Фальсифікації радянських слідчих органів 1930-х років у справах духовенства Істинно-Православної Церкви

Abstract

Випадки фальсифікації слідчих справ пенітенціарної системи СРСР 1930-х років свідчать про певну політику держави щодо формування свідомості народу в умовах тоталітарного режиму. Слідча справа Чернігівського єпископа Стефана Проценка є одним з прикладів використання фальсифікації документів у державних цілях.

The formation of the True Orthodox Church took place towards the end of the 1920’s, as a result of the majority of the episcopate and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church refusing to accept the political position of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodskyi), which would subjugate the Church and place it under the control of the atheist government. The government’s campaign to liquidate the TOC had many far-reaching aspects, as the KGB attempted to condemn as many people as possible. This was the time of mass repressions, when the numbers of those arrested meant more than who precisely these individuals were. We present the problem of forged and falsified investigative reports in the USSR and Ukrainian SSR during the 1930’s, using case no. 37140, concerning «the Counterrevolutionary group of churchgoers» in Chernigov. Bishop Stefan (Protsenko) was arrested in 1936, along with other active members of the TOC. This bishop never broke with the church authorities in Moscow, was a member of the episcopate of the Moscow Patriarchate, and received directives and accepted the appointments of Metropolitan Sergius and the synod he headed. However, this did not save Bishop Stefan from being arrested and even from being accused of belonging to the TOC. Bishop Stefan stated that he denies the TOC and emphasized that he was a member of the Moscow Patriarchate. Nevertheless, his case was included with the case against the TOC and he was condemned as a member of the TOC. The investigation of this case presented many difficulties, and without a doubt, we are dealing with a falsified report. The real aim of such a falsification was to intimidate society and to confuse the issue of where the limits lied in determining when something was «criminal» and when it was «just». The news that someone innocent had been condemned was meant to force every single citizen of the USSR to expect to be arrested and even to doubt his own innocence. Such falsification is one of the most vivid examples of how a totalitarian system works, for the true aim of totalitarianism is to change the consciousness of a person and to totally subjugate him to the system.