Obozny Konstantin

Plans and prospects of uniting Orthodox Churches in occupied territories of USSR and Central Europe under aegis of exarch Sergiy (Voskresenskiy) in 1941‒1944

Abstract

This article shows main directions in the external policy of metropolitan Sergiy (Voskresenskiy), who during the period of April 1941 to May 1944 was in charge of the Baltic exarchate of Moscow patriarchy. The main sources are made up of the published materials of the German occupant offi ces that dealt with church issues; documents of the office of the Baltic exarchate; diary notes and memoirs of the participants of the relevant events. The study of these records allowed us to fi nd out that contacts and negotiations with German occupant authorities and preserving the jurisdictional unity with Moscow patriarchate were important elements in exarch’s church policy which was aimed at uniting Orthodox churches under the aegis of Moscow patriarchy. Metropolitan Sergiy attempted to extend his church power and, consequently, canonical borders of Moscow patriarchy, over the whole territory of Reichskommissariat Ostland, over the occupied territory of Smolensk region, over the territories of France and Germany. In Central Europe, Orthodox parishes of Moscow patriarchy and those of metropolitan Evlogiy (Georgievskiy) were preserved; they were under serious pressure of German authorities. The Baltic exarch tried to support not only parishes of Moscow patriarchy, but also Eulogian communities that were under the jurisdiction of patriarch of Constantinople, thus offering them to return to the jurisdiction of Moscow. Exarch’s plans to unite Orthodox churches into a single structure contradicted the general doctrine of the Third Reich and were therefore doomed to failure. However, one should not underestimate the changes at the battlefi elds of World War II and strengthening of power of the USSR, including the signifi cance of the “new course” of Stalin’s religious policy. It was because of this that metropolitan Evlogiy in Paris after the election of patriarch in Moscow ceased to connect with the Baltic exarchate his hopes to return to Moscow patriarchate.

Keywords

Baltic exarchate, Moscow patriarchate, West-European parishes, metropolitan Sergiy (Voskresenskiy), religious politicy of Third Reich, German occupation, Pskov Orthodox Mission

References

1. Alekseev V., Stavru F. (1981) “Russkaia Pravoslavnaia Tserkov’ na okkupirovannoi nemtsami territorii” [Russian Orthodox Church in the Territory Occupied by the Germans]. Russkoe Vozrozhdenie, 1981, vol. 14, pp. 118‒154 (in Russian).
2. Balevits Z. (1967). Pravoslavnaia tserkov’ Latvii pod sen’iu svastiki (1941‒1944) [Orthodox Church in Latvia in the Shade of Swastika]. Riga (in Russian).
3. Bernev S., Rupasov A. (eds.) (2016) Prikaz: arkhiv unichtozhit’! Pribaltiiskii Ekzarkhat i Pskovskaia Pravoslavnaia Missiia v gody nemetskoi okkupatsii 1941‒1944: sbornik dokumentov [Order: The Archive Must Be Destroyed! Baltic Exarchate and Pskov Orthodox Mission during German Occupation of 1941‒1944: Collection of Documents]. St. Petersburg (in Russian).
4. Gavrilin A. (2009) Pod pokrovom Tikhvinskoi ikony. Arkhipastyrskii put’ Ioanna (Garklavsa) [Under Defense of Tikhvin Icon. Archpriest’s Path of Ioann (Garklavs)]. St. Petersburg (in Russian).
5. Golikov A., priest, Fomin S. (1999) Krov’iu ubelennye. Mucheniki i ispovedniki Severo-Zapada Rossii i Pribaltiki (1940‒1955): Martirolog pravoslavnykh sviashchennosluzhitelei i tserkovnosluzhitelei Latvii, repressirovannykh v 1940-1952 gg. [Cleaned with Blood. Martyrs and Confessors of North-West of Russia and the Baltics (1940‒1955): Martyrology of Priests and Church People of Latvia Repressed i 1940‒1952]. Moscow (in Russian).
6. Kostriukov A. (2015) Russkaia Zarubezhnaia Tserkov’ v 1939–1964 gg. Administrativnoe ustroistvo i otnosheniia s Tserkov’iu v Otechestve [Russian Church Abroad in 1939‒1964. Administrative Structure and Relations with the Church in Motherland]. M., 2015.
7. Kovalev B. (2004) Natsistskaia okkupatsiia i kollaboratsionizm v Rossii 1941‒1944 [Nazi Occupation and Collaboration in Russia, 1941‒1944]. Moscow (in Russian).
8. Laukaitite R. (2015) “Litovskaia pravoslavnaia eparkhiia pod vlast’iu mitropolita Sergiia (Voskresenskogo)” [Lithuanian Orthodox Diocese under Power of Metropolitan Sergiy (Voskresenskiy)]. Pravoslavie v Baltii, 2015, vol. 3 (12), рр. 97‒109 (in Russian).
9. Mironovich A. (2015) “Pravoslavnaia Tserkov’ na territorii Belorussii vo vremia Vtoroi mirovoi voiny” [Orthodox Church in the Territory of White Russia during World War II]. Pravoslavie v Baltii, 2015, vol. 3 (12), рр. 62‒75 (in Russian).
10. Oboznyi K. (2015) “Professor Ivan Davydovich Grimm. Shtrikhi k biografi i” [Professor Ivan Davydovich Grimm. Materials for Biography]. Pravoslavie v Baltii, 2015, vol. 3 (12), рр. 76‒96 (in Russian).
11. Osuzhdenie izmennikov vere i otechestvu (1943) [Denunciation of Traitors of Faith and Motherland]. Zhurnal Moskovskoi Patriarkhii, 1943, vol. 1, p. 1 (in Russian).
12. Petrov I. (2016) Pravoslavnaia Baltiia 1939‒1953 godov. Period voin, repressii i mezhnatsional’nykh protivorechii [Orthodox Baltia in 1939‒1953. Period of Wars, Repression, and Interethnic Discord]. St. Petersburg (in Russian).
13. Ross N. (ed.) (2014) Paskhal’nyi svet na ulitse Dariu. Dnevniki Petra Evgrafovicha Kovalevskogo 1937‒1948 godov [Easter Light in Dariu Street. Diaries of Petr Evgrafovich Kovalevsky of 1937‒1948]. Nizhniy Novgorod (in Russian).
14. Savva (Tutunov), hieromonk (2005‒2006) “Tserkovno-pravovye osnovaniia sushchestvovaniia “Parizhskoi Mitropolii” v 1921‒1946 godakh” [Ecclesiastic and Legal Foundations for the Existence of “Paris Metropoly” in 1921‒1946”. Tserkovno-istoricheskii vestnik, 2005‒2006, vol. 12‒13, рр. 104–113 (in Russian).
15. Shkarovskii M., Solov’ev I., priest (2013) Tserkov’ protiv bol’shevizma [Church against Bolshevism]. Moscow (in Russian).
16. Shkarovskii M. (2003) Politika Tret’ego reikha po otnosheniiu k Russkoi Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi v svete arkhivnykh materialov 1935‒1945 godov: sbornik dokumentov [Policy of the Third Reich as to the Russian Orthodox Church in the Light of Archive Materials of 1935‒1945: Collection of Documents]. Moscow (in Russian).
17. Shkarovskii M. (2014) Konstantinopol’skii Patriarkhat i Russkaia Pravoslavnaia Tserkov’ v pervoi polovine XX veka [Constantinople Patriarchate and Russian Orthodox Church in the First Half of the 20th Century]. Moscow (in Russian).
18. Vasil’eva O. (2001) Russkaia Pravoslavnaia Tserkov’ v politike sovetskogo gosudarstva v 1943‒1948 gg. [Russian Orthodox Church in the Policy of the Soviet STate in 1943‒1948]. Moscow (in Russian).

Information about the author

Obozny Konstantin

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in History;
Place of work: St. Philaret’s Orthodox Christian Institute; 29 Pokrovka Str., Moscow, 105062, Russian Federation;
Post: Department of Church-Related and Historical Disciplines;
ORCID: 0000-0002-5284-4884;
Email: suhoput2006@yandex.ru.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.