Walking among the martyrs: when a monument to Hitler was erected in Russia

The actions and statements of these clergy “are not an expression of the position of the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church and reflect their personal views and convictions,” the diocese said in a statement. True, what exactly the hierarchy did not like in the unblessed actions and statements is not specified.

Bishop of Zelenograd Savva (Tutunov), vicar of the patriarch, deputy manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, spoke in more detail and frankly on this subject in his telegram channel: “The situation with the“ consecration ”of the monument to Stalin in Velikiye Luki is absolutely outrageous (who All the more outrageous are the words of the clergyman that “the Church suffered during the reign of Joseph Vissarionovich, but thanks to this we have many new martyrs and confessors.” These words are blasphemous.

According to the bishop, “the situation has been taken under control in the central church apparatus.”

Whether it was consecration or not, Priest Anthony Tatarintsev, rector of the Temple in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God of the All-Tsaritsa in the village of Rusanovo (Velikoluksky district, Pskov region) really sprinkled the monument and the participants in the ceremony with holy water, accompanying the procedure with exclamations: “Christ is risen.”

Father Anthony is not the only clergyman who participated in the opening of the monument. Archimandrite Sergius (Sturov) also honored the memory of the leader with his presence. But they didn’t seem to be pushing any speeches.

As for the saying of Anthony under discussion, here it is in its full and original form: “To be honest, yes, the church suffered during the years of the reign of Joseph Vissarionovich. But thanks to this, we now have many new martyrs and confessors of Russia, whom we now pray and who we also help in the revival of our Motherland. And we see what was the goal, and actions, and the life of Joseph Vissarionovich. Of course, this is the power, invincibility, strength and firmness of the Soviet Union. And for the same goal, now let us be called by – to another, but still this is our great Russia, and we are all striving, including our Russian Orthodox Church.”

Well, that is, in addition to gratitude to Comrade Stalin for the production of new martyrs put on stream, the speech of the Velikoluksky priest contained another theologically bold thesis: the Russian Orthodox Church is following the path destined by the “leader of the peoples.”

As one would expect, the Stalinist priests found not only critics. The Party “Communists of Russia” appealed to Patriarch Kirill with a request to stop checking on the fact of the consecration of the monument. “In the people’s soul, Comrade Stalin has long been canonized,” party leader Sergei Malinkovich said. Less brightly, but in the same vein, the Communist Party reacted. The head of the party’s press service, State Duma deputy Alexander Yushchenko called on the church to be more tolerant: “Yes, the patriarch may have certain complaints about the figure of Stalin, and millions of people today demand the figure of Stalin.”

Perhaps the most fundamental of all the “public defenders” approached the topic was the actress Maria Shukshina. In her telegram channel, she cited the speech of Patriarch Alexy, delivered on the day of Stalin’s funeral. Here are a few characteristic selected passages from this magnificent epitaph: “The great, moral, social power has been abolished … His name, as a champion of world peace, and his glorious deeds will live for centuries … To our beloved and unforgettable Joseph Vissarionovich, we prayerfully , with deep, ardent love, we proclaim eternal memory. Etc. and so on.

The argument, at first glance, is really powerful. But the ruthless annals of history have preserved other speeches of church hierarchs. For example, this one: “Prayers for you will be offered up not only in this newly built church and within Germany, but also in all Orthodox churches. For not only the German people remember you with ardent love and devotion before the Throne of the Most High: the best people of all peoples Those who want peace and justice see you as a leader in the global struggle for peace and truth.

We know from reliable sources that the believing Russian people, groaning under the yoke of slavery and waiting for their liberator, constantly lift up prayers to God that He save you, guide you and grant you his all-powerful help. Your feat for the German people and the greatness of the German Empire made you an example worthy of imitation, and a model of how to love your people and your homeland, how to stand up for your national treasures and eternal values. For even these latter find their sanctification and perpetuation in our Church.”

The addressee of the panegyric, as you might guess, is the Fuhrer of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler. The author is the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky). The reason for the thank you address, dated June 12, 1938, is the illumination of the Berlin Resurrection Cathedral, erected, as rightly noted in the address, “thanks to the readiness and generosity of your government” (most of the costs associated with the construction of the cathedral were borne by the state budget of the Third Reich) .

And here is what another ROCOR hierarch, Metropolitan Seraphim (Lade) of Berlin and Germany, said about the start of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union: “The Christ-loving leader of the German people called on his victorious army to a new struggle, to that struggle that we have long been longing for – to the consecrated struggle against the theomachists, executioners and rapists who have settled in the Moscow Kremlin… Be participants in the new struggle, for this struggle is yours… “The salvation of all”, about which Adolf Hitler spoke in his address to the German people, is also your salvation is the fulfillment of your long-term aspirations and hopes.

For those who are not in the know, let us explain: ROCOR is not some kind of sect separated from the ROC and anathematized by it. Eucharistic communion between the two parts of the Russian Church, torn apart by revolutions, did not stop even during the years of separate existence. And 16 years ago, the parts were reunited: since 2007 ROCOR has been a self-governing church within the Moscow Patriarchate. So the skeletons in her closet are the skeletons of the entire ROC.

However, in the locker of the Russian Orthodox Church itself, there are also quite a few skeletons of the same kind: prayers for the “Christ-loving leader” and his army were also offered up by many of its ministers who found themselves in the territory occupied by the Germans. For example, the Metropolitan of Vilna and Lithuania, Sergius (Voskreseny), wrote directly in a newspaper published by the occupiers: “We pray to the Almighty to send Adolf Hitler strength and fortress for the final victory over Bolshevism.”

By the way, do Father Anthony, his defender Shukshina and their like-minded people want to erect a monument to Hitler at the same time? No? And why, exactly? If you follow their own logic – it’s time.

In one point, however, the “Christ-loving leader of the German people” let us down: he killed significantly fewer Orthodox priests than the “leader of the peoples.” But as far as the destruction of one’s own people is concerned, Comrade Stalin, objectively speaking, was generally difficult to compete with. Unless the Cambodian “Khmer Rouge” surpassed him here – and then rather relatively, in terms of the proportion of the exterminated population of the country, rather than in absolute numbers.

For reference: according to historians, from 1937-1941, 175,800 clerics and active parishioners were repressed in the USSR, of whom 110,700 were shot.

But Hitler more than compensated for this “omission” in other categories of “untermensch”. In general, in terms of the total number of martyrs, this conveyor killer managed to far surpass Comrade Stalin. And we are erecting monuments to Comrade Stalin … Where is the logic?