessment of the unfolding events and determined her attitude towards them. At a moment of general confusion, confusion and despair, the voice of the Church sounded especially clearly. Having learned about the attack on the USSR, Metropolitan Sergius returned to his modest residence from the Epiphany Cathedral, where he served the Liturgy, immediately went to his office, wrote and typed with his own hand “Message to the shepherds and flocks of Christ’s Orthodox Church.” "Despite our physical disabilities- deafness and immobility,” Archbishop Dimitry (Gradusov) of Yaroslavl later recalled, “Metropolitan Sergius turned out to be unusually sensitive and energetic: he not only managed to write his message, but also send it to all corners of his vast Motherland.” The message read: “Our Orthodox faith has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not leave her people even now. She blesses with heavenly blessing the upcoming national feat...” In the terrible hour of the enemy invasion, the wise first hierarch saw behind the alignment of political forces in the international arena, behind the clash of powers, interests and ideologies, the main danger that threatened to destroy thousand-year-old Russia. The choice of Metropolitan Sergius, like every believer in those days, was not simple and unambiguous. During the years of persecution, he and everyone else drank from the same cup of suffering and martyrdom. And now with all his archpastoral and confessional authority he convinced the priests not to remain silent witnesses, much less to indulge in thoughts about possible benefits on the other side of the front. The message clearly reflects the position of the Russian Orthodox Church, based on a deep understanding of patriotism, a sense of responsibility before God for the fate of the earthly Fatherland. Subsequently, at the Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church on September 8, 1943, the Metropolitan himself, recalling the first months of the war, said: “We did not have to think about what position our Church should take during the war, because before we had time to determine, somehow our position, it has already been determined - the fascists attacked our country, devastated it, took our compatriots captive, tortured and robbed them in every possible way... So simple decency would not allow us to take any other position than that , which we have taken, that is, unconditionally negative towards everything that bears the stamp of fascism, a stamp hostile to our country.” In total, during the war years, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens issued up to 23 patriotic messages.

Metropolitan Sergius was not alone in his call to the Orthodox people. Leningrad Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) called on believers to “lay down their lives for the integrity, for the honor, for the happiness of their beloved Motherland.” In his messages, he first of all wrote about the patriotism and religiosity of the Russian people: “As in the times of Demetrius Donskoy and Saint Alexander Nevsky, as in the era of the struggle against Napoleon, the victory of the Russian people was due not only to the patriotism of the Russian people, but also to their deep faith in helping God’s just cause... We will be unshakable in our faith in the final victory over lies and evil, in the final victory over the enemy.”

Another close associate of the Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich), also addressed the flock with patriotic messages, who often went to the front line, performing services in local churches, delivering sermons with which he consoled the suffering people, instilling hope for God’s almighty help, calling on the flock to be faithful to the Fatherland. On the first anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, June 22, 1942, Metropolitan Nicholas addressed a message to the flock living in the territory occupied by the Germans: “It has been a year since the fascist beast flooded our native land with blood. This enemy is desecrating our holy temples of God. And the blood of the murdered, and the devastated shrines, and the destroyed temples of God - everything cries out to heaven for vengeance!.. The Holy Church rejoices that among you are rising up for the holy cause of saving the Motherland from the enemy folk heroes“Glorious partisans, for whom there is no higher happiness than to fight for the Motherland and, if necessary, die for it.”

In distant America, the former head of the military clergy of the White Army, Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov), called upon God's blessing on the soldiers of the Soviet army, on the entire people, the love for whom did not pass or diminish during the years of forced separation. On July 2, 1941, he spoke at a rally of many thousands in Madison Square Garden with an appeal to his compatriots, allies, to all people who sympathized with the fight against fascism, and emphasized the special, providential nature of the events taking place in the East of Europe for all mankind, saying that The fate of the whole world depends on the fate of Russia. Special attention Bishop Benjamin drew on the day the war began - the day of All Saints who shone in the Russian land, believing that this is “a sign of the mercy of the Russian saints towards our common Motherland and gives us great hope that the struggle that has begun will end in a good end for us.”

From the first day of the war, the hierarchs in their messages expressed the attitude of the Church to the outbreak of the war as liberation and fair, and blessed the defenders of the Motherland. The messages consoled believers in sorrow, called them to selfless work in the rear, courageous participation in military operations, supported faith in the final victory over the enemy, thereby contributing to the formation of high patriotic feelings and convictions among thousands of compatriots.

A description of the actions of the Church during the war years will not be complete unless it is said that the actions of the hierarchs who disseminated their messages were illegal, since after the resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars on religious associations in 1929, the area of ​​activity of clergy and religious preachers was limited to the location of the members of the serviced them of the religious association and the location of the corresponding prayer room.

Not only in words, but also in deeds, she did not leave her people, she shared with them all the hardships of the war. Manifestations of the patriotic activity of the Russian Church were very diverse. Bishops, priests, laity, faithful children of the Church, accomplished their feat regardless of the front line: deep in the rear, on the front line, in the occupied territories.

1941 found Bishop Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky) in his third exile, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. When the Great Patriotic War began, Bishop Luke did not stand aside and did not harbor a grudge. He came to the leadership of the regional center and offered his experience, knowledge and skill to treat soldiers of the Soviet army. At this time, a huge hospital was being organized in Krasnoyarsk. Trains with wounded were already coming from the front. In October 1941, Bishop Luka was appointed consultant to all hospitals in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and chief surgeon of the evacuation hospital. He plunged headlong into the difficult and intense surgical work. The most difficult operations, complicated by extensive suppuration, had to be performed by a renowned surgeon. In mid-1942, the period of exile ended. Bishop Luke was elevated to the rank of archbishop and appointed to the Krasnoyarsk see. But, heading the department, he, as before, continued surgical work, returning the defenders of the Fatherland to duty. The archbishop's hard work in Krasnoyarsk hospitals produced brilliant scientific results. At the end of 1943, the 2nd edition of “Essays on Purulent Surgery” was published, revised and significantly expanded, and in 1944 the book “Late resections of infected gunshot wounds joints." For these two works, Saint Luke was awarded the Stalin Prize, 1st degree. Vladyka donated part of this prize to help children who suffered in the war.

Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad carried out his archpastoral labors just as selflessly in besieged Leningrad, spending most of the blockade with his long-suffering flock. At the beginning of the war, there were five active churches left in Leningrad: St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral, Prince Vladimir and Transfiguration Cathedrals and two cemetery churches. Metropolitan Alexy lived at St. Nicholas Cathedral and served there every Sunday, often without a deacon. With his sermons and messages, he filled the souls of the suffering Leningraders with courage and hope. IN Palm Sunday His archpastoral address was read in churches, in which he called on believers to selflessly help soldiers with honest work in the rear. He wrote: “Victory is achieved not by the power of one weapon, but by the power of universal upsurge and powerful faith in victory, trust in God, who crowns with the triumph of the weapon of truth, “saving” us “from cowardice and from the storm” (). And our army itself is strong not only in numbers and the power of weapons, but the spirit of unity and inspiration that lives the entire Russian people flows into it and ignites the hearts of the soldiers.”

The activity of the clergy during the days of the siege, which had deep spiritual and moral significance, was also forced to be recognized by the Soviet government. Many clergy, led by Metropolitan Alexy, were awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad.”

Metropolitan Nikolai of Krutitsky and many representatives of the Moscow clergy were awarded a similar award, but for the defense of Moscow. In the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate we read that the rector of the Moscow Church in the name of the Holy Spirit at the Danilovsky cemetery, Archpriest Pavel Uspensky, did not leave Moscow during the troubled days, although he usually lived outside the city. A 24-hour watch was organized in the temple; they were very careful to ensure that random visitors did not linger in the cemetery at night. A bomb shelter was set up in the lower part of the temple. To provide first aid in case of accidents, a sanitary station was created at the temple, where there were stretchers, dressing and necessary medications. The priest's wife and his two daughters took part in the construction of anti-tank ditches. The energetic patriotic activity of the priest will become even more significant if we mention that he was 60 years old. Archpriest Pyotr Filonov, rector of the Moscow church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Roshcha, had three sons who served in the army. He also organized a shelter in the temple, just like all citizens of the capital, in turn he stood at security posts. And along with this, he carried out extensive explanatory work among believers, pointing out the harmful influence of enemy propaganda that penetrated the capital in leaflets scattered by the Germans. The word of the spiritual shepherd was very fruitful in those difficult and anxious days.

Hundreds of clergy, including those who managed to return to freedom by 1941 after serving time in camps, prisons and exile, were drafted into the ranks of the active army. Thus, having already been imprisoned, S.M. began his combat journey along the war fronts as deputy company commander. Eternally, the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen. Viceroy of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in 1950–1960. Archimandrite Alipiy (Voronov) fought for all four years, defended Moscow, was wounded several times and was awarded orders. The future Metropolitan of Kalinin and Kashin Alexy (Konoplev) was a machine gunner at the front. When he returned to the priesthood in 1943, the medal “For Military Merit” glittered on his chest. Archpriest Boris Vasiliev, before the war a deacon of the Kostroma Cathedral, commanded a reconnaissance platoon in Stalingrad, and then fought as deputy chief of regimental intelligence. In the report of the Chairman of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church G. Karpov to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A.A. Kuznetsov on the state of the Russian Church dated August 27, 1946, indicated that many members of the clergy were awarded orders and medals of the Great Patriotic War.

In the occupied territory, clergymen were sometimes the only link between the local population and the partisans. They sheltered the Red Army soldiers and themselves joined the partisan ranks. Priest Vasily Kopychko, rector of the Odrizhinskaya Assumption Church in the Ivanovo district in the Pinsk region, in the first month of the war, through an underground group of a partisan detachment, received a message from Moscow from the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, read it to his parishioners, despite the fact that the Nazis shot those who had the text appeals. From the beginning of the war until its victorious conclusion, Father Vasily spiritually strengthened his parishioners, performing divine services at night without lighting, so as not to be noticed. Almost all residents of the surrounding villages came to the service. The brave shepherd introduced parishioners to the reports of the Information Bureau, talked about the situation at the fronts, called on them to resist the invaders, and read messages from the Church to those who found themselves under occupation. One day, accompanied by partisans, he came to their camp, became thoroughly acquainted with the life of the people's avengers, and from that moment became a partisan liaison. The rectory became a partisan hangout. Father Vasily collected food for the wounded partisans and sent weapons. At the beginning of 1943, the Nazis managed to uncover his connection with the partisans. and the Germans burned down the abbot’s house. Miraculously, they managed to save the shepherd’s family and transport Father Vasily himself to the partisan detachment, which subsequently united with the active army and participated in the liberation of Belarus and Western Ukraine. For his patriotic activities, the clergyman was awarded medals “Partisan of the Great Patriotic War”, “For Victory over Germany”, “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War”.

Personal feat was combined with fundraising from parishes for the needs of the front. Initially, believers transferred money to the account of the State Defense Committee, the Red Cross and other funds. But on January 5, 1943, Metropolitan Sergius sent a telegram to Stalin asking for permission to open a bank account into which all the money donated for defense in all churches in the country would be deposited. Stalin gave his written consent and, on behalf of the Red Army, thanked the Church for its labors. By January 15, 1943, in Leningrad alone, besieged and starving, believers donated 3,182,143 rubles to the church fund for the defense of the country.

The creation of the tank column “Dmitry Donskoy” and the squadron “Alexander Nevsky” with church funds constitutes a special page in history. There was almost not a single rural parish on the land free from fascists that did not make its contribution to the national cause. In the memories of those days, the archpriest of the church in the village of Troitsky, Dnepropetrovsk region, I.V. Ivleva says: “There was no money in the church treasury, but it was necessary to get it... I blessed two 75-year-old old women for this great cause. Let their names be known to people: Kovrigina Maria Maksimovna and Gorbenko Matryona Maksimovna. And they went, they went after all the people had already made their contribution through the village council. Two Maksimovnas went to ask in the name of Christ to protect their dear Motherland from rapists. We went around the entire parish - villages, farmsteads and settlements located 5-20 kilometers from the village, and as a result - 10 thousand rubles, a significant amount in our places devastated by German monsters.”

Funds were collected for the tank column and in the occupied territory. An example of this is the civic feat of priest Feodor Puzanov from the village of Brodovichi-Zapolye. In the occupied Pskov region, for the construction of a column, he managed to collect among the believers a whole bag of gold coins, silver, church utensils and money. These donations, totaling about 500,000 rubles, were transferred by the partisans to the mainland. With each year of the war, the amount of church contributions grew noticeably. But of particular importance in the final period of the war was the collection of funds that began in October 1944 to help the children and families of Red Army soldiers. On October 10, in his letter to I. Stalin, Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad, who headed Russia after the death of Patriarch Sergius, wrote: “May this concern on the part of all the believers of our Union for the children and families of our native soldiers and defenders facilitate their great feat, and may it unite us even more close spiritual ties with those who do not spare their blood for the freedom and prosperity of our Motherland.” The clergy and laity of the occupied territories after liberation were also actively involved in patriotic work. Thus, in Orel, after the expulsion of fascist troops, 2 million rubles were collected.

Historians and memoirists have described all the battles on the battlefields of World War II, but no one is able to describe the spiritual battles committed by the great and nameless prayer books during these years.

On June 26, 1941, in the Epiphany Cathedral, Metropolitan Sergius served a prayer service “For the Granting of Victory.” From that time on, similar prayers began to be performed in all churches of the Moscow Patriarchate according to specially compiled texts “A prayer service for the invasion of adversaries, sung in the Russian Orthodox Church during the days of the Great Patriotic War.” In all churches there was a prayer composed by Archbishop Augustine (Vinogradsky) in the year of the Napoleonic invasion, a prayer for the granting of victories to the Russian army, which stood in the way of civilized barbarians. From the first day of the war, without interrupting its prayer for a single day, during all church services, our church fervently prayed to the Lord for the granting of success and victory to our army: “O give unabated, irresistible and victorious strength, strength and courage with courage to our army to crush our enemies and adversaries and all their cunning slander...”

Metropolitan Sergius not only called, but he himself was a living example of prayerful service. Here is what his contemporaries wrote about him: “On his way from the northern camps to the Vladimir exile, Archbishop Philip (Gumilevsky) was in Moscow; he went to the office of Metropolitan Sergius in Baumansky Lane, hoping to see Vladyka, but he was away. Then Archbishop Philip left a letter to Metropolitan Sergius, which contained the following lines: “Dear Vladyka, when I think of you standing at night prayers, I think of you as a holy righteous man; when I think about your daily activities, I think of you as a holy martyr...”

During the war, when the decisive Battle of Stalingrad was nearing its end, on January 19, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens in Ulyanovsk led a religious procession to the Jordan. He fervently prayed for the victory of the Russian army, but an unexpected illness forced him to go to bed. On the night of February 2, 1943, the Metropolitan, as his cell attendant, Archimandrite John (Razumov) said, having overcome his illness, asked for help to get out of bed. Rising with difficulty, he made three bows, thanking God, and then said: “The Lord of the armies, mighty in battle, has overthrown those who rise up against us. May the Lord bless his people with peace! Maybe this beginning will be a happy ending." In the morning, the radio broadcast a message about the complete defeat of German troops at Stalingrad.

The Monk Seraphim Vyritsky accomplished a wondrous spiritual feat during the Great Patriotic War. Imitating St. Seraphim of Sarov, he prayed in the garden on a stone in front of his icon for the forgiveness of human sins and for the deliverance of Russia from the invasion of adversaries. With hot tears, the great elder begged the Lord for the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church and for the salvation of the whole world. This feat required from the saint indescribable courage and patience; it was truly martyrdom for the sake of love for one’s neighbors. From the stories of the ascetic’s relatives: “...In 1941, grandfather was already 76 years old. By that time, the disease had weakened him greatly, and he could practically not move without assistance. In the garden behind the house, about fifty meters away, a granite boulder protruded from the ground, in front of which a small apple tree grew. It was on this stone that Father Seraphim raised his petitions to the Lord. They led him by the arms to the place of prayer, and sometimes they simply carried him. An icon was fixed on the apple tree, and grandfather stood with his sore knees on the stone and stretched out his hands to the sky... What did it cost him! After all, he suffered chronic diseases legs, heart, blood vessels and lungs. Apparently, the Lord Himself helped him, but it was impossible to look at all this without tears. We repeatedly begged him to leave this feat - after all, it was possible to pray in the cell, but in this case he was merciless both to himself and to us. Father Seraphim prayed as much as he could - sometimes an hour, sometimes two, and sometimes several hours in a row, he gave himself completely, without reserve - it was truly a cry to God! We believe that through the prayers of such ascetics Russia survived and St. Petersburg was saved. We remember: grandfather told us that one prayer book for the country could save all the cities and towns... Despite the cold and heat, wind and rain, and many serious illnesses, the elder insistently demanded that we help him get to the stone. So day after day, throughout the long, grueling war years...”

Then many people turned to God ordinary people, military personnel, those who departed from God during the years of persecution. Theirs was sincere and often bore the repentant character of a “prudent thief.” One of the signalmen who received combat reports from Russian military pilots over the radio said: “When pilots in downed planes saw their inevitable death, their last words were often: “Lord, accept my soul.” The commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal L.A., repeatedly publicly demonstrated his religious feelings. Govorov, after Battle of Stalingrad started visiting Orthodox churches Marshal V.N. Chuikov. The belief became widespread among believers that throughout the war Marshal G.K. carried the image of the Kazan Mother of God with him in his car. Zhukov. In 1945, he again lit the unquenchable lamp in the Leipzig Orthodox church-monument dedicated to the “Battle of the Nations” with the Napoleonic army. G. Karpov, reporting to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the celebration of Easter in Moscow and Moscow region churches on the night of April 15-16, 1944, emphasized that in almost all churches, in varying numbers, there were military officers and enlisted personnel.

The war re-evaluated all aspects of the life of the Soviet state and returned people to the realities of life and death. The revaluation took place not only at the level of ordinary citizens, but also at the government level. An analysis of the international situation and the religious situation in the occupied territory convinced Stalin that it was necessary to support the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan Sergius. On September 4, 1943, Metropolitans Sergius, Alexy and Nikolai were invited to the Kremlin to meet with I.V. Stalin. As a result of this meeting, permission was received to convene the Council of Bishops, elect a Patriarch at it and resolve some other church problems. At the Council of Bishops on September 8, 1943, Metropolitan Sergius was elected His Holiness the Patriarch. On October 7, 1943, the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church was formed under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which indirectly testified to the government's recognition of the existence of the Russian Orthodox Church and the desire to regulate relations with it.

At the beginning of the war, Metropolitan Sergius wrote: “Let the thunderstorm approach, We know that it brings not only disasters, but also benefits: it refreshes the air and expels all sorts of miasma.” Millions of people were able to rejoin the Church of Christ. Despite the almost 25-year dominance of atheism, Russia has transformed. The spiritual nature of the war was that through suffering, deprivation, and sorrow, people eventually returned to faith.

In its actions, the Church was guided by participation in the fullness of moral perfection and love inherent in God, by the apostolic tradition: “We also beseech you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good of each other and everyone” (). Preserving this spirit meant and means remaining One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

Sources and literature:

1 . Damaskin I.A., Koshel P.A. Encyclopedia of the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945. M.: Red Proletarian, 2001.

2 . Veniamin (Fedchenkov), Metropolitan. At the turn of two eras. M.: Father's House, 1994.

3 . Ivlev I.V., prot. About patriotism and patriots with big and small deeds // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 1944. No. 5. P.24–26.

4 . History of the Russian Orthodox Church. From the restoration of the Patriarchate to the present day. T.1. 1917–1970. St. Petersburg: Resurrection, 1997.

5 . Marushchak Vasily, protod. Saint-Surgeon: Life of Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky). M.: Danilovsky blagovestnik, 2003.

6 . Newly glorified saints. Life of the Hieromartyr Sergius (Lebedev) // Moscow Diocesan Gazette. 2001. No. 11–12. pp.53–61.

7 . The most revered saints of St. Petersburg. M.: “Favor-XXI”, 2003.

8 . Pospelovsky D.V. Russian Orthodox in the 20th century. M.: Republic, 1995.

9 . Russian Orthodox Church in Soviet time(1917–1991). Materials and documents on the history of relations between the state and / Comp. G. Stricker. M.: Propylaea, 1995.

10 . Seraphim's blessing/Comp. and general ed. Bishop of Novosibirsk and Berdsk Sergius (Sokolov). 2nd ed. M.: Pro-Press, 2002.

11 . Tsypin V., prot. History of the Russian Church. Book 9. M.: Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, 1997.

12 . Shapovalova A. Rodina appreciated their merits // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 1944. No. 10.S. 18–19.

13 . Shkarovsky M.V. Russian Orthodox under Stalin and Khrushchev. M.: Krutitskoye Patriarchal Compound, 1999.

To the 75th anniversary of the counter-offensive near Moscow

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the threat of complete destruction loomed over the Russian Orthodox Church. The country declared a “godless five-year plan,” during which the Soviet state was supposed to finally get rid of “religious remnants.”

Almost all the surviving bishops were in camps, and the number of operating churches throughout the country did not exceed several hundred. However, despite the unbearable conditions of existence, on the very first day of the war, the Russian Orthodox Church, in the person of the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), showed courage and fortitude, discovered the ability to encourage and support its people in difficult times. war time. “The protection of the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, the ever-present Intercessor of the Russian land, will help our people survive the time of difficult trials and victoriously end the war with our victory,” with these words Metropolitan Sergius addressed the parishioners gathered on June 22, Sunday, at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. The bishop ended his sermon, in which he spoke about the spiritual roots of Russian patriotism, with words that sounded with prophetic confidence: “The Lord will grant us victory!”

After the liturgy, locked in his cell, the locum tenens personally typed the text of the appeal to the “Pastors and flock of Christ’s Orthodox Church,” which was immediately sent out to the surviving parishes. In all churches, a special prayer for deliverance from enemies began to be read during services.

Meanwhile, the Germans, having crossed the border, rapidly advanced through Soviet territory. In the occupied lands they pursued a well-thought-out religious policy, opening churches and conducting successful anti-Soviet propaganda against this background. Of course, this was not done out of love for Christianity. Wehrmacht documents released after the end of the war indicate that most of the open churches were subject to closure after the end of the Russian campaign. Operational Order No. 10 of the Reich Main Security Directorate speaks eloquently about the attitude towards the church issue. It stated, in particular: “... on the German side, in no case should there be any explicit support for church life, the organization of divine services or the holding of mass baptisms. There can be no talk of re-establishing the former Patriarchal Russian Church. Particular care should be taken to ensure that, first of all, no organizationally formalized merger of the Orthodox Church circles that are in the stage of formation takes place. Splitting into separate church groups, on the contrary, is desirable.” Metropolitan Sergius also spoke about the treacherous religious policy pursued by Hitler in his sermon at the Epiphany Cathedral on June 26, 1941. “Those who think that the current enemy does not touch our shrines and does not touch anyone’s faith are deeply mistaken,” the bishop warned. – Observations of German life tell a completely different story. The famous German commander Ludendorff... over the years came to the conviction that Christianity is not suitable for a conqueror.”

Meanwhile, the propaganda actions of the German leadership to open churches could not but cause a corresponding response from Stalin. He was also encouraged to do this by those movements for the opening of churches that began in the USSR already in the first months of the war. Gatherings of believers were held in cities and villages, at which executive bodies and commissioners for petitions for the opening of churches were elected. In rural areas, such meetings were often headed by collective farm chairmen, who collected signatures for the opening of church buildings and then themselves acted as intercessors before the executive bodies. It often happened that employees of executive committees at various levels treated favorably the petitions of believers and, within the framework of their powers, actually contributed to the registration of religious communities. Many churches opened spontaneously, without even having legal registration.

All these processes prompted the Soviet leadership to officially allow the opening of churches in territory not occupied by the Germans. The persecution of the clergy stopped. The priests who were in the camps were returned and became rectors of the newly opened churches.

The names of the shepherds who prayed in those days for the granting of victory and, together with all the people, forged the victory of Russian weapons, are widely known. Near Leningrad, in the village of Vyritsa, there lived an old man known today throughout Russia, Hieroschemamonk Seraphim (Muravyov). In 1941 he was 76 years old. The disease practically did not allow him to move without assistance. Eyewitnesses report that the elder loved to pray in front of the image of his patron saint, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. The icon of the saint was mounted on an apple tree in the garden of the elderly priest. The apple tree itself grew near a large granite stone, on which the old man, following the example of his heavenly patron, performed many hours of prayer on sore legs. According to the stories of his spiritual children, the elder often said: “One prayer book for the country can save all the cities and villages...”

In those same years in Arkhangelsk, in Svyato-Ilinsky cathedral The namesake of the Vyritsa elder, Abbot Seraphim (Shinkarev), who had previously been a monk of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, served. According to eyewitnesses, he often spent several days in the church praying for Russia. Many noted his insight. Several times he predicted victory Soviet troops when circumstances directly pointed to a sad outcome of the battle.

The capital's clergy showed true heroism during the war. The rector of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at the Danilovskoye Cemetery, Archpriest Pavel Uspensky, who lived outside the city in peacetime, did not leave Moscow for an hour. He organized a real social center at his temple. A 24-hour watch was established in the church, and a bomb shelter was set up in the basement, which was later converted into a gas shelter. To provide first aid in case of accidents, Father Pavel created a sanitary station, where there were stretchers, dressings and all the necessary medicines.
Another Moscow priest, rector of the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Cherkizovo, Archpriest Pavel Tsvetkov, established a shelter for children and the elderly at the temple. He personally carried out night watches and, if necessary, took part in extinguishing fires. Among his parishioners, Father Pavel organized a collection of donations and scrap non-ferrous metals for military needs. In total, during the war years, the parishioners of the Elias Church collected 185 thousand rubles.

Fundraising work was also carried out in other churches. According to verified data, during the first three years of the war, the churches of the Moscow diocese alone donated more than 12 million rubles for defense needs.

The activities of the Moscow clergy during the war period are eloquently evidenced by the resolutions of the Moscow Council of September 19, 1944 and January 3, 1945. about awarding about 20 Moscow and Tula priests with medals “For the Defense of Moscow.” The authorities' recognition of the Church's merits in defending the Fatherland was also expressed in the official permission for believers to celebrate church holidays and, first of all, Easter. For the first time during the war, Easter was openly celebrated in 1942, after the end of the fighting near Moscow. And of course, the most striking evidence of the change in the policy of the Soviet leadership towards the Church was the restoration of the Patriarchate and the opening of the Theological Seminary for the training of future clergy.

The new vector of church-state relations ultimately made it possible to strengthen the material, political and legal position of the Russian Orthodox Church, protect the clergy from persecution and further repression, and increase the authority of the Church among the people. The Great Patriotic War, becoming a difficult test for the entire people, saved the Russian Church from complete destruction. In this, undoubtedly, the Providence of God and His good will for Russia were manifested.

Today, rarely anyone has any clear idea about the position of the Orthodox Church during the Nazi occupation of the western territories of the Soviet Union. It is known that with the arrival of the occupiers, churches began to be opened there, and services were resumed there. Maybe the Nazis patronized Orthodoxy? Not at all. In their religious policy, Hitler and the fascist elite pursued far-reaching goals, but they were well hidden. The Nazis treated Christianity of all denominations - Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Protestantism - with contempt and hatred. They extended to him their attitude towards Jewry, their extreme Judeophobia, and considered all Christian denominations to be branches of Judaism, since the Savior was a Jew according to the flesh. Their goal was to create a new religion, the religion of the “eternal Reich” based on a combination of ancient Germanic pagan beliefs and occult mysticism.

Since both in Germany and throughout Europe many people were still committed to their national Christian traditions, the Nazis planned to use all confessions and movements that separated from them, including any schismatics and sectarians, in order to create this new religion, using the ancient principle - “ divide and rule".

They intended to put all Christian churches under their control, to achieve their division, dismemberment into the smallest possible, supposedly independent “autocephalies”. They wanted to recruit and secretly take into service the most ambitious, selfish or cowardly churchmen, so that they would gradually, systematically carry out the ideas of the new religion through preaching and gradually introduce changes in church life right down to liturgical texts, statutes, etc. Transformation of all life and activities the Christian Church (essentially, their undermining) in the direction they needed - that was the goal of the Nazis when their occupation administration allowed the opening of churches. According to the Nazis, for the conquered peoples, for those whom they considered “Untermensch” (inferior race), such as all the Slavs, for them religious freedoms were supposed to become a temporary, “transitional” phenomenon. Imaginary loyalty to the Church, deception of the population and clergy, who were unaware of the far-reaching goals of the occupiers, allegedly opposing religious freedom to anti-religious ideology Soviet state- this is what the confessional policy of the Nazis was.

Of course, these plans were completely utopian and unrealistic. But the fascists began to implement them immediately, without taking into account the loyalty and devotion to the Church of its ministers and their flock. 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. Disagreements and friction often arose between them, mainly regarding means and methods of work, tactics in specific situations. This was successfully used by Orthodox bishops who had to bear the heavy cross of caring for their flock under occupation. A short story follows about some hierarchs who accomplished the feat of loyalty to the Mother Church - the Russian Orthodox Church and the Fatherland, and served them even until death.

Metropolitan Sergius

Metropolitan Sergius, Exarch of the Baltic States in 1941 - 1944 (in the world Dmitry Nikolaevich Voskresensky) was born in Moscow into the family of a priest. Graduated from seminary. After the revolution, he entered Moscow University, from which he was expelled (from the 3rd year of the Faculty of Law) as the son of a “clergyman.” In 1925, he took monastic vows at the Moscow Danilov Monastery. He was the spiritual son of the famous Archimandrite George (Lavrov), and shared his residence in the monastery cell with the later revered ascetic and perspicacious elder Pavel (Troitsky).

In 1930, he was appointed rector of the cathedral in Orekhovo-Zuyevo and assistant on legal issues to the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) - the future Patriarch Sergius. In 1931, he became editor of the short-lived magazine of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1932, Archimandrite Sergius was transferred to Moscow as rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Sokolniki. In this temple in October next year His episcopal consecration as Bishop of Kolomna, vicar of the Moscow diocese took place. The rite of consecration was performed by several bishops, led by Metropolitan Sergius and the hieromartyr, Metropolitan of Leningrad Seraphim (Chigagov). Before the start of the war, Archbishop Sergius (Voskresensky) of Dmitrov was the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1940, he was sent to Western Ukraine and Belarus, then to Latvia and Estonia, after their annexation to the USSR, to familiarize himself with the situation of the Church there. On February 24, 1941, Metropolitan Sergius was appointed to the See of Vilna and Lithuania and the title of Exarch of Latvia and Estonia was added. With the outbreak of the war, Metropolitan Sergius did not evacuate, but remained under occupation. His further fate is extraordinary and tragic. A man of strong will, an unusually flexible and courageous mind, courage, and, of course, strong faith, Metropolitan Sergius heroically and sacrificially fulfilled his duty as a shepherd and head of the Exarchate and did many things that now seem beyond human strength. He managed to successfully resist the tactics of dismembering church and administrative units pursued by the Nazis. He not only kept the entire Exarchate intact, not allowing it to be divided into several pseudo-independent churches-dioceses, but was also able to resist local nationalist tendencies that could lead to an intra-church split. He managed to defend church unity not only within the territory of the Exarchate, but also its unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1943, Metropolitan Sergius even managed to appoint a new bishop to the Riga See - John (Garklavs), whom he soon prudently included among the possible successors in the event of his death. The great merit of Metropolitan Sergius was his care for Red Army prisoners of war. The Nazis imposed a categorical ban on communication between the Orthodox clergy and prisoners of war, but for some time Metropolitan Sergius achieved its abolition within the Exarchate he headed.

Metropolitan Sergius took charge of the occupied part of the Pskov, Novgorod and Leningrad regions, where over 200 churches were opened. They sent a group of priests to Pskov, and the activities of the Pskov Spiritual Mission turned out to be very beneficial. There is direct evidence that the Mission’s work in the parishes even served as a cover and contributed to the partisan movement. Metropolitan Sergius opened theological courses in Vilnius. The courage, flexible mind and extraordinary courage of Metropolitan Sergius allowed him to defend the interests of his flock before the occupation authorities for almost three years. In Moscow, he was put on trial in absentia, “as having gone over to the side of fascism.” But in reality, Metropolitan Sergius served the Church and the Fatherland. After the war, there were rumors that he celebrated the victories of the Red Army in a narrow circle and even sang the famous “Little Little Blue Handkerchief.” This is most likely a legend, but a very characteristic legend, testifying to his reputation as a patriot.

The Nazis planned to hold a bishops' meeting in Riga with the aim of getting Metropolitan Sergius and the bishops to renounce their canonical connection with the Moscow Patriarchate, but it was thwarted by the Exarch. Metropolitan Sergius understood that he was risking his life, and prudently drew up a spiritual will, in which he indicated successively his three successors in case of death - Archbishop Daniel of Kovno (Kaunas), Bishop John of Riga and Bishop Dimitri of Tallinn. Documents have been preserved in the Berlin archives indicating that Metropolitan Sergius and his activities were like a thorn in the side of the occupation authorities. Among these documents there is information collected by the Nazis about Metropolitan Sergius, which includes listening to Moscow radio and singing a song popular in the Red Army. And they decided how to deal with him in Berlin.

On April 29, 1944, on a deserted section of the Vilnius-Riga highway, the car of the Patriarchal Exarch of the Baltic States, Metropolitan Sergius, was shot by machine gunners. Metropolitan Sergius and his companions died. The murder of the head of the Exarchate was attributed by the fascists to local nationalist partisans - the “green brothers”. The administration of the Exarchate was taken over by Archbishop Daniel, as the first of three bishops indicated in the will of Metropolitan Sergius. The grave of the murdered hierarch is located in Riga, at the Pokrovskoye cemetery.

What would have happened to Metropolitan Sergius if he had lived to see the imminent arrival of the Red Army? Most likely, he would have been repressed on the formal charge of collaborating with the occupiers. But such a case testifies to his loyalty to the Motherland and its Church. In 1942, a certain Archimandrite Hermogenes arrived at the Pskov mission from Germany, who was convinced that the “Moscow Church” was “red”, and potential Vlasovites should be called upon to “liberate the Motherland.” But after communicating with Metropolitan Sergius, this erring but honest monk decided to move to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, to Metropolitan Sergius, which he did. And he no longer remembered the purpose of his previous “mission.” In the churches headed by Metropolitan Sergius of the Exarchate, throughout the occupation, prayers were offered for the Motherland Church, they prayed for the salvation of the Fatherland and worked for its salvation. Nowadays the Orthodox people of the Baltic countries keep his memory. In the history of the Patriotic War, the name of Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) is next to the heroes who gave their lives for the Motherland, for its Victory.

Archbishop Daniel

The biography of Archbishop Daniel (in the world Nikolai Porfiryevich Yuzvyuk) is somewhat unusual for a bishop. He was born in 1880 in the family of a psalm-reader, and graduated from theological school at the Holy Dormition Zhirovitsky Monastery in Western Belarus. Worked as a teacher. In 1914, he entered legal courses in Petrograd. After the revolution, he worked in Kharkov, then in Vilnius, where from 1925 he taught at the Theological Seminary. In 1939 he became the secretary of Metropolitan Eleutherius (Epiphany) of Vilna, then became “ right hand» Metropolitan Sergius (Voznesensky). Metropolitan Sergius was a very decisive bishop. In April 1942, he tonsured his secretary Nikolai Porfirievich Yuzviuk into monasticism with the name Daniel, in the same year, in a matter of days, he elevated him to the rank of priesthood from hieromonk to archimandrite and installed him as Bishop of Kovno, Vicar of the Lithuanian Metropolis . Having faithful assistant in the person of Bishop Daniel, Metropolitan Sergius held a congress of Orthodox bishops in Riga in August 1942, which determined the integrity of the entire Exarchate, its loyalty to the Moscow Patriarchate and, as a consequence, the loyalty of its laity to their united Fatherland. The merit of Bishop Daniel in holding the congress of bishops and in its good results is very great. And all the activities of Metropolitan Sergius could not have been so successful if he had not had such a reliable comrade-in-arms next to him. It is no coincidence that Bishop Daniel was listed first in the spiritual will of the Exarch and became the successor of Metropolitan Sergius after his martyrdom. In the rank of Archbishop of Kovno, he was the temporary administrator of the Lithuanian Metropolis and the acting Exarch of the Baltic States. Archbishop Daniel did everything to preserve the work of Metropolitan Sergius. Circumstances were such that he had to leave the department temporarily. The situation at the end of the war was changing rapidly. Archbishop Daniel was unable to return to the see because the front line had changed. In May 1945, he was in a displaced persons camp in Czechoslovakia. In October 1945, he restored communication with the Moscow Patriarchate and in December 1945 received an appointment to the Pinsk See. But in 1949, when a new wave of repression began, Archbishop Daniel was arrested, convicted and served a prison term until 1955. Upon his release, the Church was unable to return the now elderly bishop to any department. In 1956, Archbishop Daniel was retired, at the request of the atheistic authorities, to the remote, outlying city of Izmail. All that was achieved for him was the right to serve in the city cathedral. Then Archbishop Daniel stayed for a short time in his native Zhirovitsky monastery and, finally, in the St. Michael's Monastery in the village of Aleksandrovka near Odessa. Archbishop Daniel soon lost his sight. Presumably this is a consequence of the conditions of detention. In 1964, he was awarded the right to wear a cross on his hood. This is all that at that time, under the dominance of state atheism, the Church could reward the archpastor-confessor, whose feat she always remembered. Archbishop Daniel died in the Alexander St. Michael's Monastery on August 27, 1965, on the eve of the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God.

The memory of Archbishop Daniel (Yuzviuk), a collaborator and assistant of Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky), who stood for loyalty to the Mother Church and the Fatherland under conditions of occupation, will be holy for all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Metropolitan Alexy

A difficult biography of another wartime Exarch - the Patriarchal Exarch of Ukraine in 1941 - 1943. Metropolitan Alexy. It reflected, as if in a mirror, the complexities of the life of Orthodoxy in Western Ukraine. The future exarch (in the world Alexander Yakubovich or Yakovlevich Gromadsky) was born in 1882 into a poor family of a church psalm-reader in the village of Dokudovo in Podlasie, Kholm diocese. He graduated from the seminary in Kyiv and the Kyiv Theological Academy. Since 1908, he was a priest of the cathedral in the city of Kholm, a teacher of law at the Kholm men's gymnasium, an observer (nowadays this position would be called “curator”) of spiritual educational institutions Kholm diocese. In 1916, Archpriest Alexander Gromadsky left Kholm, served in churches in Bessarabia (now Moldova), and in 1918 became rector of the theological seminary in Kremenets. In 1921, he was widowed, took monastic vows with the name Alexy, and soon in April 1922 he was installed as Bishop of Lutsk, vicar of the Volyn diocese.

In October 1922, Bishop Alexy participated in Warsaw in the notorious council of bishops of the dioceses located on the territory of the then newly formed Poland. Then Metropolitan George (Yaroshevsky) of Warsaw, carried away by his ambitious desire to become the head of an independent church, followed the lead of the secular authorities and proclaimed the self-imposed autocephaly of the Polish Church, without turning to his legitimate head, Patriarch of Moscow St. Tikhon. To give the appearance of legality, Metropolitan George, under pressure from the civil authorities, invited the Ecumenical (Constantinople) Patriarch Meletios (Metaxakis), who in February 1923, without any canonical (legal) basis, “granted” autocephaly to the Polish Church. A number of other Local Churches (Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Serbian) did not recognize this “act”. Back in 1927, Metropolitan Dionysius (Valedinsky), successor of George (Yaroshevsky), traveled to the heads of these Churches, trying to achieve their recognition.

Unfortunately, Bishop Alexy of Lutsk sided with the autocephalist bishops, became a member of the autocephalous Synod, deputy chairman of the Metropolitan Council, and in 1927 accompanied Metropolitan Dionysius on his journey. In the autocephalous church he became a bishop, then archbishop of Grodno, and in 1934 - archbishop of Volyn. In Western Ukraine, the so-called “Ukrainization” of the Church was carried out. Nationalist tendencies were pursued, dividing the historical unity of all-Russian Orthodoxy; even in Divine services, the Church Slavonic language was replaced with Ukrainian. Archbishop Alexy actively “implemented” this Ukrainization. In 1939, when Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR, Western Ukraine was occupied by the Red Army. Archbishop Alexy was arrested in August 1939, but was soon released, and in 1940, after communicating with Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) of Kiev, who had the gift of persuasion, he transferred to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, remaining in the same Volyn and Kremenets departments. Soon the war began, the occupation of Ukraine, and the best part of the biography of this hierarch dates back to this time.

The occupation fascist regime decided in its religious policy in Ukraine to rely on the Polish autocephalist Metropolitan Dionysius (Valedinsky), to support his church to begin with, and then “cut” it into parts - Ukrainian “autocephaly” (created in 1942), Belarusian. And they, in turn, are divided according to “ local characteristics", etc. Archbishop Alexy did not recognize the claims of Metropolitan Dionysius and accepted a number effective measures to the establishment of canonical norms of church life in Ukraine. On August 18, 1941, he, as the senior bishop by consecration, convened and held a bishop's meeting in the Pochaev Lavra, at which the status of the autonomous Ukrainian Church in canonical dependence on the Moscow Patriarchate was determined. On November 25, 1941, this decision was corrected. For the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, the status of the Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate was adopted, i.e. the situation was restored to the pre-occupation time. Alexy (Hromadsky) was elected Exarch, and was soon elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Volyn and Zhitomir, as a rank befitting the position of Exarch. At the same time, no “transfer” to the Kyiv See was made, since the bishops recognized this transfer as the prerogative of the head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. The great merit of Metropolitan Alexy was the unification of bishops faithful to their canonical duty, and with them their clergy and laity. Observance of fidelity to the Mother Russian Orthodox Church by the Exarchate headed by Metropolitan Alexy was also observance of fidelity to the Fatherland, spiritual and moral opposition to the occupiers. At the end of Metropolitan Alexy’s life there was a difficult moment when all his beneficial activities were in jeopardy. He signed a preliminary agreement on unification with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church, created in 1942 - it was headed by bishops Alexander (Inozemtsev) and Polycarp (Sikorsky). Metropolitan Alexy heeded their arguments and promises that with this unification each side would remain autonomous, that both sides would be able to help each other in difficult wartime conditions. But the bishops, on whom Metropolitan Alexy relied and who supported him, convinced him that the agreement would turn into deception, the churches of the exarchate would be captured by autocephalists, and unrest would begin, which would play into the hands of the Nazis. Metropolitan Alexy annulled the agreement and finally broke all contacts with the autocephalists. He did not yet know that by doing this he was signing his own death warrant. On May 8, 1943, during a trip around the diocese on the road from Kremenets to Lutsk in the forest near the village. Smyga Metropolitan Alexy was killed by Ukrainian nationalists. Probably, the occupation authorities wanted the murder of the First Hierarch of Ukraine to look like an internal Ukrainian “showdown.” But objectively, the murder of Metropolitan Alexy was retribution for undermining the religious policy of the Third Reich. The activities of the Exarch and the martyrdom of Metropolitan Alexy cover his past sins of participation in the schism of the Polish “autocephalists.”

Of course, Metropolitan Alexy (Hromadsky) was not such a powerful personality as Metropolitan Sergius (Voznesensky), but they are related by the commonality of accomplishing the feat of loyalty to the Church and the Fatherland under conditions of occupation and a common fate. Even the form of killing both Exarchs is common. And the memory of Metropolitan Alexy (Hromadsky), who suffered for serving the Orthodox Church and our united Fatherland during the Great Patriotic War, will be preserved in all future times.

Archbishop Benjamin

Archbishop Veniamin (in the world Sergei Vasilyevich Novitsky) was born in 1900 in the family of an archpriest in the village of Krivichi, Minsk province. He graduated from the theological seminary in Vilnius and the theological faculty of the University of Warsaw in 1928. He was a village teacher and psalm-reader. In 1928, he took monastic vows at the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra. From 1934 he was rector of churches in Ostrog, then in Lvov, and dean of parishes in Galicia. Since 1937 - Archimandrite, Master of Theology for work on canon law. In the Pochaev Lavra he organized missionary courses to educate the Uniates. He taught at the Lavra monastic school. He was a great connoisseur and lover of church singing and organized choirs in all churches, where he was rector of the Pochaev Lavra. A few days before the start of the war, on June 15, 1941, he was consecrated in the Lutsk Cathedral as Bishop of Pinsk and Polesie, vicar of the Volyn diocese. The consecration was presided over by Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) of Kiev, Exarch of Ukraine. Bishop Veniamin chose the Pochaev Lavra as his residence, where on August 18 and November 25, 1941, with his active participation, episcopal conferences were held that determined the loyalty of Orthodox Ukraine to the united Russian Orthodox Church under conditions of occupation. In August 1942, Bishop Veniamin was appointed to the Poltava See. In September 1943 he returned to the Pochaev Lavra.

All the activities of Bishop Veniamin (Novitsky) during the occupation were aimed at preserving the norms of church life and preserving church unity with the Moscow Patriarchate, and this was, under the conditions of occupation, observance of loyalty to the united Fatherland. The merit of Bishop Veniamin must be recognized both for his weighty persuasive word and opposition to the preliminary agreement that was imposed on Metropolitan Alexy (Hromadsky) by the Ukrainian autocephalists. The authority of Bishop Veniamin greatly influenced the preservation of the true independence of the Church in Ukraine from all kinds of attempts to split it.

But during the war, the service of Bishop Benjamin was not appreciated. In 1944, he was summoned from Pochaev to Kyiv and here arrested on charges of collaboration with the occupiers. Bishop Veniamin was unjustly convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison, which he served in difficult conditions in Kolyma. But upon his release in 1956, he was immediately elevated to the rank of archbishop and appointed to the Omsk See. The authorities did not allow the honored bishop to return to his native land, where he was remembered and revered as a confessor. It was only allowed to appoint him to remote eastern departments. In 1958, he was transferred to the Irkutsk See, in addition, Archbishop Veniamin was also entrusted with the vast territory of the Khabarovsk and Vladivostok diocese for temporary administration. Here, during a trip around the diocese, Bishop Benjamin came under severe radiation, as a result of which he suffered greatly. All his hair fell out and his neck became bent, but to the surprise of the doctors, he not only remained alive, but also continued his feat of archpastoral service.

Archbishop Benjamin remained at the Irkutsk See for 15 years. The Church, as best it could in those years of prevailing state atheism, celebrated the great merits of the suffering archpastor. A cross to be worn on the hood, the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree - these are the awards that testify that Archbishop Benjamin was not forgotten, he was remembered and his great feat was highly valued by the Church. Only in 1973 was it possible to transfer the already elderly bishop from Far East to central Russia, to the Cheboksary department. Confounding all the doctors' predictions, Archbishop Benjamin did not die soon. Despite his poor health, he did not interrupt his archpastoral work, did not retire, and continued serving until his death on October 14, 1976 (on the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God). His funeral service was performed by Archbishop John (Snychev) of Kuibyshev, the future Metropolitan of St. Petersburg. Archbishop Veniamin (Novitsky) was buried in the Vvedensky Cathedral in Cheboksary. The name of Archbishop Veniamin (Novitsky) should shine in our grateful memory among the names of those hierarchs who defended the independence of our Church under occupation, who strengthened their flock in loyalty to the Mother Church and the Fatherland.

Literature

• “Everyone is alive with God: Memories of the Danilov elder Archimandrite Georgiy (Lavrov).”
  M. Danilovsky evangelist. 1996.
• Golikov A. priest, Fomin S. “White with blood. Martyrs and confessors of North-West Russia and the Baltic states (1940-1955). Martyrology of Orthodox clergy of Latvia, repressed in 1940-1952.”
  M. 1999.
• Orthodox encyclopedia. T.1. 2000.
  “Acts of His Holiness Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, later documents and correspondence on the canonical succession of the highest church authority, 1917-1943.” M. 1994.
• Shkarovsky M. V.
  “Nazi Germany and the Orthodox Church.” M. 2002
• Shkarovsky M. V.
  “The policy of the Third Reich towards the Russian Orthodox Church in the light of archival materials from 1935 to 1945.” M. 2003

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 these destructions were carried out “at the numerous requests of the working collectives” in order to “improve the layout of the city.” As a result of this devastation and ruin, about 100 churches remained in the vast expanses of the RSFSR, almost all in large cities, mainly those where foreigners were allowed. These temples were called “demonstrative”. Slightly more, up to 3% of pre-revolutionary parishes, have survived in Ukraine. In the Kyiv diocese, which in 1917 numbered 1,710 churches, 1,435 priests, 277 deacons, 1,410 psalm-readers, 23 monasteries and 5,193 monastics, in 1939 there were only 2 parishes with 3 priests, 1 deacon and 2 psalm-readers. In Odessa, there is only one functioning church left in the cemetery.

During the years of pre-war terror, mortal danger loomed over the existence of the Patriarchate itself and the entire church organization. By 1939, from the Russian episcopate, in addition to the head of the Church - the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Sergius, 3 bishops remained in the departments - Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad, Archbishop of Dmitrov and administrator of the Patriarchate Sergius (Voskresensky) and Archbishop of Peterhof Nikolai (Yarushevich), administrator of the Novgorod and Pskov dioceses.

1.2. The beginning of the Second World War. The Russian Orthodox Church and Bolshevik propaganda in the near abroad

On September 1, 1939, the second 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. Unprecedented in scale persecution of the Church, Civil War and the regicide in Russia, the racist rampage of the Nazis and the rivalry over the spheres of influence of the European and Pacific powers, the decline of morals that swept through European and American society - all this overflowed the cup of God's wrath. There were still 2 years of peaceful life left for Russia, but there was no peace within the country itself. The war of the Bolshevik government with its people and the internal party struggle of the communist elite did not stop; there was no peaceful silence on the borders of the Soviet empire. After the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and 16 days after the German attack on Poland, the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border and occupied its eastern voivodeships - the original Russian and Orthodox lands: Western Belarus and Volyn, separated from Russia by the Treaty of Riga (1921) of the Soviet government with Poland, as well as Galicia, which for centuries was separated from Rus'. On June 27, 1940, the Soviet government demanded that Romania, within four days, clear the territory of Bessarabia, which belonged to Russia until 1918, and Northern Bukovina, cut off from Rus' in the Middle Ages, but where the majority of the population had Russian roots. Romania was forced to submit to the ultimatum. In the summer of 1940, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which belonged to Russia before the revolution and civil war, were annexed to the Soviet Union.

The expansion of the borders of the Soviet state to the west territorially expanded the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Moscow Patriarchate received the opportunity to actually manage the dioceses of the Baltic states, Western Belarus, Western Ukraine and Moldova.

The establishment of the Soviet regime in the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus was accompanied by repressions. In Volyn and Polesie alone, 53 clergy were arrested. However, they did not destroy the church life of Western Rus'. Almost all parishes that survived during the Polish occupation were not closed by the Soviet authorities. Monasteries also continued to exist; True, the number of inhabitants in them was significantly reduced; some were forcibly removed from the monasteries, others left them themselves. Land plots and other real estate were confiscated from monasteries and churches, churches were nationalized and transferred for use to religious communities, and civil taxes were established on “clergy.” A serious blow to the Church was the closure of the Kremenets Theological Seminary.

Bolshevik propaganda through newspapers and radio tried to discredit the Orthodox clergy in the eyes of the masses, to kill faith in Christ in the hearts of people, the “Union of Militant Atheists” opened its branches in the newly annexed regions. Its chairman, E. Yaroslavsky, lashed out at parents who did not want to send their children to Soviet atheistic schools that had opened in the western regions. In Volyn and Belarus, brigades were created from hooligan teenagers and Komsomol members who caused scandals near churches during services, especially on holidays. For such atheistic activities for the celebration of Easter in 1940, the “Union of Militant Atheists” received 2.8 million rubles from the state treasury, which was not rich at that time. They were spent mainly in the western regions, because there the people openly celebrated the Resurrection of Christ and Easter services were performed in every village.

In 1939–1941 In legal forms, church life was essentially preserved only in Western dioceses. More than 90% of all parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church were located here, monasteries operated, all dioceses were governed by bishops. In the rest of the country, the church organization was destroyed: in 1939 there were only 4 departments occupied by bishops, including the head of the Church, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, about 100 parishes and not a single monastery. Mostly elderly women came to the churches, but religious life was preserved even in these conditions, it glimmered not only in the wild, but also in the countless camps that disfigured Russia, where priest-confessors cared for the condemned and even served the liturgy on carefully hidden antimensions.

In the last pre-war years, the wave of anti-church repressions subsided, partly because almost everything that could be destroyed was already destroyed, and everything that could be trampled was trampled. The Soviet leaders considered it premature to strike the final blow for various reasons. There was probably one special reason: the war was raging near the borders of the Soviet Union. Despite the ostentatious peacefulness of their declarations and assurances of the strength 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

Relations between the Soviet government and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Great Patriotic War caused an increase in religious sentiment in the country. On the very first day of the war, the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Sergius (Stragorodsky), appealed to church pastors and believers to stand up for the defense of the Motherland and do everything necessary to stop the enemy’s aggression. The Metropolitan emphasized that in the ongoing battle with fascism, the Church is on the side of the Soviet state. “Our Orthodox Church,” he said, “has always shared the fate of the people... Do not abandon your people now. She blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland.” Pastoral messages were sent to all church parishes. The overwhelming majority of clergy from their pulpits called on the people to self-sacrifice and resistance to the invaders. The church began gathering Money , necessary for arming the army, supporting the wounded, sick, and orphans. Thanks to the funds raised by the church, combat vehicles were built for the Dmitry Donskoy tank column and the Alexander Nevsky squadron. During the Great Patriotic War, hierarchs of other traditional faiths of the USSR - Islam, Buddhism and Judaism - took a patriotic position. Soon after the invasion of Hitler's troops into the territory of the Soviet Union, the Main Directorate of Reich Security of Germany issued special directives allowing the opening of church parishes in the occupied territories. Father Sergius’s special appeal to believers who remained in enemy-occupied territory contained a call not to believe German propaganda, which claimed that the Wehrmacht army entered the territory of the Soviet Union in the name of liberating the church from atheists. In the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, the German attack on the Soviet Union was perceived differently. For a long time, the Church Abroad did not express its attitude towards the war. However, Hitler’s leadership was unable to obtain from the head of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky), an appeal to the Russian people about the assistance of the German army. Many hierarchs of the Church Abroad took an anti-German position during the war. Among them was John of Shanghai (Maksimovich), who organized money collections for the needs of the Red Army, and Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev), who forbade emigrants to fight against Russia. Metropolitan Benjamin, who was in America, carried out enormous patriotic work among the Russian colony in America; at the end of 1941, he became the honorary chairman of the Russian-American “Committee for Assistance to Russia.” Many figures of the Russian Orthodox Church took an active part in the European Resistance Movement. Others made their contribution to the cause of comprehensive assistance to the Soviet Union in countries such as the USA and Canada, China and Argentina. The sermon of Metropolitan Nicholas of Kyiv and Galicia in the Church of the Transfiguration about the responsibilities of believers in the fight against fascism stopped the activities of the “Union of Militant Atheists” (established in 1925), and closed anti-religious periodicals. In 1942, Metropolitans Alexy (Simansky) and Nikolay were invited to participate in the Commission to investigate the atrocities of the Nazis. The threat of a fascist invasion, the position of the Church, which declared the war against Germany “sacred” and supported the Soviet government in the fight against the enemy, forced the leaders of the USSR to change their attitude towards the Church. In September 1941, on September 4, 1943, the three highest hierarchs of the Russian Church, led by Metropolitan Sergius, were invited by the head of the Soviet state, J.V. Stalin, to the Kremlin. The meeting indicated the beginning of a new stage in relations between state power and the Church. At the mentioned meeting, a decision was made to convene a Council of Bishops and return the surviving bishops from exile. The Council of Bishops took place on September 8, 1943. Built at the expense of funds collected by the Russian Orthodox Church, 19 bishops took part in it (some of them were released from prison for this purpose). The council confirmed Metropolitan Sergius as patriarch. In October 1943, the Council for Religious Affairs under the Government of the USSR was created. On November 28, 1943, the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On the procedure for opening churches” was issued. According to this decree, churches began to open in the country. If in 1939 there were just over 100 churches and four monasteries operating in the USSR, then by 1948 the number of open churches increased to 14.5 thousand, with 13 thousand priests serving in them. The number of monasteries increased to 85. The growth of religious educational institutions was also observed - 8 seminaries and 2 academies. The “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” began to appear, and the Bible, prayer books and other church literature were published. Since 1943, due to the destruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 1931, the Elokhovsky Epiphany Cathedral, where the Patriarchal Chair was located, became the main temple of the country. After the death of Patriarch Sergius on May 15, 1944, Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod became locum tenens of the Throne, according to his will. On January 31 - February 2, 1945, the First Local Council of the Russian Church took place. In addition to the bishops of the Russian Church, the cathedral was attended by the patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, and representatives of other local Orthodox churches. In the “Regulations on the Russian Orthodox Church” approved at the Council, the structure of the Church was determined, and a new Patriarch was elected. This was the Metropolitan of Leningrad, Alexy (Simansky). One of the priority areas of his activity was the development of international relations with Orthodox churches. Conflicts between the Bulgarian and Constantinople Churches were resolved. Many supporters of the Church Abroad, the so-called Renovationists and Grigorievists, joined the Russian Orthodox Church, relations with the Georgian Orthodox Church were restored, and in the churches in the territories liberated from occupation the clergy was cleared of fascist collaborators. In August 1945, according to a decree of the authorities, the church received the right to acquire buildings and objects of worship. In 1945, according to a decree of the authorities, the church received the right to acquire buildings and objects of worship. The decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 1946-1947 were received with great enthusiasm in the church environment of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USSR and abroad. on the right to grant Soviet citizenship to citizens Russian Empire who lived abroad. Metropolitan Evlogy was the first Russian emigrant to receive a Soviet passport. After many years of emigration, many bishops and priests returned to the USSR. Among them were Metropolitan of Saratov - Benjamin, who arrived from the USA, Metropolitan Seraphim, Metropolitan of Novosibirsk and Barnaul - Nestor, Archbishop of Krasnodar and Kuban - Victor, Archbishop of Izhevsk and Udmurtia - Yuvenaly, Bishop of Vologda - Gabriel, who arrived from China, Archimandrite Mstislav, who came from Germany, rector of the Cathedral in Kherson, Archpriest Boris Stark (from France), Protopresbyter Mikhail Rogozhin (from Australia) and many others. As the years of the Great Patriotic War showed, religion, which contained enormous spiritual and moral potential, which it has retained to this day, helped our people withstand the aggression of Nazi forces and defeat them.

Historical sources:

Russian Orthodox Church and the Great Patriotic War. Collection of church documents. M., 1943.