The Great Patriotic War and the Russian Orthodox Church on the pages of the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” in 1943–1945

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the materials in the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” from 1943–1945, devoted to the Great Patriotic War and the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to this terrible event in the history of mankind. There are four main blocks of materials: the official chronicle of the war, coverage of military events and the situation of the Church in the conditions of military operations, messages to the faithful population in the territories embroiled in military operations, and articles on particular issues related to the war. Of great importance is not only the coverage of the chronicle, but also the support in the conditions of the ongoing war, which was provided to believers by bishops Patriarch Sergius (Stragorodsky), Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky, Patriarch since February 1945), and Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich). In the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, the struggle against the German invaders was regarded as a struggle against the servants of the devil. Correspondence from the field testified to the damage caused by the Nazis not only to the Church, but also to the civilian population. In the mid-1940s, the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” became the publication where the Russian Orthodox Church could express both its attitude to events and its unity with the people, which was necessary in the conditions of war.