On the Question of the Transformation of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery into a Missionary Monastery

The Moscow Sretensky Monastery, which has a centuries-old history, at different times carried out various ministries, including social and missionaryeducational activities. In the first years of the Soviet regime, the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church made an attempt to transform the Sretensky Monastery into a missionary monastery. With the blessing of Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin) and by decision of the Holy Synod, Archimandrite, later Archbishop Gury (Stepanov), was appointed the abbot of the monastery in 1919. By this time, Father Gury was known as an outstanding missionary and a prominent scholar. In addition, it was Archimandrite Guriy who, at the beginning of 1919, managed to register the charter of the “Society for the Spread of Christianity among Pagans” in the Justice Department of the Moscow Soviet of Workers’ and Red Army Deputies. The next step was to transform and develop the Sretensky Monastery into a missionary center. Unfortunately, this did not happen. In the fall of 1919, Father Gury was arrested. In the future, there were no more attempts to return to the previously approved project.