The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

The second restoration of the Patriarchate was one of the key events in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the XX century. The facts surrounding this event have already been fairly well studied, though a discussion of the motives and driving forces, possible alternative courses for the developments of events and, most importantly, the fruits of this joint church-state project, are still very relevant. The participants of our roundtable discussion in honour of 
the 75th anniversary of the restoration of the patriarchate discussed a number of particular questions. Did the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate of the ROC really have a choice in the autumn of 1943, when Stalin declared his desire to restore the status and structure of the church in the USSR as quickly as possible? Who needed a church renaissance more – the Moscow Patriarchate or Stalin himself? The key issue our roundtable participants found themselves dealing with was the question of what was gained and what was lost by the two 
parties as a result of this “union”. What price was paid for the restoration of the patriarchate in the Russian church? What compromises did Soviet authorities and the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate – and, as a result, all bishops and clergymen – have to make? Our roundtable participants come to the conclusion that internal church unity was lost in favour of the external appearance of wellbeing, after 1943. As a result, lack of trust arose between various church diocese, clergymen and laity – all of whom became progressively alienated from each other. The church’s “ecclesial model” changed entirely, and a systemic crisis lay within the very foundation of the new model.