Sergius (Stragorodsky), War and Homeland: From the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II to Stalin

During the First World War, Sergius (Stragorodsky) served as the Archbishop of Finland and was a member of the Holy Governing Synod. He participated in the preparation of all church acts aimed at organizing assistance to the wounded, families of soldiers called to war, and orphans. Under his leadership, the diocese conducted active social work. The prayer for victory over the enemy, approved in 1914 with the direct participation of Archbishop Sergius, was subsequently used in abbreviated form during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. During the First World War, the church press actively participated in shaping the image of the enemy. The Russian Orthodox Church acted similarly during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. One of the peculiarities of the church discourse during the First World War was the formation of the image of the internal enemy. By the end of 1916, the church press spoke of a universal derogation from the ideals of Holy Rus, greed, and selfishness that had engulfed all classes of the population. 

In his “Declaration” of 1927, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens, once again addressed the military and patriotic theme.

The turning point in church-state relations was the events of 1939– 1940, related to the reunification of Western Ukraine, Belarus and Baltic countries with the USSR.

On June 22, 1941, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) wrote a message to the believers, calling for support for the Soviet state’s fight against the Nazis. From the first days of the war, the Church began active patriotic work. Funds were collected for the Defense Fund and for the wounded. Unusually, funds were also collected directly for armaments — a tank column named after Dmitry Donskoy.

An important stage in the church’s activities under Metropolitan Sergius was the publication of the book “The Truth about Religion in Russia”, intended for translation into foreign languages and mass distribution abroad.

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23. Kurliandsky, I. A. (2011). Stalin, vlast’, religiia (religioznyi i tserkovnyi faktory vo vnutrennei politike sovetskogo gosudarstva v 1922–1953 gg.) [Stalin, Authority, Religion (Religious and Ecclesiastical Factors in the Internal Policy of the Soviet State in 1922–1953)]. Moscow : Kuchkovo pole. [In Russian].

24. Lavrinov V., Archpriest. (2016). Obnovlenchesky raskol v portretakh ego deiatelei. Materialy po istorii tserkvi [The Renovationist Split in the Portraits of its Figures. Materials on the History of the Church] (Book 54). Moscow : Krutitskoe patriarshee podvor’e : O-vo liubitelei tserkovnoi istorii. [In Russian].

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26. Molitva v godinu voiny [Prayer in the Year of the War]. (1915). Gel’singforsky prikhodskoi listok, (3/2), 10. [In Russian].

27. N. M. (1917). Kuda idet Rossiia? [Where is Russia Going?]. Tul’skie eparkhial’nye vedomosti, (3–4), 46–51. [In Russian].

28. Na poroge Novogo goda [On the threshold of the New Year]. (1917). Tul’skie eparkhial’nye vedomosti, (1–2), 1–2. [In Russian].

29. Ne zabyvaite nashikh ranenykh i bol’nykh! [Don’t Forget Our Wounded and Sick!]. (1915). Gel’singforskii prikhodskoi listok, (2), 14–15. [In Russian].

30. Nemetskie zverstva: Fakty i dokumenty [German Atrocities: Facts and Documents]. (1942). Gorky : Gor’k. obl. izd. [In Russian].

31. O deiatel’nosti Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi za dva goda Otechestvennoi voiny. Doklad mitropolita Sergiia na sobore episkopov [On the Activities of the Orthodox Church During the Two Years of the Patriotic War. The report of Metropolitan Sergius at the Council of Bishops]. (1943). Zhurnal Moskovskoi Patriarkhii, (1), 7–8. [In Russian].

32. Odintsov, M. I. (2013). Patriarkh Sergy [Patriarch Sergius]. Moscow : Molodaia gvardiia. [In Russian].

33. Patriarkh Sergy i ego dukhovnoe nasledstvo [Patriarch Sergius and His Spiritual Legacy]. (1947). Moscow : Mosk. Patriarkhiia. [In Russian].

34. Pravda o religii v Rossii [The Truth about Religion in Russia]. (1942). Moscow : Mosk. Patriarkhiia. [In Russian].

35. Prebyvanie Gosudaria imperatora v Gel’singforse [The Stay of the Emperor in Helsingfors]. (1915). Gel’singforskii prikhodskoi listok, (6), 8–11. [In Russian].

36. Radi mira tserkovnogo : zhizn. put’ i arkhipastyr. sluzhenie sviatitelia Agafangela, mitropolita Iaroslav. i Rostov., ispovednika [For the Sake of the Church’s Peace : Life Path and the Archpastoral Ministry of St. Agafangel, Metropolitan of Yaroslavl and Rostov, the confessor]. (2006). Moscow : Izd-vo Pravoslav. Sviato-Tikhonov. gumanitar. un-ta. [In Russian].

37. Romanovsky P., Priest. (1915). Nashi kul’turtregery [Our Cultural Registers]. Izvestiia po Kazanskoi eparkhii, (2), 57–59. [In Russian].

38. Runkevich, S. G. (1916). Velikaia Otechestvennaia voina i tserkovnaia zhizn’. Kn. 1. Rasporiazheniia i deistviia Sviateishego Sinoda v 1914–1915 gg. : istoricheskie ocherki [The Great Patriotic War and Church life. Book 1. Orders and Actions of the Holy Synod in 1914-1915: Historical Essays]. Petrograd. [In Russian].

39. Russkaia voennaia emigratsiia 20-kh — 40-kh godov : dokumenty i materialy [Russian Military Emigration of the 20s — 40s : Documents and Materials]. (2017). Kursk. [In Russian].

40. Russkaia Pravoslavnaia Tserkov’ v gody Velikoi Otechestvennoi voiny 1941–1945 gg. : sb. dokumentov [The Russian Orthodox Church During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 : collection of documents] (Book 43). (2009). Moscow : Izd-vo Krutitskogo patriarshego podvor’ia : O-vo liubitelei tserkovnoi istorii. [In Russian].

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42. Sbornik soobshchenii Chrezvychainoi gosudarstvennoi komissii o zlodeianiiakh nemetsko-fashistskikh zakhvatchikov [Collection of Reports of the Extraordinary State Commission on the Atrocities of the Nazi Invaders]. (1946). — Moscow : Gos. izd-vo polit. lit. [In Russian].

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