Saturday, September 4, 1943. British advance in Italy, Australians land in New Guinea, Russian Orthodox services return.

The British took Reggio Calabria and San Giovanni de Gerace in Italy.

The Australian 9th Division landed on New Guinea at Lae.  They were the first Allied forces to land on the island since the Japanese had taken it early in the war.

Joseph Stalin hosted the acting Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and two Metropolitans.  No installed Patriarch was in place.  In the meeting, he offered to open up religious services if the Church recognized the legitimacy of the Soviet state and abstained from criticizing its policies.  They agreed, and the end of restrictions on religious services was announced the following day.

Among the concessions granted by Stalin were the permission to open the Moscow Theological Seminary and Academy, the release of imprisoned clerics, the return of some church property.  The Church was put under the control, however, of Soviet secret services.

TBF’s returning o the USS Ranger, September 4, 1943.