Towards the question about the liquidation of the Moscow residence of Valaam monastery in 1920s
Abstract
The article covers the post-revolutionary period of the Valaam metochion’s story in Moscow. The author describes the political situation accompanying the negotiations between employees of the Justice’s Commissariat (Narkomjust) and of the Moscow Soviet concerning the liquidation of the church and the chapel of the Valaam metochion. She analyzes documents and correspondence between the parish council and the Father superior of the Valaam monastery, clarifies some facts of the Moscow Residence’s life and monks. The special significance has the analysis of sources of several archives —domestic (GARF, CIAM, CGAMO) and of Finland (the Archive of the Novovalaamsky monastery). The author drawn parallels between the events, mentioned in letters and in documents, clarifies the equivocal roles, that some monks played, who were earlier been considered as defenders of Orthodoxy and fighters against Renovationism. The author investigates the reason why the metochion was remained working whereas many churches and monasteries in Moscow were being closed. She considers the government’s protection of Finland did not play the big role in a Moscow Residence’s protection. The archival documents were attached to the article. They concern the period 1918– 1923. That is correspondence between employees of Narkomjust and Moscow Soviet about the metochion’s destiny, «The Writ of Protection» that was given by the Finnish mission, and the monk’s letter to the Valaam Abbot in which he slandered the chief of the Moscow metochion et al.
