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The Baltic Exarchate and the Pskov Orthodox Mission. Pskov mission: the Church was with the people

The film "Pop", which is released in April, is an occasion to start a serious conversation about the Church and the people during the war years. The Pskov mission is one of the most tragic and heroic pages in the history of World War II. Today we offer an interview with historian Konstantin Obozny, author of the book "History of the Pskov Orthodox Mission" - the most comprehensive study of this topic.

The work of Alexander Segen is artistic in design, so you should not be too strict about some discrepancies in historical terms. At the same time, it is noteworthy that the central line of the book was created by the author entirely on the basis of the memoirs of a member of the Pskov Mission, Archpriest Alexy Ionov, "Missionary's Notes".

Quite problematic in the book, in my opinion, is the assertion that the Pskov Orthodox Mission is the brainchild of the German occupiers. In fact, the Pskov Mission was not established on the initiative of the German authorities, especially since Adolf Hitler was absolutely not involved in this. On this issue, a whole block of documents of the occupying authorities is known, which reveals their true attitude to the church revival. Without the spontaneous church revival that began in the Soviet territories occupied by the Germans, there could not have been a Mission. Exarch Sergius, trying to help the civilian population and support this spiritual upsurge, begins difficult negotiations on the establishment of the Pskov Mission. The Germans did not initiate the creation of the Mission, but rather made a concession to Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky), who is the main "culprit" of the creation of the Mission. Of course, without the permission of the occupying authorities, the activities of the Mission would be impossible, but the accents must be placed correctly, otherwise we will come to the same scheme that was so unanimously written about Soviet historians- The German secret services established the Mission to use the church in the enslavement of the Russian people and espionage, treacherous activities. The figure of a German colonel, allegedly sent by Hitler himself to the Pskov region, looks implausible. Of course, there could be (and were) German officers and soldiers who respectfully and even sympathetically treated Orthodox Church, but there were hardly any special emissaries sent by the Fuhrer himself.

A small inaccuracy with the main character, who took his mother with him on a missionary trip to Pskov. The first group of missionaries, which arrived from Riga to Pskov on August 18, 1941, consisted only of priests and psalmists, only 15 people. Wives and children were not taken on a missionary trip. The priests themselves did not know what awaited them in Pskov (all the more so, Exarch Sergius did not give a blessing to one of their missionaries to such a request - to take his mother with him). It was an extremely risky move. Some missionaries, after settling down in their places of service, brought their families from Latvia, but that was 1942-1943. For example, Father Georgy Tailov. The wives and babies of fathers Georgy Benigsen, Alexy Ionov and others remained in Riga throughout their husbands' service in the Pskov Mission.

About the confession main character accepts from a young partisan. Considering that the priest is enlightened and real christian, he could not say in confession that killing a German or a traitor is not a sin. It could have been in a different form. In the Byzantine Empire, Orthodox soldiers who defended their homeland and Orthodoxy from the infidels and who killed the enemy in battle were subjected to penance, that is, they underwent a period of repentance in order to again participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist without prejudice. After all, the murder of a person (regardless of who he is in relation to us) always remains an act of spiritual and unnatural at the same time, destroying the personality of the killer, and therefore there is always sin.

There is also a passage in the final part of the book that causes rejection. The words of the protagonist, the priest, who returned from the forced labor camp, that the war was won under Stalin (read under the wise leadership of the Leader), and he gave indulgence for the Church, are completely incomprehensible and even false. Such people understood perfectly well what all these "changes" cost, and there could not even be a shadow of piety before the Soviet leadership. It should not be forgotten that the main character was not a Soviet person, he came to Pskov from the Baltic states, where the clergy, neither in the pre-war years, nor after the end of the war, for the most part, were not distinguished by loyalty to the Stalinist regime. This statement may seem too categorical. I have reasons for this, since I was lucky to get acquainted with some members of the Pskov Mission, their descendants, students, who, regarding the role of Stalin in the fate of Russia and Europe, are distinguished by Christian sobriety - evil must be called by its name!

To what extent do the images created by Segen of the members of the Pskov Mission, who were hacked under their real names, coincide with documentary sources, with real people?

The author of the book actually brought out the images of several real historical figures - this is Exarch Sergius (Voskresensky), from the leadership of the Mission - Protopresbyter Kirill Zaits, Priest Georgy Benigsen, Archpriest Sergiy Efimov. It is difficult to talk about some identity of artistic images with real historical figures, given

the fact that we are dealing with a work of art and not scientific work. It is quite natural that the author voluntarily or involuntarily conveys his attitude, the concept of a person at the beginning of the 21st century, to his heroes. Most of our compatriots over the age of 40, in the process of personality formation, were subjected to the strongest influence of communist ideology (even if they were not "ideological"), which still operates in us, including those who entered the church fence ... But this influence was completely devoid of, and therefore were more free than we are, such people as Kirill Zaits, Alexei Ionov, Georgy Benigsen. That is why it is very, very difficult to convey their exact portraits to a modern writer. The same applies to Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) himself, a large-scale, complex, sometimes contradictory figure. With regard to the personality and role of the exarch, there is always a temptation to portray him as a German henchman, or vice versa, as a pro-Soviet bishop, an agent of Soviet intelligence, etc. In my opinion, Sergius (Voskresensky) was neither the first nor the second.

And in one, and in another case, the church activity of the exarch could not bring so many important spiritual fruits. At the same time, one must pay tribute to the remarkable organizational talent, wisdom, diplomatic tact, but most importantly - Christian firmness and devotion to the Church, that is, to his flock, for which he ascended to Calvary. There is also no unequivocal version about the death of Metropolitan Sergius. Most modern researchers believe that the assassination of the head of the Baltic Exarchate was prepared and carried out by the German secret services. However, there are some facts that allow the possibility of another version of events. Rhetorical in this regard is the question of the fate of the exarch if he were in the territory liberated from the German invaders.

- The history of the Pskov mission is one of the most painful topics in the history of the Russian Church XX century. Not everyone can buy and read your monograph or other studies. At the same time, many have developed a stereotypical vision of the situation. Perhaps you can briefly formulate what the Pskov mission actually was, what relations did its leadership and members have with the command of the Wehrmacht and the Soviet government?

It is not easy to answer such a question in a short interview. As mentioned above, the Pskov Orthodox Mission was the response of the church leadership Baltic Exarchate to the questions and pleas of the believers of the occupied North-West of Russia to send clergymen, thus supporting and directing the spontaneous spiritual upsurge among the civilian population (noted, among other things, in the reports of German information services) into the church channel. Thus, the Pskov Mission was called upon to revive the church structure - to solve the problem of restoring Orthodox parishes (before the start of the war, no more than 10 Orthodox churches operated on the territory of the Pskov Mission), united in deaneries. The laity themselves carried out the repair and preparation of churches for worship. In addition, the members of the Mission were actively involved in the work of Christian education, teaching in the faith, preaching the Gospel, both among children and youth, and among adult parishioners. Youth Christian circles were created, church schools, parish libraries, catechism meetings and extra-liturgical conversations with parishioners were held. Charitable work was carried out in the parishes, including material and spiritual assistance to Red Army prisoners of war. At the temples, shelters for the homeless and orphans were created. In this multifaceted activity of the Pskov Mission (especially in the matter of mission and Christian enlightenment), lay missionaries who arrived from Latvia and Estonia (Pechera) took an active part. Most of them went their way of Christian and church maturity, actively participating in the activities of the Russian Student Christian Movement, a branch of which operated in the 20-30s. in the Baltics

The leadership of the Pskov Mission and its members, since they acted quite legally in the occupied territory, had to enter into relations with the occupying authorities on various issues, since literally everything needed the permission of the military commandant and other departments of the occupation authorities (from the right to move around the territory occupied by the invaders , for which it was necessary to obtain a pass, before the opening of temples and the establishment of schools and shelters with them).

According to Archpriest Alexy Ionov, Orthodox clergy treated the German authorities as evil, but a lesser evil. For the majority of clergy and laity, both the German and the Soviet regimes are not just totalitarian regimes, but anti-Christian, anti-human regimes, and therefore this is evil. However, compared with the Soviet system, for many members of the Mission, the German occupation authorities, unlike the Soviet authorities, were a lesser evil, since they did not interfere with the restoration of church life, the preaching of the Gospel, and the spiritual guidance of the civilian population. Of course, German propaganda tried to use this fact for its own purposes, in every possible way emphasizing the tolerance and religious tolerance of Greater Germany, which is allegedly called by God to "liberate" Russia from communist rule. The occupation regime also tried to involve representatives of the Orthodox Church in its propaganda "games". why it was necessary to obtain a pass, on the occupied territory, since literally everything was necessary to be allowed

Thus, we can say that the leadership of the Pskov Mission and its employees were forced to come into contact with the occupation authorities (someone will use the word "cooperate") in order to openly serve, support their flock during the difficult war years and help the Russian people return to God and the Church. For a non-church person, the last arguments are completely unconvincing - not only in the Soviet years, but even today one can hear the opinion that nothing can "justify" Orthodox priests who served with the permission of the German occupiers. Hardly anyone thinks that if there were no legal service in the occupied territories in Orthodox churches, which was performed by the clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate, then this spiritual vacuum would be filled with other religious movements, sectarian and non-Christian groups. By the way, this is exactly what the Fuhrer dreamed of.

The service of the Pskov Orthodox Mission in no way pursued the goals of the occupation regime, because for the latter it was desirable to deal with a weak, fragmented, internally hostile people, which is easy to control. It was the Orthodox Church that gathered the post-Soviet population in the occupied territory into the people of God. It was the Church, following Christ, that rallied the Russian people and helped them survive the war. In this vein, it becomes clear how lightweight the theses about the "great" role of the NKVD, the Communist Party, Generalissimo Stalin in the victory turn out to be.

Returning to the topic of cooperation between members of the Pskov Mission and the occupation authorities, I would like to note that a number of facts testify to the difficult relations of the Orthodox Church with the German occupation regime. Distrust and irritation were hidden behind external loyalty and emphasized respect. This also applied to the attitude of the German leadership towards Exarch Sergius, the ban on teaching the lessons of the Law of God in schools, attempts to transfer church life to a new calendar, the obstacles that were placed in the spiritual and material care of prisoners of war, and finally, the arrests of clergy and clergy, and vigilant control for the activities of the Mission.

The most serious accusation against the employees of the Pskov Mission was and remains treacherous activity - the collection of information about the Soviet underground and the partisan movement, the extradition of Soviet patriots to the German authorities, etc. Adherents of this point of view can be found today, unfortunately, in church circles. If the Pskov Mission were not a church institution, but a spy organization, then it is unlikely that the church revival could take place at all and bring such abundant fruits. A serious argument for the injustice and falsity of such accusations is the rehabilitation (1956) of the clergy of the Pskov Mission, who were convicted in 1944-1945. for allegedly treacherous, espionage activities.

The relationship between the Pskov Mission and the Soviet government is also one of the "pain points" of this topic. At first glance, it is appropriate to ask the question - what kind of relationship can there be if the Pskov Orthodox Mission operated in the territories occupied by German troops? Firstly, the Soviet leadership was well aware of the processes of church revival in the occupied territories. There is an opinion in scientific circles that this was one of the important reasons for the beginning of a new course of church-state relations in the USSR in 1943. Secondly, in the occupied territories of the North-West of Russia, the plenipotentiary representatives of the Soviet government were partisan formations operating under the leadership of the LSHPD (Leningrad Headquarters of the Partisan Movement). Each partisan detachment had so-called organizational troikas, whose functions included the following tasks - collecting food, clothing and material assets from the local population, agitation and propaganda (distributing newspapers, leaflets, appeals of the Soviet government, etc.). In addition, the organizing committees had judicial and executive power, that is, they passed sentence and carried it out against those who violated Soviet laws, engaged in anti-Soviet activities, and collaborated with the invaders. As a rule, the members of the organizational trio were the leaders of party organizations, employees of the prosecutor's office and the police, that is, those who in the pre-war years were somehow connected with repressions, including against the Orthodox episcopate, clergy and laity. Military conditions created an emergency situation (much could be attributed to the war), when completely innocent people died at the hands of representatives of the organizing committee. Priests in the occupied territory who opened churches with the permission of the occupying authorities automatically fell into the category of traitors and collaborators. It is known for certain about two cases of the murder of clergy by partisans on the territory nourished by the Pskov Mission. There are no statistics on clergymen, elders and laity killed by the verdict of organizational trios in the North-West of Russia.

Starting from 1943, more and more facts appear about the loyal attitude of partisan formations to the Pskov Mission. This is due to various reasons. It was in this year that the change in the official policy of the Soviet government towards the Orthodox Church took place, naturally this news spread to the territory occupied by German troops. It is this year that becomes a turning point in the war, the occupation policy of the Nazis is being tightened, including mass exports of able-bodied civilians to Europe and Germany. Many preferred to stay in their homeland and escaped from deportation to a foreign land in partisan detachments. It was this that contributed to the fact that in the partisan formations the percentage of the local population increased, which knew firsthand about the work of the clergy of the Pskov Mission.

Finally, the last thing you need to pay attention to in this direction is that we are faced with a significant contradiction, which helps once again to understand the anti-people essence of Soviet power. After the liberation of the North-West of Russia and the Baltic states from German troops, the most active and zealous members of the Pskov Mission (some of them are still remembered by grateful older Pskov residents) were arrested by SMERSH officers and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in Stalin's camps. They were the best of the best, the one who served God and neighbor without sparing himself, his well-being and even life. It was they who were so terrible for the Soviet government, for the inviolability of the totalitarian system, because they helped the people get rid of the chilling fear, gain spiritual freedom through gaining the true faith and life in Christ. Here, by the way, one can clearly see what unites the Soviet and Nazi systems.

How was the fate of the priests of the Pskov mission after the war? What percentage remained in the USSR, what percentage went into exile? How did the church leadership in subsequent years treat the former members of the Pskov mission who remained in the USSR? In the church environment, the authority of, for example, Archimandrite Kirill (Nachis) was great, how did his relations develop with the authorities - church and Soviet? How did he talk about the Pskov mission?

Basically, the post-war fate of the members of the Pskov Mission (clergy and laity) developed in three directions -

1. about 15-20 people left for the West in 1944

2. remained in their homeland and were repressed in 1944-1952. 60-65 people

3. 80-85 people remained in their homeland and were not subjected to repressions

From the first group, one can single out Archpriest John the Lung, who in the Pskov Mission was the dean of the Gdov district, in exile he reposed in the rank of bishop

Rocklandsky in 1995. Many members of the Pskov Mission, finding themselves in the West, continued their missionary service for Russian refugees-immigrants of the second wave - Archpriest Georgy Benigsen, Archpriest Alexy Ionov, Archpriest Feodor Mikhailov and others.

Statistical calculations suffer from inaccuracies, because life path some members of the Mission have not been fully clarified: traces of some members of the Mission are lost during the total evacuation to the Baltic states, some members of the Mission are known to have been arrested, but further information is completely absent. Also complicating research is the fact that the arrests of some members of the Mission continued until Stalin's death.

Missionary priests from the third group, those who were not arrested, were constantly in a state of waiting, they were not insured against the oppression of the godless authorities, deprivation of registration, blackmail, pressure, etc. The authorized representative of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Pskov region in his reports in the post-war years, he repeatedly emphasized that the clergy who served in the occupied territories required special attention from the Soviet authorities. The Soviet government did not trust, or, to be more precise, was afraid of the clergy from the Pskov Mission.

It was especially difficult for those priests from the Mission who, after being released from the camps, returned to their homeland, to their families. Often such priests local authorities, first of all, the representative of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, tried in every possible way to prevent them from returning to serving in the Church, and if places were allocated, then these were, as a rule, rural remote small parishes.

Despite this, it was these priests who made up the flower of the Russian Orthodox Church in the northwestern regions and the Baltics - Archpriest Sergei Efimov, Archpriest Jacob Nachis, Archpriest Nikolai Trubetskoy, Archpriest Nikolai Shenrok, Archpriest Konstantin Shakhovskoy, Archpriest Livery Voronov, Archpriest Georgy Tailov, Archimandrite Kirill (Nachis).

They earned well-deserved love from the flock and respect from the hierarchs. At the same time, I was lucky to get acquainted with some of them, or with the descendants of the Pskov missionaries. All these people were not only selfless and devoted to Christ, but also extremely modest and ascetic in everyday life. Archimandrite Kirill, for example, talking about missionary trips with his older brother in the occupied Pskov region, emphasized that they did nothing special - they baptized, buried, performed divine services and consecrated churches. Everything is as usual in priestly practice, only the members of the Mission had to pay for carrying out this feat with health, freedom, and for some with life itself.

My personal contact with their experience Christian life and missionary service, I regard as a great mercy and gift from the Lord.

The editors would like to thank Konstantin Obozny for the photos provided.

Pskov Orthodox Mission. Historians call this ambiguous fact from the history of the war little studied. Rather, the event is not poorly studied (there are enough materials to form an idea), but very delicate.

Who are they, hundreds of Orthodox priests? Ascetic missionaries who came "to help the people who have fallen into robbers" or traitors who collaborated with the occupation regime? Who wants to learn more about the "Pskov Orthodox Mission", I advise you to read

To understand the essence of the issue, I will focus only on the key points from the history of the mission. With the support of the German authorities, the Exarch of the Baltic States, Metropolitan Sergius, created the "Orthodox Mission in the Liberated Regions of Russia."

The first 14 missionaries (all emigrants, by the way) arrived from the Baltic states in Pskov in August 1941. The territory under the jurisdiction of the Mission included the southwestern part of the Leningrad region, part of the Kalinin region, Novgorod and Pskov regions, with a population of about 2 million people.
A year later, 221 churches operated on the territory of the mission, before the occupation there were only 5 churches, and the number of priests increased to 84.

The population of the occupied territories generally greeted the missionaries warmly. The people went to church. Temples did not accommodate all comers. In one of the temples of the Pskov region Sundays from 500 to 800 people received communion, up to 80 babies were baptized at the same time.

The missionaries did not only educational activities but also to the best of their ability and ability to help the population. They opened schools, orphanages, published magazines, broadcast on the radio. In one of the cities of the Pskov region, the "Russian Red Cross" was created, which took over the care of one prisoner of war camp. They collected food, prepared meals for 200 people, who were brought to the camp twice a week. After that, the death rate in the camp markedly decreased. Assistance was also provided to needy residents of the city who found themselves without shelter and livelihood.

Outwardly, quite ordinary parish life in wartime conditions. The priests of the mission, as far as they could, distanced themselves from both the invaders and the partisans. But it was practically impossible.

On the one hand, the deeds of the missionaries-priests were supervised by the occupying authorities, and on the other, by the Soviet partisans. These constant contacts could not be ignored by the German leadership, which obliged, through the head of the mission, each priest to give written reports on all meetings with the partisans. It follows from the reports that the partisans treated the missionaries differently.

According to some priests, the partisans considered them enemies of the people, with whom they seek to deal with. According to others, the partisans tried to emphasize a tolerant, and even benevolent, attitude towards the Church and, in particular, towards the priests.

Probably, the partisans were different. From the report of the priest: "Near my parish, a detachment of partisans temporarily seized a village, while their leader encouraged the peasants to diligently attend the Church, saying that in Soviet Russia the Church was now given complete freedom and that the power of the communists was coming to an end."

After the liberation of the Pskov region, some of the missionaries left with the Germans, and those who remained were sent to camps for cooperation with the Germans.
Here, in general, and the whole story. How can it fit into a single textbook? Yes, no way. Any interpretation is harmful both for the authorities and for the ROC.

Row church historians believe that the missionaries accomplished the "apostolic feat." The revival of religious life in the occupied territories is even called the "second baptism of Rus'." And it doesn't matter who is in power. Fascists or Soviets. "All authority is from God." In this scenario, the ROC is absolutely right to support the Putin regime. But the authorities will never agree to such an assessment.

If we consider the missionaries as traitors, it means to admit that the Russian Orthodox Church denies the thesis "all power is from God." Wherever you throw it, everywhere is a wedge. Therefore, it only remains to delete this important event from history. There was none. No event, no problem for a single textbook.

One can only guess how many such events will cease to exist for a single history textbook.

AT recent times opened another holy page in the annals. It is connected with the Baltic and the Pskov land and, in particular, with the history of the ancient Pskov-Caves Monastery. Thanks to the efforts of many researchers, a very complete picture of the existence of the so-called Pskov Orthodox Mission in the years 1941-1944 has been restored. Particularly notable were the books of Sergei Fomin "Whiten with Blood", Mikhail Shkarovsky "The Church calls for the defense of the Motherland", as well as a separate issue of the St. Petersburg Diocesan Gazette. Today the greatest interest present research in this area, conducted by the remarkable Pskov scholar historian Konstantin Obozny.

This phenomenon was truly amazing. If only because the Pskov Orthodox Mission was created simultaneously through the efforts of the chief ideologist of Nazism, Alfred Rosenberg, on the one hand, and Soviet intelligence, on the other. Taking advantage of the fact that during the Soviet period there was not a single functioning parish left on Pskov land, Hitler and Rosenberg developed a plan for the restoration of this Orthodox life. So that the people in the occupied lands do not grumble against the invaders, but, on the contrary, praise the Nazi government. At the same time, Stalin and Beria developed their own plan, according to which Orthodox priests and monks in the occupied territories were to become involved in the fight against the fascist invaders. The main responsibility was assigned to the main organizer of reconnaissance and sabotage work in the occupied territories, Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov.

The main character on both sides was the Metropolitan of Vilna and all the Baltic States Sergius Voskresensky. When our troops left Riga, Sudoplatov, according to his personal recollections, hid him so that the employees of the authorities would not take the metropolitan along with the retreating. Further, the exarch was to act according to the plan developed by the NKVD. Remaining in Riga, he welcomed the entry of the Germans into the Baltic. He also became the organizer of the Pskov Orthodox Mission, which outwardly was the defender of the occupation authorities, but in vain supported reconnaissance and sabotage work.

Orthodox priests, on the one hand, were forced in their sermons to call the people to humility and praise the Germans for helping to revive Christianity in the Pskov land. On the other hand, the same priests hid partisans, people wanted by the Gestapo, including Jews. There is evidence that in the Pskov-Caves Monastery people were hidden under domes. No one could have guessed that there could be someone hiding there. Everyone is used to the fact that there can be underground workers, and that there are also underground workers, could not come to mind! However, this topic is still waiting for its more detailed study.

At the same time, Orthodox priests accepted into their families or placed in the families of their parishioners numerous refugees, orphans, children, who fell on a terrible ordeal. In 1943, thanks to the efforts of Metropolitan Sergius, children from the Salaspils concentration camp were released and given to Orthodox families and families of priests for education.

Beginning in 1942, Orthodox priests organized a constant fundraiser to support Soviet prisoners of war in Nazi concentration camps. It is impossible to read without tears the memories of how such camps carried out church services how the Easter liturgies were held. At the same time, the Nazis often confiscated food and things collected for prisoners and sent them to the front. This usually happened at the critical moments of the war for the Germans - after the defeat near Moscow, near Stalingrad and near Kursk. Subsequently, the state security authorities blamed the members of the Pskov Orthodox Mission for this, as the fact that they deliberately collected food and things for the fascist soldiers!

The fact that Orthodox priests actively agitated the people for Hitler was also blamed. But here, too, the Soviet punitive organs were in the vast majority of cases unfair. Yes, in the presence of the Germans, the priests had to say something in their defense. But most often they turned to the memory of Russian soldiers who fought for their homeland, recalled the sacred images of Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Fyodor Ushakov, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov, instilled in the hearts of people confidence that these invaders sooner or late will be swept away from the face of the Russian land. In 1942, the seven hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Ice should have been celebrated. Meanwhile, the shores of Lake Peipsi were captured by new knight dogs. But the Russian priests encouraged the parishioners, saying that the bright Prince Nevsky would appear invisibly and win again. Members of the Pskov Orthodox Mission launched anti-Hitler propaganda especially after the Battle of Stalingrad.

During the existence of the Pskov Orthodox Mission, Pavel Sudoplatov carried out a plan for a special operation under the code name "Novices". Two agents of our special services were introduced into the Pskov-Pechersk monastery. They posed as members of a secret community of underground priests acting against Soviet power. Allegedly, this anti-Soviet Orthodox underground is so strong that it can operate in Kuibyshev, which has become a “reserve capital” since the end of 1941. Communication was established with this "Orthodox underground" by radio, two imaginary novices received information from there and passed it on to the Germans. In fact, it was disinformation, which played a role back in 1942, but especially helped during the battle on the Kursk Bulge. The success of Operation Novices was praised by Stalin himself. Stalin spoke about him with his close associates on the eve of the adoption of the fateful decision to revive the Patriarchate.

This great event in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church was reflected in the life of the Pskov Orthodox Mission.

Until now, there have been ambivalent relations between the Pskov Orthodox Mission and the Moscow Patriarchate. Undoubtedly, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Sergius Stragorodsky was aware of how and for whom Exarch of the Baltic States Sergius Voskresensky was working. Between them have long been friendly relations. But at the same time, all the years of the war, both of them, let's say, according to the rules of the game, were forced to clearly speak negatively about each other. Sergius Stragorodsky publicly censured Sergius Voskresensky for collaborating with Hitler, and Sergius Voskresensky, in turn, publicly condemned Sergius Stragorodsky for collaborating with Stalin. At the same time, what is especially important to emphasize, the Pskov Orthodox mission remained in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and not Abroad! And all the years of the war, at the services, the priests of the Pskov Orthodox Mission considered themselves under the blessing of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Sergius Stragorodsky, they proclaimed toast to him!

When Sergius Stragorodsky was elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' in Moscow, Hitler demanded that all Russian priests in the occupied territories anathematize him and condemn the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. What happened next? Representatives of the Russian Church Abroad gathered in Vienna and carried out the will of Hitler. And Metropolitan Sergius Stragorodsky gathered all the representatives of the Pskov Orthodox Mission, which was then led by Fr. Kirill Zaits, discussed with them the essence of the issue, and then a decision was unanimously made: no anathema and no condemnation! Henceforth, the Pskov Orthodox Mission considered itself subordinate to Patriarch Sergius Stragorodsky. Thus, she consciously chose the path of martyrdom for herself. The Germans began to carry out repressions against Russian Orthodox priests in the Baltic and Pskov regions. However, they did not particularly succeed in this, since the Soviet army was advancing rapidly. In early 1944, the Pskov land was liberated from the invaders, and the Pskov Orthodox mission ceased to exist.

The exarch of the Baltics himself turned out to be a martyr. In the spring of 1944, the Germans decided to destroy it. The Ostland police chief, SS Obergruppenführer Eckeln, was entrusted with the assassination attempt. On the road from Kaunas to Vilnius, the car in which Metropolitan Sergius was traveling was riddled with bullets.

Soon after the liberation of the Pskov lands from the invaders, the NKVD began to arrest all members of the Pskov Orthodox Mission. Their sentences were harsh. From ten years to twenty. Many did not return later from the camps. The head of the mission, Archpriest Kirill Zaits, who was arrested in Siauliai, received a twenty and four years later ended his days in a Kazakhstani camp. The head of the office of the Pskov mission, Archpriest Nikolai Zhunda, also received twenty years and died of tuberculosis in a camp in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The Bishop of the Caves, Peter Pyakhkel, received a ten and also perished in the camps. Such is the fate of many, many others who, like them, found their death behind the Soviet barbed wire.

But God gave to many to return from their places of captivity. Archpriest Nikolai Shenrok, having received twenty years, was released after eleven from the same Kazakhstani camp in which Kirill Zaits died. Archpriest Sergiy Efimov returned from the same camp. Priest Jacob Nachis, having received ten years in the camps and having served them from start to finish, began to serve in the only functioning Orthodox church in the Komi Republic, then in the Murmansk region in a church turned into a church from a camp barrack.

Many of the priests of the Pskov Orthodox Mission emigrated during the offensive of the Soviet troops and ended their days abroad, some in Sweden, some in Germany, some in America. Such is the fate of Metropolitan Alexander Paulus of Revel, Metropolitan Augustine Peterson of Riga, Archpriests Georgy Benigsen, Alexy Ionov, Vladimir Tolstoukhov, John Lehky and dozens of others. Who will turn his tongue to condemn them? ..

Among the members of the Pskov Orthodox Mission was then a young priest, Father Nikolai Guryanov. He was personally ordained by Metropolitan Sergius Voskresensky. Later Father Nikolai served on the island of Zalit on Lake Pskov and became famous as a miraculous elder.

One of those who fed his flock in the occupied territory was, as is well known, priest Michael Ridiger, father of the unforgettable His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'. His Holiness has long been planning to rehabilitate those who, like his parent, were forced to serve God under the Germans. With his blessing in 2005 Church Science Center « Orthodox Encyclopedia”, headed by Sergey Leonidovich Kravets, turned to me with a request to create a literary basis for a film dedicated to the Pskov Orthodox mission, and provided all the necessary materials. This is how my novel “Pop” appeared, published in 2007 under the blessing of Patriarch Alexy by the publishing house of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery. On the basis of this novel, together with the famous film director Vladimir Ivanovich Khotinenko, a believer and long-time churchman, we set about creating a script for a full-length feature film. At the same time, preparations were made for filming. His Holiness Patriarch followed this closely. After reading the script, he approved it. With his approval, actors were selected for the main roles. As a result, Sergei Vasilyevich Makovetsky was chosen for the role of the priest Father Alexander Ionin, and Nina Nikolaevna Usatova for the role of mother. Both he and she are also Orthodox church people. The Patriarchate appointed the rector of the Moscow Church of the Holy Trinity in the Sheets, hegumen Kirill (Korovin), as a film consultant. A lot of good advice was given by the priest Father Sergius Vishnevsky, who consecrated the beginning of work on the film and presented the belt of Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky), which one of the parishioners of the exarch killed by the Nazis had given him.

Filming took place in Belarus, in the vicinity of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and - in pavilions - at Mosfilm. Alas, during the filming in Belarus, sad news came there about the death of the main customer of the film - our dear Patriarch Alexy. And, what is significant, the episode of Easter was just filmed! Light Christ's Resurrection 1942.

When the film was edited, it was received by a high commission headed by a close friend of the late Patriarch, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese Arseniy, Bishop of Istra. The Fathers of the Church and cultural figures gave a very high appraisal. Now the film is going through the stage of scoring and finalization of scenes that use computer technology. The music for it is written by the wonderful composer Alexei Rybnikov. The film is supposed to be released in autumn 2009.

In many ways, this will be an unusual phenomenon in cinema. For the first time, the main character is a village priest, moreover, forced to serve during the Nazi occupation. For the first time a feature film was shot under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate and under the direct supervision of the Patriarch.

And besides, it will be an unusual film about love. Not the one we are used to seeing on the screen, most often the rebellious one. And about the love of two spouses - father and mother, priest and priest. About the love that these people carried through their whole lives until their death.

Enemies of the Soviet government, who helped the population and prisoners of war to survive in the occupied territories
Vladimir Dergachev

For lifting morale Orthodox missionaries Exarch of the Baltic Sergius (Voskresensky) established the Order of the Pskov Mission of three degrees, which was awarded to the best.

After the collapse Soviet Union pseudo-historical and pseudo-Orthodox myths became widespread. Among them, the most common is the myth of the opening (restoration) of Orthodox churches closed (destroyed) by the Bolsheviks by the Soviet government under the wise leadership of Joseph Stalin.

Indeed, during the war, divine services were resumed in many Orthodox churches closed by the communist authorities, but ... mainly in the occupied territories. Where believers opened churches and monasteries, and the German occupation authorities did not interfere with this. So, for example, in the Kursk region, under the power of the Bolsheviks, there were 2 functioning churches, and during the occupation there were 282.

About 70 million Soviet citizens lived in the occupied territories, mostly old people, women and children. They only thought about how to survive.

A special role in the revival of religious life in the occupied territories belonged to Pskov Orthodox Mission (1941 - 1944). This pastoral and missionary institution, with its center in Pskov, set the task of reviving Orthodox church life in the north-west of the Russian territory occupied by the Wehrmacht. The mission was established in August 1941 with the assistance of the German administration Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) of Vilna and Lithuania. The Metropolitan, arriving in the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, condemned the cooperation of church hierarchs with the Soviet regime in the struggle against Germany. Father Sergius, taking up anti-communist positions, agreed to cooperate with the occupying forces. The mission operated in the occupied territories of Pskov, Leningrad and Novgorod regions. Here, under Soviet rule, most of the priests were repressed, and no more than ten churches remained active. In less than two and a half years, believers, with the support of the Orthodox Mission and the permission of the German administration, revived more than 300 parishes, including 200 in the Pskov region, where three churches remained before the war. The number of priests by the beginning of 1944 reached 175.

The missionaries carried out their activities in an anti-communist atmosphere. Most of them had no hidden sympathy for the Red Army.

The basis of the Pskov mission were Russian priests from the Riga and Narva diocese. Among them were graduates St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris. Several dozen priests returned to serving in open churches, having been forced to switch to civilian work in the pre-war years.

One of the missionaries, a graduate of the Theological Institute, protopresbyter (the highest rank for white clergy) Alexy (Alexey) Ionov wrote in 1952 in his memoirs:

The vast region was turned by the Soviet authorities into a church desert. “The once beautiful temples were destroyed, desecrated, turned into warehouses, workshops, dance clubs, cinemas and archives. The repressed clergy, for the most part, perished in concentration camps in Siberia. Two or three survivors sub-Soviet priests, intimidated, mentally tired and unprepared, could not take upon themselves the work of organizing church life for a population of several hundred thousand people. And spiritual hunger, thirst church prayer, sacraments and sermons were keenly felt in these places.

The German authorities for a long time did not agree to the organization of the Pskov Mission; in the end, they gave their consent to the trip of 15 Orthodox priests from the Baltic states to the country “behind the thistle (V.D. — Iron Curtain)”.

“That the Germans are evil, none of us doubted. None of us, of course, had any sympathy for the conquerors of the "living space" of our homeland. Deep compassion and sympathy for the needy people, our brothers in faith and blood - that is what filled our hearts.
“In the twenty-eight months of our missionary work, I do not remember that any of sub-Soviet allowed people to say something insulting to us. As a rule, the attitude of the majority towards us was either benevolent or most correct.

The "conquerors" were not so polite. German soldiers often entered our churches wearing headdresses. Repeatedly I offered them to take off their caps or leave. When I was in the vestments, I simply ordered: "Out!" By the way, German soldiers were forbidden to attend our services. But the Germans, nevertheless, tried to prove themselves in church life.”

The German administration allowed church bells to be made, which were forbidden by the Soviet authorities in the thirties, and to make religious processions. The Mission published a monthly magazine, Orthodox Christian”, distributed in the occupied territories. The parish charity was revived. Missionary priests provided spiritual assistance to prisoners of war, and chapels were opened in a number of concentration camps. For orphans, through the efforts of parishioners, an orphanage was created at the church in Pskov. Weekly programs about the revival of church life were broadcast from Pskov.
The German occupation authorities handed over to the Pskov Orthodox Mission Tikhvin icon Mother of God , rescued in November 1941 from a burned-out temple in Tikhvin.

The icon, painted according to legend by the Evangelist Luke, was revered in the Russian Orthodox Church as miraculous and until 1941 was in the Tikhvin Museum. The Orthodox mission gave out a priceless icon to Troitsky every week on Sundays. Cathedral Pskov for worship. In the spring of 1944, the icon came to the Baltic States and further to the American zone of occupation of Germany. In 1950, the miraculous icon was transferred to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago, where the rector, Archbishop John of Riga, left a will to return the icon to its homeland when the Tikhvin Convent was revived. That hour came in 2004. The icon was solemnly returned to its historical place in the Tikhvin Mother of God Dormition Monastery.

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Orthodox missionaries had to work between two fires - under the control of the occupation authorities and Soviet partisans. The occupation regime in the Pskov region was milder than in Ukraine and the Baltic states, because the territory was under the jurisdiction of the military administration. But where partisans appeared, robberies began, and the local population found itself between two fires, involved in a brutal guerrilla war. The terrible truth was that people were just trying to survive, so the majority of the population perceived partisans as a great misfortune, and policemen from the local population were often perceived as defenders from the arbitrariness of the "people's avengers", and from the arbitrariness of German soldiers. Of course, when the Germans used policemen in punitive operations, they became criminals.

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Acute problems with the occupation authorities began with the exarch, Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) in the autumn of 1943 after the main battle for the Heartland - the Battle of Stalingrad. The German administration demanded from the metropolitan non-recognition of the canonicity of the election Bishops' Cathedral Sergius (Stragorodsky) Patriarch in Moscow. But the exarch refused to dissociate himself from the Moscow Patriarchate. In connection with the offensive of the Soviet troops, the Mission ended its activities in the Pskov region in February 1944.

In April 1944, Metropolitan Sergius, along with his driver and two escorts, was killed on the road from Vilnius to Riga. The car was shot by armed men in German uniforms.

In the autumn of 1944, with the restoration of Soviet power in the Baltic states, repressions began against missionary priests of the Orthodox mission, they were accused of collaborating with the occupying forces.

The priests of the Pskov mission were repressed, among other things, for helping prisoners of war. According to Soviet propaganda, only traitors to the motherland could be captured. And if in Europe the French were in German captivity, the British were assisted by the Red Cross (help to the sick, help with food, spiritual nourishment), and the prisoners slept under white sheets and played volleyball, then in concentration camps in the East, the Red Army were kept in inhuman conditions.

The main task of the Pskov Mission was the revival of church life in the occupied territories. At the same time, the activity was not limited only to the walls of churches, their missionary service was no less important. The missionaries did educational work. Including lessons of Russian spiritual culture. This is the secret of the success of the Pskov Mission. On the other hand, the merit of the missionaries is that they helped the local population to survive, to survive physically and, especially, spiritually, a real spiritual rebirth Russian people. Over the years of the Pskov Mission's activity, the local population began to return to the cultural heritage and awareness of themselves as the Russian people. But the Soviet authorities could not forgive the missionaries for this.

Fearing the indignation of believers, the post-war trials were held behind closed doors. The defendants, who received from 10 to 20 years, were sent to the Gulag camps. The survivors returned to their homes and resumed their ministry. The last surviving priest of the Pskov Orthodox Mission died in Latvia in 2014 at the age of 100.

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There are not many successful Russian Orthodox missions. The Pskov Orthodox mission became at the same time one of the most tragic pages in Russian Orthodoxy and a spiritual feat of missionaries who revived Orthodoxy in the occupied Russian lands, where the Bolsheviks destroyed about 1,200 churches. Most of the members of the Pskov Orthodox Mission were consistent anti-communists. The Soviet authorities accused them of collaborationism and cooperation with the German occupation administration, and then hushed up.

Heroes in the war destroyed the enemy, and missionaries saved the souls of people. War heroes are honored and rewarded, spiritual shepherds went through arrests, prisons, camps and death, but the survivors remained faithful to their spiritual ministry. Many participants in the Pskov mission were young priests, and those who survived during the years of repression retained the feeling that “it was one of the most happy periods in life".

The Pskov Orthodox mission, which operated during the years of fascist occupation on the territory of modern Pskov, Novgorod and Leningrad regions, is one of the mysteries of Russian history to this day. Until quite recently, everyone who had anything to do with it was referred to as "fascist accomplices" in Soviet historiography. And even now this point of view continues to exist. But is it true?

Top Secret Directive

Here is what is written about the Pskov Orthodox Mission on Wikipedia, in which all Internet users often make inquiries: “The Pskov Orthodox Mission is a pastoral and missionary institution that set the task of reviving Orthodox life in the northwest of the territory of the RSFSR occupied by the Wehrmacht. It was created in August 1941 with the assistance of the German administration by Metropolitan of Vilna and Lithuania Sergius (Voskresensky), who, while maintaining a nominal stay in the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, condemned the cooperation of the latter with the Soviet regime in the fight against Germany, from the very beginning of the German occupation took an anti-communist position and adopted a course for cooperation with the occupying authorities. There is only one indisputable thesis in this statement. The Pskov Orthodox Mission was indeed created by Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) in August 1941. Let's talk about other facts in more detail.

The attitude of the Soviet authorities towards the Orthodox Church and its ministers in the years preceding the Great Patriotic War is well known. By the summer of 1941, there were only ten churches in the territories of the Pskov and Novgorod dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church (not counting Leningrad and its suburbs). That is why the Nazi strategists, when preparing a war against the USSR and determining those forces that, in their opinion, should have helped in the upcoming battle, considered the ministers of the Russian Orthodox Church who had experienced the hardships of Bolshevik persecution to be such. For this, a special church department, who observed the activities of religious organizations of all confessions, studied the mood of the clergy and laity, created an agent network in the organizational and administrative church structures in the occupied territories. On September 1, 1941, the SD issued a circular "On the Understanding of Church Questions in the Occupied Regions of the Soviet Union", which spoke of the need to support religious movements as hostile to Bolshevism, to split them into small currents in order to prevent subsequent consolidation in the fight against Germany, when they understand the role assigned to them in the destruction of the country.

At the same time, the imperial commissar of the eastern territories A. Rosenberg prepared a top-secret directive, which became known to the Political Directorate of the North-Western Front, thanks to the actions of Soviet intelligence. In it, Rosenberg, referring to the Bonzes of the fascist Reich, stated that since Orthodoxy (and Christianity in general) is closely connected with Jewry, which is subject to destruction, then the people in the occupied territories subsequently “... must be given a religion free from Jewish influence, which will be associated with the closure in the eastern regions of the churches infected with Jewish dogmas. In other words, in the future, it was about the eradication of Orthodoxy after it fulfills the role assigned by the occupiers. Could it be that these secret, for the time being, aspirations of the Nazis were not clear? Of course not. Here is how one of the priests of the Pskov Orthodox Mission, Protopresbyter Alexei Ionov, dean of the Ostrov District in 1941-1943, said: “None of us doubted that the Germans were evil. None of us, of course, had any sympathy for the conquerors of the "living space" of our homeland. Deep compassion and sympathy for the needy people, our brothers in faith and blood - that's what filled our hearts. By the way, Alexei Ionov became the prototype of the hero of the film "Pop", created by director V. Khotinenko in 2009. And yet he was only one of the many priests of the Pskov Orthodox Mission. The initiator of its creation was the Metropolitan of Vilna and Lithuania Sergius (Voskresensky), who at the beginning of 1941 was also Exarch of Latvia and Estonia and headed all the dioceses of the Orthodox Church in the Baltic states during the war years. His most important merit was that he managed to resist the attempts of the Nazi secret services to tear off the Orthodox parishes in the occupied territories from the Moscow Patriarchate. Here is where, as they say, in more detail.