On this day in 1941 St. Job of Pochaev Monastery in Ladomirova, Slovakia published as a supplement the following epistle by Metropolitan Seraphim of Berlin and Germany in the bi-weekly periodical Pravoslavnaia Rus’. The National Socialist invasion of the USSR beginning on June 22, 1941 was represented as a resurrection of Orthodox Rus. Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The chastising sword of Divine Justice has come down on the Soviet regime and its enablers and sympathizers. The Christ-loving Fuehrer of the German People has summoned his victorious army to a new struggle, to that struggle which we had already awaited: a sacred struggle against the theomachists, tormentors and violators who have taken up their seat in the Moscow Kremlin and have been spreading from this ancient holy place the poison of Bolshevism, which is eroding all the religious, spiritual, moral, cultural, and legal foundations of state, national, social and family life. In truth, a new crusade has begun in the name of saving the peoples [of the world] from the power of the antichrist. (…) Through the mouth of he who, in the hope of Divine succor, is calling the German army to a new struggle and new victories, God, Church, and Country are calling you, as well. Therefore, as the First Hierarch of the Orthodox Church in Germany, I appeal to you thus: Be participants in this new struggle, because this struggle is ours, a continuation of the struggle that was begun back in 1917, yet, alas! ended in tragedy, principally as a consequence of the betrayal of your former allies who, in our day, have taken up arms against the German people. Each of us can find a place for himself on the new anti-Bolshevik front. Each can make an effort to assist in the overthrow of the Soviet regime and the liberation of the Motherland from the Red dictatorship. Seek a place for yourselves in this new arena of combat and service to the Motherland. Make use of every opportunity in order to transform your anti-Bolshevik conviction and attitude and your love for your native land into an active heroic and sacrificial effort. Take part selflessly in the holy cause of aiding war victims. By donating generously to the Red Cross, you can assist in alleviating the suffering of the wounded and maimed, for the bold warriors of the German army are spilling their blood for the salvation of your brothers and sisters. Intensify your prayer to the Lord God, to whom the pious Fuehrer of the German people has entrusted his host. Finally, awaken the conscience and national self-awareness of those who are still standing off to the side of this universal uprising, everyone who is indifferent, vacillating, not yet infused with an awareness of their Christian and national duty. And drive any defeatists out of your midst. The “salvation of all” about with Adolf Hitler speaks in his address to the German people is your salvation, too, the fulfillment of your efforts and hopes of many years. The final decisive battle has come. (…) The full text of the epistle can be read here. | 
