Доля чернігівського Спасо-Преображенського собору за часів міжконфесійного протистояння у 20-х рр. ХХ ст.

Abstract

Стаття присвячена маловивченому періоду з історії чернігівського Спасо-Преображенського собору —20-м рр. ХХ ст. Розглянуті питання міжконфесійного протистояння між протиборчими православними громадами, майнові та правові аспекти боротьби за церковне майно чернігівських кафедральних соборів на тлі антирелігійної державної політики радянської влади.

Статья посвящена малоизученному периоду в истории черниговского Спасо-Преображенского собора — 20-м гг. ХХ в. Рассмотрены вопросы межконфессионального противостояния между противоборствующими религиозными общинами, имущественные и правовые аспекты борьбы за церковное имущество черниговских кафедральных соборов на фоне антирелигиозной государственной политики советской власти.

The article reveals the history of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour in Chernihiv during the 1920’s. The dramatic changes of social order of the country occurred at that period of national history, stereotypes and sustainable lifestyle, closely connected with the Orthodox Church, were ruined. Since its inception the Bolshevik government declared freedom of belief and respect for the religious feelings of citizens. However, it actually started the unstoppable attack on the church, which was its main ideological opponent, that concentrated of a lot of wealth in its hands. The traces of complex social processes during 1920’s are discovered throughout the whole history of the ancient cathedral in Chernihiv. For centuries the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour and Ss. Boris and Hlib Cathedral were the main churches of the eparchy, which played a leading communicative and sacred role. In 1919 a powerful Orthodox Parish-Community was organized at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour, which included more than 2,000 faithful. During the 1919-1921 the government launched a process of registration of Orthodox communities as well as identifying and accounting church property and values. Subsequently, this led to the mass seizure of church valuables – famine in the Volga River region of 1921-1923, that turned into a real robbery of the Orthodox Church and caused a church split. In this period the final formation of renovationism occurred. This movement was born on the border of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when life of the Russian Orthodox Church (hereinafter – ROC) began to emerge obvious signs of institutional crisis that led to the spread among the clergy idea of a «renewal» of the church. In the wake of these ideas were created Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox (hereinafter – UAOC) and Renovated Church. In 1921 the government gave Ss. Boris and Hlib Cathedral to the newly created community of UAOC in Chernihiv. This caused the rise of an acute confrontation and struggle with the community of ROC. The Soviet government successfully used the struggle and internal conflicts in the clerical community to finally discredit and split the church as a social institution. Since 1923 at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour acted the renovation community. During the 1925-1926 in this cathedral were recorded Old Slavonic (Tikhon) and Synodal (renovative) communities, which were in conflict with each other. However, renovationism had no prospects for its further development due to extremely robust tradition of canonical Orthodoxy among the believers of the Chernihiv gubernia and city, and its support by the Soviet authorities was planned as a temporary measure to deal with more powerful Russian Orthodox Church. Ideologically, no religious denomination fit into the overall concept of strong ateisation of the country and was doomed to destruction. The reason for the mass break agreements with religious communities in the late 1920’s was lack of repair and poor maintenance of places of worship, as the Bolsheviks had destroyed the material basis of the Church. The punitive power system joined to the physical destruction of clergy loyal to the government as well as opposition. Finally, on May 18, 1927, according to the decision of Council of People’s Commissars of USSR buildings of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour, the Dormition (Uspensky) and St. Trinity Cathedrals in Chernihiv were declared historical and architectural monuments of nationwide significance and transferred to the jurisdiction of the People’s Commissariat of Education. Thus, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour, became a museum reserve.