Church Management in 20th-Century Russian Orthodoxy > 자유게시판

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The administrative structure of Russian Orthodoxy experienced seismic changes during the 20th century shaped by political upheaval, state repression, and internal struggle.

In the pre-revolutionary era, Orthodoxy was fully integrated into the tsarist state apparatus under the Romanov monarchy, with the Synod governing its operations and the tsar exercising ultimate ecclesiastical authority. This close ties between church and state meant that ecclesiastical leadership was largely appointed and controlled by secular authorities.

The rise of the Soviet regime abruptly ended the Church’s state-sanctioned role. The Bolshevik regime considered faith a threat to Marxist doctrine and initiated a coordinated assault on ecclesiastical structures. Churches were closed or destroyed, religious leaders were targeted, silenced, or eliminated, and church property was seized. The focus turned from oversight to sheer preservation. Many bishops and priests were forced underground, while some chose accommodation to ensure survival. Metropolitan Sergii publicly pledged allegiance to the Communist government, a move intended to preserve the church’s existence but one that provoked widespread dissent among believers and priests.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, church leadership was severely weakened. Most hierarchs were arrested, exiled, or executed. The Patriarchal seat was under perpetual KGB watch. The government monopolized ecclesiastical administration through the Council for Religious Affairs. Survival required walking a razor’s edge between state directives and sacred tradition.

After World War II, Stalin temporarily relaxed restrictions on the church. The Church’s central institutions were cautiously restored, but its independence was strictly curtailed. Leadership was expected to avoid political dissent and to promote loyalty to the Soviet Union. Even in these periods of relative tolerance, church management was constrained by censorship, infiltration by secret police, and the constant threat of renewed repression.

In the later decades of the century, particularly during the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras, anti-religious campaigns resumed. Religious leaders endured constant bureaucratic pressure. Training of future clergy was severely curtailed. Public religious expression was discouraged. Yet underground congregations preserved spiritual life. They passed down rituals and teachings in secret. Pastoral care meant reinforcing faith under relentless pressure, covertly preparing successors to the priesthood, and protecting liturgical artifacts from confiscation.

The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought a dramatic shift, but the trauma of state control lingered long after liberation. Orthodoxy faced the monumental task of restoring its structures. Reassert its ethical leadership among the people and mend fractures between those who accommodated and those who resisted. Over 100 years, Orthodoxy evolved from an imperial tool into a hardened faith community that survived persecution, betrayal, and martyrdom. Governance shifted from control to survival — safeguarding belief, culture, and https://fopum.ru/viewtopic.php?id=13444 heritage against relentless assault.