The article explores the history of official "religious" travels to and from the USSR in the period of 1943 to 1985. The main sources are the documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The study analyzes how the trips were prepared and realized, how and why were people from various religious confessions sent abroad and invited to the Soviet Union, and other related issues. The author distinguishes the following types of official missions: diplomatic, recreational, educational, religious-functional, and pilgrimage. There were three key political objectives - propaganda, information and recruitment. These trips played an important role as they established a systematic form of communication, which sometimes served as alternative to official diplomacy.

Keywords: Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Council for Religious Affairs, the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate, Soviet diplomacy.

The purpose of this article is to show the role and significance of religious travel during the Cold War. The publication will analyze only those official documents that are available to the public.-

The article was prepared with the financial support of the Russian State Scientific Foundation 14-01-00488.

Pivovarov N. Kto vzvitali v SSSR i kto posledali za zarubezhu po religionnoi linii (1943-1985) [Who was invited to the USSR and who was sent abroad along the religious line (1943-1985)]. 2017. N 1. pp. 185-215.

Pivovarov, Nikita (2017) "What Kind of Religious Persons Were Invited to the USSR, and Who Was Allowed to Go Abroad (1943-1985)", Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkov' v Rossii i za rubezhom 35(1): 185-215.

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trips abroad of religious figures from the USSR and representatives of foreign religious structures in the USSR, which were discussed and approved by the top leadership of the country represented by the Central Committee of the CPSU (b)/CPSU. Studying such official trips will help to broaden the understanding of how the Soviet leadership used religious structures in the context of ideological confrontation in a bipolar world, as well as provide a better understanding of how religious communication between the Soviet Union and the outside world was carried out.

Researchers have repeatedly turned to the history of international church relations during the Cold War1. The most detailed analysis of official church trips is presented in the works of V. A. Akhmadulin 2, O. Yu. Vasilyeva 3, T. V. Volokitina 4, V. A. Livtsov 5, I. I. Maslova 6, S. V. Petrov 7, T. A. Chu-

1. The main historiographical problems of external activity of the Russian Orthodox Church are reflected in the work: Korol V. L. Peacemaking activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (1949-1991): historiography of the problem // Bulletin of Polotsk State University. Series A: Humanities. 2013. No. 9. pp. 144-152.

2. Akhmadulin V. A. Hadj sovetskikh moslemov v 1953-1955 gg. [The Hajj of Soviet Muslims in 1953-1955]. 2013. N 3 (35). pp. 88-92; Akhmadulin V. A. Hadj sovetskikh moslemov v 1958-1959 gg. [The Hajj of Soviet Muslims in 1958-1959]. 2013. N 5. pp. 50-54; Akhmadulin V. A. Activity of the Soviet state to attract Muslims to the struggle for peace in the 1940s-1950s. 2013. N 9. pp. 121-124.

3. Vasilyeva O. Y. Foreign policy of the Soviet state and the Russian Orthodox Church. 1943-1948 / / Proceedings of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2000. N 2. Pp. 339-353; It is the same. The Russian Orthodox Church and the Second Vatican Council, Moscow, 2004.

4. Volokitina T. V. Moscow and the Orthodox autocephaly of Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia (on the problem of perception of the Soviet model of state-church relations in the 40s of the twentieth century). 1939-1958 (Debatable aspects). Moscow, 2003, pp. 99-125.

5. Livtsov V. A. Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkva i ekumenicheskoe dvizhenie v XX veke [The Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement in the XX century], Moscow, 2000; Livtsov V. A. Ispol'zovanie ekumenizma v kak instrumenta sovetskoi vneshnoi politiki v nachale 1960-kh godov [The use of Ecumenism as an instrument of Soviet foreign policy in the early 1960s]. 2008. N 66. pp. 223-229.

6. Maslova I. I. Sovetskoe gosudarstvo i Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkva: politika deterrentsii (1964-1984 gg.) [The Soviet State and the Russian Orthodox Church: a Policy of containment (1964-1984)]. Moscow, 2005; Maslova I. I. Sovet po delam religiy pri Sovet Ministerov SSSR i Russkaya pravoslavnaya tserkva (1965-1991 gg.) / / Rossiyskaya istoriya (Otechestvennaya istoriya). 2005. N 6. pp. 52-65.

7. Petrov S. V. Evangelical churches in the foreign policy vector of the religious policy of the USSR in 1941-1948 / / Schid. 2014. N 1 (127). pp. 160-165.

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machenko 8, I. V. Shkuratova 9, V. N. Yakunina 10. Some aspects of church trips were described in the publications of Yu. V. Danilets and V. V. Mishchalkin 11, N. I. Egorova 12, V. Zavatsky 13, I. V. Levchenko 14, M. I. Odintsovo 15, D. V. Pospelovsky 16. In generalizing ra-

8.Chumachenko T. A. Gosudarstvo, pravoslavnaya tserkva, veruyushchie [State, Orthodox Church, believers]. 1941-1961 Moscow, 1999. She's the same. Moscow Patriarchate in the movement of supporters of peace: 1949-1953 / / Izvestiya Cheliabinskogo nauchnogo tsentra UrO RAS. 2007. N 1. pp. 118-122; Chumachenko T. A. V rusle vneshnoi politiki sovetskogo gosudarstva: Moscow Patriarchate in the International Arena in 1943-1948 / / Bulletin of the Peoples ' Friendship University of Russia. Series: History of Russia. 2007. N 1 (7). pp. 89-99; Chumachenko T. A. "The Union of Churches of the socialist camp": The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the evolution of relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox churches of the countries of "people's democracy"in 1948-1953. Series: History of Russia. 2008. N 1 (11). pp. 67-81; Chumachenko T. A. Russkaya pravoslavnaya tserkva v mezhdunarodnom dvizhenii proponentov mira: interesy tserkvi i vlasti (1949-1953) [Russian Orthodox Church in the international movement of peace supporters: Interests of the Church and the authorities (1949-1953)]. Magistra Vitae: electronic journal on historical sciences and archeology. 2008. N 5. Pp. 93-95; Chumachenko T. A. The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate in Solving Foreign Policy Problems of the Khrushchev leadership: 1953-1958. Gosudarstvo, religiya, Tserkva v Rossii I za rubezhom [State, Religion, Church in Russia and Abroad]. 2010. N 4. pp. 107-123; Chumachenko T. A. In the context of the foreign policy of the Stalinist leadership: The Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchates of the Middle East. 1943-1953 // Magistra Vitae: electronic journal of historical sciences and archeology. 2014. N 22 (351). pp. 142-148; Chumachenko T. A. Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and Eastern patriarchates in the context of the evolution of the Middle East policy of the Soviet leadership. 1953-1964 years // Magistra Vitae: electronic journal on historical sciences and archeology. 2015. N 2 (357). pp. 117-122; Chumachenko T. A. Moscow Patriarchate in the foreign policy of the Soviet government. interests of the church. government interests. 1940s-first half of the 1960s / / Freedom of Conscience in Russia: historical and modern aspects. Vladivostok, 2015, pp. 209-222.

9. Shkuratov V. I. Soviet state, and foreign policy activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (1945 - 1961) Dis. on competition of a scientific degree of the candidate. Ist. nauk, Moscow, 2005

10. Yakunin V. N. External relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and expansion of its jurisdiction during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Samara, 2002; Yakunin V. N. Mezhdunarodnaya deyatel'nost ' Russkoy pravoslavnoi tserkvi v gody Velikoy Otechestvennoy voiny [International activity of the Russian Orthodox Church during the Great Patriotic War]. 2002. N 10. pp. 168-172.

11. Данилец Ю. В., Мищалкина В. В. Православна церква на Закарпатті в умовах становлення Радянської влади (1944-1950 рр.) // Русин. 2013. N 4. pp. 88-112.

12. Egorova N. I. Contribution of the peace Supporters movement to the anti-nuclear campaigns of the mid-1950s-early 1960s / / Electronic scientific and educational journal istoriya. 2005. N 2. P. 2.

13. Sawatsky, W. (1981) Soviet Evangelicals: Since World War II. Herald press.

14. Levchenko I. V. Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkva i gosudarstvo [Russian Orthodox Church and State]. manual for students. universities. Irkutsk, 2001.

15. Odintsovo M. I. Gosudarstvo i tserkva v Rossii: XX vek [State and Church in Russia: The twentieth century]. Moscow, 1994.

16. Pospelovsky D. V. Russkaya pravoslavnaya tserkva v XX V. Russkaya pravoslavnaya tserkva v XX V. Moscow, 1995.

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botah E. Gorsach 17, I. B. Orlova, A. D. Popova 18 contains an important analysis of the organizational and legal issues of traveling abroad, but the main attention of the authors was focused not on official, but on tourist trips. Despite the considerable historical background, the authors focused on the trips of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church during the "late Stalinism"and" Khrushchev decade". At the same time, the literature did not cover or analyze the organizational issues of traveling abroad and receiving foreign representatives; there is still no more or less accurate dynamics of the number of trips along religious lines. The history of external contacts of almost all non-Orthodox confessions has remained in the shadow of historiography. But the most important thing is that the vast majority of studies are based on the materials of the Council for Religious Affairs (CA RF. f. R-6991), much less on the sources of the archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Only a few publications use documents of the highest party bodies.

The key sources for this article are the documents of the Central Committee Staff in the broadest sense of the word - not only the departments and departments directly responsible for religious organizations, but also the Politburo (Presidium) and the Central Committee Secretariat. The most important documents for this article were travel plans and planned invitations, as well as reports on the results of events. Thanks to the official record file of the General Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, it was possible to establish the dynamics of the number of trips along religious lines. Unfortunately, not all sources are available to researchers today (so, for example, it was possible to study the dynamics of the number of trips to the USSR only before 1980). However, an analysis of the available documents allows us to better understand the political meaning that the Soviet leadership put into such international contacts.

Prior to World War II, international religious contacts in the RSFSR/USSR were virtually nonexistent. During the 1920s and 1930s, the party leaders only twice considered the following issues:-

17. Gorsuch, A. (20111) All this is Your World: Soviet Tourist at Home and Abroad after Stalin. N.Y.

18. Orlov I. B., Popov A.D. Through the "iron Curtain". Russo turisto: Soviet outbound tourism, 1955-1991. Moscow, 2016.

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The issue of sending the clergy abroad was discussed 19. But in both cases, the trips did not take place. Before the war, not a single decree was passed on the official invitation of foreign religious figures. Religious trips can only be attributed to visits made by representatives of the Congress of the International Proletarian Free-Thinkers and the Council of the Union of Godless People. During the second half of the 1920s and the first half of the 1930s, "godless people" regularly traveled abroad and came to the USSR.

During the war years, the atheist onslaught largely weakened, and a gradual revival of church structures began in Soviet society. It was at this time that the first official church visit to the USSR took place. It was initiated by Metropolitan Mykola (Yarushevich) of Kiev and Galicia. In September 1942, while being evacuated to Kuibyshev, he met with Buckley, an assistant to the British ambassador, and offered to exchange delegations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church. It is not known whether this was an impromptu act of the Metropolitan or whether the proposals prepared by Moscow were behind it. But already in March 1943, the British Ambassador A. K. Carr sent a note to V. M. Molotov with a request to receive a delegation of the Anglican Church in the USSR. Six months later, in September, a small group of representatives of the Anglican Church, led by Archbishop S. F. Habert of York, visited Moscow. The Orthodox Church was represented at the meeting by Metropolitan Nicholas. This trip had an extremely important foreign policy significance. The fact of the arrival of the Anglican delegation in Moscow was highlighted in a short article in the Izvestia newspaper-an unprecedented event for that time.20
Later, the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church (SDRC), established in September 1943, and the Council for Religious Affairs were responsible for church diplomacy.

19. This issue was first considered at a meeting of the Politburo on September 29, 1921. Then the head of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and part-time chairman of the Central Committee of Pomgol, Mikhail Kalinin, announced the need to send representatives of the Soviet clergy to the London Congress of clergy. The second time the issue of travel was considered ten years later. At the beginning of 1931, the chairman of the permanent Commission on cults at the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, P. G. Smidovich, sent a memo to I. V. Stalin, in which he proposed sending Orthodox delegations to London to participate in the work of the "Dogmatic Commission" in October 1931 and to a Pan-Orthodox meeting on Mount Athos in June 1932.

20. Izvestiya. 21.09.1943 N 223.

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However, the normative documents of these Councils did not contain any legal norms regulating the foreign policy activities of church organizations.21 Already in 1946, the head of the SDRPC, G. G. Karpov, drew attention to this circumstance. In a memo addressed to J. V. Stalin, he wrote::

Almost three years of experience of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR has shown that its role, functions and scope of work have significantly exceeded the limits provided for in the Regulations on the Council. If in the first period the Council's activities were mainly focused on the organizational structure of the Russian Orthodox Church, the expansion of its church-patriotic activities among the faithful and the normalization of relations between the church and the state, then in the subsequent period and, especially, after the end of the Great Patriotic War, the Council's main attention was focused on foreign policy work, which spheres of activity and influence of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad and strengthening its authority and ties with other autocephalous Orthodox churches of the world 22.

According to Karpov, it was necessary to strengthen the "use of the Orthodox Church in the political interests of the Soviet Union" 23. Foreign trips and invitations to the USSR through the Moscow Patriarchate were to become an effective tool for exposing the "slanderous fabrications about the situation of both religion and the church in the USSR" spread in the West24, as well as to strengthen the Soviet foreign policy expansion in Eastern Europe. Karpov suggested identifying the following foreign policy areas of the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) ' s work: to exert influence

21. Most often, religious foreign policy events were formed in a regulatory and administrative manner. For example, in the spring of 1945, on the instructions of V. M. Molotov, the SDRC developed a whole complex of foreign policy measures of the Russian Orthodox Church (see: Power and the Church in Eastern Europe. 1939-1958 / edited by G. P. Murashko, M. I. Odintsovo. Moscow, 2003, pp. 308-311).

22. Russian State Archive of Modern History (RGANI). F. 3. Op. 60. D. 1. L. 17.

23. Ibid., l. 18.

24. Ibid., l. 17.

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the Ecumenical movement (mainly the Anglican Church, Methodist and Baptist organizations in the United States), to oppose the Vatican's policy in the international arena (first of all, to fight uniatism), to strengthen work with the Evangelical Church of Germany (ECD) and, finally, to overcome the "Karlovac schism" 25.

After the Meeting of the heads and Representatives of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches in connection with the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow in July 1948, the foreign policy vectors of the MP shifted again. Now the main enemies of the Moscow Patriarch are not only the Vatican, but also representatives of the ecumenical movement represented by the World Union of Churches (WCC). Even more clearly, Karpov outlined the new foreign policy vectors of the MP in a memo compiled for Stalin following the meeting.:

Taking into account the positive performance of the assigned tasks by representatives of the Church who traveled abroad in the period 1945-1948, and without overestimating the role and significance of the church, the Council considers that there are opportunities to make greater use of the church's activities abroad in the public interest. First of all, it is necessary to maintain, consolidate and actually implement a complete separation from the West of the Orthodox churches in the countries of popular democracy, ensuring their support for the line of the Russian Church26.

In Khrushchev's time, the first document that outlined new trends in church diplomacy was a 1955 note from the Prelate of the Church.-

25. "Karlovac schism" - the consequences of the decisions taken at the Council of Karlovac in 1921 (the Council of Bishops in Sremski Karlovica of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). The council adopted the text of the appeal "To the children of the Russian Orthodox Church, who exist in dispersion and exile" on the need to restore the monarchy and the reigning House of Romanov in Russia, and a message to the international peace conference in Genoa calling on them not to recognize the Bolshevik government. Patriarch Tikhon, the Synod and the Supreme Church Council adopted a resolution condemning the decisions taken at the council, and declared the Supreme Church Administration Abroad (ECUML) abolished. Foreign bishops considered that Patriarch Tikhon's decisions were dictated by pressure from the Bolsheviks and refused to immediately liquidate the Ecumenical Church (see: Higher Church Administration Abroad // Orthodox Encyclopedia, vol. 10, pp. 106-108).

26. Chumachenko T. A. "The Union of Churches of the Socialist Camp": The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the evolution of relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Churches of the countries of "people's democracy" in 1948-1953. pp. 68-69.

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Chairman of the Information Committee under the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A. A. Gromyko 27. In it, the future Foreign Minister proposed that the Moscow Patriarchate not only resume relations with the ecumenical movement, but also become a full-fledged member of the WCC. After this note, approved by the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, the dialogue between the MP and the WCC actually began. In 1956, the WCC leadership informed Metropolitan Nicholas of the unanimous decision to accept the Russian Orthodox Church as a member of the organization.28 In another important document, a 1958 note by the Chairman of the SDRK, A. A. Luzin, it was proposed to significantly increase the number of foreign trips of Muslim clergy in order to strengthen Soviet influence in the countries of the East. On the basis of this note, the resolution of the Central Committee Commission on Culture, Ideology and International Party Relations "On expanding the relations of religious organizations of the USSR with religious figures and organizations of the countries of the Near and Middle East"was adopted. The spiritual directorates of Soviet Muslims were now allowed not only to invite representatives of Arab countries more often, but also to participate more actively in international Islamic events. Later, the All-Union Council of Evangelical Baptist Christians (VSEKHB), the Estonian and Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Churches were given the right to more actively engage in foreign policy activities.

Finally, another document that determined the development of the foreign policy activities of religious organizations of the Khrushchev era was the 1960 KGB note. The document proposed to strengthen the ideological struggle with the Vatican, as the Papal See, according to the Committee's leaders, "keeps Western diplomacy in the cold war position by all means and prevents the easing of tensions in international relations." 29 In order to undermine the authority of the Vatican, it was proposed to strengthen the role and importance of the Prague Christian Peace Movement by involving the Anglican Church in its work. and the Evangelical Lutheran Church, to improve relations with the Ecumenical, Alexandrian and Jerusalem Patriarchs, as well as to promote in every possible way the holding of the Holy Synod of Churches in various regions of the world.

27. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 29. L. 44.

28. Chumachenko T. A. The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate in solving the foreign policy tasks of the Khrushchev leadership: 1953-1958. p. 114.

29. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 29. L. 44.

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meetings and conferences of religious associations, which would simultaneously address issues of peace and friendship between peoples and form anti-Vatican sentiments. The KGB memo became the basis for the top-secret resolution of the Central Committee Presidium (it was given the "special folder" stamp) "On strengthening work against the Vatican and expanding the external activities of the religious centers of the USSR in the struggle for peace", which reflected all the Committee's proposals.

Brezhnev's first initiative was the resolution of the Central Committee Secretariat" On the development of relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Churches of Africa", adopted in May 1965. After the merger of the Soviets into the Unified Council for Religious Affairs (SDR) at the end of 1965, the legal status of the new body finally established its leading role in organizing the external activities of church organizations. Beginning in 1967, the Council began to form and approve plans for religious visits and invitations in the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU.30 Now the Central Committee separately approved only unscheduled trips, the number of which was insignificant. This practice continued until 1990. Since 1990, the Central Committee of the CPSU has stopped regulating all foreign trips and visits to the USSR.

Directly in the Central Committee, issues related to religious trips were considered and approved at meetings of the Central Committee Secretariat and / or the Politburo (Presidium) of the Central Committee. Since 1959, the Central Committee's Commissions on Culture, Ideology, and International Party Relations, headed by Mikhail Suslov, have regulated travel issues. After its abolition in 1962 and until 1990, all resolutions were approved by the Central Committee Secretariat (with the exception of certain cases, such as trips to the USSR in 1983-1984 by the American evangelical preacher Billy Graham, which were authorized by the Politburo).

Before getting to the table of Politburo members or Central Committee secretaries, documents about trips abroad or invitations to the USSR underwent a lengthy approval procedure 31.-

30.The first plan of trips abroad and invitations to the USSR on religious grounds was approved under Stalin. In 1949, the Politburo approved a plan for 1950. However, the record-keeping innovation did not take root, and travel planning stopped in 1951.

31. In 1959, the leaders of the SDRC and SDRC sent a proposal to the Central Committee to develop uniform principles for inviting and sending clergy abroad. However, the CC Secretariat did not approve the project.

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Initially, all invitations to the USSR came from religious organizations, the Soviet Peace Committee, or Soviet friendship societies. But the initiative note to the Central Committee (usually already with the draft resolution of the Central Committee) was sent by the head of the SDRC, SDRC or SDR. After receiving the documents, employees of the Special Sector (in December 1952 - March 1953, the Office of the Presidium of the Central Committee, from March 1953 to August 1991 - the General Department of the Central Committee) forwarded them to several addresses. In 1944-1947, the materials were sent to the Commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) on trips abroad, from 1947 to 1949-to the Bureau for Trips Abroad and Entries to the USSR under the Committee of Information under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, whose work was directly supervised by L. P. Beria, who was a candidate for membership in those years (since 1946). - Member of the Politburo and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The edits and recommendations of L. P. Beria and I. V. Stalin are most often found in the accompanying notes and draft resolutions prepared by the chairmen of the Soviets, G. G. Karpov and I. V. Polyansky.

Beginning in 1949, all church contacts abroad, along with the newly established Commission on Trips Abroad of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b)/CPSU32, were regulated by the Foreign Policy Commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) (from October 1952 to March 1953 - the Commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU for Relations with Foreign Communist Parties) headed by V. G. Grigoryan. V. M. Molotov supervised the commission's activities from 1949 to 1953. At the same time, V. G. Grigoryan coordinated certain issues of religious trips abroad with K. E. Voroshilov. After the death of J. V. Stalin, the Commission was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the Central Committee's Department for Relations with Foreign Communist Parties. In February 1957. The department was divided into the International Department for Relations with the Communist Parties of Capitalist Countries (since 1971 - the International Department) and the Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU for Relations with the Communist and Workers ' Parties of Socialist Countries. Directly these two structural divisions regulated all church trips and visits-

32. In December 1962, the Commission was abolished and its functions were transferred to the Personnel Department of the Diplomatic and Foreign Economic Bodies of the Central Committee of the CPSU (since May 1965 - the Foreign Personnel Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU). In January 1967, on the basis of the Foreign Travel Section of the Department, the Commission for Foreign Travel under the Central Committee of the CPSU was re-formed. In March 1973 The Department and the Commission were merged into one structural division-the Department for Work with Foreign Personnel and Trips Abroad. This structure lasted until 1990.

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you're in the USSR. Additionally, in the Central Committee, the issue of travel could be considered in the Department of Administrative Bodies, the Department of Agitation and Propaganda, the Information Department, but the final word remained with the International Department and the Department for Social Countries.

In addition to the Central Committee, the issue of travel was necessarily coordinated with the Foreign Ministry. Since the 1950s, along with the departments of the Ministry, the ambassador of the country where the delegation was sent or from where it came from presented his opinion on certain issues. In very rare cases, the SDRC or SDRC (SDRC) invited religious leaders to receive additional information and personal opinions from them. Some documents reflect all the bureaucratic twists and turns of preparing church trips. For example, in 1955, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church took part in coordinating a trip to the Rhineland.: Department of the Central Committee for Relations with Foreign Communist Parties, the German Foreign Ministry sector, the Soviet Embassy in the GDR and Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich).

Another key authority that made decisions about church travel was the State security agencies. In the period of late Stalinism, the opinion of these organs was crucial. For example, in 1948, the leadership of the SDRK approved a trip of Soviet rabbis to Poland to participate in mourning events for the five-year anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. However, the MGB leadership opposed the trip, and it was postponed. 33 In 1952, the Foreign Ministry and the Foreign Policy Commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) insisted that the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Land of Hesse, Pastor M. Niemeller, could get acquainted with the life of German and Austrian prisoners of war and internees during a trip to the Soviet Union. This was opposed by the leadership of the MGB, since, according to the chekists, prisoners of war could say unpleasant things about the USSR.34 The Politburo of the Central Committee listened to this opinion and recommended protecting the German pastor from additional contacts.

Representatives of religious organizations traveled abroad most often as part of delegations. Church hierarchs were accompanied by NKGB (MGB) and later KGB officers under the guise of assistants, translators, and security guards. Their main task was to protect Soviet religious figures, as some of them were still working on the issue of religious freedom.-

33. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 27. L. 165.

34. Ibid., l. 128.

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the riders were a real danger to life. Thus, during Patriarch Alexy's stay in Syria in 1945, armed clashes between the Syrian rebels and the French occupation forces suddenly unfolded, and only thanks to the coordinated work of the NKGB officers were the Patriarch and his entourage safely removed from the conflict zone. But along with security, the special services collected information about the host country, and most importantly, they carefully monitored what Soviet church leaders said and to whom. After Stalin's death, religious figures were released unaccompanied for a short period of time (until about the mid-1950s). When A.V. Karev, the secretary of the ALLHB, went to Norway alone in 1954, local religious leaders were surprised that he did not have a "spy translator"with him. Norwegians considered this a sign of political change in the USSR.35 But after the creation of the KGB, escorted trips resumed.

Who was released abroad? Proven religious figures, whose loyalty to the Soviet government was beyond doubt. As a rule, these were church administrators - either direct leaders of churches (patriarchs, leaders of ALL religions and evangelists, heads of spiritual departments of Muslims and Buddhists, etc.), or persons responsible for external relations. In the Russian Orthodox Church - Patriarchs Alexy and Pimen, Metropolitans Nikolai (Yarushevich), Nikodim (Rotov), Alexy (Ridiger); in the All-Russian Orthodox Church-Chairman of the Council Ya. I. Zhidkov, Secretary of the Council A.V. Karev; in the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Latvia and Estonia-Archbishops Ya. Ya. Kiivit and G. G. Tur; among Muslims - Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan Mufti 3. Babakhanov.

Loyalty to the Soviet government was an important but not always decisive criterion in the selection process. No less important were diplomatic skills, and most importantly-oratorical qualities. This was especially true for church trips of the military and the first post-war years. Metropolitan Nicholas (Yarushevich) was an outstanding diplomat and public speaker. He freely communicated with representatives of the Western world, as well as with the leaders of Eastern Orthodox Churches. His sermons had a great influence on Russian emigrants in France, England, and Finland. G. G. Karpov in reports to Stalin about the trips of Metropolitan Nicholas

35. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 28. L. 120.

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In Western Europe, he reported that he was enthusiastically received in London by Princes Golitsyn and Obolensky, in Paris by Grand Duke Andrey Vladimirovich, Prince P. A. Obolensky, and a number of Russian professors. His sermons were repeatedly interrupted by exclamations: "take us with you to your homeland, "" kiss your native land," and "bow down to the ground to the Russian people." 36 So Karpov described the atmosphere in one of the London Orthodox churches during the sermon of the Metropolitan.: "Metropolitan Nicholas' speech made a great impression on those present in the church, they listened eagerly, many wept; as they left the church, they shared their impressions, hugged and congratulated each other on Easter; they said that what they said was a revelation for many of them. " 37 Metropolitan Nicholas was allowed to travel to Western countries, especially in the eastern part of the world. in Stalin's time, it was closed even to Patriarch Alexy.

Visits of foreign religious figures to the USSR were regulated even more carefully than trips abroad. Before issuing a permit to enter the Soviet Union, a detailed questionnaire was drawn up for the future guest, which described political views, essays and individual statements. Especially carefully collected and studied data on Muslims from Arab countries and Christian figures from Western Europe and America. For decades, the same proven church leaders - "friends of the Soviet regime" - came to the USSR.

The program of stay of foreign guests in the USSR was carefully developed. In addition to inter-church communication (holding joint worship services) and demonstrating religious objects, the guests were shown the secular achievements of the Soviet Union. Thus, the delegation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which visited the USSR for the first time, demonstrated the Historical Museum, the Museum of serfs ' Creativity in Ostankino, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Moscow Metro and the Moscow River Station, and also showed the play "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" at the Moscow Art Theater 38. Someone-

36. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 27. L. 111.

37. Ibid., l. 101.

38. Ibid. d. 30. L. 22. The tradition of showing religious guests the Soviet theater was formed during the first trips. Konnonnik F. House, who took part in a meeting of representatives of the Anglican Church with the leaders of the MP in 1943, recalled that in the evening after official negotiations, the British delegation was invited to the opera "Eugene Onegin" (see: House, F. (1983) "A war-time

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In addition to Moscow, Russian delegations traveled to Leningrad, Kiev, Kazan, and Tbilisi. Sometimes foreign visitors themselves expressed a desire to visit secular sites. For example, during the visit of Serbian Patriarch Vikenty to the USSR in 1956, members of his delegation addressed G. G. Karpov with the following request: "We also have a lot of churches, we want to see 1-2 factories, hospitals and children's institutions, a state farm, a collective farm and your culture in Leningrad, Kiev and Moscow" 39. In return, they promised to show the Moscow Patriarch a hydroelectric power station, a shipping yard and 5-6 factories. Sometimes official dinners and receptions were held in honor of foreign delegations in the Council of Ministers or the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

During these visits, gifts were exchanged. For example, during his visit to the USSR in 1951, the Patriarch of Antioch was presented with a Palekh casket with a view of the Kremlin and a silver liquor device, and during his trip in 1954, the First Hierarch of Antioch received a gift from the Moscow Patriarch for Angel's Day - a casket with 10 thousand 40 dollars. The value of the gifts depended on the" value " of the guest. In 1956. The Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee decided to give gifts of up to 2,000 rubles to the Secretary of the Commission for Religious Affairs of Yugoslavia, M. Dilparic, and his family members, with the wording "taking into account the special nature of relations with Yugoslavia" 41, while Serbian Patriarch Vikenty, who formally headed the Yugoslav delegation, received "only" a golden panagia. In 1956, Metropolitan Elijah of Beirut (Salibi), as one of the likely candidates for the post of Patriarch of Antioch, was not only given a dinner party, but also presented with 15 thousand dollars in Lebanese currency as a gift.42 Some guests brought gifts with them. For example, in 1951, the Patriarch of Antioch presented G. G. Karpov with a camel-hair robe and a handmade napkin, 43 and in 1954, the Patriarch of Antioch presented him with a camel-hair robe and a handmade napkin.

visit to the Russian Church", Sobornost (incorporating Eastern Churches Review 5(2): 54).

39. Ibid., l. 102.

40. Ibid., l. 38.

41. Ibid., l. 102.

42. Chumachenko T. A. The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate in solving the foreign policy tasks of the Khrushchev leadership: 1953-1958. p. 111.

43. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 30. L. 103.

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G. The chairman of the SDRC was awarded the Order of the Apostles Peter and Paul , the highest award of the Church of Antioch.

The dynamics of the number of trips of religious figures and the corresponding geography allow us to conclude that representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church (an average of 20 trips per year), the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Latvia and Estonia (an average of up to 6 trips per year), the All-Orthodox Church (an average of 5 trips per year) and the Armenian Orthodox Church went abroad most often apostolic Church (an average of 4 trips per year). The Russian Orthodox Church was also a "record holder" for another indicator: it was the only denomination whose representatives traveled abroad annually throughout the Cold War. But the absolute "outsiders" in terms of foreign travel were representatives of Jewish organizations. Not only did the Central Committee Secretariat twice (in 1948 and 1959) pass a decree prohibiting the departure of Moscow rabbis abroad, but only once in 40 years (in 1957) Soviet Jews were allowed to attend a foreign event.

In general, we can suggest the following periodization of trips of Soviet religious figures abroad. The first period (1945-1953) falls at the time of "late Stalinism". At this time, only representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church were sent abroad. The geography of trips also did not differ in breadth. So, if in 1945-1946 representatives of religious organizations in the USSR still made trips to Western countries (England, USA, France), then since 1947 this practice has come to naught. The main destinations were the countries of Eastern Europe. The second period (1953/1954 - the end of the 1950s) occurred during the first Khrushchev years, when there was a noticeable increase in the number of denominations whose representatives were allowed to travel abroad. Under N. S. Khrushchev, representatives of a non-Christian denomination were sent abroad for the first time. But the geography of the host countries has not expanded much. They mostly traveled to Eastern and Western Europe and the United States. The third period (the 1960s) marked a significant expansion of travel geography. Soviet religious leaders "discovered" Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The number of trips has increased significantly. The fourth period (1970-ies) occurred during the "detente" and marked a quantitative increase in travel. For example, only 36 to 48 ROC delegations traveled annually at this time. The fourth period (1980-1985) was marked by a new escalation of relations with the West. Number of trips taken by the sni-

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As the situation worsened, religious figures began to travel less to Western Europe and the United States.

Foreign religious figures most often came to the USSR from the Anglican Church, the Patriarchate of Antioch, the World Baptist Union, the Romanian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, the Muslims of Syria, the World Council of Churches, as well as heads of the Secretariat (Department) for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the Czechoslovak SSR. Unlike departures from the USSR, it is almost impossible to deduce a single periodization for trips to the USSR. However, it is obvious that after Stalin's death, the number of trips to the USSR along religious lines increased significantly.

The goals of trips abroad and visits to the USSR were diverse, and the religious component in them was far from the only one. An important goal was to promote the Soviet foreign policy course. Depending on the prevalence of political goals, there are several types of official religious trips abroad: diplomatic, recreational, functional - religious, educational, and pilgrimage. The same types of trips to the USSR by foreign religious figures can be distinguished. An exception is the absence of a pilgrimage type among official trips to the Soviet Union. If pilgrimages were made in the USSR, they were made privately. We have identified only one case, when in 1969 the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU approved an invitation for a pilgrimage group of Catholic emigrants-Latvians.

The diplomatic type of official religious travel was the most common. Often such trips were quite secular in content. For example, during a trip in 1952, ECD Pastor M. Niemeller tried to solve the problems of German and Austrian prisoners of war and internees, 44 and in 1954, Archbishop Lukos of Nigeria held talks with the Soviet foreign ministries about the formation of trade relations between the USSR and Nigeria (at that time still an English colony). The Archbishop managed to negotiate the supply of African agricultural products (rubber, coffee, black pepper, ginger, groundnut, cow skins, cocoa butter, etc.) to the Soviet market in exchange for the purchase of Soviet industrial goods (cars and trucks, folding beds,

44. Ibid., l. 128.

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men's and women's underwear, typewriters, medicines, glassware, etc.) 45. He even created a firm for trade with the USSR, bypassing England, with offices in London and Amsterdam.

During the diplomatic trips, meetings and negotiations were held at the highest political level. This practice developed during the very first trips abroad. For example, during his first trip to England in 1945, Metropolitan Nicholas met with King George, members of Parliament, and Churchill's wife. During his Middle East tour in 1945, Patriarch Alexy met with King Farouk of Egypt, Crown Prince Paul of Greece, Prince Peter of Greece, the Presidents of the Lebanese and Syrian Republics, as well as a number of political and public figures. In Egypt, the Patriarch held a conversation with former Greek Prime Minister S. Venizelos. The latter suggested that the patriarch act as a mediator for the normalization of relations between the USSR and Greece.46
Under Stalin, foreign religious leaders who wanted to meet with Soviet officials could only expect to communicate with the chairmen of the SDRC or SDRC. The situation changed under Khrushchev, when the practice of negotiating with foreign church leaders of the highest Soviet state and party leaders appeared. The first such meeting was held between Serbian Patriarch Vikentiy and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR ON. Bulganin, held in 1956 47. Its background is remarkable. During the preparation of the trip to the USSR, the secretary of the Commission for Religious Affairs at the Union Executive Veche, M. Dilparich, in a conversation with G. G. Karpov, asked which of the officials would receive Patriarch Vikenty. Hearing that only Karpov himself was present, Dilparich said: "We have just received the Greek Archbishop Dorotheos, and he was received by Tito, Rankovich and others. Will the government accept our delegation?"48. After this conversation, Karpov sent an initiative note to the Central Committee stating that-

45. Ibid. d. 31. L. 24.

46. Ibid. d. 27. l. 102-102ob.

47. Chumachenko T. A. The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate in solving the foreign policy tasks of the Khrushchev leadership: 1953-1958. p. 109.

48. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 30. L. 101.

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he lived to see the patriarch met by one of the Soviet leaders. On the basis of this note, the Presidium of the Central Committee adopted a resolution on the meeting of N. A. Bulganin with Viktor. Later, the chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the USSR met with the leaders of the churches.

Recreational trips were similar in nature, goals, and tasks to the diplomatic type, but, unlike diplomatic ones, they were used to solve the most sensitive tasks that were not subject to wide publicity. For example, in 1951, S. K. Belyshev, the first deputy of the SDRC, left for Czechoslovakia to finally suppress the Uniates and work out additional measures for the creation of the Czechoslovak autocephalous Orthodox Church. The trip was given the status of a private one, allegedly made for the treatment of Belyshev in Karlovy Vary Bars.49 The primate of the Church of Antioch regularly visited the Moscow Patriarch at his residence near Odessa. 50 Alexander III himself once described his trips to the USSR for medical treatment: "Having 82 years of age, I do not need any rest or special treatment, but I had to put treatment and a long rest as an excuse in order to obtain the consent of its Synod to travel to the USSR " 51. The first visit of the Patriarch of Antioch took place in 1951 and was complicated by a minor diplomatic scandal. Along with the Soviet Union, the patriarch was invited to Brazil by rich Orthodox Arabs. G. G. Karpov and the MGB officers believed that the British special services were behind this invitation. The Soviet mission in Lebanon had to put a lot of effort into getting Alexander III to go to the USSR instead of to Brazil.52
Functional-religious trips were the second most common. These included trips related to the performance of liturgical rites (such as enthronement, consecration of churches, burial). For example, since the mid-1950s, the residence of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians in Etchmiadzin was regularly visited by representatives of foreign churches.

49. Chumachenko T. A. "The Union of Churches of the Socialist Camp": The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the evolution of relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Churches of the "people's democracy" countries in 1948-1953.

50. Since 1957, he has even been given a personal dacha in Sochi with special treatment and services.

51. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 27. L. 102.

52. Ibid., l. 77.

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parishes of the Armenian Church to participate in the rite of World illumination. As a rule, worldview was performed every seven years. At the same time, the Council of Bishops of the Armenian Church was held, where decisions were considered and made on the most important issues. For example, in 1954, during such a council, the new constitution of the Armenian Apostolic Church was considered and approved.53
A special category was made up of those who went on permanent or temporary service in foreign countries. Most of them were priests of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Church, as well as Orthodox monks who went to the monasteries of Mount Athos and Palestine. The priests were carefully selected and consulted with the Ambassador's advisers and the cultural and religious affairs attache of the country to which they were sent. For example, Soviet diplomats in Syria advised sending to Beirut an archimandrite who speaks French and "has the conditions to maintain the prestige of the Russian Church", that is, he had to be provided with a car, expensive vestments, and spacious and rich housing. 54 Until the late 1950s, the Russian Orthodox Church sent priests and their families to Europe and the Middle East for five or more years. Since the early 1960s, for financial reasons, the Moscow Patriarchate has been sending mainly priests-monks to serve. As a rule, individual clergymen traveled abroad, but there were exceptions. For example, in 1956, 25 Orthodox priests were sent to Czechoslovakia simultaneously to serve in Orthodox parishes in Slovakia and counter the activities of Uniates.

Foreign religious figures rarely came to the Soviet Union to conduct divine services. Most often, Orthodox priests-emigrants came and moved to the USSR. The most numerous move took place in 1957, when after the transfer of the Novo-Valaam Transfiguration Monastery to the Finnish Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union, about 100 monks moved to the Assumption Pskov-Pechersk Monastery. All such moves were accompanied by the mandatory adoption of the Soviet gra-

53. Ibid. d. 20. l. 1.

54. Ibid. d. 28. l. 57.

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zhdanstvo 55. It is noteworthy that up to the end of the 1950s, even short-term visits of foreign religious figures were registered in the Central Committee. For example, when Bishop Ernst Ingle arrived at the British Embassy in December 1950 to conduct a Christmas service, the Politburo was immediately informed of this fact.

Educational trips were more rare compared to diplomatic and functional-religious ones. These included study trips, field trips for lectures and scientific seminars. Among Soviet religious organizations, representatives of Muslim organizations were most often sent to study abroad - to the Academy of Islam in Cairo (1954, 1959); representatives of ALL Religions - to the London Baptist College (1956, 1967); representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Latvia and Estonia were received by the Theological faculty of the University of Oxford (1958, 1959 Since 1966, the Moscow Patriarchate has annually sent future clergy to study at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossa (a religious educational institution of the World Council of Churches). In 1969, the Secretariat of the Central Committee adopted a decree according to which 22 people were sent to study annually - from the Russian Orthodox Church, the All-Orthodox Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Latvia and Estonia, and the spiritual administrations of Muslims and Buddhists. In the USSR, representatives of the Orthodox Church of Antioch and the ancient Eastern (Dohal Kidon) churches came to study at the Moscow Theological Seminary and Academy.

Finally, pilgrimage-type trips were the most rare. The first pilgrimage trip approved by the Central Committee took place in 1953. It was the Muslim hajj on the Eid al-Adha holiday to Mecca and Medina. 56 In the following years, such trips became annual, and since 1968, Shiite Muslims began to travel to Mashhad, Iran, for mourning events every year. Orthodox pilgrims were allowed to travel abroad only in 1964. Initially, the only place of pilgrimage was Mount Athos, but since 1970, the Orthodox were allowed to visit Rome. Only since 1975, the Moscow Patriarchate has received the right to travel abroad.-

55. We also do not consider the relocation of Doukhobors from Canada to the USSR, which began in 1958, as trips.

56. Akhmadulin V. A. The Hajj of Soviet Muslims in 1953-1955, pp. 89-91.

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the ability to send pilgrims to Jerusalem and other holy sites in Palestine.

Unremarkable pilgrimage trips sometimes played a very important political role. For example, based on data obtained during pilgrimage trips to Mecca and Medina, the head of the SDRC, A. A. Puzin, compiled a note containing proposals for increasing the number of foreign trips of Muslim clergy and strengthening Soviet influence in the countries of the East. But, perhaps, of all the pilgrimages, it is worth highlighting the trip of a group of Soviet Catholics to Italy in 1957. This ordinary event was filled with important political content. In connection with the trip, the Presidium of the Central Committee even adopted a resolution "On sending groups of Catholic believers from among the citizens of the USSR to Italy"57. The purpose of the trip was to expand contacts with the Vatican, but it was given an informal, private status. Therefore, its registration took place not through the SDRC, but through the VAO Intourist. All participants of the trip were instructed on how to behave abroad. They were allowed to talk to Catholics in Italy only about the peace-loving policy of the USSR. They could respond positively to the message of Pope Pius XII, in which he condemned war and the use of weapons of mass destruction, but when asked about the normalization of relations between the USSR and the Vatican, the members of the group had to answer that they were only tourists, although they believe that this is possible under certain conditions.

Representatives of various churches who participated in religious trips abroad fulfilled the country's political order. We can distinguish at least three key tasks of a political nature, namely: propaganda or image - building, information and recruitment.

Forming an attractive image of the USSR was the basis of the image task. The objects that needed to be influenced changed depending on the purpose of the trip and the directions of Soviet foreign policy. For example, in the first post-war years, the Soviet Orthodox clergy paid special attention to the indoctrination of Russian emigration. G. G. Karpov in one of the reports of the SDRC reported that it was the Russian clergy who played a prominent role in the mass adoption of Soviet citizens by former emigrants-

57. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 29. L. 49.

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It's a good idea. At the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, the number and geography of trips made by representatives of the All-Russian Medical Academy significantly increased. These trips were designed to form a "correct understanding" in the world Baptist movement of the actions of the Soviet authorities in connection with the actual defeat of the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists. Since the early 1980s, many more Muslims have been traveling abroad, which was directly related to the war in Afghanistan.

Trips to the USSR helped strengthen the authority of foreign church leaders. The Patriarch of Antioch has repeatedly stressed that each of his trips to the Soviet Union raised his prestige not only in the eyes of his flock, but also among the local Arab population. Visits by Soviet church delegations at the invitation of foreign churches to a particular country can also be considered as one of the ways to strengthen the authority of the church. Thus, after the first trip of the Orthodox delegation to England in 1945, G. G. Karpov reported on the Anglican Church:

The current mood among the leaders of the Anglican Church: the solemnity and exceptional cordiality of the reception given to the Russian church delegation, the complete absence of any hint of any patronizing attitude towards the Russian Church on the part of the leaders of the Anglican Church in conversations with the delegation, to some extent indicate that now the Archbishop of Canterbury is looking for support for himself and the Russian church and wants to strengthen the influence of the Anglican Church in his homeland through friendship with the Russian Church 58.

Similarly, in 1955, the Soviet authorities interpreted the request of the Evangelical Church of West Germany to send a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to them. The leadership of the Central Committee's Department for Relations with Foreign Communist Parties considered the trip of "a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to West Germany appropriate, since it will help strengthen the position of the evangelical Church in the struggle against the remilitarization of West Germany and against the schism of Germany."59
58. Ibid. d. 27. l. 99.

59. Ibid. d. 28. l. 132.

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The information task included collecting a wide variety of data not only on religious structures, but also on the host country as a whole, as well as on the political, economic, and social situation. These data were usually already summarized in reports and reports on the results of trips. Thus, in one of the first reports of the SDRC (based on the results of Patriarch Alexy's trip to the Middle East), it was reported: "While getting acquainted with the church situation in the Middle East, Patriarch Alexy and his entourage were able to notice that the British are interested in the affairs of the Orthodox Church in the Middle East and a number of church leaders of Orthodox churches are60. But information about the leaders of churches and religious structures in foreign countries should be especially valuable. Here is just a small fragment from the report of 1950, compiled following the results of the Orthodox delegation's trip to the Middle East, which presents brief but rather capacious characteristics of the leaders of the Church of Antioch:

Metropolitan Athanasius (Arab), who once graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy, is described by the head of the delegation, Metropolitan Gregory, and Protopresbyter N. F. Kolchinsky, as a devotee of the Russian Church. However, Archbishop Hermogenes states that Metropolitan Athanasius "is unlikely to fight for us" [ ... ] Metropolitan Ilya Karam (Arab) is described by the delegation as a zealous supporter of the Russian Church, but is in contact with Catholics and opponents of the Moscow Patriarchate, and when the delegation gave him a strict suggestion, he began to justify these ties with his family "Metropolitan of Theodosius (Arab) is characterized as an intellectual and highly educated person who hesitates between supporters and opponents of the Russian Church [ ... ] Metropolitan of Beirut Ilya Selibe (Arab) is known as a large proprietor, unscrupulous in actions, has great connections in government circles, and who is called an American intelligence officer [... Metropolitan Ignatius of Hamas (Arab)and Elijah Maun of Aleppo (Arab) have been in America for a long time and are ardent opponents of the Russian Church. 61
60. Ibid. d. 27. L. 99.

61. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 28. L. 55.

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We have only indirect sources at our disposal that indicate that representatives of foreign church structures, while in the USSR, were engaged in collecting information. As a rule, these are information notes from Soviet embassies about conversations that were distributed among church leaders after trips to the USSR, as well as written responses from members of delegations. These documents described the positive or even enthusiastic impression that the trip to the USSR made on foreigners. For example, the head of the Bulgarian Church, Metropolitan Stefan, after a Meeting of the heads and representatives of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches in Moscow in 1948 and a trip to Georgia, shared with his closest associates such plans: "I had the idea to write a book about Stalin there, in Georgia. I've been thinking about this for the last two days, and I'll write to you as soon as possible. The theme of this book is: Stalin is truly a genius and a light of all peoples who seek truth, peace, and genuine brotherly mutual love. Oh, that's a great idea! " 62. For the entire period under review, we identified only one negative review recorded in Soviet documents. After the 1948 Moscow Conference, Metropolitan Joseph of Skopje (Serbian Church) declared that all the secular sights of post-war Moscow were built on the blood and suffering of the people.63
Recruitment or cooperation of foreign religious figures was one of the most important tasks of the trips. We solved it in different ways: both through simple negotiations and through financial instruments. In the first post-war years, the Moscow Patriarchate provided financial assistance to virtually all Eastern European autocephalous Orthodox churches and Eastern patriarchs. The amount of necessary aid was negotiated during such two-way trips, and sometimes Soviet religious leaders brought money with them. For example, in 1945, Metropolitan Nicholas tried to meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Maxim and give him a gift from Patriarch Alexy - 50 thousand dollars. However, the Turkish authorities refused to grant the metropolitan a visa 64. [

62. Chumachenko T. A. In the context of the foreign policy of the Soviet state: The Moscow Patriarchate in the international arena in 1943-1948. p. 94.

63. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 28. L. 56.

64. Ibid., l. 58.

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One of the first people to receive substantial financial assistance was Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia. In 1946, he appealed to Patriarch Alexy with a request to allocate 30 million leva, for a period of 10 years. G. G. Karpov offered to provide the amount almost twice less. The situation was saved by Stalin. In the margins of Karpov's note, he made the following note:: "On the contrary. You can give more than 30 million leva " 65. As a result, the Bulgarian Church received 50 million leva (2.5 million rubles). Under Khrushchev (at least until the early 1960s), in accordance with the decision of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU of May 9, 1955, the Moscow Patriarchate annually transferred from 10 to 20 thousand dollars to the Patriarch of Alexandria.66 In 1957 the head of the KGB I. A. Serov proposed to allocate 200 thousand rubles to the locum tenens of the Cilician Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop H. Achapagyan. to bribe influential people in Syria and organize propaganda against the Dashnaks. There is no doubt that such generous gifts helped strengthen the ties of Soviet religious leaders with foreign ones. It should be noted that we have not identified any documents on the recruitment of Soviet religious figures.

Tough ideological confrontation and the restriction of contacts with the outside world, although it significantly complicated, but did not cut off contacts on a religious basis during the years of Soviet power. On the contrary, since the end of World War II and throughout the Cold War, Soviet diplomacy has consistently and quite pragmatically used representatives of Soviet and foreign religious structures in the information war against the bourgeois and capitalist world. Central to the new religious diplomacy was travel, which not only significantly increased Soviet participation in international religious organizations, but also established a regular communication system that sometimes served as a kind of alternative to official Soviet diplomacy. However, during the entire Cold War, none of the Soviet religious leaders during their trips showed themselves on the international stage as an independent figure. Foreign religious figures visiting the USSR,

65. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 60. D. 5. L. 115.

66. Chumachenko T. A. The Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate in solving the foreign policy tasks of the Khrushchev leadership: 1953-1958. p. 109. However, already in 1957, the allocation of funds to the Church of Alexandria was considered inappropriate. See: Ibid., p. 121.

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As a rule, they were limited in their contacts and opportunities, as their trips were constantly monitored. In general, official religious trips abroad or to the USSR should be recognized as a kind of diplomatic tool that the party and state leadership of the country used to solve their foreign policy tasks.

Application

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Note: Compiled from the file cabinets of the General Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU for 1945-1985: a) Thematic file Cabinet of the Central Committee of the CPSU (heading: "VIII. Main departments and other organizations under the Council of Ministers of the USSR", items - "Council for Religious Affairs", "Council for Religious Cults", "Council for the Russian Orthodox Church"); b) Thematic file of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU (headings: "Anti-religious propaganda. Church", "Council for Religious Affairs", "Council for Religious Cults", "Council for the Russian Orthodox Church")

Data for 1977, 1980, and 1981 were not revealed.

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