A figure of the orthodox bishop on the pages of "The journal of the Moscow patriarchy" during the period of late stalinism

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A figure of the orthodox bishop on the pages of “The journal of the Moscow patriarchy” during the period of late stalinism

Viacheslav Olitskyi

PhD (History), Acting Head of the Department of History of Ukraine Sumy Makarenko State Pedagogical University, Sumy, Ukraine,

Yuliia Podriez

PhD (History) Dean of the history, law and international relations faculty Sumy Makarenko State Pedagogical University, Sumy, Ukraine,

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the publications of "The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate" as a means of highlighting the figure of the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, to elucidate his characteristic features and to study the methods of forming the bishop's personality in the eyes of believers and clerics. The research methodology is based on compliance with the principles of objectivity and systematicity. To realize the goal and set objectives, general scientific methods have been used - analysis, synthesis, generalization, induction, deduction, as well as special methods of historical research - classification and criticism of sources, problem-chronological, comparative and historical. The scientific novelty: an attempt has been made to summarize the materials of"The Journal ofthe Moscow Patriarchate" theoretically, aiming at doing the research on the peculiarities of the bishop personality formation of the Russian Orthodox Church and highlighting his figure during the transformation period of state-church relations in the USSR. The Conclusions. Faced in 1943 with the problem of restoring the church structure, providing hierarchs, overcoming the effects ofanti-church and anti-religious propaganda and restoring authority in the eyes of society, the Russian Orthodox Church chose publishing activities on the pages ofthe official publication as one ofthe methods ofachieving its goals. Among the mass ofinformation, the coverage of the figure of the Orthodox bishop attracts attention. In addition to revealing the chronicle of activities and biographies, these publications were designed to form in the eyes of the clergy and believers a kind of ideal of the bishop, as the Church saw him under the Soviet conditions. In the materials of the magazine, the ideas of church service and state devotion, empathy for believers and cooperation with the totalitarian regime are intertwined. The peculiarity of these materials is the complete ignoring of the period of the 1920s and 1930s and the events connected with the Soviet persecution. At the same time, considerable attention is paid to the struggle with other Orthodox denominations. An important place is occupied by the description of the events of the Soviet-German war.

Key words: Russian Orthodox Church, clergy, bishop, Orthodoxy, Stalinism, biography, periodical press.

Анотація

ПОСТАТЬ ПРАВОСЛАВНОГО АРХІЄРЕЯ НА СТОРІНКАХ “ЖУРНАЛУ МОСКОВСЬКОЇ ПАТРІАРХІЇ” У ПЕРІОД ПІЗНЬОГО СТАЛІНІЗМУ

В'ячеслав ОЛЩЬКИИ

кандидат історичних наук, в.о. завідувача кафедри історії України Сумського державного педагогічного університету імені А.С. Макаренка, м. Суми

Юлія ПОДРЄЗ

кандидат історичних наук, доцент, директор Навчально-наукового інституту історії, права та міжнародних відносин Сумського державного педагогічного університету імені А.С. Макаренка, м. Суми, Україна

Мета дослідження полягає в аналізі публікацій "Журналу Московської патріархії" як засобу висвітлення постаті архієрея РПЦ, у розкритті його характерних рис та дослідженні методів формування особистості владики в очах вірян і кліриків. Методологія дослідження базується на дотриманні принципів об'єктивності та системності. Для реалізації мети і поставлених завдань використано загальнонаукові методи - аналізу, синтезу, узагальнення, індукції, дедукції, а також спеціальні методи історичного дослідження - класифікації та критики джерел, проблемно-хронологічний, порівняльно-історичний. Наукова новизна: здійснена спроба теоретичного узагальнення матеріалів "Журналу Московської патріархії" з метою дослідження особливостей формування особистості архієрея Руської православної церкви та висвітлення його постаті у період трансформації державно-церковних відносин в СРСР. Висновки. Зіткнувшись у 1943 р. із проблемою відновлення церковної структури, забезпечення ієрархів, подолання впливів антицерковної і антирелігійної пропаганди та відновлення авторитету в очах суспільства, Руська православна церква одним із методів досягнення поставлених цілей обрала публікаторську діяльність на сторінках офіційного видання. Серед маси інформації привертає увагу висвітлення постаті православного архієрея. Крім розкриття хроніки діяльності та біографій, ці публікації були покликані сформувати в очах духовенства та вірян свого роду ідеал єпископа, яким його бачила Церква в радянських умовах. У матеріалах журналу переплітаються ідеї церковного служіння та державної відданості, співпереживання вірянам та співпраці із тоталітарним режимом. Особливістю цих матеріалів є повне ігнорування періоду 1920 - 1930-х рр. та подій, пов'язаних із радянським переслідуванням. Водночас значна увага приділяється боротьбі з іншими православними конфесіями. Вагоме місце займає опис подій радянсько-німецької війни.

Ключові слова: Руська православна церква, духовенство, архієрей, православ'я, сталінізм, біографія, періодична преса.

The Problem Stattement

In the mid-1940s, fundamental changes took place in the religious and inter-denominational policy of the Soviet authorities, which contributed to the revival and establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church. The clergy returned not only to the spiritual and religious life of society, it began to play a significant role in the social and political sphere. The period of late Stalinism is characterized by the ambiguity of state-church relations, however, the Russian Orthodox Church is turning into the only legal Church in the USSR, and the tendency of aligning the Church with the state remains. After the previous period of repression, the Russian Orthodox Church needed to form a certain image of the clergy, particularly the bishop, in the eyes of society, including the faithful. One of the means of such activity was publications in “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”. These works depicted the figure of the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church as the Church saw it or aspired to see it, and accordingly formed such image of the bishop.

The Analysis of Recent Research and Publications

Attempts to analyze the coverage of the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in religious publications were carried out outside the USSR, during the period of existence of the totalitarian state itself, when similar studies could not be conducted on its territory. One of such works is A. Johansen's intelligence (Johansen, 1983).

In modern European historiography, the disclosure of the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church during the period of late Stalinism occupies an important place. In addition to analyzing the state of the Church itself, scholars also focus on its printed organ - “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”. The development trends of European practices in this direction reflect the works of K. Pawelczyk-Dura (Pawelczyk-Dura, 2014) and D. Kalkadjieva (Kalkandjieva, 2015), the Russian scholars, including A. Gorshkova (Gorshkova, 2001), V. Kalashnik (2018) and the others. The article by N. Demidova (Demidova, 2007) is devoted to the composition of the ROC episcopate. Socio-historical portrait of the Orthodox clergy of the 20th century. is at the center of scientific research by I. Maslova (Maslova, 2012). The problem of the history of the Church during the period of late Stalinism, the formation of its personnel and state-church relations is also relevant for the Ukrainian historical science, as evidenced by the publications of P. Bondarchuk (Bondarchuk, 2019), K. Nikiforov (2013), etc., on which we relied in a certain way, researching the coverage of the figure of the Orthodox bishop on the pages of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” during the period of late Stalinism. Yu. Danilec analyzed “The Moscow diocese journal” as source towards learning history of separate eparchy during the first decade after the war (Danilec, 2018).

The purpose of the article is to analyze the publications of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” as a means of highlighting the figure of the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, elucidating the characteristic features and researching the methods of forming such figure in the eyes of believers and clerics.

The Main Material Statement

orthodox bishop moscow patriarchy

Since 1935, the tendency towards the destruction of the center of ecclesiastical administration of the Russian Orthodox Church was noted in the USSR. In 1937, almost all representatives of the clergy from the entourage of the superior Metropolitan Serhiy (Stragorodskyi) were repressed. After the occupation of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus by the USSR in 1939, in connection with the need to send law-abiding bishops to these regions, episcopal ordinations were allowed, and bishops loyal to the authorities who were at peace were involved. With the beginning of the Soviet-German war and with the change in state-church relations, part of the bishops of the Renovation Church and supporters of Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin), who were repressed in the past, were accepted into the ROC. Since 1942, it has been possible to ordain a number of bishops who defended the principles of Patriarch Tikhon, as well as to restore the ministry of ruling bishops who returned from exile (Demidova, 2007, pp. 12-15). Such measures led to an increase in the number of active bishops. Already on September 8, 1943, 19 bishops were present at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. Created on October 7, 1943, the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church began to exert a major influence on the personnel policy of the Patriarchate. There was a further increase in the number of bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.

After years of repression and massive anti-Church propaganda, the Church had to form a positive image of the bishop in the eyes of society and the faithful, highlight those aspects of his figure that it considered necessary, which were supposed to serve as a kind of example. One of the means of portraying the figure of the ROC hierarch was publication in “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, which resumed its work in September of 1943. The magazine was an official publication of the ROC, published once a month, covering the main events in the life of the Church.

The materials of the magazine, which reveal the figure of the Orthodox bishop, are characterized by different genres and information content. They can be divided into the following groups:

1) on the reunification of bishops of other Orthodox denominations with the Russian Orthodox Church;

2) about awarding;

3) about pastoral service;

4) essays about the ruling bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church;

5) articles devoted to service anniversary dates;

6) memories and obituaries;

7) on activities in the World Congress for the Protection of Peace.

After the legalization of the Russian Orthodox Church in September of 1943 and at the beginning of the liberation of the Ukrainian SSR from the Nazi occupation, the establishment of the church structure and its provision by bishops became an urgent issue. The transformation of the Russian Orthodox Church into the only Orthodox Church in the USSR also required clarification of the issue of Orthodox division. One of the ways of such a solution and provision by the ruling hierarchs was the acceptance of the clergy of the renewal movement, including bishops, into the clergy. This practice was covered on the pages of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”. Similar publications are typical in their content and structure. They describe the atmosphere of the official service, which was used to accept the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, and provide the basic biographical information of the bishops. A special place in such articles is given to the repentance, including the written one, of the newly accepted for staying in the renewal movement. An important element of a repentant statement is awareness of the consequences of previous activities and regret for what had been committed, a statement about renouncing previous awards. Such publications were primarily intended not to inform about the fact of the transition, but to be of an ideological and propaganda nature. Based on their content, the archpastors of the Renewal Church appeared as people who consciously, on their own initiative, switched to the Russian Orthodox Church, renouncing all previous honors. The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church appeared as a just, merciful and understanding superior who, despite his previous actions, accepted them in their true dignity. Based on the above narratives, this should have become one of the means of converting representatives of other Orthodox denominations to the side of the Moscow Patriarchate. Similar materials make up the first group of publications (Akt o vossoedinenii, 1943a, pp. 8-9; Akt o vossoedinenii, 1943b, pp. 10-11).

The second group consists of materials related to awarding. This group is not numerous, but it vividly demonstrates new conditions of the Soviet reality, the transition from the idea of a complete liquidation of the Church to union with it. The magazine almost did not cover the awarding of church awards, but there are publications about the awarding of state awards. A significant number of materials refer to the awarding of the medal “For valiant work in the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945”, which was awarded to both ordinary clergy and heads of dioceses. The awarding of Patriarch Oleksiy with the “Order of the Labor Red Banner” in 1946, which was widely covered by the printed body of the Church, attracts special attention. Publications of this nature were intended to mark the patriotic activity of the clergy during the German-Soviet war. They formed the image of a bishop who faithfully serves the Soviet homeland, helps the army and the people with his efforts. In the eyes of believers, such information legalized not only the Church, but also the Soviet state, and showed the reconciliation of these institutions. At the same time, such messages served as an example for believers in their attitude to the state (K nagrazhdeniyu, 1946, pp. 3-5).

The third group of publications is represented by articles devoted to pastoral ministry. It partially continues the theme of the place of the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church in the life of the state during the war period. They emphasized that with the beginning of the war, the bishops undoubtedly took a pro-Soviet position, categorically negative to everything related to Nazism. The editors ignore the facts of the Church's activities in the occupied territories and cooperation with the occupation administration. It should be noted that in church rhetoric of that time, as well as in state rhetoric, the term “fascism” was used instead of “nazism”. The editors especially emphasized the fact that the bishops not only took similar positions themselves, but also called on the faithful to do so, in particular through the spread of feedback. Among the merits of the bishops is the establishment of the patriotic work of the Church - collecting donations for defense, helping the wounded, etc. In these materials, the themes of the battle on the Kulykovo field, the personalities of Dmytro Donsky, Saint Sergius, that is, a kind of pillars on which the Russian monarchical thought was based in the previous period (Sergij, 1943 pp. 7-8) are pedaled. Such publications performed several tasks. Firstly, the importance of bishops in helping the army increased, which made it possible to count on the end of persecution and certain privileges for the Church in the post-war period. Secondly, the hierarchs had to confirm their loyalty to the Soviet state. Thirdly, there was a kind of separation of the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church from those representatives of the Church who carried out activities in the occupied territory.

In the matter of church service, the article of Metropolitan Bartholomew is indicative. The author reflects on the foundations of pastoral ministry based on the letters of the Apostle Paul and the works of theologians. The Bishop represents the priest, who must take care of the conversion of the faithful to the Church. For this he must lead a spiritual way of life, separating himself from sin. An important aspect of pastoral life is determined by mercy, humility, sacrifice and renunciation of wealth. For emotional elevation, the instructions of the saints of the Russian Orthodox Church and examples of the life and service of the first Christians are used. Along with instructions on spiritual life, this article does not touch on the problem of behavior in parishes, relations with the state, etc. (Varfolomej, 1950, pp. 43-50).

In the second issue of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” in 1945, a new section was launched - “Contemporary figures of the Russian Orthodox Church”, in which essays about the life and activities of the ruling bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church were published. These materials represent the fourth group of publications. During the period from February of 1945 to May of 1946, five essays by A. Shapovalova were published in this column: about Patriarch Oleksiy (Shapovalova, 1945d, pp. 93-98), Exarch of Ukraine, Metropolitan Ivan of Kyiv and Galicia (Shapovalova, 1945c, pp. 56-63), Metropolitan Mykola of Krutytskyi (Shapovalova, 1945b, pp. 47-55), Archbishop Grigory of Pskov and Porkhovsky (Shapovalova, 1945a, pp. 36-43), Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimean Luka (Shapovalova, 1946, pp. 48-54). The fact that the essays are published in accordance with the hierarchy of heroes attracts attention.

Although the number of these articles is small, they are quite voluminous in volume - from six to eleven pages each, which made it possible to highlight various aspects of the life and activities of the bishops. Analyzing the information content, it should be noted that all materials were prepared by one person. The structure, content, ways of presenting information, emotional colour and author's emphasis have a similar character. In the introductory parts, A. Shapovalova highlights the peculiarities of behavior, character, archpastoral ministry or the relationship of parishioners with the hierarch, etc. A separate element of the publications is information about the period of childhood, the peculiarities of family upbringing and the practice of church service in childhood and adolescence. The author focuses on family upbringing, owing to which future bishops chose such life path. Two heroes of the essays were born in the families of churchmen - Metropolitans Ivan and Mykola, others - in different deeply religious families. All bishops, with the exception of Archbishop Luka, received a theological education by 1917, having graduated from spiritual educational institutions, and received priestly ordination. In some places, A. Shapovalova provides a detailed description of the circumstances that prompted future bishops to accept priestly or monastic vows, analyzes the reasons that influenced these decisions.

Characterizing the motives for choosing priestly service, the author presents future bishops as ordinary young people, whose formation was influenced by various factors and circumstances. In particular, the future Metropolitan Ivan, who was orphaned at the age of 10, was sent by his relatives to the spiritual school of the Pererven Monastery, which also had a boarding school. He wanted to study at the medical faculty of the university, but could not do so due to the status of society and difficult financial situation, so at the age of 14 he entered a theological seminary. After graduation, he did not intend to become a priest, but decided to work as a teacher, collect money and realize his dream of a university education. But after working as a teacher in the Ugresh monastery for four years and failing to raise funds for his studies, Ivan took holy orders, got married and started a family. In 1912, he received the title of a scientist archaeologist, and after the death of his wife in 1915, he was a priest for thirteen years, combining secular work and pastoral ministry, accepting monastic tonsure and episcopal rank in 1928 (Shapovalova, 1945c, pp. 56-63). Archbishop Luka, a physician- surgeon, took a similar path to the Church. Presenting his biography, A. Shapovalova focuses the main attention on the scientific work of the archbishop (Shapovalova, 1946, pp. 48-53).

In parallel, various life circumstances of other priests are cited. The biography of Archbishop Grigory is an example of church service and the desire to engage in pastoral care from childhood. The future bishop notes that this aspiration was formed in him under the influence of Bishop Paul, whom he served at the altar in the city of Petrozavodsk. After receiving spiritual education, this priest also did not immediately choose monastic life, creating a family. Only after the death of his wife and the death of his sons during the German-Soviet war, he responded to the offer of the patriarchate and accepted monastic tonsure and episcopal rank (Shapovalova, 1945a, pp. 36-42).

The future Patriarch Oleksii took monastic vows at the age of 25, striving for this since his youth. Having grown up in a religious family, he periodically visited his aunt, who was the abbess of one of the monasteries. It was there, according to the author, that he realized his vocation to the monastic life (Shapovalova, 1945d, pp. 93-96).

Thus, before the faithful, bishops appear in the usual image of ordinary citizens - ordinary people who have their own experiences, desires, life situations, which are no different from the life circumstances of other believers. A broad description of such life circumstances was supposed to bring the figure of the bishop closer to ordinary citizens, to show him from “his” position. This image was supposed to neutralize the negative consequences of the anti¬church propaganda of the previous period. In our opinion, for the same purpose, a block of information related to the performance of secular functions during the Soviet period was submitted, emphasizing the loyalty of future bishops to the Soviet authorities. In this context, a quote from an essay about Patriarch Oleksiy is indicative, in which it is noted that “during the years of church reforms - the separation of the Church from the state in the period after the October Revolution... His Holiness Oleksiy preaches a loyal attitude to the Soviet government, protects the congregation from unnecessary and hostile speeches, explains the great importance of church reforms” (Shapovalova, 1945d, pp. 96). In addition to their loyal attitude to the Soviet authorities, the publications emphasize that the future bishops remained loyal to the Russian Orthodox Church without joining other Orthodox denominations, and their patriotic activities during the war years are emphasized. In the essays, there is no information about the persecution by the Soviet authorities, no information is provided about service in the 1930s. Despite the fact that the column presented articles about active bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, they minimally covered the episcopal service, which is characterized by general phrases at the end of the publications, the circumstances of episcopal ordinations, appointments to departments, etc. are not described.

The fifth group - articles dedicated to the jubilee dates of the hierarchs service, is close in content to the previous rubric, but is of a more official character. Unlike the previous one, in this rubric the authors focus on the bishop's ministry. The articles provide information about the circumstances of ordination, characterize the factors that led to the election of the archpastoral ministry. The authors, in addition to describing the main milestones of episcopal activity, provide information about the peculiarities of traits of character and management of dioceses. Considerable attention is paid to the merits of His Holiness in the development of dioceses, relations with the clergy and believers. The articles contain reflections of the bishops about the service, feedback from the clergy and congregation. Despite the fact that this information is presented not in the form of quotations or conversations, but as the conclusions of the authors themselves, they are important for the vision of the main qualities of the bishop both on the part of the clergy and the faithful, and on the part of the magazine's editors. The publications partially represent the position of the patriarchy, the official publication of which is the magazine that published the relevant information.

The largest number of articles in this group is five for the period of 1950 - 1953, dedicated to various jubilee dates of Patriarch Oleksiy. The beginning of the 1950s saw the celebration of a five-year anniversary of the patriarchal ministry (Vedernikov, 1950b, pp. 3-15), the fiftieth anniversary of service in the sacred rank (Nikonov, 1952, pp. 5-29), the fortieth anniversary of the episcopal ministry (40 let, 1953, pp. 15-18; Sokolovskij, 1953, pp. 19-23; Teplov, 1953, pp. 24-28). These anniversaries received a wide coverage on the pages of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”.

Considering the fact that the largest number of publications is devoted to the fortieth anniversary of the episcopal ministry of Patriarch Oleksiy, it can be argued that the Church attached the greatest importance to this event. Episcopal ordination became the initial stage of Bishop Oleksiy's ascension to the Patriarchate. The same opinion is expressed in the editorial article, where, describing the circumstances of the ordination, it is noted that “in this, as in everything that is done in the Church of Christ, one cannot fail to see the action of the Supreme Shepherd, who is invisibly in the Church” (40 let, 1953, p. 15). Thus, the idea of a mystical prediction and guidance of the future Patriarch to his service as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is defended. The editors also emphasize the combination of the Patriarch's deep faith in God's providence with administrative abilities and spiritual qualities. The merits of Patriarch Oleksiy in overcoming schisms and establishing church unity are emphasized separately, which means joining the ROC of various Orthodox denominations in the USSR and Europe (40 let, 1953, pp. 16-17). A priest P. Sokolovskyi, describing the foundations of milestones of the episcopal service, dwells in detail on the Leningrad period, in particular the blockade of Leningrad. The author notes that, having the opportunity to leave the city, Metropolitan Oleksiy, devoted to his own people, decided to stay and served in the besieged city, raising the morale of the residents and defenders of Leningrad. About 2/3 of the article is dedicated to the activity of the metropolitan during the years of the German-Soviet activity and the matter of patriotic service to the Church (Sokolovskij, 1953, pp. 20-23). Characterizing the patriarchal service, V. Nikonov, in addition to biographical information, highlights the merits of Patriarch Oleksiy in the development of the Russian Orthodox Church, strengthening its position within the state and on the international arena (Nikonov, 1952, pp. 5-29). A. Vedernikov, in addition to the description of generally accepted issues, by analogy with the articles described above, briefly covers the events related to the church celebration of the anniversary (Vedernikov, 1950b, pp. 3-15). Thus, readers are presented with the person of a deeply religious hierarch, devoted to church service and patriotically disposed, who shares all the trials of his flock, ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of improving the situation of believers.

Articles about other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church published on the pages of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” differ somewhat in content. From the nature of the coverage of the jubilee dates of their ministry, it is noticeable that these essays were written by different authors who considered it necessary to focus attention on distinctive aspects. In addition, these publications are much smaller in volume compared to the patriarchal ones. Describing the fiftieth anniversary of Metropolitan Ivan's stay in the sacred rank of Exarch of Ukraine, the author provides brief biographical information, noting the characteristics of the character of the jubilee - will, endurance, patience, perseverance, tact, etc. Considerable attention in the publication is paid to the celebration of the event, organized with the participation of hierarchs in the patriarchate (Slavnyj yubilej, 1952, pp. 15-18). Archpriest S. Milovidov wrote an article in a similar spirit, dedicated to the sixtieth anniversary of service in the sacred rank of Metropolitan Bartholomew of Novosibirsk and Barnaul (Milovidov, 1953, pp. 6-8). In an article dedicated to the fifty-fifth anniversary of the priestly ministry of Metropolitan Grigory of Leningrad and Novgorod, Professor L. Pariyskyi emphasizes prayerfulness and faithfulness to the monastic vows of the jubilee, emphasizing the archpastor's observance of the canonical rules and church traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, which allowed him not to join various Orthodox movements (Parijskij, 1952, pp. 37-39).

A. Shapovalova's article about the twenty-fifth anniversary of the episcopal service of the archbishop of the Crimea and Simferopol Luka stands out among the total number of messages devoted to the jubilee dates of service. After the traditional presentation of a short track record, the author notes that the future bishop became a monk at a mature age, monastic obedience and humility were not an easy task for him. A. Shapovalova, referring to the words of Archbishop Luka, writes about a significant influence of Patriarch Serhiy on the upbringing of the archbishop as a monk and bishop. She separately emphasizes that the favourite work of the bishop is worship and preaching, his commitment to selflessness, moderation in a material life and a constant desire to help the poor and disadvantaged (Shapovalova, 1948, pp. 5-9). A note dedicated to the thirty years of service in the episcopal rank of Archbishop Mykola of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan attracts attention. Its peculiarity is that it is a short message about the celebration of the anniversary in the diocese. The note does not contain any biographical information or track record (A.I., 1950, p. 61).

Thus, this group of publications is represented mainly by essays about the most authoritative and influential bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, the peculiarities of behavior and their views are elucidated, the ideals of the bishop's personality and bishop's activity were presented to the faithful and clergy. In fact, in all the notes, except for the mention of faith and prayer, attention is focused on the patriotic activities of the archbishops and information about the service in the 1920s and 1930s is kept silent. This period is mentioned only in the context of struggle against the renewalist church. Emphasis on patriotic activities was important in terms of building new relations with the state and was once again to convince of the church hierarchy loyalty to the Soviet government, which made it possible for the Russian Orthodox Church to function, conducting a spiritual service among people.

The sixth group consists mainly of obituaries, which include two memoirs, actually essays about late bishops - Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Serhiy (Aleksandr, ep., 1944, pp. 17-20) and the head of Russian Orthodox parishes in Bulgaria, Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) (Vedernikov, 1950a, pp. 21-28). Archbishop Seraphim led the Russian Orthodox parishes in Bulgaria from 1921. In the essay it was noted about his constant commitment to the Russian Orthodox Church, his refusal to participate in the Vienna Council, and attempts to prevent the Russian emigrants from joining the German armed forces. The majority of the essay is devoted to the scientific and theological activities of the bishop, which consisted in the struggle against the theological views of the head of the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris S. Bulgakov, Sophianism, ecumenism, modernism in Orthodoxy, - according to the author of the essay - “for the purity of the Orthodox doctrine” (Vedernikov, 1950a, p. 22).

The obituaries published on the pages of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” are quite similar. They reported the date and circumstances of death - sudden or from illness. The burial process was briefly covered. It usually contained information about the solemn cathedral service of the funeral service and the place of burial of the deceased. A short track record was submitted. At the end of the obituaries, it was noted about the respect of believers for the deceased and a significant number of people present at the funeral (Fomichev, Valovskij, 1952, pp. 11-13; Gnatyuk, 1952, pp. 7-9; Koncevich, 1951a, pp. 11-12; Koncevich, 1951b, pp. 7-9; N.A., 1953, pp. 9-11; Strumenskij, 1953, pp. 33-35). Despite the basic biographical information contained in the obituaries, their main importance in highlighting the figure of the Orthodox bishop consists in the formation of the relationship to death. There is no tragedy in the obituaries, they simply state the fact of death. In the case of death from an illness, it was noted that the deceased endured it humbly and patiently. It is often noted that the dead departed “quietly, peacefully”. Such approach showed believers an example of humility and patience, for which God rewarded an “easy” death. From the information provided, a picture emerges of the inevitability of death, along with the absence of fear of it and belief in the afterlife.

The seventh group of publications does not cover the life of bishops, it concerns the activities of the World Congress for the Protection of Peace. These publications had the greatest ideological orientation. First of all, they demonstrated to believers the efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church and the USSR to end the confrontation and prevent military aggression. Both participation of the bishops and publishing activity in this direction were to defend the ideological interests of the USSR. The Russian Orthodox Church, on the one hand, like any other Church, definitely sought to contribute to the issue of peace-making activities of the Congress, and on the other hand, being a hostage of the situation, defended the interests of the state, which was the initiator of the bipolarity of the world and which itself carried out military aggression.

Articles on this issue mainly cover the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation in congresses. In them mostly Metropolitan Mykola of Krutytskyi and Kolomenskyi is mentioned - his speeches, interviews. The hierarch voiced the position of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding a possible confrontation between the USSR and the USA, accusing Western countries of militarization and emphasizing that the “Russians” oppose such position. The opinion about the support of the Russian Orthodox Church from other churches, both Orthodox and Protestant, is proved. Excerpts from the telegrammes of superiors or representatives who were in the sphere of influence of the Russian Orthodox Church are cited to confirm such theses. The extraordinary authority and status of the ROC delegations is emphasized, as evidenced by the admiration of like-minded people at the meetings for the speeches of representatives of the delegations, special greetings, etc. (Nikolaj, 1949, pp. 17-24). The topic of a direct or indirect confrontation with the Catholic Church developed separately. One of the methods of anti-Catholic rhetoric was to accuse the Catholic Church of connections with political leaders, military propaganda. It was emphasized that, unlike the Christians who seek peace, the Catholics condemn the peace-making activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and its work at Congress (Vedernikov, 1951, pp. 14-15). Thus, this group was the most exposed to the state ideology influence, highlighting the figure of the archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church as an expression of the of the “Russian” people interests, a fighter for the rights of other peoples, a fighter against the negative influence of the West, a peacemaker who sought to build peace in the world despite various political factors and opposed persecution and military aggression.

The Conclusions

Thus, during the period of late Stalinism, the Russian Orthodox Church actively portrayed figures of hierarchs in publications on the pages of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, forming in the imagination of clerics and believers the image of a bishop that would correspond to the ideals of the Church. During the post-war period, the Russian Orthodox Church had to adapt to the new realities of state-church relations, to confirm its loyalty to the Soviet regime. For this purpose, the pro-Soviet activities of the bishops were actively disclosed, which occupies a significant part of the articles analyzed by us. As a result of highlighting the image of the bishop, quite often an ordinary citizen with his own views and beliefs appears before the readers, who at a certain moment makes a decision to dedicate his life to God through monasticism. In the columns of “The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” it was written about the same bishops mainly - the most influential and authoritative ones in the church environment. The editors emphasized justice, humility, peacemaking, mercy, deep faith, and prayerfulness of church officials. An important element was devotion to the Church during the period of the 1920s - 1930s, which manifested itself in the denial of any Orthodox denominations, except for the Russian Orthodox Church. Information about the specifics of service during the specified period, suffering from the Soviet anti-church repressions was a certain taboo.

Acknowledgement. The authors express their sincere gratitude to the members of editorial board.

Funding. The authors received no financial support for the research, preparation and publication of this article.

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