St. Tikhon’s University Review . Series II: History. Russian Church History

The aim of this article is to discuss the key works of Russian historiography that deal with Northern crosses of the 16th — 17th centuries. The article takes into account scientifi c works beginning from the fi rst half and middle of the 19th century, i.e. the time when staurography emerged, up to the present day. Following the logic of the development of staurography, the article pays attention to the emergence in the latter half of the 19th century of studies devoted to bow and mortgage crosses that are found in the North of Russia, in Novgorod. The Northern direction in historiography was developing in the early 20th century, when there appeared a number of works that incorporate this type of monument into the cultural context of North Russian lands by means of comparing crosses and a range of other ritual objects. In the late 20th — early 21st centuries there appeared a relatively sizeable (compared with the preceding periods) amount of studies that consider the northern crosses from various viewpoints. Their authors analyse the transformation of the appearance of Northern crosses and church complexes through the study of the change and combination of traditional folk practices with Christianity. Another object of research is the identifi cation of the role of the cross in the sacred topography of the Russian North and the centres of production of bow crosses. Besides, there appeared a number of works dealing with unique monuments. The attention of researchers has been directed to monuments from not only 18th and 19th centuries but to the earlier stauroi, though their study is complicated by the fact that they have been preserved in a signifi cantly smaller number than the later crosses.

historiography, staurography, crosses of Novgorod, crosses of Pskov, Pomor crosses, Belomorye, the Pomors, the North, traditional culture, Orthodox culture

1. Arkheologicheskyi sbornik, Leningrad, St. Petersburg, 1959–2014.
2. Vagner G. K., Belokamennaya rezba drevnego Suzdalya. Roghdestvenskyi sobor. XIII vek, Moscow, 1975.
3. Vagner G. K., Mastera drevnerusskoi skulptury. Rel’efy Uyr’eva-Pol’skogo, Moscow, 1966.
4. Vagner G. K., Ot simvola k real’nosti. Razvitie plasticheskogo obraza v russkom iskusstve XIV — XV vekov, Moscow, 1980.
5. Vagner G. K., Skulptura Vladimiro-Suzdalskoi Rusi. Uyr’ev-Pol’skoi, Мoscow, 1964.
6. Dve zametki o kamennykh krestakh na Severo-Zapade Rossii. I. O kamenykh krestakh Tesovskoi volosti, II. Eshhe raz o kamennykh krestakh “v kruge”, in: Ladoga i Ladozhskaya zemlya v epochy srednevekov’ya, St Petersburg, 2015, available at: http://www.ladogamuseum.ru/litera/panchenko/pub413/ (28.11.2016)
7. Dmitrieva S. I., “Mezanskie kresty”, in: Pamyatniki kultury. Novye otkrytiya: Ezhegodnik, 1984, Leningrad, 1986, 461–466.
8. Zalesskaya V. N., “Svyazi srednevekovogo Hersonesa s Siriei i Maloi Aziei v X–XI vekakh”, in: Vostochnoe Sredizemnomor’e i Kavkaz, IV–XVI v., Leningrad, 1988, 93–98.
9. Ioann Kronshtadskyi, O kreste Khristovom: v oblichenie mnimykh staroobryadtsev, Мoscow, 2005.
10. Lazarev V. N., Mneva N. E., “Pamyatnik novgorodskoi derevyannoi res’by XIV v. (Lyu dogoshhenskyi krest)”, in: Soobshheniya Instituta istorii isskustv, 4–5, Мoscow, 1954, 145–166.
11. Levina T. V., “Derevyannye poklonnye kresty na Russkom Severe”, in: Drevnerusskaya skulptura, issue 1, Мoscow, 1991, 245–261.
12. Milchik M. I., “Obetnye kresty Mezeni”, in: Dekorativnoe iskusstvo SSSR, 2, 1974, 50.
13. Musin A., “K voprosu o perspektivakh izucheniya russkoi tserkovnoi kultury d rossiiskoi arkheologii”, in: Arkheologicheskie vesti, 2, 1993, 145–153.
14. Musin A., “Problemy vozroghdeniya tserkovnoi arkheologii: predmet, metod, tsel’ ”, in: Tserkovnaya arkheologia: Materialy Pervoо Vserossiiskoо Konferencii. Pskov, 20–24 noyabrya 1995 g. St. Petersburg, Pskov, 1995, part 1, 17.
15. Nikolaeva T. V., Proizvedeniya melkoi plastiki XIII–XVII vekov v sobranii Zagorskogo museya: Katalog, Zagorsk, 1960.
16. Numizmaticheskii sbornik GIM, Мoscow, 1977–2012.
17. Ovsyannikov O. V., “Kamennye kresty Arkhangel’skogo Pomor’ya”, in: Pamyatniki srednevekovoi kultury. Otkrytiya i versii. Sbornik statei k 75-letiju V. D. Beletskogo. St. Petersburg, 1994, 171–172.
18. Ovsyannikov O. V., “Chukova T. A., Krest v culture Russkogo Severa XVIII — nachala XX v. (funktsiya i semantika)”, in: Semantika i kultrura, Arkhangelsk, 1989, 60–77.
19. Ovsyannikov O. V., Yasinskij M., “O derevyannykh krestakh Russkogo Severa”, in: Resnye ikonostasy i derevyannaya skulptura Russkogo Severa, Arkhangelsk, 1995, 73–76.
20. Orfinskij V. P., “Narodnoe derevjannoe kul’tovoe zodchestvo Rossij skogo Severa: istoki razvitija”, in: Narodnoe zodchestvo, Petrozavodsk, 1992, 51–53.
21. Orfinskij V. P., “Nekrokul’tovye sooruzhenija Rossijskogo Severa v kontekste hristianskojazycheskogo sinkretizma”, in: Narodnoe zodchestvo, Petrozavodsk, 1998, 60–61.
22. Panchenko V. B., “Kamennye kresty Izhorskogo plato: Katalog”, in: STRATUM plus. Kul’turnaja antropologija i arheologija, 5, 2005–2009, 420–438.
23. Permilovskaja A. B., Kul’turnye smysly narodnoj arhitektury Russkogo Severa, Ekaterinburg, Arhangel’sk, Jaroslavl’, 2013.
24. Popov G. V., Ryndina A. V., Zhivopis’ i prikladnoe iskusstvo Tveri: XIV–XVI vv., Мoscow, 1979.
25. Porfiridov N. G., “Maloizvestnyj pamjatnik drevnerusskoj skul’ptury. Kamennyj krest iz Borovichej”, in: Drevnerusskoe iskusstvo XV — nachala XVI v., Мoscow, 1963, 184–195.
26. Ryndina A. V., Drevnerusskaja melkaja plastika. Novgorod i Central’naja Rus’ XIV–XV vekov, Moscow, 1978.
27. Ryndina A. V., “Prikladnoe iskusstvo i plastika”, in: Popov G. V., Ryndina A. V., Zhivopis’ i prikladnoe iskusstvo Tveri: XIV–XVI vv., Moscow, 1979, 478–617.
28. Svjatoslavskij A. V., “Belokamennyj krest s nadpis’ju v inter’ere palat Averkija Kirillova”, in: Stavrograficheskij sbornik, 3, 336–404.
29. Solenikova E. V., Zakladnye kresty v arhitekture Severo-Zapada Rossii, St Petersburg, 1996.
30. Sterligova I. A., “Krest iz Hersonskogo muzeja i russkie mednolitye kiotnye kresty XII– XIV vv.”, in: Drevnerusskaja skul’ptura, issue II, part 1, Moscow, 1993, 4–19.
31. Sukina L. B., “«Korsunskij » zaprestol’nyj krest iz Pereslavskogo Nikol’skogo monastyrja”, in: Stavrograficheskij sbornik, 2, Moscow, 2003.
32. Suslova E. D., “Cerkov’ i pricht v Karelii rannego Novogo vremeni: analiz informacii massovogo haraktera”, in: Granicy v prostranstve proshlogo: social’nye, idejnye, kul’turnye aspekty, Tver, 2006, 117.
33. Terebihin N. M., Sakral’naja geografija Russkogo Severa, Arhangelsk, 1993.
34. Frizin N. N., “Derevjannye nadgrobija Russkogo Severa: nekotorye varianty razvitija prostranstvennoj struktury”, in: Stavrograficheskij sbornik, 1, Moscow, 2001, 199–236.
35. Chernyh A. V., “Simvoly pravoslavija v topografii russkoj derevni”, in: Stavrograficheskij sbornik, 1, 2001, 293–297.
36. Jashkina V. B., “Srednevekovye kamennye kresty v tradicionnoj kul’ture XIX–XX vv.”, in: Kanun, 4, 1998, 353–354.

Gureev Egor

The fi nancial security of the Orthodox parish clergy was one of the most discussed questions during the Synodal period of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. Parish priests played a signifi cant role in the life of the empire. Priests not only performed divine services but also established schools, participated in social service and charity. Sometimes, rural priests were the only educated persons in the parish, which provided them with considerable infl uence and authority. In the period of post-reform Russia the state intended to improve the welfare of the clergy in order to raise the social status of parishes. However, there were no opportunities for fi nancial support of the church. The government considered church land ownership as a possible source of material security of the clergy. This article studies church land ownership as a source of material security of the clergy of the Central Black Earth area in the second half of the 19th — the beginning of the 20th centuries drawing on archival and published sources. The author comes to the conclusion that land ownership played an important role in the material support of the clergy.

Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Empire, dioceses of the Central Black Earth, Special Commission on Aff airs of Orthodox Clergy, parish clergy, fi nancial situation of the clergy, church land ownership

1. Belonogova Yu. I., Prikhodskoe dukhovenstvo Moskovskoi eparkhii i krest’yanskii mir v nachale XX veka, Moscow, 2010.
2. Ikonnikov S. A., Prikhodskoe dukhovenstvo Voronezhskoi eparkhii (vtoraya polovina XIX — nachalo XX veka), Voronezh: Izdatel’sko-poligrafi cheskii tsentr «Nauchnaya kniga», 2014.
3. Leont’eva T. G., Vera i progress: pravoslavnoe sel’skoe dukhovenstvo Rossii vo vtoroi polovine XIX — nachale XX v., Moscow, Novyi khronograf, 2002.
4. Shadrina A. V., Prikhodskoe dukhovenstvo Donskoi i Novocherkasskoi eparkhii vtoroi poloviny XIX veka, Rostov-na-Donu, Antei, 2014.
5. Smolich I. K., Istorija Russkoj cerkvi, 1700–1917, Ch. 1, Moscow, Spaso-Preobrazhenskij Valaamskij monastyr’, 1996.

Ikonnikov Sergey

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

This article considers the intensive process of forming civil society in Russia in the late 19th — early 20th centuries by means of developing a network of non-governmental organisations; the reasons for their growth and recession are being studied as well. The activities of secular non-governmental organisations were focused on uniting people in order to solve mainly economic and social problems. After the church reforms, a great number of Orthodox public organisations arose to revive parish life, to improve spiritual and moral state of the population. In Perm’ diocese, there were a number of Orthodox public organisations, the most numerous and effi cient being the Orthodox Missionary Society, the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, the Brotherhood of St. Stephen of Perm’, parish trusteeships, the Society of Orthodox Devotees. Their admission requirements were practically identical; however the members’ status was varied in accordance with their individual contribution. After a sharp increase in the number of society members in the early years of their operation, a gradual decrease in the membership took place as a result of political, economic and social changes. Nevertheless, this experience of strengthening people’s unity is very valuable nowadays; it should be carefully analysed and employed in the development of civil society in modern Russia.

civil society, non-governmental organisations, membership dynamics, Perm’ diocese, Missionary Society, Palestinian Society, Brotherhood of St. Stephen of Perm, parish trusteeship, Society of Orthodox Devotees, admission requirements, members’ status, people’s unity

1. Nechaeva M. Y., Pravoslavnye obshchestvennye organizacii Srednego Urala serediny XIX — nachala XX v., Yekaterinburg, 2008.
2. Rimskij S. V., Rossijskaya Cerkov’ v ehpohu velikih reform, Moscow, 1999.

Sapsay Andrey, archpriest

In the year of the 1000th anniversary of the presence of Russian monasticism on Mount Athos, it is reasonable to evaluate the impact of spiritual traditions of the Holy Mountain on some regions, in particular on Altai Region, where Altai spiritual mission started its activity in 1830. Athos and Altai have had close religious contacts since the second half of the 19th century. This circumstance was an important factor in dissemination of Orthodoxy among the indigenous population. The purpose of this article is to reveal and analyse the spiritual ties between the Aphonites and Christians of Altai. The beginning of active spiritual interaction between Altai and Mount Athos is connected with the icon of the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, brought to Altai in 1879. Gradually, the authority of Athonite asceticism became an important part of spiritual life of the newly baptised. The donations went to Mount Athos from diff erent territories. However, the attempts to spread the tradition of Mount Athos’ monks in the monasteries of the Altai mission failed. Athos other-worldly asceticism was too much discordant with the principle of missionary openness of Altai monasteries. This article shows that the spiritual connection between Altai and Athos manifested itself in various forms of religious life, such as pilgrimages of Altai mission employees, visits of the professed from Athos monasteries to Altai, donations to monasteries of Mount Athos, publication and dissemination of spiritual and educational literature. But the most important was the tradition to order icons. Every year missionaries ordered icons on Mount Athos. Arrival of icons was accompanied with special church celebrations. Athonite icons came to be local shrines. They were pilgrimaged, which contributed to new conversions to Christianity and strengthened the faith of those baptised earlier. Athonite images contributed to the worship of certain saints. A similar role was played by relics of saints which, although in smaller numbers than the icons, were also sent from Mount Athos.

Athonite monks, icons in Athonite style, miracle-working icons, Altai, Altai spiritual mission, Russian Orthodox Church

1. Kreydun Yu., Hrami Gorno-Altaiska I ego predmestii v XIX — nachale XXI v., Barnaul, 2010.

Kreydun Yuri, archpriest

*According to ISCED 2011, a post-doctoral degree called Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc.) is given to reflect second advanced research qualifications or higher doctorates.

This study is devoted to the history of obtaining the autocephaly by the Orthodox Church in Poland from the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1924. The author leaves beyond the scope of the article the reasons why the Polish Church took this step, as well the factors that contributed to it and the position of the Russian Church. The article focuses on the negotiations of the Polish government and Fanar on the issue of church autocephaly that took place between 1921 and 1924 in Istanbul and ended with the publication of the Patriarchal and Synodal-Canonical Tomos about the recognition of the Orthodox Church in Poland as independent. The article scrutinises the course and outcome of these negotiations, reveals the reasons why the Polish government negotiated precisely with the Patriarchate of Constantinople and explains the interest of the Patriarchate in these negotiations. The article also describes the visit of the delegates of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to Warsaw in 1925, within the framework of which festivities celebrating the independence of the Polish Church were organised. Besides, drawing on archive documents, the article clarifi es the popular rumour about the sale by the Patriarchate of Constantinople of its blessing on the independence of the Church in Poland from Moscow Patriarchate. Some documents confi rming the fi nancial arrangements between the Polish government and Fanar are published in the appendix to the article. These documents have been made public in Russian historiography for the first time.

Polish Orthodox Church, Patriarchate of Constantinople, autocephaly, purchase of autocephaly, visit of delegates of Fanar to Warsaw, Meletios Metaxakis, Patriarch Gregory VII, Metropolitan Dionysius, Roman Knoll, Embassy of Poland in Turkey

1. Aleksii (Gromadskii), arkhiep., Iz istorii Pravoslavnoi tserkvi v Pol’she za desiatiletie prebyvaniia vo glave ee Blazhenneishego mitropolita Dionisiia (1923–1933), Varshava, 1937.
2. Vinter E., Papstvo i tsarizm. M., 1964.
3. Stepanchuk O. P., “Pravovoi status Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi v Pol’she (Kholmshchina, Volyn’, Poles’e) v 20–30-e gody XX veka”, in: Al’manakh sovremennoi nauki i obrazovaniia, 3 (70), 2013.
4. Chibisova A. A., “K voprosu ob istorikokanonicheskom obosnovanii avtokefalii Pol’skoi Tserkvi 1924 goda”, in: Tserkov’. Bogoslovie. Istoriia: materialy V Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-bogoslovskoi konferentsii (Ekaterinburg, 2–4 fevralia 2017 g.), Ekaterinburg, 2017.
5. Borkowski A., Między Konstantynopolem a Moskwą. Źródła greckie do autokefalii Kościoła prawosławnego w Rzeczypospolitej (1919–1927), Białystok, 2015.

Anastasiya Chibisova

This article deals with a particularly diffi cult period in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia, namely the years 1948–1952. The study is based on documents of the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The article analyses relations between the Soviet state and the Orthodox Church in Estonia, where the situation was rather different from other Soviet republics. The insuffi cient number of churches was the key problem of Orthodoxy in the USSR during this period. However, this problem was not relevant to Estonia, where in the 19th century the government of the Russian Empire builtca. 100 churches. Besides, the Orthodox Church in Estonia experienced serious financial diffi culties. Most of countryside parishes, which found themselves without any financial support from Moscow Patriarchate after the October Revolution of 1917, were actually unable to function. During the years 1948–1952, the authorities intended to close down those parishes, but bishops Isidor (Bogoiavlenskii) and Roman (Tang) supported by metropolitan of Leningrad Grigory (Chukov) tried to save most of them. The collectivisation of agriculture inspired by the authorities had an obvious negative influence on Orthodox countryside parishes in Estonia. Land plots that belonged to priests were confi scated by the authorities. Offi cials of the Communist Party exerted pressure on members of rural collective farms (kolkhoz) to prevent farmers from going to church. At the same time, the functionaries of Estonia were loyal to Lutheran Church and its pastors. Besides, during the years 1948–1952 several Orthodox priests were arrested in Estonia. The anti-religious propaganda was actively implemented by the authorities. As a consequence, some cases of vandalism against Orthodox churches occurred. At the same time, a signifi cant number of people moved by Soviet authorities from other regions of the USSR to Estonia in order to increase its economic potential resulted in increasing the number of Orthodox parishioners in the main cities of the republic. The bishops managed to sustain the greater part of the parishes in Estonia, the most signifi cant churches, cathedrals and the monastery despite aggressive antireligious policy conducted by Soviet authorities in the country in general and in Estonia in particular.

Orthodoxy in Estonia, history of Orthodoxy in Estonia, metropolitan Isidor (Bogoyavlenskii), archbishop Roman (Tang), metropolitan Grigory (Chukov), Orthodox parishes of Estonia, Estonian Orthodox Church, relations between state and church in USSR

1. Alexij (Ridiger), Patriarkh, Pravoslavije v Estonii, Moscow, 1999.
2. Zaretskij V., “Dukhovenstvo i cerkovnij e truzheniki repressirovannie v godi sovetskoy vlasti v Estonii”, in: Мir Pravoslaviya, 8 (161), 2011. URL: http://www.baltwillinfo.com/mp2011-08/mp-14.html (17.11.2017).
3. Myannik S., “Arhiepiskop Pavel (Dmitrovskii)”, in: Pravoslavie v Baltii, 2 (11), 2014, 81–93.
4. Prekup I., prot., Pravoslavie v Estonii, Tallin, 1998.
5. Petrov I., Pravoslavnaya Baltiya 1939–1952 gg. Period voin, repressii I mezhnatsionalnih protivorechii, St. Petersburg, 2016.
6. “Pisma Patriarkha Aleksija I v Soviet po delam Russkoj pravoslavnoj cerkvi kak istochnik po istorii vzaimootnoshenii sovetskogo gosudarstva I Tserkvi”, in: N. A. Krivova, red., U. G. Orlova, publ., sost. Pisma Patriarkha Aleksija I v Soviet po delam Russkoj pravoslavnoj cerkvi pri Soviete narodnykh komissarov — Sovete ministrov SSSR. 1945–1970, Moscow, 2009

Nepochatova Marina

A number of modern philosophers believe that Soviet ideology, despite materialism and atheism of Marxist doctrine, had noticeable spiritual and religious features. It would be interesting to try to substantiate this statement not only by philosophical and theoretical but also by historical facts. This article studies Soviet visual propaganda, namely posters and caricatures of the 1920–1960s that refl ect the evolution of Communist ideas in the clearest and most concentrated form. The main aim of the analysis is by means of this type of historical source to identify categories, images and symbols with religious connotation. The article identifi es themes in which these elements were present, the specifi city of their use in diff erent historical periods and their connection with other contexts in the Soviet propagandistic material. The study of visual propaganda confi rms that it did make use of the symbolism endowed with sacred meaning. Meanwhile, in the 1940–1950s such categories and images existed (at least in their Christian version) chiefl y beyond the atheist agenda. Their presence in posters and caricatures cannot be characterised as regular and frequent, however they reveal certain sequence, internal logic, and interconnection. Although the extent of religiosity of the Communist ideology should not be overestimated, the analysis generally shows that the Soviet worldview was rather complex and more varied than the Marxist theory implied, and many Soviet slogans and images need to be seen within a wider civilisational and spiritual context.

USSR, ideology, visual propaganda, poster, caricature, Soviet civilisation, Communism, religion, atheism, the sacred

1. Vakhitov R. R., Klassicheskoe levoe evraziistvo, available at: http://redeurasia.narod.ru/biblioteka/kle.html (27.10.2017).
2. Vakhitov R. R., Fenomen bol’shevizma, available at: http://redeurasia.narod.ru/biblioteka/bolshevizm.html (27.10.2017).
3. Demosfenova G. L., Sovetskii politicheskii plakat, Moscow, 1962.
4. Zubkova E. Iu., Poslevoennoe sovetskoe obshchestvo: politika i povsednevnost’, Moscow, 1999.
5. Kara-Murza S. G., Osipov G. V., SSSR — tsivilizatsiia budushchego. Innovatsii Stalina, Moscow, 2010.
6. Kortunov S. V., Natsional’naia identichnost’. Postizhenie smysla, Moscow, 2009.
7. Luchshev E. M., Sovetskii antireligioznyi plakat v sobranii Gosudarstvennogo muzeia istorii religii. St. Petersburg, 2010.

Fedosov Egor

This article examines the problem of interaction between state authorities and the governing bodies of the Russian Orthodox Church in Kalmykia in the period of 1957– 1984. The author analyses the state of religious aff airs, the development of relations both between state authorities and Orthodox Church organisations on the one hand, and between the clergy and church authorities on the other. The factors that infl uenced these relations are discussed as well. Another task is to reconstruct the socio-demographic situation of the Orthodox clergy and members of parish councils, as well as to identify and analyse the behavioural strategies of the Orthodox clergy. The article draws on materials of the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the National Archive of Republic of Kalmykia, most of materials being made public for the fi rst time. The study of the religious situation in 1957–1984 has showed that in spite of the strong atheistic propaganda, a certain part of population in Kalmykia steadfastly preserved the Orthodox rites. The main proportion of believers, of regular church-goers and members of local organs of church self-administration was made up by elderly people, mainly women, whereas middle-aged and young people were few. State authorities did not aim to eliminate the existing Orthodox houses of worship, but at the same time suppressed any attempts of believers to set up new churches and parishes. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that the main component of the religious policies was the weakening of the infl uence of the clergy on church-goers and increased supervision of religious life. In these circumstances, the Orthodox clergy in their relations with authorities employed either the strategy of adaptation or confrontation. Confl icts between members of the clergy and church authorities on the one hand and state authorities on the other usually arose on economic grounds and did not have a political character.

Kalmykia, Russian Orthodox Church, church-state relations, Soviet religious policies, Commissioner for Religious Aff airs, clergy, parish, church government, strategy of behaviour, I. S. Shandrygin, V. V. Partolin

1. Belousov S. S., State religious policy in Kalmykia against Christian faiths in the first half of the XX century (1900–1956), Elista, 2015.
2. Belousov S. S., Orthodox parishes of Kalmykia in the XIX — early XX century, Elista, 2003.
3. Borisenko I. V., “As closed Orthodox Church”, in: Izvestiya Kalmykii, 1991, Dec. 4.
4. Borisenko I. V., “Rectors of the parish of Elistinskaya “, in: Izvestiya Kalmykii, 1993, June, 11.
5. Borisenko I. V., Orthodoxy in Kalmykia, Moscow, 1999.
6. Kasparov E. L., Dynamics of fertility and nuptiality in the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet socialist Republic, Elista, 1974.

Belousov Sergey

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

The documents published here were created in the period and in the context of church controversy that took place after the release of the July Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). They date back from the beginning of 1928. The author of the publication puts forward the hypothesis that the two letters belong to the famous philosopher and church fi gure A. F. Losev but were written under the infl uence of the leader of the church opposition Mikhail Alexandrovich Novoselov. Both philosophers were arrested following the case of the “True Orthodox Church”, M. N. Novoselov in 1929, A. F. Losev in 1930. The publication contains two letters to the clergy by A. F. Losev. One of them, the “Letter to the Defender of the Russian Church”, as suggested by the publisher, is addressed to the Athonite elder-Imiaslavets (Russ. имяславец, literally ‘name-praiser’) archimandrite David (Mukhranov). The other, entitled “NN’s Letter to the Elder”, is addressed to the monk of closed-down Zosima’s Hermitage (Зосимова пустынь) Dosifei (Shonin). The letters give reasons for the open severance from Metropolitan Sergius and condemns the compromising or cautious approach to the problem of severance. Looking like a personal document, the letters are designed for a broad audience and bear the function of convincing and attracting adherents of a certain opinion. The letters illustrate a complicated approach to the problem of obeying spiritual authorities, i.e. spiritual fathers and church authorities. Besides, the documents are interesting as a source of information on the church situation in the late 1920s and as a refl ection of complicated spiritual and personal relations arising in this situation. The letters have been discovered in the State Archive of the Russian Federation and in the Central Archive of the Federal Security Service.

Russian Orthodox Church, July Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), M. A. Novoselov, A. F. Losev, hieromonk Dosifei (Shonin), archimandrite David (Mukhranov), handwritten polemic literature, church opposition of the late 1920s and early 1930s, persecution of church, case of “True Orthodox Church”

1. Taho-Godi A. A., Losev, Moscow, 2007.
2. Zapiski svyashchennika Sergiya Sidorova, s prilozheniem ego zhizneopisaniya, sostavlennogo docher’yu V. S. Bobrinskoj, Moscow, 1999.
3. Mazyrin A., “K voprosu o polnomochiyah Zamestitelya Patriarshego Mestoblyustitelya. Vzglyad istorika cerkovnoj svyatosti svyashchennika Sergiya Mansurova”, in: Materialy XV Ezhegodnoj Bogoslovskoj konferencii PSTGU, Moscow, 2005, 272–280.

Kosik Olga

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

This publication makes public a little-known polemical letter from archbishop Grigory (Yatskovskiy), the leader of the Grigorian schism that originated in December, 1925, to the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). The letter was sent to the addressee in early March, 1926, at a time when the schismatics still had hopes for a favourable development of the situation. The document was discovered in the Collection of archbishop Seraphim (Samoilovich), now kept in the Church Historical Archive of St. Tikhon’s University. In 1926, archbishop Seraphim was a staunch supporter of Metropolitan Sergius, and, apparently, a copy of the letter of archbishop Grigory was sent to him in order to change his position. The document allows us to clarify some important details regarding the history of the fi rst months of Grigorian schism and the attempts of the State Political Directorate to enmesh into the schismatic intrigue such prominent church fi gures as Patriarchal Locum Tenens hieromartyr metropolitan Peter (Polyanskiy), metropolitan Arseny (Stadnitskiy), hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitskiy). At the same time, the letter of archbishop Grigory shows that not all the arguments aimed against him by metropolitan Sergius were equally strong. Some arguments of the Deputy were clearly casuistic, though generally in his controversy with Grigory’s supporters he was right, which was the reason why he was supported by Orthodox bishops. On the whole, the author of this publication comes to the conclusion that Grigory’s doctrine was diff erent (towards the better) from Renovationism, which was originally set up in 1922 as a clique of whistleblowers. Historical evaluations of these two signifi cant Russian church schisms of the 1920s should not be the same.

Russian Orthodox Church, Grigorian schism, Temporary Higher Church Council, Moscow Patriarchate, higher church administration, metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), metropolitan Peter (Polyanskiy), archbishop Grigory (Yatskovskiy), ecclesiastical controversy, Renovationism

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Mazyrin Alexander, priest

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

The article is written in 2018 within the framework of the project "Higher administration in the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1920s-1930s: problems of canonical and practical succession" supported by PSTGU Development Foundation.