Orthodox church in north-west Russia in 1948: comparative analysis of the situation of the Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov dioceses

The publication is devoted to a comparative analysis of church life in three dioceses of NorthWest Russia in 1948. The choice of the object of study was dictated by the fact that the Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov dioceses in the first post-war years were under the control of Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Gregory (Chukov) and had much in common in their structure, main areas of activity and general connections that developed during the period of activity of the Pskov Orthodox Church Missions in 1941-1944. The main historical source for comparative analysis was the report of the Leningrad Metropolis for 1948, which collected information on all three dioceses. Thanks to this document, it is possible to establish what the most important events of church life took place in the dioceses, how the relationship between the diocesan authorities developed with representatives of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, with the local administration and party bodies, what difficulties and problems arose in the work at the level of the diocese and parishes. Of particular interest is the statistical block of the report, which allows you to compare the situation of dioceses in terms of the number of operating churches and registered clergy, their financial support and the number of petitions for the opening of new parishes. Such a comparison of the church life of three neighboring dioceses not only helps to identify general trends in the development and problems of the religious situation in one of the regions of the USSR, but also makes it possible to determine at the local level the characteristic signs of the “decline” of the “new course” of the religious policy of the Soviet leadership.