Most
of the people living in the Russian Empire were members of the Russian
Orthodox Church. In 1721 the Orthodox Church became a government department
called the Holy Synod. It was run by the
Chief Procurator, an official appointed by the Tsar.
Completely
under the control of the government, the Orthodox Church played an
important role in the various russification campaigns (forbidding
the use of local languages and the suppression of religious customs).
t also became closely associated with the Jewish
Pogroms that took place during the last part of the 19th century.
As a state
department the Russian
Orthodox Church
lost the right to plead with the Tsar on behalf of the poor and dispossessed.
The church was therefore seen by those seeking reform as a reactionary
institution condoning serfdom.
The Bolsheviks,
as Marxists, regarded religion as the "opium
of the masses". After the October
Revolution the Soviet government were extremely hostile to the
Church.
In January
1918 the Soviet government passed legislation that attempted to separate
the Church from the state and education. They also deprived the Church
of all legal functions concerning the family and marriage.
During
the Civil War all church buildings,
funds and property were confiscated. It is estimated that around a
thousand priests were killed during this period.
A decree
passed on 14th April 1929 established that the Church could not own
property nor establish central funds, or make compulsory levies. Their
religious activities are confined to worship within the registered
congregation. They were also forbidden to engage in missionary or
welfare work.
None of
the new cities and industrial centres, built under the Five
Year Plans, included churches. Old churches were pulled down and
by the 1930s Moscow only had a dozen churches compared to over 200
before the October Revolution.
In 1937
there was 30,000 registered religious communities. During the purges
this figure dropped significantly and by 1939 it was only 20,000.
However, it was estimated that there was a large number of unregistered
congregations.
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