The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

The history of Russian Orthodox organizations that emerged abroad in the 20s–30s of the 20th century, such as the Russian Student Christian Movement (RSCM), “Pravoslavnoe Delo”, the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris, etc., has long been the subject of scholarly research, but the activities of such an ecclesiastical and social organization as The Russian Clergy and Church Aid Fund, established under the patronage of the Church of England in 1923, remain outside the mainstream. 
The article presents a brief overview of the activities of this charitable fund aimed at financial support of emigrants from Russia and the church institutions they established in Europe. On the basis of the documents of the Archive of the Middle East Center of St. Antony’s College in Oxford the structure, functions, sources of funding, the main directions of the work carried out by the Fund in Paris and London in 1935–1948 were studied. As the analysis of documents showed, the effectiveness of its activities was influenced by such factors as the political situation in Europe, the jurisdictional affiliation of Orthodox institutions and parishes, cooperation with other international charitable organizations, and the initiative of the Fund’s staff. A key role in organizing the work belonged to the general secretary and treasurer of the Fund. The Charitable Fund, focused on supporting clerics and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, acting on behalf of the Church of England, has made a significant contribution to strengthening Anglican-Orthodox ties and preserving the Russian ecclesiastical presence in European countries during one of its most difficult periods.