"Popular Christianity" In The USSR 1940-50s - Alternative View

"Popular Christianity" In The USSR 1940-50s - Alternative View
"Popular Christianity" In The USSR 1940-50s - Alternative View

Video: "Popular Christianity" In The USSR 1940-50s - Alternative View

Video: "Popular Christianity" In The USSR 1940-50s - Alternative View
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In the 1930-50s, Orthodoxy among the people, left without the "vertical of power of the ROC", degenerated into Khlysty and even a crowd. Believers have created a unique system of "popular Christianity" - it was destroyed by the state's repressive machine only in the 1960s.

The actual liquidation of the ROC in the 1930s did not affect the religiosity of the Soviet people. On the contrary, on the wreckage of the official church, "popular Christianity" (Khlystovism and scavenging) arose - an organic state of believers in Russia. How the rebirth of Christianity took place at this time is described in the book by Alexei Beglov "In Search of" Sinless Catacombs ". Church underground in the USSR "(Publishing Council of the ROC" Arefa ", 2008).

In the 1930s, the number of priests, as a result of persecution by the authorities, decreased so much that the role of leaders of worship was transferred to the laity. So, in the Voronezh and Kursk regions, such pious circles were headed by "grandfathers" - they let go of long beards and cut their hair into a circle.

In many regions, for example, in Tula and Ulyanovsk, old women began to perform divine services.

The performance of the sacraments in such circles gradually disappeared. “Grandfathers” and old women confined themselves to reading the Gospel. The main object of worship is Holy Water and Holy Springs. Along with the Springs, the Sacred Apple Trees become objects of sacred worship. In the Saratov region, in 1944, in spite of themselves, they cut down such an apple tree, so believers came to pray to its stump.

Further more. The organizer of the prayer house, an old woman priest in the Ryazan region, began to commune her parishioners with blood taken from the big toe. This is a typical Khlyst rite, when the priest acted as the Mother of God. And in the village of Malaya Shelkovka, Altai Territory, believers in a prayer house replaced the sacraments with fortune telling.

Almost everywhere those who entered the community were hung a garland of bows around their necks as a sign of dedication.

In the 1930s and 1950s, a wave of religious imposture swept across the USSR, as before among the Khlysty - in almost every region, Jesus and the Mother of God were announced. Almost everywhere in the communities there were “dramatizations of the Last Judgment” - just like among the Khlysty. For example, in the movement of "attic", the culmination of the prayer was the ascent to the attic, and then the descent from there of their leader Nikolai Khakilev, which should have meant the Ascension and the Second Coming of the Savior.

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More and more cases of self-confusion arose - "in order to appear sinless before the Savior."

Beglov describes, referring to the declassified reports of the OGPU-NKVD, the eschatology of the "popular believers."

Here is a report dated December 2, 1936 from the Kuibyshev region:

“Underground prayer houses are located in caves, dugouts, forests …

In 7 districts (Novo-Spassky, Luninsky, and others), underground Christians inspire the workers and collective farmers that the Japanese should come soon, that they are not touching the believers. They also expect Hitler to come and open churches. In connection with the eclipse of the sun, the religious people spread rumors about the impending fall of the planet, which would burn the entire area. On June 19, collective farmers of Tomyshev, as well as Sergievsky and Ktevsky districts, in anticipation of the End of the World, did not go to work."

And here is a report dated July 7, 1944 from Ryazan, Voronezh and Oryol regions:

“Members of the organization of 'True Orthodox Christians' live in houses with walled up windows, men let their hair go, women reject marriage, but in their midst lead a dissolute lifestyle.

Religious people don’t pay taxes, they refuse to serve in the Red Army, they don’t show up for summons to Soviet authorities, they don’t accept documents, and they don’t let children go to schools.

The arrests of activists do not have the proper impact on them, they believe: "He who is arrested and is in prison is chosen by God, is on the cross, and the kingdom of heaven is guaranteed to him."

The offensive of the German troops was perceived by them as the approach of the "stealing sword" carrying deliverance from anti-Christian rule.

1673 people, activists of this movement, were deported to Siberia."

The deportation did not eradicate the activities of "true Orthodox Christians" in the Voronezh region. I. Tsedilin, the secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU (b) for propaganda and agitation, writes in a memorandum on April 9, 1948:

“The main cadres of the IHC consist of former nuns, monks, blueberries and religiously minded kulaks. During 1947 and 3 months of 1948, the MGB Department opened and liquidated 11 anti-Soviet groups of the IPH.

Members of the IPH groups systematically participated in illegal gatherings, where, along with prayers, they discussed issues of anti-Soviet activities among the population. They spread provocative talk about the supposedly imminent war between the USSR and America and the death of the Soviet Union in this war."

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The opening of churches in 1943-44, the resumption of the patriarchate and the general benevolence of the Soviet government of the ROC did not diminish the scale of "popular Christianity." Most of the believers suspected the hierarchs of the ROC of cooperation with the authorities, and hence of insincerity. The scale of "Christianity without priesthood" is described in the information note of the Council for the Affairs of the ROC under the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On religious relics, expressed in the performance of rituals and mass prayers in an illegal church, and on persons engaged in illegal church activities" dated April 25, 1949:

- In the Ryazan region, in the presence of 86 registered operating churches, 174 illegal prayer houses were identified. In Gorkovskaya - 37 illegal prayer houses were identified at 47 active churches. Several hundred worshipers gather in such houses of worship. For example, in the village of Bobazh, Zalessky District, up to 150-200 worshipers gather in the house of citizen Pastukhova. In the house of Naumov there are up to 200 worshipers in the winter, and up to 500 people in the summer.

The activity over the years of such illegal houses of worship, caves, secret huts, etc. is extremely harmful and the local authorities do not know how to deal with them.

According to the representatives of the Council, intensified prayers at the “holy places”, “holy wells” and other acts of fanaticism were revealed.

1) On July 6, from year to year, huge crowds of Old Believers gather at the so-called. "Bright Lake" in the Gorky region. An apocryphal legend about the disappeared City of Kitezh is associated with this lake. In 1948 there were about 10 thousand people near the lake …

… 3) A lot of people gather at the cemetery in the town of Kotelnich, Kirov region, on the so-called holiday "seven". At the graves they perform prayers, drink and dine. In 1948, about 10 thousand people took part in the "seven".

4) In the village of Podgornoye, Voronezh region, many people flock to the "holy apple". In the summer of 1948, someone started a rumor that on August 15, a “mother with two sons attached to her” would come to the “holy apple”. On August 15, the number of pilgrims reached 1,000 …

… 6) In the village of B. Lamovka, Tambov region, near the spring of "St. Tikhon" on June 29, mass prayers have been held for years. In 1948, 6 thousand people took part in them …

… 8) A lot of worshipers gather at the “holy well” in the village of Lipyagi, Voronezh Region on the day of “Ninth Friday”. In 1948, 2 thousand people came to him …

… 17) In the Kursk region to the "holy well" in the so-called. The procession of the cross takes place in the “Root Desert”. In connection with the prohibition of this move, the registered clergy do not take part in them, but the believers organize the move themselves. In 1948, 15 thousand people took part in it."

(In total, 21 examples of mass religious rituals of "popular Christianity" are listed, the count for small events went to thousands).

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The authorities admitted that they were helpless before the elements of the people. And then the official ROC was thrown into the fight against "popular Christianity". The same note states this:

“The patriarch and the episcopate, in their letters to the Council, have repeatedly asked for administrative measures to be taken against what they call“unauthorized services,”including in relation to the clergy who perform“demands”without registration.

The Council believes that in relation to the organizers of charlatanism, Art. 123 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR.

The death of Stalin somewhat corrected the situation of the “popular Christians”. In the wake of the democratization of society, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of February 17, 1955 "On changing the procedure for opening prayer buildings" was adopted. Until the end of this year alone, 37 previously illegal parishes were registered in a simplified manner (from the IPH and the Catacombniks to exotic sects such as the "Fedorovites" and "Ioannites"). But this favorable situation for "folk Christians" did not last long. In 1958, there was a massive persecution of sectarians, on a scale even greater than in the 1930s under Stalin. And if the official ROC during this period paid mainly by closing churches (in 1960 there were 13,008 Orthodox churches in operation, in 1970 - 7338), then the sectarians began to be tried and sent to prisons. On November 28, 1958, the CPSU Central Committee adopted a resolution "On measures to end the pilgrimage to the so-called" holy places ". The organizers of pilgrimages and illegal services began to receive "standard" 2-3 years of camps (about 200 people per decade). The ROC again joined in the fight against the sectarians. In the spring of 1959, Patriarch Alexy I sent a message to the diocesan administrations, in which he ordered the clergy "to work among believers about the inadmissibility of pilgrimage to such holy places and to report on the progress of such work to the Patriarchate." Denunciations of official priests against their illegal colleagues have become frequent. In the spring of 1959, Patriarch Alexy I sent a message to the diocesan administrations, in which he ordered the clergy "to work among believers about the inadmissibility of pilgrimage to such holy places and to report on the progress of such work to the Patriarchate." Denunciations of official priests against their illegal colleagues have become frequent. In the spring of 1959, Patriarch Alexy I sent a message to the diocesan administrations, in which he ordered the clergy "to work among believers about the inadmissibility of pilgrimage to such holy places and to report on the progress of such work to the Patriarchate." Denunciations of official priests against their illegal colleagues have become frequent.

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On January 1, 1961, Article 227 of the RSFSR Criminal Code came into force, which provided for criminal liability for "organizing or leading a group whose activities, carried out under the guise of preaching religious teachings and performing religious rites, are associated with harm to the health of citizens or other encroachments on the person and rights citizens, or by encouraging citizens to renounce public activities and fail to fulfill their civic duties. " Only in 1962-64. under this article, more than 200 people were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment, including "true Orthodox Christians", catacombniks, ie. leaders and representatives of groups of the church underground, opposition to the ROC. With regard to thousands of representatives of "popular Christianity" the KGB conducted the so-called "Prevention", usually ending with a link to the wilderness,away from your community.

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What Stalin could not do, literally in 15-20 years was carried out under Khrushchev and early Brezhnev: almost completely destroying "popular Christianity" in the USSR - by launching the flywheel of the repressive machine. But also because, in contrast to the 1930s, when the ROC considered church dissidents to be its fellow persecutors, in the 1950s and 1960s, together with the state, it launched an offensive against "illegal immigrants."

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