in Solovki. June 9, 2026 marked the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Memorial of the Bishops of Solovetsky (Appeals of Orthodox bishops from the Solovetsky special Purpose camp to the Government of the USSR).
The document was drawn up by the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church who are imprisoned in Solovki. It gave an objective picture of the Church's situation at that time, proposed conditions for peaceful coexistence between Church and state, and expressed the Church's willingness, in case of rejection of its proposals, to accept hardships, but not to abandon its principles. The memorial is considered one of the most significant confessional documents of the era of the persecution of the Church of the twentieth century. The document was signed by 17 bishops.
At the initiative of the Church and Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the perpetuation of the memory of the new Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, a round table was held to coincide with the adoption of the commemorative document. The organizers were the Solovetsky Museum-Reserve and the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Stavropol Monastery.
On June 9, the commemorative events opened with the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the monastery. During the service, the memory of all those who suffered for their faith on the Solovetsky Islands was commemorated.
Further, representatives of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's University for the Humanities, the Butovo Memorial Center, the Solovetsky Monastery and the Solovetsky Museum-Reserve took part in the round table. They devoted their reports to the history of the creation of the Memorial, the problems of Church-state relations, the reception of the document at home and abroad, as well as its significance in our days.