The Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood is an informal church public association of clergy and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church , created in 1919 at the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra in order to counter anti-religious persecution by the Soviet authorities.
Content
- 1 History
- 2 notes
- 3 Literature
- 4 References
History
In the period from autumn 1917 to winter 1919, associations of Orthodox believers appeared three times in Petrograd , but they did not receive serious development. The original composition of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood included members of these failed church organizations.
The date of the creation of the brotherhood is February 1, 1919 , when a youth club was created under the Alexander Nevsky Lavra , which included monks and laity [1] .
An important area of the brotherhood's activity was the creation of semi-legal monastic communities in the world, as well as monastic tonsure of young people (including secret ones) in order to preserve the institution of monasticism in the conditions of the mass closure of monasteries. The fraternal fathers always considered training of young educated clergymen to be one of their main tasks, which in the conditions of restriction, and then complete elimination of religious education, would allow preserving cadres of clergy who would be able to bring about the rebirth of the Church in the future [2] .
As part of an extensive campaign of mass arrests of clergy and, first of all, monks, the organs of the OGPU fabricated a huge case against almost 100 people against members of the fraternity. On March 22, 1932, the OGPU Board issued sentences to the defendants - from deprivation of the right to reside in Leningrad and the Leningrad Region for three years to ten years in camps. As a result of political repression, the organs of the OGPU in 1932, the activities of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood was discontinued.
All the leaders of the fraternity except the future Metropolitan of Leningrad Gury (Yegorov) died in 1936-1938, and the first generation of young monks who had been tonsured until 1932 was almost completely destroyed.
Those who survived were mainly those who were teenagers at the time of the defeat. It is from this layer that four future prominent bishops emerged - Metropolitan John (Wendland) , Leonid (Polyakov) , Archbishop Nikon (Fomichev) , Mikhey (Kharkharov) and other clergymen [2] .
In 2003, the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified the active members of the fraternity: the holy martyr Archimandrite Leo (Egorov) , the martyr Princess Kira Obolenskaya and Ekaterina Arskaya .
On November 18, 2008, Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga blessed the re-establishment of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood. It was recreated as an Interregional public organization for the revival of spirituality, culture and patriotism. The chairman of the board of the fraternity is Bishop Nazarii of Kronstadt, and the deputy is Boris Borisovich Sergunenkov.
Notes
- ↑ M.V. Shkarovsky . Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood 1918-1932 . - SPb. : Orthodox chronicler of St. Petersburg, 2003 .-- 269 p. - (dedicated to the New Martyrs of Russia). - 1000 copies.
- ↑ 1 2 Influence of the All-Russian Local Council 1917-1918 in the Soviet era: Portal Bogoslov.Ru (unavailable link) . Date of treatment April 18, 2016. Archived March 5, 2016.
Literature
- Zegzhda S.A. Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood (historical outline). SPb, 2009
- M.V. Shkarovsky . Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood 1918-1932 . - SPb. : Orthodox chronicler of St. Petersburg, 2003 .-- 269 p. - (dedicated to the New Martyrs of Russia). - 1000 copies.