“The truth of socialism”: church journalism in the early 20th century on the strong points of socialist teaching

The article deals with the attitude of Russian church authors of the early 20th century to the ideology and practice of socialism. The article is based on the attitude of Orthodox clergy to the strengths of the socialist doctrine (“the truth of socialism”), thanks to which this political ideology met with broad public support in Russia. It is shown that church authors, not accepting the negative aspects of the “social heresy” (atheism, materialism, violence, inciting base passions), at the same time recognized the correctness of socialism in its criticism of the capitalist structure of society. At the same time, church authors, as a rule, drew attention to the fact that the positive program that exists in socialism is also contained in Christianity, and therefore if the Orthodox restore the conciliar principle in the Church, they will strive to treat each other as the Gospel teaches, they will organize themselves for mutual assistance, and the clergy will help them in this and will not pass over in silence for the sake of the powerful of this world the vices and injustices that reign in capitalist society, then atheistic socialism, which has mixed truth with lies in itself, will lose its attractive power.