"A page" in the history of anti-church repressions in the Kuban region

Abstract

This article is the history of the life and ministry of Hieromonk Isaakios (Mastenchuk), a resident of St. Michael's Athos Zakuban pustyn, which reflects the general church-state processes of Soviet history in the first half of the 20th century. Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), working on the legalization of the central institutions of the Russian Church administration, faced the destructive persistence of the Soviet government for the Church on the one hand and a deep misunderstanding of what is happening on the part of prominent hierarchs of the Russian Church and their followers on the other one. Metropolitan Sergius' declaration should be attributed to certain "dysfunctional" pages in the history of the Russian Church, including at the regional level. The story of the life and tragic death of father Isaacios is part of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the East of Kuban with its diversity. The study of the circumstances of the last years of the life of hieromonk Isaacios (Mastenchuk) allows us to draw certain conclusions about the fate of monks who were forced to leave the walls of monasteries in a difficult time for the Church. When studying the above-mentioned processes, historical sources were used, which are stored in the funds of various archives, including the archive of the Federal Security Service for the Krasnodar Territory.