Summary. Alexey Beglov. In search of «ideal church catacombs». Church underground in the USSR

This book is the first study of the illegal, i.e. prohibited by the Soviet law, Church life during the Soviet period. It underlines the illegal surviving strategies and describes the variety of forms, used by the Church underground movement (podpolie) as a reaction to the state policy towards the Church. The book describes the illegal parishes and monasteries, the underground charity work and church economy, as well as the pilgrimages to the «non-official» (that is the places located in the closed monasteries) holy places. The period between 1920 and 1940s is the focus of author's attention, although the most important tendencies of the church underground movement are traced up to the 1980s.

It was in the 1920s, during the campaign of the exemption of the church treasures that the state power defined in an arbitrary way what was legal and illegal as far as the Church was concerned. This approach was soon to become an effective tool for oppressing the Church. During 1922–1927 the central and diocesan administration of the patriarchal Church was denied the official registration. The absence of registration immediately became another reason for oppression. When the required registration was obtained in 1927 the decree of VZIK and SNK «On the religious organizations» established an extremely narrow zone of legal church practice by prohibiting the church charity activity and church education. The decree demanded an extremely strict procedure of registration for church communities. As a result mass closure of churches followed, which in turn led many church communities to go underground, thus de facto becoming illegal. The sphere of legal activity for the Church continued to shrink during the 1930s. The existence of Church underground movement became one of the main reasons for State repressions against both the legal Church and the underground communities.

The situation changed in the period from 1930 to the beginning of 1940. This was the period marked by what is now called the «new deal» (novyi kurs), in the church-state relations. The sphere of legal activity for the Church was enlarged. Charity work was allowed; monasteries and churches were reopened. At the same time the new position of the Church was regulated by the government decree which was not supported by the existing laws. Stalin's officials did not want to obligate themselves to any formal regulations. They continued to define the measure of legality of the Church in an arbitrary way. The policy towards the Church continued to be a sort of a vent which could be opened or closed when needed. At the same time, unlike the political leaders of the country, the Council of the affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church (and possibly, the State security service) tried to legalize the Church underground movement. Its existence was used as a powerful argument in the discussions with higher officials. Thus, the volatile, non-fixed by law measure of legitimacy played a considerable role in the state politics towards the Russian Church, while the existence of Church underground appeared to be a result of this tactic.

During the 1920–1930 the underground existence appeared to be the main way of preserving the church life, as it could not exist legally. This is a reason for the great variety of forms church life took: numerous monastic communities and parishes, forms of higher Church education as well as lots of educational groups for children and youth. There existed charity activities and various forms of economic functioning.

The 1940s became a new period in the history of the church underground, marked by the desire to legalize all forms of church life. Thus, during the Wartime, church charity work was legalized and began to flourish. For five years (before 1948) pilgrimages to the «non-official» holy places were proclaimed legal, as well as the traditional processions with icons. The economic church functioning became legal and gradually it occupied its place in the centralized distribution of the resources.

The same is true concerning the previously unregistered communities. In 1941–42 thousands of underground communities in the occupied territories – both parish and monastic ones – came back into the open. After liberation most of them acquired the legal status. More and more believers on the un-occupied territories wrote petitions, asking for open churches. The un-registered communities and clergy played an important role in this process. The underground clergy was widely used by the legal Church on all levels. We can assume, that the legalization of the church underground in 1940s was one of the most important mechanisms of revitalization of the church life.

The attitude of the legal bishops towards the underground forms of the church life was favorable in 1920–1930. Many bishops of the Patriarchal Church, including the closest helpers of metropolitan Sergii (Stargorodskiy), participated in organizing the church underground: they patronized the educational institutions, they ordained secret (tainie) priests, and they organized charity activities. At the same time the full leadership over the illegal church life from the centre was impossible, considering the strict official repressive policy. The interaction between the bishops and the underground communities was achievable on the diocesan level and through the private communication of the legal bishop with the illegal clergy. In 1940s the legal bishops everywhere in the country suggested a system of actions needed to incorporate a huge number of unregistered communities and priests into the process of the legalization. The position of the bishops and the desire of the unregistered communities to return to the open church service can not be solely explained by the external reasons only, such as the official permission and the desire to realize the opportunities for the Church, opened by the «new deal» of the State.

It is also explained by the profound transformation of the church life in its situation of illegal existence. Repressions and splits lead to the extinction of priests. Their function was taken over by lay people, both men and women. As a result, the church services were reduced or substituted, the sacraments disappeared. The traditions of the church underground gradually transformed into non-church religious practices. As the hierarchal bonds were usually destroyed, there was no way of ordaining the new priests. This also led to the transformation of the church consciousness. In the mid 1940s this led to the formation of the new religious sub-culture. The opening of the churches and the general revitalization of the church life added force to this process. The possibility to start again the church services in the previously closed churches led to the polarization of the underground movement. Approximately two thirds of the un-registered communities made attempts to legalize and return to the open church service in keeping with the traditional religious culture. The system of beliefs of the other third demonstrates the clash between their anti-soviet eschatological expectations and the general State anti-church attitudes; their illegal status and the isolationist behavior. During the 1940 these communities formed the new religious sub-culture, which opposed itself to the general religious culture of the Russian Orthodox Church. This subculture demonstrates the results of the changes of the church life, which took place in the underground during almost 20 years. These include the decay of the hierarchical bonds, the disappearance of clergy and the sacraments, and the reduction of the church services.

During the described period the church underground underwent great change: from being initially the only way of preserving church life, to becoming a movement alien to the true church traditions. The attitude of the legal bishops towards the underground Church also underwent change: from being initially favorable to later wishing to legalize it. The state power continued to gain profit from both, as it saw the volatile arbitrary border of legality as an effective tool that it could use to control the Church.

In 1950–1980 the illegal church life continued its existence in the same forms, as were typical for 1920–1940. The unregistered parishes and monasteries continued to exist, as well as pilgrimages and religious educational groups. But the number of participants became much smaller. Generally speaking the church underground existence became the lot of the elite. Its influence on the mass of believers became negligible, while the general religious activity tended to move into the legal sphere. Largely this happened because of the social evolution of the soviet society with its final transformation into the non-peasant society (raskrestianivanie). In previous decades the peasant community kept the traditions of the religious life. Now in 1950–1960 the peasant community (obsina) and the village parish of the Russian Church both legal and illegal – came to an end.

In a modified way the illegal church life continued up to 1990 s, when the soviet system of control over religious organizations, established by the law in 1929, ceased to exist, and the surviving forms of the church underground joined in the renaissance of the Church life of 1990 s.