The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia and the Russian religious emigre community in Yugoslavia after the end of World War Two (1945-1950)

In this article, the author discusses the activities of the administrative structures of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and the history of Russian church communities in Yugoslavia immediately following the end of the war. After evacuating from Yugoslavia in 1944, the Synod of Bishops relocated to West Germany, where it remained until moving to the United States in 1950. At this time, it rejected offers from the Moscow Patriarchate to come under its jurisdiction. Since the Communists assumed power, the ROCOR Synod could no longer function in Yugoslavia. Once the conflict between Joseph Stalin and Josip Broz Tito began in 1948, Russian communities in Yugoslavia were repressed. As a result, their number dramatical declined, and by the mid-1950's, only one parish continued to function in Belgrade, which exists to this day.