Hasil untuk "History and principles of religions"

Susanne Härtel

In this essay, I seek to illustrate the workings of rabbinic authority by means of a concrete historical example, a decision taken by Rabbi Elijah Mizraḥi (c. 1450–1526) in a particular constellation in Ottoman Constantinople around 1500. The insights of a historian of Jewish history may also be of interest to scholars of Ottoman Studies, at best stimulating interdisciplinary collaborations as well as comparative studies. After a brief introduction to the genre of responsa literature and its value as a source for political history, a specific conflict is presented, which was sparked by the question of whether Rabbanite Jews were allowed to teach Karaite Jews in religious and secular subjects. An appraisal of Mizraḥi’s reasoning reveals that the scholar who permitted the teaching espoused a rather liberal position. It was supported by halakhic tradition, but did not automatically follow from it. If Mizraḥi’s arguments are then placed in their historical context, the decision’s likely effects become visible, allowing a reconstruction of the rabbi’s strategies: an overall conciliatory approach appears to have enabled him to gain recognition of his authority among various groups of the city’s generally heterogeneous Jewish population. The example at hand thus offers an illuminating vantage for examining Jewish politics under the impress of continued migrations in the Ottoman lands and the Mediterranean region of the following 16th century.

رعنا محمدزاده, الهه پنجه باشی

همانندی ساختار نقش‌مایه‌ها، در گونه‌های مختلف صنایع یک دوره خاص، از ویژگی‌های مهم مکاتب هنری است. در پژوهش پیشرو جهت تبیین خصوصیات هنری دورۀ قاجاریه، از میان آثار صنایع‌دستی که همواره مرکز توجه بوده‌اند؛ مطالعه و تطبیق طرح و نقش‌مایه‌های یکی از قالی‌های تهران دورۀ قاجاریه با نقوش کاشی‌های محوطه کاخ گلستان مدنظر قرار گرفته است. هدف بررسی تطبیقی الگوی رنگی و طرح نقش‌مایه‌ها در نمونه‌های یاد شده است. این جستار، در پی پاسخگویی به این پرسش‌ها است: وجوه تشابه ویژگی‌های ظاهری میان قالی مذکور و کاشی‌کاری‌های کاخ گلستان، چه عناصری هستند؟ ساختار نقشه این قالی تا چه میزانی تأثیرپذیرفته از نقش کاشی‌های نامبرده است؟ گردآوری مطالب به روش کتابخانه‌ای و با رویکردی تاریخی انجام شده و داده‌ها به شیوۀ توصیفی ـ تحلیلی مورد تطبیق قرار گرفته است. در نتیجه در این پژوهش برخی ویژگی‌های ساختاری نقش‌مایه‌های مورد استفاده در آثار قاجاریه، روشن شده است؛ آبی، زرد و صورتی به‌عنوان رنگ‌های غالب در قالی و کاشی‌ها استفاده شده است. طرح و رنگ در نمونه‌های مورد مطالعه در عین تفاوت کاربردی، در ویژگی ظاهری همگون هستند که وام گرفته از سنت تصویری رایج در دورۀ قاجاریه و اشتراکات هنری زمانه است. در میان این نقش‌مایه‌ها، عناصری که از غرب به ترکیب‌های ایرانی وارد شدند، مانند گل رز صورتی، ضمن آمیختن با سنت‌های بصری پیشین ایرانی، توانستند با تغییراتی جای خود را در آثار بیابند. قالی به‌عنوان یک دست‌بافته، اگرچه ماهیت متفاوتی از کاشی به‌عنوان بخشی از تزیینات معماری دارد، اما اجزای تصویری آن، می‌تواند همانندی سبکی با کاشی داشته باشد؛ که نتیجه بارز هم‌دوره بودن آن‌ها و روح هنری زمانه است.

Adrian Crăciunescu

The theory on authenticity can generate disputes depending to the geographical and cultural space of those who define this concept. It seems, however, that this ideological dispute (see the Petzet-Araoz dialogue), tends to remain an abstraction related to the material and immaterial, ignoring some pragmatic elements that are at the root of the cultural misunderstandings related to the authenticity of heritage. I have selected three of them that I consider to be essential. The first one is a linguistic component, in the context of the present prevalence of the English language over the French language (in which Venice Charter was conceived). The second aspect is related to the analysis criteria applied to the cultural models of today and not to those that were valid at the time when the assessed heritage elements were conceived. The third derives from the distinct character of the assessment of built heritage compared to the assessment of the movable or immaterial one. The hypothesis of this article is that the word “authenticity” itself is the one at the root of the above mentioned cultural disputes and that it should be more often be replaced by “genuineness”.

Evgenii Rostovtsev, Ilya Sidorchuk

The research is devoted to the defense of doctoral dissertations during the period of their legislative abolition – from 1918 to 1934. The authors focused on the question of the reasons for the preservation of protection rituals in new conditions, the peculiarities of their organization, the reasons for the gradual return to official practices of awarding degrees and, finally, the most important differences between the defense procedures of the 1930s and pre-revolutionary. The source base consisted of archival materials of a number of Soviet universities and academic institutions, as well as various egodocuments of representatives of the academic community and periodicals, which allowed reconstructing the protection procedure during the period under review. In addition, legislative sources regulating the procedure for preparation Soviet scientific personnel and, in particular, awarding academic degrees were actively involved. As a result, it is concluded that it may be more about the external similarity of the system of pre-revolutionary and Soviet protections. The awarding of degrees still played the role of an incentive for a scientific career, but a significant part of the powers associated with its regulation was withdrawn from the scientific community. The process of “pre-defense”, where the main decisions on the fate of the dissertation were still made, ceased to be exclusively a corporate matter of the professorial board. In addition, ideological control over the content of the dissertation research appeared. Another important difference was that the dissertation, in essence, became closed to the public, and the dispute largely lost the features of the theatrical performance that the university corporation gave to society in the previous period. As a result, the awarding of degrees turned from a corporate ritual that protected the academic autonomy of the scientific community in the pre-revolutionary period into a means of controlling it and an instrument of state policy. At the same time, this transformation was not complete, it was hindered by the very nature of science as a social practice, impossible in a situation of complete lack of autonomy.

Alevtina Matveeva

In Late Byzantium, spiritual correspondence served as a form of spiritual guidance. One form of imparting guidance was through correspondence between a spiritual father and a spiritual child. The 14 unpublished letters from the Metropolitan of Chalcedon to his spiritual daughter, nun Eulogia, found in the codex Paris, BnF, gr. 1372, ff. 155–170v, constitute the extant segment of spiritual correspondence during the Late Byzantine period. Selected by Eulogia herself and transcribed at her request, these letters evolved into a section of a collection of ascetic treatises designed for a monastic audience. The main theme of these little-studied letters is the exploration of Eulogia’s soul and her experience of monastic life. The Metropolitan serves as a vigilant supervisor meticulously noting even the subtlest emotional fluctuations of his correspondent. Within the epistolary narrative, the metropolitan performs a number of functions: therapeutic as a doctor, educational as a counsellor, prayerful as an intercessor before God, and reconciliatory as a mediator between God and Eulogia. The mentioned aspects are characteristic features in the depiction of a spiritual father in the Eastern Christian tradition. The article illustrates how employing these guiding models the spiritual father endeavors to regulate the emotional and physical experiences of his spiritual daughter. The hierarch emphasizes the necessity of struggle with depressive despair through daily confession before God and discourages the adoption of elevated hesychast practices. Furthermore, the hierarch revises the monastic rules of life advising Eulogia who is grappling with a physical ailment to exercise moderation in the number of prayers and genuflections, while also emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy balance in terms of food and sleep. Thus, the spiritual father serves as a regulator of ascetic practices demonstrating his desire to personalize Eulogia’s relationship with the sacred and to shape the most suitable path for her to experience monastic spiritual life. The spiritual letters themselves serve as instruments of influence as their function extends beyond communication and maintaining social connections. These spiritual messages are meant to be reread and comprehended during which the spiritual child was again and again immersed in the discourse of instructions.

Tatyana Shevchenko

The publication covers correspondence during the First World War (1914-1917) between the abbot of the Valaam Transfiguration Monastery, Abbot Mauritius (Baranova, 1838-1918) with Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (1856-1929). A total of 35 letters and telegrams are presented. The correspondence is kept in the archives of the New Valaam Monastery in Finland. In 1914-1915 The Grand Duke was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval forces of the Russian Empire, then - the Viceroy of His Imperial Majesty in the Caucasus, the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Army. The correspondence reflects the reactions of its authors to the military operations, successes and defeats of the Russian army, as well as the pastoral support of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Abbot of Mauritius and the attitude of the Valaam abbot to the basic realities of the time, to the enemy countries of Russia and its allies, and reflects the Abbot’s thoughts about the future of Russia, about the Russian people, their place in history and in the world, about the significance of military feats, reflects the abbot’s hopes for a quick victory for Russia. The correspondence also contains several letters from the abbot to Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, the wife of the Grand Duke, and her sister Militsa Nikolaevna, as well as their telegrams. Hegumen Mauritius was one of the most respected abbots of Valaam; he was a member of the Local Council in 1917. One of the most revered elders of the 20th century Hieroschemamonk Alexy Zosimovsky asked to take over his mantle before at the Council he drew lots with the name of the elected Patriarch, who became Metropolitan Tikhon (Bellavin) of Moscow and Kolomna.

Anastasia Kharitonova

The article «Motivation for doctors to enter the communities of sisters of mercy» discusses the possible reasons for the admission of doctors to the communities of sisters of mercy that have been operating on the territory of the Russian Empire since the middle of the 19th century. The communities were unique private charitable organizations that had as their goal the training of new female medical personnel. The reasons are identified by studying the conditions of service of doctors in the communities, which are reflected in the regulatory and office documents. This is material support, social benefits provided to doctors, awards, material for conducting medical practice and medical research. The reasons recorded in some sources of personal origin are also called. The article takes into account the historical context of the existence of doctors. Namely, the statements of representatives of the medical staff of the late XIX - early XX centuries about their financial situation, which had a negative connotation, and their assessment of the quality of training of medical personnel at the medical faculties of Russian universities. The study draws attention to the staff of doctors, their age, experience. The determined motives for entering the communities are correlated with the categories (identified by age, professional level, social status) of doctors. The result of the study is the following statements. Young doctors of the community were given the opportunity to get a job in the capital and a good medical practice. For older and more experienced doctors, the motives for getting a job in these communities were the rights of the civil service. They might also have been attracted to the idea of philanthropy from the communities of sisters of mercy and the communication and cooperation with influential representatives of high society. In addition, the research work developed in the communities attracted doctors of different ages and levels of professionalism.

Olga Iliukhina

The article examines the scientific potential of higher schools of the Russian Empire, universities and theological academies, in the field of ecclesiastical law during the active discussion of church reforms in 1906-1917. The author comes to the conclusion that at the beginning of the XX century it is necessary to talk about three developed scientific schools of ecclesiastical law: the St. Petersburg University school of M.I. Gorchakov, associated with it the Moscow University school of N.S. Suvorov and the Kazan School of I.S. Berdnikov. At the same time, only the latter one can be described as having preserved a close connection between the academy and the university. Universities were aimed at replacing the staff of the departments of ecclesiastical law with their graduates. In St. Petersburg and Moscow, it was possible to do this at the beginning of the XX century: V.N. Beneshevich and P.V. Gidulyanov, university graduates, became professors of the Department of Ecclesiastical Law. And the statistics of doctoral dissertations reveal the special role of Moscow University in the training of secular specialists in ecclesiastical law and shows that university scientific schools should be recognized as dominant in science. Strict administrative control and frequent changes of professorial staff at the departments of ecclesiastical law in the St. Petersburg and Moscow Theological Academies in the examined period obviously hindered the development of their own stable scientific traditions. Some stagnation is also noticeable in the Kiev Academy, where M.I. Mishchenko, the Master of Theology, was permanently at the similar department during this period. The inclusion of ecclesiastical law in the list of legal sciences has significantly expanded the scope of research: in addition to the actual study of history or the interpretation of the canons, church-state relations, problems of freedom of conscience, the relationship of the church court and state jurisdiction, as well as civil and family law began to be studied. Scientific achievements turned out to be relevant in the preparation of church reform in pre-Council forums, where university professors were invited mainly.

Marina Voloskova

At present, the history of the emergence of the «neocircular discord» of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy is poorly studied. Even in the memory of the Old Believers themselves, information about the once former division of the Old Believers who accept the Belokrinitsky hierarchy into the so-called circle and neokruzhniki is scattered. There is very little system information about events that relate to the «neocircular discord». There are also few scientific studies devoted to the events related to the «District Message» of 1862, and the available ones are devoted to individual episodes and names. Insufficient knowledge of this topic leads to inaccuracies in studies devoted to spiritual and social thought of the late XIX-early XX century, leaves blank spots in the history of Old Believers, leads to historiographical errors in the interpretation of certain phenomena. The article examines the history of the emergence of the «neocircular discord» of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy in 1862. The publication of the «District Message» provoked discord in the Old Believer Church of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy. The search for compromises and further attempts at reconciliation in the late XIX – early XX century did not bring the proper result. In addition, the neocircular discord marked the beginning of a theological discussion on a number of issues in relation to the state and the dominant Church. In particular, the most discussed issue was the possibility of commemoration at the Liturgy of the tsar. In addition, the publication of the «District Epistle» influenced the transition to the co-faith of a number of clergy of the Belokrinitsa hierarchy, which in turn had serious consequences for historical science, since in the process of cooperation with the historian of the church, Doctor of theology I. N. Subbotin, Archdeacon Filaret gave him the archive of the Belokrinitsa metropolis, the materials of which were subsequently published.

Ramazan Çöklü

Cessâs (öl. 370/981), Bâkıllânî (öl. 403/1013) ve Kādî Abdülcebbâr (öl. 415/1025), hicrî 4. asırda yaşayan yahut ömrünün büyük çoğunluğu hicrî 4. asırda geçen dönemin tanınmış âlimleridir. Farklı itikadî mezheplere mensup bulunan bu üç âlim, günümüze ulaşan en eski ve en kapsamlı fıkıh usûlü eserlerinin yazarlarıdır. Onların usûl eserleri, konuların fıkıh usûlü-kelâm ilişkisi içerisinde incelenmesi, muhalif gördükleri iddiaların kendilerine yönelttikleri sorulara cevap niteliğindeki açıklamalarla bertaraf edilmeye çalışılması ve birçok meselenin aklî, naklî ve dilbilimsel delillerle temellendirilmesi yönüyle ortaktır. Cessâs, Bâkıllânî ve Kādî Abdülcebbâr’ın fıkıh usûlü ve kelâm ilişkisi çerçevesinde incelediği ve görüşlerini aklî, naklî ve dilbilimsel delillerle temellendirmeye çalıştığı konulardan biri de muhkem ve müteşâbih lafızların delaletidir. Kelâm ilminde tevhid ve tenzih eksenli incelenen muhkem ve müteşâbih lafızlar, fıkıh usûlünde genel olarak bir anlama problemi şeklinde tartışılmıştır. Modern dönemde muhkem ve müteşâbih lafızlarla ilgili yapılan çalışmaları incelediğimizde çoğunlukla mezkûr iki lafzın te’vili üzerine yoğunlaşıldığını, meselenin fıkıh usûlünü ilgilendiren yönüne genellikle değinilmediğini görmekteyiz. Kādî Abdülcebbâr’ın konuya yaklaşımıyla ilgili bazı çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Fakat bunlarda çoğunlukla muhkem ve müteşâbihin kelâmî boyutuna değinilmiş, fıkıh usûlündeki kullanımına ise yer verilmemiştir. Cessâs ve Bâkıllânî’nin muhkem ve müteşâbih konusundaki düşünceleri ise tespit edebildiğimiz kadarıyla müstakil olarak incelenmemiştir. Bu araştırma, Cessâs, Bâkıllânî ve Kādî Abdülcebbâr gibi yaşadığı döneme damga vuran ve kendisinden sonraki usûlcüleri etkileyen meşhur âlimlerin muhkem ve müteşâbih lafızların delaletiyle ilgili görüşlerini inceleyerek literatürde önemli bir ihtiyacı karşılama hedefindedir. Çalışmada önce Cessâs, Bâkıllânî ve Kādî Abdülcebbâr’ın muhkem ve müteşâbih tanımlarına yer verilecek, ardından meselenin fıkıh usûlüne etki eden itikadî boyutuna değinilecek, sonra da müteşâbih lafızların anlaşılma sorunundan söz edilecektir.

Vajhhe Golmakani, Fatemeh Janahmadi, Abbas Boroumand Alam

Egypt faced successive periods of inflation during the first generation of the Fatimid caliphs. The crises that resulted in the accumulation of gold and its gradual elimination from commercial interactions were so serious that the Fatimid caliph “Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah” (the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam) was forced to adopt monetary reforms. The present study aimed to find out how did the economic reforms perpetuated by Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah reduce the consequences of the al-Mustansariyah crisis? The study was conducted according to a descriptive methodology by analyzing historical data, and it was shown that the most significant economic reforms of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah included stabilizing the bimetallic system, establishing the “Divan-i Mufrad” and redistributing the cash flow as alms and state donations to return the hoarded gold (al-Kanz) to the cycle of economic transactions. The above reforms prevented the prevalence of less valuable currencies in the place of dirhams and dinars. Thus, they alleviated the effects of economic crises in Egypt in the long run particularly after the country cut ties with the Zirid Dynasty, the gold imports from Egypt were reduced, and the state treasuries were plundered during the al-Mustansiriyah crisis.

Mikhail Gratsianskiy

The article analyses three epistles of Popes Innocent I (402–417) and Zosimus (417–418), which endow the primates of Antioch, Thessalonica and Arles with special prerogatives. These epistles are of interest from the point of view of the church-administrative model, which for various reasons was promoted by these popes in the aforementioned churches. The use of this model is seen as a concrete practical expression of a certain stage in the development of the concept of papal primacy of power, which was based on the idea of the exclusive “apostolic” status of the Roman see. In fact, it was about the creation of special ecclesiastical and administrative districts, vertically integrated with the Roman see, in which the popes assumed a modification of the system of administration, providing for the emergence of the figure of the bishop-primate at the “superprovincial” level, and for the special jurisdiction of this bishop. In relation to each of the regions, this model had some peculiarities, expressed in the way of functioning of the synodal institutions, the role and place of the metropolitans, and the relationship of the primate with the Roman see.

Zoya Dashevskaya

This article studies I. A. Karabinov’s ideas and conceptions of forming the Eucharistic prayer presented in his thesis Eucharistic Prayer (Anaphora): An Attempt at Historical and Liturgical Analysis as well as in his course of lectures taught in the 1910s. This article analyses Karabinov’s views on the formation of the structure of the Eucharistic prayer, as well as the research methodology he used in studying the initial theological forms, the stages of development of the Eucharistic prayer and the interdependence of various liturgical traditions. Karabinov was the fi rst Russian scholar of liturgics to analyse the structure of the Eucharistic prayer sequence and to make use of the comparative method together with historical reconstructions, and without reliance on descriptions, commentaries and interpretations of earlier liturgical studies. He concludes that the Anaphora prayers which consisted of prayers of praise, thanksgiving and short intercessions, were later fi lled with words of exhortation, institution, dogmatic formulations and elaborated intercessions. These additional elements increased the volume of text in the Anaphora prayer, a situation which he believes led to a reduction of the prayer’s original elements, particularly the prayers of thanksgiving. Karabinov’s declared methodology opens the door to liturgical reconstructions which, nevertheless, will not be complete without consideration of the historical-theological context and church practice, neither of which were taken into account in Karabinov’s study. However, his approach of comparitive analysis makes it possible not to return to a moralising retelling of the Eucharistic prayer in narrow confessional confi nes, but allows one to study the text of the Eucharistic prayer in its development and to register all changes in its structure and content.

Piotr Molski

Skuteczna ochrona historycznych ruin, podobnie jak innych zabytków, uwarunkowana jest współczesnym użytkowaniem. Dostosowanie ruin do standardów użytkowych wymusza ich konserwację profilaktyczną i zachowawczą, ale też konieczne dla nowych funkcji ingerencje architektoniczne. Zasady postępowania z ruinami zawarte zostały w Karcie Ruin Historycznych przyjętej przez Polski Komitet Narodowy ICOMOS w 2012. Przeprowadzona, na tle ustaleń Karty, charakterystyka znanych w środowiskach konserwatorskich i architektonicznych obiektów pozwoliła wyodrębnić, poza tradycyjnymi metodami konserwacji profilaktycznej, cztery rodzaje ingerencji polegających na wprowadzaniu uzupełnień zabytkowych ruin, w różnym ich zakresie i skali – poczynając od uzupełniania ubytków scalającego destrukty murów oraz urządzeń „małej architektury” po obiekty użytkowe oraz kubaturowe uzupełnienia w miejscach niezachowanych fragmentów pierwotnej bryły budowli. Ocena metod ingerencji pozwala określić ich uwarunkowania i skonfrontować je z zaleceniami Karty Ruin Historycznych. Konfrontacja zaleceń Karty z przykładami przekształceń wybranych obiektów potwierdza trafność zapisów Karty oraz ich przydatność w konserwatorskiej ocenie przekształceń ruin i zachowania zabytkowych wartości. Ingerencje umożliwiające użytkowanie ruin są zgodne z oczekiwaniami społecznymi, dążeniami ich właścicieli, a co najważniejsze – znacznie zwiększają szanse remontów zabezpieczających ruiny przed zniszczeniem.

Bogdan Kolar

The Spanish flu after World War I meant a global threat. It spread from the United States of America and took between 20 and 50 million victims, in some estimations twice that much. The first news of the disease in Slovenia dates to July 1918, that is during the second wave of its spreading. The paper presents the aspect of the Slovenian Church leaders on the disease and its dimensions in some Church educational institutions in Slovenia. Frequent contacts among the institutions were a favourable circumstance for a relatively fast and vast spreading of the disease. The most affected was the Salesian College of Veržej, in that period destined to the formation of the Austrian aspirants for the Salesian life, where from the very beginning a lack of fundamental food and difficult economic situation were met. Mainly young members of the community turned sick, and four of the staff members, the age between 29 and 34 years, died.

Moh. Romzi

<p>The<strong> </strong>majority of Muslim believes that the Prophet Mohammad is not only a religious leader but also a political leader. Besides excluding policy and order in terms of state and people’ problem, he also produces religious instructions related to religion. This condition also prevails in the era of caliphate or <em>Khulafa’ur Rasyidin</em>. At the end of both periods prophet and caliphate, dual function of leadership was disintegrated, the role of state leadership is authorized by caliphate or ‘<em>Umarâ</em> while religious leader by ‘<em>Ulamâ</em>. After the Prophet’s time, the Caliphate could not appropriately perform the Prophet’s role, in both of mentioned forms. Following the period of ‘Alî ibn Abî T{âlib, Islamic state has separated religious affairs from bureaucratic entities: between religion and state. It has eventually created a clash. Religious orders and state regulations are sometimes contending and contradicting. It can be seen from the role of ‘ulamâ in dealing with ‘umarâ that contradict with sharia or general people’ interest. Somehow they contradict each other but also go in cooperation. There is ‘ulamâ who is explicitly advising and challenging the ‘umarâ but also otherwise. This article aims to explain and analyze definition and interpretation of Islamic leader (ulamâ) from Qur’anic and Hadith perspective. In addition, this article will also describe definition and role of Islamic leader using Nahdlatul Ulama’s perspective.</p>

Piskunova Anastasiia

Bringing in new archive sources the article is aimed to analyse the political views of the Decembrist N. I. Turgenev. The author comes to new conclusions concerning the extent of his involvement in the secret societies, underlining the principal diff erences between the political views of N. I. Turgenev and those of the majority of the Decembrists.

Zakharov Georgii

The Russian translation from Latin of the letter of the synod of Paris (360/1) to Eastern bishops which is included in Fragmenta historica of Hilarius of Poitiers is published for the first time. The text contains some important evidences on participation of Gallic bishops in the Arian controversy and also attests the high degree of consolidation of the local Churches in Gaul.

Mazyrin Aleksandr, priest

The article deals with the failed attempt to organize and legalize the Leningrad’s diocesan administration of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1926. At the suggestion of OGPU the group of Leningrad’s clergy has propounded legalization. Bishop Alexius (Simanskiy) became the leader of the group in the summer of 1926. The initiative group’s activity aroused suspicion of the part of the Leningrad clergy assuring a top church management to transfer bishop Alexey to another diocese and to appoint Joseph (Petrovyh) to be a Leningrad metropolitan. The conflict situation was complicated by the provocative politics of a state authority. It prevented metropolitan Joseph from carrying out his duties of ruling archbishop and, on the contrary, permitted the initiative group to hold a meeting led by bishop (archbishop) Alexius. All attempts of church workers to find the unconflicted way out were unsuccessful. The author analyses arguments of supporters and opponents of the diocesan legalization, estimates the correlation between personal and based on principles motives. He investigates the position of church authority represented by metropolitan Sergey (Stragorodskiy). The author considers either side was not unjust one in the Leningrad church collision in 1926. Only the politics of the soviet power that used legalization as the demoralization’s instrument of the Church was defi nitely malicious.

Claus-Ekkehard Bärsch