Religion is not directly persecuted in Soviet Russia, where thousands of churches are still functioning, but priests of religion are quickly shot or banished for the least act that the government regards as counter-revolutionary. The success of the anti-religious movement in Russia is due in a great measure to the fact that communism has become the new religion.
This is the gist of the confidential report of Sir Esmond Ovey, British Ambassador to Moscow, on alleged religious persecution in Russia which Foreign Secretary Henderson has persistently refused to publish. In spite of Mr. Henderson’s refusal, however, the “Manchester Guardian” has just published a summary of the report, which yesterday’s “New York Times” reproduces.
“Priests are automatically deprived of all civil rights—that is to say, they are not allowed to possess ration cards nor are they allotted to any housing space,” the report says. “They have to shift for themselves or—as usually happens—they are fed and housed by their congregations. It has to be said that the majority of priests are well cared for. At the slightest sign of counter-revolutionary activity they are at once shot, imprisoned or banished to Siberia.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
