Sacred Tradition and the Decline of Church Resistance in 1917

At the very heart of historical changes, traditional Orthodoxy played a decisive role by aligning itself with established notions of autocracy. Even in the past, the approach in which the baptized and the communed believed in the sacredness of the state system formed the basis for supporting the tsarist regime, separating religious self-awareness from the new political ideas of its time. This orientation, which the church maintained at the turn of the century, significantly limited its ability to act as a creative and oppositional voice at the crucial moment of the revolutionary upheavals in 1917. Rather than mobilizing believers and offering an alternative perspective on the transformation of society, the church remained a hostage to tradition, reinforcing established ideals and contributing to the legitimization of power. This connection between religion and the state apparatus proved fateful, leaving deep questions about the potential of spiritual institutions to influence the destiny of the nation during times of great change.

What role, according to the author, did the baptized and the communed Christians play in the events of the 1917 revolution in Russia?

In the author’s view, the baptized and communed Christians were tied to traditional historical Orthodoxy, which essentially sanctified autocracy. In other words, instead of opposing utopian political ideas, they supported the state ideal, which in turn led to the church losing its creative and oppositional role at the decisive moment of the 1917 revolution.

The author points out that historically Orthodoxy recognized the tsar as the head of the church, a stance that separated religious self-awareness from the new political demands of the time. As a result, this connection with autocracy led to the church being condemned as an institution incapable of offering an alternative vision of society during periods of radical change. Thus, rather than mobilizing its followers for active resistance to governmental overthrows, Christians, operating within the old system, contributed to the reinforcement of established ideals.

Supporting citation(s):
"Historical Orthodoxy sanctified autocracy and recognized the tsar as the head of the church, which separated the church from playing a creative role in the life of the state. For this reason, the church was condemned, and Christians, instead of resisting political utopias, sanctified the state ideal. This downfall deprived the church of its role in the era of revolution, when the very existence of Russia was at stake." (source: link )