The article deals with the unique source on church history referring to the period of the revolution of 1917 and the Civil war on the Don - “The Record Book of Filonovsky Deanery Council of the Khopersky district of the Don Diocese” (1917-1920),which is stored in the State archives of the Volgograd region. The activities of this organization are described in the context of the events of the Civil war; the place of the Council in the system of diocesan administration is found out. The facts of persecution of the Orthodox Church by the Soviet authorities and their actionsare revealed in the article.