On April 22, 1921, he was sentenced by the Prosecutor's Office of the Cheka in the Caucasus to 3 years of exile. Sent to the Central Provinces of Russia, the city of Tsyarka (Tsyarka?)

After his release from exile in 1924, he served in the Church of St. Elijah in Nizhny Novgorod. During the schism that occurred in the Russian Church, Fr. Vasily, like many clergymen, initially found himself in the camp of the "renovationists." Contrary to the myth spread today by certain ecclesiastical and near-church circles, the "renovationists," whose ideology in practice was open servility to the Soviet regime, and whose reformist pathos was reduced mainly to the possibility of a church career for married clergy, were by no means supporters of translating divine services into Russian and radical liturgical reforms. The only official statement on this issue, made in 1926, declares the need "without introducing any dogmatic and liturgical universally binding reforms, to invite all workers of church renewal to protect the unity of the Church in every possible way; blesses the creative initiative and initiative aimed at awakening religious feeling, church consciousness and public morality." In practice, however, Fr. Basil's activity in translating divine services and reforming parish life (carried out, for all its seeming radicalism, in line with the decisions of the canonical Local Council of 1917-18), evoked a rather negative attitude among the renovationist episcopate. Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky, having arrived in Nizhny Novgorod, flattered Fr. Vasily in every possible way, but when he returned to Moscow, he declared: "We have had enough of this end-of-city and Adamovism." (Priest Alexander Endeka served in the church on Lubyanka Square and belonged to the few "ideological" renovationists).

In the community created by Fr. Vasily in the Church of St. Elijah, divine services were conducted in Russian, frequent communion, unction every fast, and common singing of parishioners (the choir was abolished). The service was daily, in the morning and in the evening, and night services were often held. The entire Liturgy was served with the gates open, and all the priestly prayers were pronounced aloud by Fr. Vasily. In the church, everything was subject to strict piety, all conversations were forbidden in the altar, and money was not taken for services. On certain days of the week, after the evening service, the parishioners stayed in the church, sang cants and delivered sermons.

Liturgical translations were made by Fr. Vasily himself, by persons who did not belong to the community, and by members of the community. The experience of his predecessors was actively used: a number of passages in the Russian translation of the Liturgy of John Chrysostom are based on the translation of Metropolitan Antonin (Granovsky), the Funerary Stichera of John of Damascus are based on the translations of N. Nakhimov. Biblical readings and psalmodies were not translated – they used the Synodal translation. The translations were tried for singing, discussed and changed many times. Many of the original versions were discarded, sometimes returning to the words of the Slavonic text: "at the right hand of the Father," "arise," and others. Sometimes Fr. Vasily announced: "Pray, the translation of such and such a text does not work." Correspondence, reprinting, editorial and publishing work were carried out by members of the community. During the liturgy, it was allowed to work in the sacristy on translations until the apostle, and then it was supposed to go to church. It was printed in the prison printing house. Members of the community conducted proofreading work and sometimes participated in typing.

The following books were published: "Service Book in the Russian Language" (1924), containing, in particular, the rites of three liturgies, "The Order of All-Night Divine Services in the Russian Language" (1925), "Collection of Church Services, Hymns of the Most Important Feasts and Private Prayers of the Orthodox Church in the Russian Language" (1926; reprinted in Paris by the YMCA publishing house, 1989), and the Trebnik (1927). A significant part of the translations (almost the entire Service Menaion from April to June, akathists, hierarchical services) remained in manuscripts, the fate of which is unknown. Fr. Vasily's translation work was approved by a specialist in liturgics, Professor Mikhail Skaballanovich. I translated the service into Russian to get to know the faithful, but I did not think that it would be implemented in practice so soon," he said, having arrived from Kiev to Nizhny Novgorod and visited the Church of St. Elijah.

In 1924, after Fr. Vasily's wife, having taken all the children (Fr. Vasily had six of them), left him, unable to endure the ascetic way of life of Fr. Vasily, he became a monk with the name Theophanes. He continues to serve in the Church of St. Elijah in Nizhny Novgorod.

In October 1925, he took an active part in the discussion of the language in the work of the Renovationist "Council III", made a speech in defense of the reforms of church life and, in particular, on the introduction of the Russian language into the practice of divine services, as the most useful measure for the return to the bosom of the Orthodox Church of apostates, sectarians and non-believers. Fr. Theophan's missionary activity could not but arouse concern among the authorities and the renovationist episcopate. A decision was made to remove it and liquidate the community and its implementation began. Bishop Alexander (Lavrov), who came for an audit, having attended the service, refused to participate in the reprisal, for which he was transferred by Vvedensky to Vologda. Bishop Alexander was replaced by Metropolitan Hierotheos Pomerantsev (tonsured by Archimandrite Sergius Stragorodsky), who was also instructed to liquidate the community, about which he said on his departure: "I was instructed to disperse you, but I could not do it, since I liked your statutory services in the Russian language."

Soon Metropolitan John (Mirtov) arrived, who quickly agreed with the NKVD on a course of action. Father Vasily began to prepare for his arrest and sent a letter to the Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod, Acting Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Sergius (Stragorodsky), in which he repented of his renovationism. At the same time, he was preparing a successor for himself.

After returning to the Patriarchal Church, Fr. Feofan received from Metropolitan Sergius a blessing for Russian-language divine services with the peculiarities practiced in the community, and an important addition was made: "Guided by the example of the late His Holiness the Patriarch, I do not find any obstacles for the Most Reverend Diocesan Bishops, if they find it useful, to allow Hieromonk Theophan (or others) to do the same, each in his own diocese." This decree "On Receiving into Communion with the Holy Synod. The Church and on the Admission of the Russian Language in Church Worship" was published in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate No5 for 1931.

On December 9, 1931, after all-night vigil on the Sign of the Mother of God, Fr. Feofan was arrested and in 1932 exiled to the village of Suyanki, Krasnovishersky District, Perm Region, then to the village of Cherdyn in the same district.

His successor, Fr. Vasily Aboimov, was not allowed to serve in the Church of St. Elijah, the keys to which were taken away by the Renovationists. The community dispersed to the city parishes, and Priest Vasily Aboimov and Deacon Ioann Frolov were sent to the village of Pakhotny Usad, where, with the blessing of Metropolitan Sergius, they served in Russian. Soon Fr. Vasily Aboimov was arrested.

After the end of his term of exile in 1934, Fr. Theophan did not have the right to reside in the ten largest cities of the country (minus 10), registered in Vladimir, but lived in Nizhny Novgorod with his spiritual children.

In 1935, Fr. Feofan was arrested in Nizhny Novgorod together with Metropolitan Yevgeny (Zernov), priests Nicholas the Great and Peter Novoselsky for celebrating the Paschal service on May 1, 1935.

On November 4, 1935, he was sentenced under Article 54, Paragraph 10 of the Criminal Code "for propaganda of a counter-revolutionary orientation against the measures of the Soviet government" to 3 years in the Gulag. He was sent to Karlag.