Notes by G. G. Karpov on the trip of Patriarch Alexy I (Simansky) to the Middle East in May-June 1945

Abstract

The publication introduces documents from the internal records of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church related to the preparation and implementation of the visit of the delegation of the Russian Church headed by Patriarch Alexy I (Simansky) of Moscow and All Russia to the Middle East and Egypt in May-June 1945. One of the published documents is the notes of the Chairman of the Council G. G. Karpov on the preparation and progress of the visit. In fact, it is a diary of the trip, which reflects previously unknown episodes. Another document contains translations of all foreign press notes on the visit, which were provided to the Council by TASS. What attracts particular attention in these documents is the resonance that the visit had in the Middle East, as well as the way in which church and political figures interpreted the prospects for the Moscow Patriarchate’s international activity, in particular its possible claim to be the Centre of universal Orthodoxy. The documents are published for the first time.