Klasztory prawosławne na terenie obwodu winnickiego w latach 1941-1964

Abstract

Favorable conditions for reviving religious life in the East practically arose only after Germany attacked the USSR on 22 June 1941. In the new social-political situation Soviet authorities could not use the methods of militant atheism that were applied in the 1920s and 1930s, and they could not disregard masses of the faithful consolidated during the occupation any more. In the 997 religious commons that resumed their work during the German-Rumanian occupation (1941-1943) in the Winnica District 848 belonged to the Orthodox Church (including 5 convents and 1 monastery). Central authorities in Moscow limited the activities of, and ultimately closed houses of worship, including Orthodox monasteries and convents, with relevant decisions. In October 1958 the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued two directives: On religious orders in the USSR and On income taxes from the activities of religious organizations and monasteries. On the basis of these directives, with the agreement of the Orthodox Church, many of them were closed. The decision about closing monasteries or convents defined the further fates of the nuns and monks as well as of the monastery’s or convent’s possessions. The nuns were offered, depending on their age, jobs in various factories, old people’s homes, or – as far as the circumstances allowed – places in other convents. The goods left from the closed convent were given to the local authorities. The buildings that had belonged to the monasteries or convents were converted into kindergartens, schools, boarding houses, old people’s homes or given to health service and cultural institutions.