Attitude of the Orthodox community to the process of nationalization on appeals to the Local Council in 1917–1918

Abstract

The article reports on some results of the study of the attitude of Orthodox Christians to the cases of expropriation of church property in the period of 1917–1918, as well as to the policy of nationalization, which was legislated by the state authorities. The main sources for the study were a number of the Proceedings of the Local Council of the Orthodox Russian Church in 1917–1918, which are stored in the State Archive of the Russian Federation, in fond No. 3431 «All-Russian Church Local Council (Holy Council) 1917–1918» (GARF. F. 3431). (GARF. F. 3431. Op. 1. Cases of permanent storage. 1917–1918) — Cases 551, 554, 555, 561, 562, 563, 563, 567, 568. For a more accurate understanding of the context of the processes, a number of known laws and by-laws, as well as some local regulations issued by local authorities during this period were considered. Differences in the local attitudes of Orthodox Christians toward the Soviet authorities, as well as toward the policies they pursued, still present an opportunity for controversial points of view. In this connection, the legacy of the Local Council is particularly important - the numerous appeals that were received continuously during the years 1917–1918, and which are a unique phenomenon of the expression of conciliarity and unanimity among the faithful members of the Church from most of the territory of the Russian state. The geography of the incoming correspondence is indeed vast, and numerous proposals on various aspects of the existing problems became relevant to the life of the Church in subsequent periods. The purpose of the research is to study the attitude of Orthodox Christians to the ongoing policy of nationalization, widely and diversely presented in the relevant appeals to the Local Council of 1917–1918, in the context of the really existing legislation. The results of the research led to a natural conclusion about the almost unified disagreement of the Orthodox community with the policy of nationalization pursued by the Soviet authorities, which found expression in numerous texts that addressed the most diverse aspects of the process.