1922 confiscation of Russian Orthodox Church property

Opening of relics of St. Alexander Nevsky, May 1922.

The 1922 confiscation of Russian Orthodox Church property was held by the Bolshevik government under the pretext of fighting the Russian famine of 1921–22. During 1922, precious metals and gems were removed by state authorities from churches of all denominations. In fact, it was a provocative campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church, since more than 90% of subjects were concentrated in its churches and monasteries. Subject to confiscation or articles intended exclusively for liturgical purposes (holy vessels), which is set in a very vulnerable position of the clergy, and caused the resistance of the congregation. The campaign was accompanied by repression against the clergy. Eight priests, two laymen and one woman were sentenced to death in Moscow on May 8, 1922, for having opposed the requisitioning of Church treasures and alleged participation in disturbances.^[1]

From the wealth, the Bolsheviks made use of one million gold roubles in order to give food to the famine victims.^[2]

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article: March 19, 1922 Vladimir Lenin's secret letter to Politburo about the confiscation