Keeping the Faith: Russian Orthodox Monasticism in the Soviet Union, 1917-1939

Conclusion

Conclusion
   period, Russian Orthodox monasticism strove to survive the onslaught of the atheistic Bolshevik regime. Despite persecution , monks and nuns succeeded in their efforts to preserve the essence of monasticism. Proof of their achievements lies in recent evidence indicating a revival of interest in monasticism, particularly among young people. Statistics for  cite a total of  monasteries in the former Soviet Union, out of which  are in the Russian Federation.1 As of March, , the Moscow diocese had  functioning monasteries,  women’s and  men’s. Smolensk diocese reported  monasteries,  men’s and  women’s, and Kaluga diocese has ,  men’s and  women’s.2 The exact number of monastics is unknown and does not include those men and women who have taken monastic vows but do not live in a monastery. However positive it may appear, the post-Communist period also poses its challenges. The first is the physical rebuilding of the monasteries . Like most houses of worship, many monasteries were turned into factories , garbage dumps, insane asylums, or other secular facilities. In , when the government began to formally return monasteries to the Orthodox Church,3 much work had to be done to restore the buildings to livable conditions. The task was compounded due to lack of money and labor. The few monks and nuns that remained were elderly and incapable of doing hard physical labor. As in the past, the monks and nuns needed to rely on the assistance of the local people. The outpouring of donations of money and labor from the people has been a testament to the feelings that monasteries aroused among the local population. People who themselves did not have much donated time, labor, and materials to rebuild the churches and buildings surrounding the monastery. Some people such as Vladimir Bubaev, an artist in Moscow, have donated their talents to restoring monasteries. Bubaev has dedicated most of his time to restoring the icons at the Alekseev monastery, where he also serves on the parish council. Another example may be seen in Optina Pustyn monastery located outside the town of Kozelsk. On a visit in , the author was present at the canonization of the Optina elders. The monks were also getting ready for the reconsecration of the Annunciation church. For months, the monks and the surrounding villagers had been working to rebuild the church. The defining moment came when the cross was raised once again to the top of the church. Father Melchizeldek, the abbot of the monastery, came out to bless the cross as it was solemnly raised. Everyone stopped what they were doing to witness this historic event. Many monks and local villagers openly wept. For them, it was a symbol of triumph over the decades of destruction and neglect under the Soviet regime. Legal issues still remain a challenge for the monasteries. When the Bolsheviks nationalized them, they turned many buildings over to local villagers . As previously discussed, throughout the s many monasteries were divided, with some of the buildings occupied by government departments and some occupied by monks and nuns. The same situation exists at the present time. The question of ownership and the fate of the villagers is an ongoing legal issue. One such case is in Optina Pusytn. In the late nineteenth century, at the height of the monastery’s popularity, several of the elders decided that the number of pilgrims threatened to disturb their meditation. They therefore built a small community, known as a skete, about a mile away from the main monastery. The skete consisted of a small church, several modest homes where two or three elders lived, and a small library. People still came to see them there, but the activity did not disturb the other monks at the main monastery. After the closure of the monastery, the authorities gave the homes to local villagers. Although technically all of the buildings in the skete belong to the monastery, the villagers have sued to remain there or have the monastery pay them to relocate. The issue is still being debated in the local courts as of this writing. In the meantime, the villagers and the monks remain in an uneasy coexistence. Some of the villagers are not Christians, and occasional outbreaks of violence have occurred. The most tragic was the murder of three monks on Easter Sunday in , allegedly by a mentally disturbed local man. The phenomenon of “monasteries without walls” remains, although it is not fear of persecution that keeps monks and nuns in the world...