“I have only one vestment left and that is mended...”: on the issue of the financial situation of the Russian orthodox clergy abroad in the 20-30s of the 20th century

The article attempts to analyze the financial situation of post-revolutionary Russian Orthodox clergy abroad, beyond jurisdictional distinctions - hierarchs and ordinary clergy of parishes and monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Ecumenical Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe - using previously unpublished materials from the State Archive of the Russian Federation, journals of the meetings of the Synod of Bishops, as well as narrative sources and recent scientific research. Common challenges and difficulties that the financial structure of the Russian clergy abroad had to withstand were revealed. A variety of examples are used to illustrate the plight of Russian refugee clergy, which has been increasingly aggravated over time. Attention is also paid to the charitable activities of the Russian Church in exile, despite its being in straitened conditions. The types and scales of charity are analyzed. When studying the issue, we did not encounter any manifestations of cowardice or disappointment among the clergy in their chosen pastoral path. Russian priests in a foreign land remembered and fulfilled the Saviour's Covenant: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).