Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo records, 1922-2015

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Summary

Creators:
Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo
Abstract:
By-laws, minutes, correspondence, memoranda, reports, and legal documents relating to administration of Orthodox Church property in Palestine and to legal disputes over its ownership.
Extent:
3 manuscript boxes (1.3 Linear Feet)
Language:
Russian and English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence and supporting documents related to the arbitration of the dispute over the administration of Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo properties in Palestine from 1990 to 1993. Anthony Grabbe, former Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem and head of the Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo, claimed that the section, which was founded in 1970, was separate and independent from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and the Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo Supreme Council. ROCOR and the Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo asserted that the Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo Holy Land Section was not the property owner, but just the custodian, or trustee, for the entire Society. There is also earlier correspondence from 1989 about a possible criminal case to be filed against Anthony Grabbe for the alleged theft and sale of Church property such as icons and books.

Earlier Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo property issues from 1963 to 1977 are documented in the correspondence of Archimandrite Anthony Grabbe, while Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Prince Teymuraz Bagration-Mukhranskii, and others concerning disputes with the governments of Israel and Jordan related to the status of properties belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church and the Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo which had been in part surrendered to the Soviet government or on which the Soviets were making claims.

Other correspondence and archival documents relate to the activities of the Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo Supreme Council and its United States and European Sections. This includes by-laws, meeting minutes, resolutions, pilgrimage brochures, appeals, and clippings.

Of special interest is a dossier containing correspondence with Grand Duchesses Elena Vladimirovna and Vera Vladimirovna and others dating from 1922 to 1970, as well as photostats of pre-1917 ground plans of Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society property in Jerusalem and an original copy of a map of the Russian Compound in Jerusalem (1929, revised 1937).

Biographical / historical:

Orthodox Palestine Society; affiliate of Russkai͡a pravoslavnai͡a t͡serkov' zagranit͡seĭ. This organization was founded in 1882 as the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. Its governing Council was reconstructed in Berlin in 1919 and later transferred to Paris.

Acquisition information:
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2016.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Pravoslavnoe palestinskoe obshchestvo records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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