The Political Mood of Orthodox Clergy in Crimea during the Nazi Occupation

Abstract

During the Nazi occupation the Orthodox clergy in Crimea did not remain united in their political views and attitude towards the German invaders. Almost immediately, there were many active supporters of the new regime on the peninsula, includeing some in the political structures of religious lifethere. At the same time, those clergymen who belonged to the Renovationist orientation had pro-Soviet views and could not integrate into the new church-state relations. They identified their main task as saving Jews from the Holocaust, for which many subsequently suffered. Most priests took a cautious and distant position vis-à-vis the invaders and pro-Nazi agitation and propaganda. The main factors in determining loyalty / or opposition relation to the occupation were: national origin, jurisdiction, and experience of repression by the Soviet authorities in the interwar period. Social origin and age did not play a role. After the end of the occupation, representatives of a group of priests loyal to the Nazis were arrested or evacuated with the Germans. The most active pro-Soviet representatives of the clergy did not survive the occupation. The clergy, referred to as the “neutral group,” rather calmly perceived the change of power, which had not affected them until the end of the 1940s.