The Spiritual Life of Solovki

• Main Author: Hardy, Jeffrey S
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University PressNew York, NY 2024
• Subjects: Solovetsky; Solovki; Solovetsky Islands
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/9780197751701.003.0003; https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/58919356/workid-usac0035716-book-part-3.pdf

Abstract This chapter is a case study of religious life on the Solovetsky Islands, where the Soviet secret police established a large concentration camp designed to showcase Soviet correctional policies. Among a variety of political and criminal offenders, hundreds of Orthodox clerics and other believers were held at this large monastic complex. At Solovki in the 1920s, policies concerning religious worship were still being negotiated; some officials worked hard to stamp out Christianity, while others adopted more permissive attitudes, allowing religiosity to persist and even flourish. In fact, the camp became a hotbed of Orthodox opposition to the Soviet state. But the imprisoned religious community was also rife with factionalism, in particular within the Orthodox community but also between Orthodox and Catholic believers, which ultimately prevented the creation of a fully united Christian collective.