Bishops' Council of 1961 According to the Church Press and Its Participant Archbishop Pavel (Golyshev)

Abstract

The article describes the Russian Orthodox Church conciliar activity problems in the 20th century in the context of church-state relations in USSR during Khrushchev's persecutions of 1958–1964. The authors restore events of organization and holding the Council of Bishops in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius on July 18, 1961 based on church press materials: publication of the Council acts in the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” and Archbishop Pavel's personal documents from State Archive of the Russian Federation (Fund “Council for Religious Affairs under the USSR Council of Ministers” — State Archive of the Russian Federation, Stock 6991. L. 7. Dos. 73). Following that the authors analyse the reasons of the Council of Bishops convening in 1961, the main of which was the parish reform approval. The reform was implemented in all dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church according to the Holy Synod resolution “About Measures to Improve the Existing System of Parish Life” from April 18, 1961. The authors focus on the protest reaction of Archbishop Yermogen (Golubev) and Bishop Pavel (Golyshev) to the parish reform, contradicted to the canonical norms by its nature and methods of implementation. The Parish Reform restored the pre-war principle of church administration based on the existing state legislation — Resolution of the All-Union Central Executive Committee and the USSR Council of People's Commissars “About Religious Associations” of 1929. This reform demoted the status of priest as principle church community leader into mere employee of a religious organization. Financial and economic activities of religious organizations became responsibility of executive parish board. The study has shown that the Bishops' Council of 1961, in which Bishop Pavel (Golyshev) of Astrakhan and Enotayevo participated, was another violent action of Soviet government against the Russian Orthodox Church. The Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Affairs under the USSR Council of Ministers succeeded in breaking the Moscow Patriarchate's resistance: the question about parish administration was resolved according to the interests of the atheist state. Council of Bishops was convened and held with canonical violations. Despite this the episcopate did not put up adequate resistance to the civil authorities. “Regulations on the Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church” were changed by unanimous decision of the Council with the most disadvantageous (unfavorable) conditions for the Church.

Keywords

• russian orthodox church
• patriarch
• bishop
• council of bishops
• parish reform
• council for russian orthodox church affairs