The Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine: The Exarchate and the Renovationists, and the "Conciliar-Episcopal" Church, 1920-1939

Actually, as shown by Lenin's secret letter of 19 March 1922 to the Politburo,2 the real purpose of the confiscation campaign was threefold: to strengthen, at the expense of the Church, the financial position of the Soviet state; to use the resistance to confiscation as a pretext for unleashing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Harvard Ukrainian studies 2002-01, Vol.26 (1/4), p.63-91
Main Author: BOCIURKIW, BOHDAN R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archbishops
Bishops
Church unions
Churches
Clergy
Commissions
Episcopal churches
Memorials & monuments
Orthodox Church
Political campaigns
Priests
Religion
Religious buildings
Repair
Russian language
Russian Orthodox Church
Terrorism
Ukrainian
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Summary:Actually, as shown by Lenin's secret letter of 19 March 1922 to the Politburo,2 the real purpose of the confiscation campaign was threefold: to strengthen, at the expense of the Church, the financial position of the Soviet state; to use the resistance to confiscation as a pretext for unleashing a preemptive campaign of terror against "reactionary clergy" and their lay supporters, so that "for several decades they will not dare to think of any resistance to the regime;3 and to "instigate a schism" within the Russian Orthodox Church, by "extending state protection to those priests who openly speak out in favor of confiscation. While in many cases the declared motive behind church closing was the "pressing need of the workers" for the premises, a significant proportion of the closed churches either remained unused for long periods of time or were allowed slowly to decay beyond the point of repair, and many churches were simply demolished.127 The notable aspect of the Soviet anti-Church campaign was the demolition of a series of Ukrainian churches and religious monuments of unique historical or artistic value, especially during the years 1934-1936.
ISSN:0363-5570
2328-5400