Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord During World War I

The article studies the history of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord during the First World War. The study is based on the materials of the archive of the New- Valaam Monastery in Finland and the National Archive of the Republic of Karelia, where the documents of the monastery chancellery are kept, as well as on the current press. So, the article presents peculiarities of the brotherhood’s attitude to the outbreak of the war, to the course of military operations, to victories and defeats of the Russian army, various aspects of the monastery’s involvement in the needs of wartime and in the support of Russian people. The nature of the relationship between one of the leading representatives of the ruling dynasty and the monastery shortly before the revolution are also investigated. The correspondence between the Father Superior and the Supreme Commanderin- Chief of the Russian Army (1914–1915), Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, and his confessor hieromonk George was the source for this part of the research. It testifies to the unity of the spirit of its participants in supporting the motherland in difficult times. The article contributes to the efforts of all historians trying to create an academically accurate and reliable picture of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church during the First World War.