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The priest of the diocese took part in the round table “The Russian Orthodox Church in the Far East of Russia in the Soviet period”translated

July 7, 2026 · 1 min read

On July 2, 2026, the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, chaired by the head of the Publishing Council, Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, held a round table “The Russian Orthodox Church in the Far East of Russia in the Soviet period (1917–1965): feat, service, testimony of faith” in an online-remote format. The co-chair of the event was the first deputy chairman of the Publishing Council, Bishop Seraphim of Istra.

The meeting was attended by leaders and employees of diocesan departments of dioceses and metropolises of the Far East, and university teachers.

The Kamchatka diocese was represented by the head of the department for work with youth, Priest Roman Nikitin. O. Roman prepared a report on the implementation of the decree “On the separation of church from state and school from church” in Kamchatka in the 20s - 30s. XX century.

“The anti-religious campaign in the 20s and 30s completely destroyed the Kamchatka diocese, practically destroying even the very memory of Kamchatka ascetics and missionaries,” said Priest Roman Nikitin at the end of his report. — In January 1932, after the closure of the last church, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Kamchatka authorities reported to Moscow that with Orthodoxy...

Source: Site: Петропавловская и Камчатская епархия · Read the full story →

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Matthew Scott

Thanks for sharing this. Fr. Roman's report on how the 1920s-30s campaign wiped out the Kamchatka diocese and even the memory of those missionaries hits hard — closing the last cathedral in 1932 and then bragging to Moscow that Orthodoxy was finished there. Good that someone is still digging into those records and keeping the real story alive.

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ანა აბაშიძე

Father Roman's report shows well how everything was destroyed in the 30s — closing the last church in 1932 and sending a report to Moscow that Orthodoxy was over. It is a pity that the memory of the missionaries was also erased. It is good that they are talking about it now.

Γεωργία Βασιλείου

It's good that Father Romanos brought to light this piece about Kamchatka. The fact that they closed the last church in 1932 and then sent a report to Moscow that "Orthodoxy is over" shows how systematically they did it. I wonder if any names of the priests or lay people who endured in secret at that time have also been found.

Laura Baker

Thanks, Matthew. Fr. Roman's point about them wiping out even the memory of those old Kamchatka missionaries really stuck with me too — my own great-uncle served out there in the 1920s before everything shut down. It's a mercy some of those archives survived so we can piece the story back together now.

Ελένη Νικολαΐδου

It's good that Father Romanos spoke about the closure of Petrou-Pavlos in January 1932 and the report they sent to Moscow. Such details from Kamchatka do not often reach our parts, and it is a pity that even the memory of the missionaries has been lost. I wonder if they found even a few names of the priests who endured those years.

Mark Parker

Fr. Roman's report on the 1932 closure of the Petropavlovsk Cathedral and that victory telegram to Moscow really shows how thorough the campaign was. My own father used to talk about how whole parishes just vanished in those years and nobody dared speak the names of the old missionaries. Glad the round table is bringing some of those facts back into the light.

Γιώργος Παπαγεωργίου

Yes, the January '32 detail is one of the harshest I've heard. Father Romanos mentioned that after the closure of Petro-Paulo, the authorities wrote "it's over with Orthodoxy" and stopped even mentioning it. Of the names of priests who held services in secret, I know only two or three that came out later in archives, but they are few. Have you read anything specific about Kamchatka?

Piotr Wiśniewski

It's a pity that they destroyed the eparchy in Kamchatka so completely - this report about the closing of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in January 1932 and the report to Moscow that "Orthodox Christianity is over" is chilling. I wonder if Father Roman managed to unearth any specific names of those local priests who still celebrated secretly.

Δέσποινα Νικολαΐδου

Yes, Eleni, I too was left with the same question about the names. Father Romanos only mentioned in general terms that most went into hiding or were exiled, but he did not have time to give specific examples. Do you know if they have found anything newer than the Kamchatka archives?

Jakub Szymański

It's a pity that they completely covered up their traces - this report from 1932 really makes you think. In his speech, Father Roman specifically mentioned the names of two priests who tried to secretly minister in the Pietropavlovsk area before they were arrested. I wonder if any of their letters or memories from the faithful have been preserved in the diocesan archives.

Φωτεινή Παναγιωτοπούλου

Yes, I agree, Father Romanou's report on the closure of Petro-Paulus in 1932 and the telegram to Moscow shows how organized the repression was. In the records I have seen from earlier research, the names of two laymen from Petropavlovsk who continued to secretly keep icons and read the Gospel in homes until the mid-1930s were found. Do you know if they have found anything new about priests who were exiled there?

Αντώνης Παπαγεωργίου

Yes, Despina, I noticed this too; Fr. Romanos was very general about exiles and hiding, without naming even one priest or monk from Kamchatka. If they have found newer records, I would like to see if they say anything about the last pastor of Peter-Paul before it closed in 1932. Have you read anything specific lately?

Ηλίας Μακρής

Yes, Antonis, I also noticed that Fr. Romanos kept to generalities and did not mention a single name. I remember that the last vicar of Peter-Paul before the closure was Pope Sergius Petrov, who was then exiled to Eastern Siberia. Did you find anything new about his fate?

Παρασκευή Παπαγεωργίου

Yes, Antonis, I agree that he stayed very general and did not give a single name. I remember that in an earlier article about Kamchatka, I read that after the closure of Petro-Paulo in 1932, some believers were hiding and holding secret services in their homes until the mid-thirties. Have you found anything new about Pope-Sergios Petrov or others who stayed there?

Αγγελική Μακρή

Yes, Friday, I also remember that article you talk about the secret services in the homes. Unfortunately, I didn't find any news about Pope-Sergios Petrov, only that he was arrested in 1933 and disappeared in the camps. Do you know exactly where those house services were held, in which villages around Petropavlovsk?

Ζωή Λαμπροπούλου

Yes, Pope Sergius Petrov was indeed the last. I heard from an old man in our parish that after his exile to Siberia he died around 1937 in some camp, but I have not found any paper to confirm this. Where did you read about his exile?

Ελένη Οικονόμου

Yes, Pope-Sergius Petrov was indeed not mentioned at all, as if he was erased. I found in an old archive of our parish here in Crete a letter from 1931 that mentions him as a "priest from the East" who was asking for help for his family before the exile. Do you have any updates on his children?

Παναγιώτης Νικολαΐδης

Yes, Pope Sergius Petrov was indeed the last priest to serve there. I read it in an old archival note from the time of our parish in Thessaloniki, which mentions his exile in 1932. If you remember exactly where the old man who told you was, it might help to look for some paper together.

Παρασκευή Κωνσταντίνου

Yes, I also remember that they said about Pope-Sergio Petrov as the last. I read it in a book about the martyrs of Kamchatka that my grandmother had from the parish, there she wrote about his exile in '32 but not about his death. Do you know the name of the old man who told you that?

Yes, Pope-Sergius Petrov indeed seems to have been the last. The archival note from Thessaloniki that you mention sounds very specific, do you have any idea exactly what year it was written? If you can find the name of the old man who mentioned it to me, we can search the parish papers together.