Self-Demolition, a Brainwashing Tool – Folha de S. Paulo, September 26, 1971

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Achieving one’s goals in the quickest, simplest, and most effective way is the aim of every serious and rational person. Therefore, by dedicating their seriousness and rationality to their mistaken and unjust goals, the Russian communists of 1917 aimed to eliminate religion using the most violent and straightforward methods. However, a few steps in this direction soon showed that this would have the opposite effect. The religious beliefs of most Russians, shocked by the violence of the godless regime, immediately became a strong source of unrest. And the “White Russians” — opponents of the regime — began using this unrest to their advantage right from the start of the religious crisis.

For the Soviets, preventing this from happening was extremely important. Their policy took on a peculiar nuance that, incidentally, became more pronounced as events unfolded, to the point where it is now the primary feature of the Kremlin’s domestic and foreign policy. The goal remained the destruction of people’s religious beliefs. However, from then on, the primary method was to involve various church organizations in a process of self-destruction.

To remove faith from people’s hearts, the Kremlin correctly believed that the brutal and foolish pressure of the godless was far less effective than the anointed and cunningly manipulative hand of a corrupt bishop, an evil priest, or a degraded nun.

Indeed, no one is more effective at promoting communism than those dedicated to Christ when they give in to falsehoods. If Pasionaria or Ana Pauker had the foresight to become nuns, they would have been far more beneficial to communism than in their roles as fiery radicals.

Once it was determined that the future of atheism depended on the self-destruction of the Churches, the top communist leaders faced only one challenge: how to identify or “manufacture” in the various church structures of Russia at that time (Greek-Schismatic, Roman Catholic, Protestant, etc.), the bishops, priests, monks, and nuns who would take on the sinister task of killing Jesus Christ in people’s souls. Clever police investigations and secret contacts with cowards or ambitious individuals quickly prepared the agents for self-destruction.

A cleverly executed process of brainwashing through compression and decompression would then produce remarkable results in Russia’s main denomination, which was and still is the Greek-Schismatic Church. In the latest article, we examined the beginning of this process in the O.C. (as we call the Russian Orthodox Church for brevity). It involved successive compressions and decompressions.

The repression began with creating an atmosphere of serious threats, sometimes confirmed by waves of intense religious persecution: a dark sky with no hint of blue, where thunderstorms rumbled nonstop, and lightning storms periodically struck frightened people.

The decompressions were then carried out through smiles, promises of security and financial support, and even juicy advantages, all in favor of O.C. clergy who agreed to play the communist game. This game involved preaching communism in the O.C., attacking, isolating, and demoralizing clergy who remained faithful to the anticommunist stance, thereby dividing the unfortunate O.C. into several antagonistic factions, and spreading confusion, fatigue, and despair among the laity. Once the laity was brought to the point of utter disillusionment, the brainwashing achieved its goal: they would begin to doubt, and slip from doubt into denial.

As will be seen, this form of brainwashing through self-destruction produced remarkable results. Let no one be misled on this point. Without the manipulation of the O.C. by communists, their success in seizing the State would have been futile. They secured victory by causing a religious crisis at the heart of the O.C.

In the previous article, we analyzed how the initial steps of the process by which communists led the O.C. to self-destruction unfolded. For a brief moment, the “patriarch” Tikhon played a glorious role similar to that of Cardinal Mindszenty today. In Tikhon’s person, the O.C. appeared radiant with the glory of impending martyrdom. In all religious circles in Russia, convictions rekindled, enthusiasm surged, and discontent threatened to ignite into holy war. It was the perfect moment for Lenin. Through manipulation, he knew how to turn all this splendor into shame.

To this end, the red dictator launched a timely decompression maneuver in 1919. He announced that he did not want to “hurt the religious feelings of the people.” He allowed religious education to resume in theological institutes and opened the streets for religious processions. The fruit he reaped from such meager concessions was immediate. Tikhon declared that if communism ceased its attacks on the O.C., it would stop harassing the regime. And he issued an official publication recommending that O.C. members stop supporting the White Russians. From that moment on, the enemies of communism were divided.

In turn, communist maneuvers tore the O.C. apart. Three bishops who were Kremlin lackeys, Serguei, Antonin, and Leonid, accused Tikhon of not making enough concessions to the Soviets. Tikhon sought to remain neutral between anticommunists and communists. The three lackeys demanded that the O.C. take a more radical stance by decisively supporting the communist regime. When Tikhon refused to listen, they founded a dissident wing that would become the future “Living Church.”

After dividing and subdividing his opponents, Lenin moved on to a new crackdown. This happened in 1921. Claiming to help the hungry, the Soviet government ordered the confiscation of all valuable objects found in churches belonging to the Orthodox Church. Tikhon gave in, cautiously saving objects of historical or religious significance. The pro-communist bishops protested, undoubtedly feeling that the splendor of worship was incompatible with the regime. Thus, the schism in the O.C. deepened.

Lenin then ordered Tikhon’s arrest and initiated criminal proceedings against clergy who refused to surrender sacred objects to the godless. The penalty sought was execution. To discredit the O.C., Bishop Antonin, at the Soviets’ request, testified against faithful priests. He thus pushed them toward their deaths. The shame of the “Living Church” did not end there. It sent a delegation to the Trinity Monastery, where Tikhon was imprisoned and held incommunicado. Under government orders, all barriers were opened to visitors. The delegation asked Tikhon to resign. Usually shy, he relented and appointed an interim replacement, Metropolitan Agathangelos. Soon afterward, Tikhon—possibly under torture—signed a document supporting communism and condemning anticommunism, but that was not enough. The poor wretch died shortly after, under mysterious circumstances. The pressure, however, continued. Under its weight, the O.C. split into two factions: the “Tikhonian” Church, which remained persecuted, and the openly pro-communist non-“Tikhonian” Church. The latter was divided into three groups: the “Living Church,” the “Renewed Church,” and the “Union of Apostolic Communities.”

Don’t think these splits within leftist churches weakened the Kremlin’s strategy. Quite the opposite, they were part of its plan. Their goal was to cause their own collapse, since the self-destruction of the churches aligned with the Kremlin’s objectives. And internal division is a powerful tool for self-destruction.

Oppression against non-Tikhonian churches ceased immediately. Meanwhile, the Tikhonian Church underwent an internal change that led to full compliance.Harshly persecuted, through Metropolitan Serguei—Agathangelo’s successor and interim replacement for the late Tikhon—it officially adopted communism and condemned anticommunism. This happened in 1927, on the tenth anniversary of the communists’ rise to power.

Thus, in ten years, shame had prevailed, and the clergy had dismantled their Church through self-destruction. The Kremlin’s anti-religious policy shone with the full light of victory, for it is better to have an agonizing adversary who self-degrades and destroys at your feet than one who nobly accepts heroic martyrdom. Today, like cancer consumes the body, the self-destructive O.C. continues to erode what remains of religion among the “orthodox.”

At the top of this corrupt hierarchy stands “Patriarch” Pimen, whom the illustrious successor of St. Ignatius has visited during such a sorrowful time!