Seeking to convince Soviet authorities to stop the campaign of terror and persecution against the Church, Sergius tried to look for ways of peaceful reconciliation with the government. On July 29, 1927, he issued his famous "Declaration" where he professed absolute loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union and to its government's interests. The "Declaration", albeit well-intended, sparked an immediate controversy among the Russian churchmen, many of whom (including many notable and respected bishops in prisons and exile) broke communion with Sergius. Later, some of these bishops reconciled with Sergius, but many still remained in opposition to the "official Church" until the election of Patriarch Alexius I in 1945.