1917–1964

The Russian Orthodox Church under Soviet rule

After the February Revolution of 1917 the Local Council of the Russian Church restored the patriarchate abolished by Peter the Great. It elected Metropolitan Tikhon as patriarch.

The Bolsheviks who came to power confiscated church property. They separated church from state (1918), closed seminaries and banned religious instruction in schools (1920). Persecution – executions and imprisonment of clergy – intensified especially during Stalin's terror.

In 1943, needing public support during the war, Stalin allowed the partial restoration of the Moscow Patriarchate's activity. But under Khrushchev, in 1958–1964, a new wave of antireligious campaigning brought mass closures of churches and monasteries.

In 1961 the Russian Orthodox Church joined the World Council of Churches.