Studying the problems of church autocephaly in the socio-political context of the 19th — early 20th centuries in Russia

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the problem of autocephaly of Orthodox Churches in Russia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Interest in this aspect of aspect of Orthodox ecclesiology and canon law intensified not only because of the development of Orthodox theology in Russia, but also due to the fact that this problem acquired political significance. It was connected with some matters of domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Empire. The annexation of Georgian in the early nineteenth century and liquidation of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church by the decision of the secular authorities provided the enduring source of the anti-governmental mood among Georgian elite, traditionally closely connected with the local clergy. The foreign policy interests of the empire in the Near East and Asia Minor also contributed to the intensification of research in the field of ecclesiastic history and the modern structure of ancient patriarchates. The greatest factor that contributed to an increase in such research interests was the emergence of new autocephalous churches: the Greek and Bulgarian churches separated from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Separation of the Bulgarian Church provoked an aggressive polemic in the Russian press. The problem of nationalism was highlighted, which is significant for the Orthodox tradition. As an attachment to the article, the authors include the text of a report on the possibility of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church composed by Vladimir Beneshevich in 1917. The report was made upon request of the Provisional Government and it is preserved in the collection of Beneshevich at the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.