On the restoration of the Peter and Paul vicariate and its transformation into an independent department (1956-1958)

The article examines the little-studied issue of the renewal of the Peter and Paul vicariate and its transformation into an independent diocese in the 50s XX century. The author concludes that the main initiator of the diocesan transformations was His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow and All Russia (Simansky). The canonical changes that took place were part of the Primate’s plan to unbundle the vast Kazakh diocese. The article analyzes the relationship between Bishop Joseph (Chernov), the administrator of the diocese, and S. R. Vokhmenin, the commissioner of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kazakh SSR. The personal correspondence of these individuals shows the nature of church-state relations at the very beginning of the “Khrushchev” persecution of the Church. Along the way, Bishop Joseph’s attitude towards some of his contemporary church hierarchs is revealed. Based on previously unpublished archival sources, the financial, personnel and organizational difficulties faced by the newly established church canonical unit and ways to overcome them are shown. It is shown that despite a number of difficulties of an objective and personal nature, by 1958 it was possible to ensure the regular work of the diocesan administration bodies.