Sergius (Stragorodsky), War and Homeland: From the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II to Stalin

During the First World War, Sergius (Stragorodsky) served as the Archbishop of Finland and was a member of the Holy Governing Synod. He participated in the preparation of all church acts aimed at organizing assistance to the wounded, families of soldiers called to war, and orphans. Under his leadership, the diocese conducted active social work. The prayer for victory over the enemy, approved in 1914 with the direct participation of Archbishop Sergius, was subsequently used in abbreviated form during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. During the First World War, the church press actively participated in shaping the image of the enemy. The Russian Orthodox Church acted similarly during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. One of the peculiarities of the church discourse during the First World War was the formation of the image of the internal enemy. By the end of 1916, the church press spoke of a universal derogation from the ideals of Holy Rus, greed, and selfishness that had engulfed all classes of the population. In his “Declaration” of 1927, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens, once again addressed the military and patriotic theme. The turning point in church-state relations was the events of 1939– 1940, related to the reunification of Western Ukraine, Belarus and Baltic countries with the USSR. On June 22, 1941, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) wrote a message to the believers, calling for support for the Soviet state’s fight against the Nazis. From the first days of the war, the Church began active patriotic work. Funds were collected for the Defense Fund and for the wounded. Unusually, funds were also collected directly for armaments — a tank column named after Dmitry Donskoy. An important stage in the church’s activities under Metropolitan Sergius was the publication of the book “The Truth about Religion in Russia”, intended for translation into foreign languages and mass distribution abroad.