The Russian Orthodox Church in the system of socio-political interaction during the Great Patriotic War (using the example of the Penza region)

Abstract

The transformation of the practices of state-confessional interaction during the Great Patriotic War is considered on an analysis of the office documentation of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR. The research methodology is based on the concept of social constructionism or the theory of constructing social reality, as well as new local history, which allows to study the factors and mechanisms of adaptation of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) to the new geopolitical situation and the tasks of socio-political integration on the scale of a specific region – the Penza region. The content and regional specifics of the activities of the Commissioner for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church are revealed. The key areas of activity are: consideration of petitions of believers to open churches and participation of the priesthood in mobilization activities of the authorities. Despite many years of atheistic policies, persecution and repression of the clergy, the population of the Penza region demonstrated the strength of the religious foundation of regional identity. This was more significant compared with ideological constructs imposed from the outside. During the Great Patriotic War, relations between believers and authorities were built in the direction from the suppression of religious life to the very effective inclusion of parish communities in solving national problems. Appeals from believers to open churches became increasingly widespread and persistent. Under the influence of growing religiosity and divinely sanctioned changes in the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church, local authorities adopted new rules of the game. Governance practices are also gradually changing, and a constructive dialogue is being built in the triad: the commissioner as a representative of the state – the diocesan administration – the parish communities.