Clandestine Connections between the ROCOR and Catacomb Communities in the USSR from the 1960s to the 1980s

Abstract

The article analyses the situation of non-conformist Catacomb Orthodox communities in the USSR in the 1960s–1980s. It examines the problems of persecution by the Soviet regime against the church opposition, the loss of hierarchy with canonical apostolic succession in the catacomb communities, the emergence of various currents and groups, and the emergence of self-sanctification and sectarianism. In this context, special attention is paid to the establishment by the catacomb “True Orthodox Christians” (TOC) from the USSR of secret ties with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), as well as to the attempts of the clergy of the Russian Church Abroad to regulate the canonical status of these catacomb communities and thereby prevent the spread of self-sanctification and degeneration into sectarianism in the catacomb environment by means of secret care (following the example of the “experience of the Edinoverie”). The situation of the Catacomb Church in the USSR and the restoration of its episcopate in the 1980s are examined in detail. The article is the first to introduce into scientific circulation previously unknown archival sources and eyewitness testimonies.
The author expresses his particular gratitude to Archpriest Serafim Gan, head of the Chancery of the Synod of Bishops and secretary to the First Hierarch of the ROCOR for the opportunity to work with documents from the Archive of the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR in New York.