Unexpected discoveries often occur while studying archival documents made public as part of the project «The Faithful Church: Ukraine. Unknown Archival Documents Against the Falsification of the Past.» These findings sometimes extend beyond Ukraine’s borders, but we cannot ignore them. Previous publications, based on post-war reports and accounts from the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church (hereafter referred to as the Council), have detailed the material losses inflicted on Ukrainian lands and sacred sites during the occupation. However, one document, found among dry bureaucratic reports, stands apart. It too discusses damage, but of a different nature—spiritual.

The «Report of the State Emergency Commission on the Quantity and Quality of Damage Inflicted by the Germans on the Russian Orthodox Church During the Last War, 1941–1945» is a unique document. Its author, with emotional and vivid language, draws attention to the spiritual damage inflicted on the Orthodox population of the territories occupied by the fascists.

«Among these facts, we particularly emphasize those that speak to the insult to the religious feelings of our people, to say nothing of respect for their beliefs and sanctities. One may not share our Orthodox faith, but one cannot fail to respect it for the fact that it illuminates and cements our ancient culture and that it has sustained our multi-million-strong nation for over a thousand years.

The sons of ‘cultured’ Germany mocked our faith, desecrated altars dedicated to God, and stormed into the very soul of the people with dirty boots, violating its inner balance and religious inviolability. Despite occasional pandering, they crudely humiliated our human and national dignity, culminating in the physical extermination of peaceful clergy and believers.

Witnesses from Across the Nation
The value of this document lies in its inclusion of vivid testimonies from Church representatives across different regions. Priests and monks describe the moral torment inflicted by the occupiers on believers in the occupied territories.

Father Andrei Sobolev from the town of Vereya recounts:

«When I came to the Vereya Cathedral immediately after the Germans were expelled, intending to conduct a service, I found more than 30 believers who had been shot by the Germans, likely just before they fled the town. Some bodies were in prayerful postures. The entire floor of the cathedral was covered in the blood of these innocent martyrs for the Russian Orthodox Church. In the altar, I found additional victims. Nothing could save them—neither the sanctity of the place nor the holiness of the altar.»

Igumen Martiry Grishin, a 68-year-old abbot from the village of Rovki in Tula Oblast, shares:

«What horrified me wasn’t that the Germans looted everything from me or forced an old man like me to grovel and serve them like a slave. What hurt the most was the insult to my sacred rank as a priest and the desecration of our church and its sanctities. During services, they entered the church wearing hats, went into the altar, and touched the Holy Table, the Gospel, and the Cross with their filthy hands. At night, they brought horses into the church…»

Father Mikhail Polozov from the village of Zavidovo in Kalinin Oblast recalls:

«In November 1941, the Germans were in Zavidovo for about three weeks. They entered our church without removing their hats, walked about, sometimes even entering the Royal Doors, took candles, mocked the icons, and insulted the believers’ feelings with their actions.»

In the village church of Iklinsky in Ugodsky-Zavodsky District, the situation was particularly dire. Hieromonk Ambrosy Ivanov reported that “the Germans kept horses and dogs in the church, later building bunks by laying icons in place of boards. They sat on the icons, burned them as firewood, disregarding their value and religious significance to believers.”

Protopriest Ioann Solovyev of Kaluga recalls:

«Orthodox clergy faced many trials. For instance, the elderly Protopriest Vasily Grechaninov met his end at the hands of vile murderers. He was shot by the Germans while performing a memorial service at the city cemetery.»

A Moral and Philosophical Assessment
The author of the report not only lists the atrocities committed by the fascists against the Orthodox faith but also provides a moral, religious, and cultural evaluation of these events:

«…For an Orthodox believer, it is easier to die than to endure blasphemous attacks on the sanctity of their faith. Orthodox consciousness understands Truth not as an abstract ‘thing-in-itself’ but as life in Truth itself.

Blinded by the pride of false superiority, the fascists invaded the Soviet Union, banking on the absence of unity among its diverse peoples. Yet they forgot that within the walls of the Church, the old Orthodox Russia persists—one whose ideal has always been the spiritual unity of the people and loyalty to Divine Justice.

Throughout Russian history, Divine Truth has consistently overcome human wrongdoing and pride, crushing all plots against Russia and resolving all conflicts in its favor. So it was at Kulikovo Field, on the ice of Lake Chud, in the Time of Troubles, at Poltava, and during the invasion of the twelve languages. And so it happened again.

Every act of sacrilege and mockery of a sacred object is, for a believer, an attack on the highest sanctity of life—on God Himself.»

The author calls for a just assessment of the crimes committed by the Nazis against Russian Orthodoxy, proclaiming them as a dire indictment of history and a testament to the anti-Christian essence of German fascism.

The Compiler: A Life of Service
The report is modestly signed “Compiled by A. V. Vedernikov.” This name, previously unknown, prompted further inquiry. A. V. Vedernikov, born in 1901 in Tver Province, emerged as a man of remarkable talent and devotion to the Orthodox Church. He worked tirelessly in the Moscow Patriarchate's publishing department and contributed over 150 articles and notes.

Despite his low public profile, Vedernikov’s work echoed through the voices of Church hierarchs, leaving an indelible mark on both the Church and the world. He passed away in 1992, leaving behind a legacy of unwavering dedication to faith and truth.