La vita religiosa nello Stato sovietico. Le coraggiose testimonianze della fede nel periodo delle persecuzioni religiose

Abstract

In the Soviet Union, Christian churches were in a very difficult situation due to the bloody persecution and atheization of all forms of religion by the Soviet state. Religion became a battleground where the Communists could challenge all other ideological principles. In the Soviet Union, every form of religion was seen by the Communists as a challenge to the structures of the new state founded on the ideals proposed by the Marxist-Leninist system. Despite the persecution, there were numerous witnesses to the faith in all Christian churches and communities. Opponents of the communist system were arrested and taken to work camps where they endured difficult circumstances. Those whose way of life was based on Christian ideals became faithful witnesses of God in these terrible places. The majority of Soviet society had for centuries been linked to the Orthodox Church, and it was precisely this community that had to pay such a terrible tribute for their loyalty to the Christian tradition. The Catholics, even though they were only a minority in the Orthodox world, lived their faith with courage and dignity despite the terrible forms of Soviet persecution. Many of them are remembered even today as great witnesses of God.

Keywords

• Catholics in the Russian Empire
• October 1917 revolution
• Catholic Church in the Soviet Union
• martyrs of the Orthodox Church
• Greek-Catholic Church
• John Paul II