Actions of the Soviet Authority in Relation to the Church in the Territory of Oryol Province in the First Months After the October Coup (November–December 1917)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the relationship between the Church and the Soviet authorities in the Oryol province from the October Revolution to the Decree on the Separation of Church from State and School from Church. The research is based on the nor­mative acts of the Soviet government, archival materials, and data from local press, many of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. By applying methods of historicism and structural analysis, the author concludes that even the initial directives of the Soviet authorities, which were not explicitly anti-church in nature, affected the eco­nomic, financial, and administrative aspects of the activities of the Oryol diocese to varying degrees. There were four such directives: the «Decree on Land», the «Regulation on Work­ers’ Control», and the decrees «On Divorce» and «On Civil Marriage, on Children, and on Maintaining Civil Status Records». The «Decree on Land» legalized the agrarian movement that emerged in March–April 1917, which led to the looting of monasteries and the seizure of church property in November 1917. The «Regulation on Workers’ Control» provoked dis­turbances at the Oryol candle factory, disrupting its operations and jeopardizing the sup­ply of necessary items for worship to the parishes. In March 1918, the factory was taken from the Oryol diocese, depriving it of about one–third of its income. With the decree «On Civil Marriage and Maintaining Civil Status Records», the Soviet government removed civ­il registration from the Church’s jurisdiction, creating significant problems for the popula­tion of Oryol province, as marriage registration offices, were only established in August 1918.