Letter to I.V. Stalin from the parishioners of the Church of the Holy Trinity in the village of Gorkovskoe in the Gorkovskoe district of the Omsk region on the return of the rights to the temple premises

Abstract

The work carried out a source study of a document identified in the archival fund of the State Historical Archive of the Omsk region, containing an appeal from the church community of the Church of the Holy Trinity in the village of Gorkovskoye in the Gorky (Ikonnikovsky) district of the Omsk region to I.V. Stalin. The appeal contained a request for help in defending the interests of the faithful population of the village and returning their rights to the premises of the temple. The reason for the appearance of this letter was the actions of the village council from 1935 to 1937 to close the temple and withdraw its building. The appeals of the church community to various authorities with requests for the protection of their rights – the Central Executive Committee (CEC), the District Consumer Union, the District Executive Committee (RIC) did not give a positive result. Therefore, the believers of the village and members of the church council sent a letter to I.V. Stalin in 1936. The letter was taken over by the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee from the Commission on Religious Issues. The Presidium promised the church community that until the issue is resolved by the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee, the church in the village of Gorkovskoye will remain in unrestricted use for believers. However, the ongoing correspondence between the Omsk Regional Executive Committee (OIC) and the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee from the Commission on Matters of Worship delayed the resolution of the issue at the highest level, which led to the closure of the Holy Trinity Church at the end of 1937. Analysis of the text of a letter to I.V. Stalin from parishioners of the church community and their correspondence with the authorities showed that the closure the temple in the village of Gorkovskoye in the Omsk region was carried out according to the instructions of the Central Executive Committee according to the same scheme as the closure of other temples in the Omsk region. By decision of the authorities, the temples were used to store grain with the possible return of buildings to believers and subject to repairs at the expense of the community. If it was impossible to repair the temples, they were closed or rebuilt into cultural centers and cinemas.