Russian Orthodox Church reforms (1861-1917)

Author: Dai Guiju
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Publication Date: Not available
Features: The activities of religious organizations are inseparable from religious venues—churches. In the Christian world, the term "church" originally comes from Greek, meaning "House of God" (in Russian, ""/"xpaM"). In the New Testament of the Bible, it refers to "a place where believers gather for shared faith." Thus, the church is a medium for Christians to communicate with God and a sacred place. With the introduction of Christianity, Byzantine-style churches sprang up like mushrooms across Russia. The main sources of funding for Russian church architecture were the church's tithe, donations and support from princes and nobles, and fundraising by parishioners. Functionally, Russian churches were divided into large city churches presided over by bishops for prayer ceremonies, parish churches led by parish priests, cemetery churches, and family churches exclusively for princes and their families to hold religious rites. Additionally, the main churches in cities and monasteries were called "cathedrals" (in Russian, "cooop"), where major religious celebrations, large-scale religious conferences, or even receptions for foreign envoys by princes were often held. For example, the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, completed in the 15th century, later became the site for the coronation of successive czars. Russian churches were mostly built on high ground, with rectangular foundations and domed interiors. The inner walls of the church were decorated with colorful mosaics and various murals depicting biblical stories. The altar and iconostasis were located in the east, and people entered from the west, facing the iconostasis while praying. Numerous chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the church, and precious vessels shone brilliantly inside. The mosaics on the walls and the icon paintings made from small pieces of colored glass glowed like gems under the refraction of light. Therefore, the light in the church appeared not to come from the outside but from within. Standing in the center of the church, people looked up at the dome and felt how small they were in the world. The main dome of the church was onion-shaped, with crosses of four, six, and eight points standing on the top. The cross was a link between humans on earth and God in the heavens. The small onion-shaped buildings around the main dome were bell towers. The interior of the church was divided into an entrance, a central area, and an altar. In addition to the aforementioned churches with altars, Russia also had small churches without altars (in Russian, ""). These small churches were also introduced from Byzantium along with the baptism of Russia. They were smaller in scale and simpler in design, mostly single-domed, and were generally built at the ground-level entrance of underground tombs or churches where the relics of holy fools were stored, or in the cemeteries of monasteries. Parishioners often came here to pray and commemorate the deceased. The Byzantine-style buildings of Kievan Rus' are the Assumption Cathedral in Kyiv (also known as the Cathedral of the Tithes, built between 989 and 996), which is a single-domed onion-domed church built by Greek craftsmen. The representative of Byzantine urban style is the Savior Cathedral in Chernigov, built by Greek architects between 1031 and 1036, which has a rigorous structure, meticulous spatial layout, and luxurious interior decoration. Unfortunately, these buildings were destroyed during the Mongol invasion. The oldest surviving Byzantine Orthodox architectural masterpiece in Russia is the Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv (built in 1037). The name of the Sophia Cathedral comes from the Hagia Sophia in Byzantium. The Hagia Sophia is a symbol of the Greek Orthodox Church, and its domes are the same size as those of the Roman Pantheon, but the Pantheon's domes are built on a circular wall, while the Byzantine Sophia Cathedral has a dome added to a square base. The Sophia Cathedral in Russia was completed by Greek craftsmen and Russian architects, with a design primarily in Byzantine style, incorporating traditional Russian architectural elements: the church transformed the single-domed Byzantine layout into a five-domed arrangement, and the walls were built of bricks. Greek craftsmen introduced to the Russians the techniques of bricklaying, vault construction, stone structure construction, and mosaic decoration for the church. In the mid-11th century, Russian church architects proficient in Byzantine stone construction, iconography, and mosaic painting emerged, gradually replacing Greek craftsmen and becoming the main designers of churches. The Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, the second-largest city in Russia (built between 1045 and 1050), is a testament to the wisdom of Russian craftsmen. The cathedrals of the Orthodox metropolitan and episcopal sees were mostly built to commemorate major religious festivals and historical events. In the mid-19th century, the Orthodox Church was one of the most conservative and closed sectors of Russian society. Due to the long-term autocratic rule of secular officials within the church, the Orthodox Church lost its vitality and dynamism. In the upper hierarchy of Orthodox clergy, senior officials of the Holy Synod were staunch defenders of the autocracy. During the formulation of the Russian serfdom reform plan, senior Orthodox clergy members aligned with secular nobles in their stance on serfdom. The most authoritative black-clad upper clergy in the Orthodox Church was Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov, 1783–1867). In 1819, he joined the Holy Synod. Simultaneously with the coronation of Nicholas I, he was elevated to Metropolitan of Moscow. As the main representative of the black-clad clergy in the Holy Synod, he served until 1842. Even after his resignation, the still sought his opinion on important matters of church administration, a practice that continued until his death. Philaret was a statesman, religious thinker, and Orthodox theologian. He served as the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, led the translation and publication of the first Russian-language Bible nationwide, wrote "History of the Russian Church," and published numerous theological works. His academic achievements established the "Philaret Period" in the history of the Russian Church. The Russian émigré historian I. K. Smolich, who had a significant influence in contemporary Russia, described Philaret's views as "moderate" and claimed that "he took a cautious attitude toward the abolition of serfdom in Russia." In reality, this assessment is not objective; it obscures the reactionary nature of Philaret's thought. To sanctify Russia's absolute monarchy, Philaret developed his own state theory and instilled it into the people. He opposed the abolition of noble privileges, emphasized the sacredness of private property, and strove to resolve peasant issues in line with the government's logic. Out of a desire to obstruct reforms, he used the name of Saint Sergius of Radonezh to influence the ruling class, claiming, "The saint appeared twice before Tsar Alexander II, persuading him not to rush into reforms." On the eve of the abolition of serfdom, people eagerly awaited "liberation," and rumors spread among the populace. To maintain social order, the government specifically reminded priests to "remain highly vigilant," as church personnel had close contact with peasants and should prevent people from "misinterpreting" the government's reform intentions. Upon receiving the government's orders, priests immediately threatened the peasants: "God demands that we serve the emperor. Whoever is not devoutly loyal to the czar and foolishly guesses the czar's intentions is not afraid of God and will surely be punished." Considering the authority of the declaration, Tsar Nicholas I commissioned Metropolitan Philaret to draft the official text. Philaret added some intimidating remarks about the peasants to the final draft of the declaration, such as: "Reform is the manifestation of God's foresight and the czar's intention, the result of the nobility's benevolence. They voluntarily abandoned serfdom, and peasants should faithfully remember their obligations to their masters." etc. The publication of the declaration was also carried out with the assistance of the church: Supervisor A. P. Tolstoy issued the reform declaration to the eparchies on the Great Lent before Easter, the largest Orthodox religious holiday, and the eparchies then conveyed the content of the declaration to the grassroots parishes.
### Section 2: Main Measures of Church Reform
On April 1861, Pyotr Alekseyevich Vorontsov replaced Georgy Stepanovich Lansko? as Minister of Internal Affairs. Vorontsov, influenced by the liberal ideas of Mikhail Mikhailovich Speshnevsky (1772–1839) in his youth, served as governor of Courland in the early 1850s. In 1858, he was transferred to St. Petersburg and soon became a member of the Imperial Council. Vorontsov was an opponent of the peasant liberation movement. He supported the conservative faction led by Minister of State Property Mikhail Nikolaevich Muraviev (1796–1866), overthrew Lansko?'s radical serfdom reform plan, and replaced him. Therefore, contemporary Russian historians call him a "conservative." However, Vorontsov did not fully agree with the conservatives' views. He had a clear understanding of the dark side of Nicholas I's policies and believed that Nicholas I's regime was "glorious from above but corrupt from below." He was skilled at listening to opinions from various sources, such as statistical data from provinces, reports from police authorities, and accounts from noble representatives, paying particular attention to the dynamics of journals, believing that "the views in them reflected the spirit of the majority of society." Regarding the calls for reform in society, his attitude was: "The wave has already been raised in the white sea and is gradually approaching the shore, unstoppable. What we can do now is prepare the riverbed for it." During his tenure as Minister of Internal Affairs, Vorontsov implemented a series of reforms with a liberalist tint, including: in 1863, promulgating university regulations to grant universities more autonomy; in 1864, establishing local self-governing bodies to expand the participation of various social strata in social management; and in 1865, enacting a press law to abolish censorship. Vorontsov's views on the church were shaped during his work in the west. Courland was traditionally a Catholic region, where his thoughts were close to the Western faction and he could not accept the views of the Slavophiles. He opposed the implementation of Russification policies in the western regions and advocated mutual tolerance among different religious groups. On April 4, 1861, Vorontsov presided over the review of the regulation "On the Relationship Between the Orthodox Church and Other Beliefs" in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He proposed various ideas to improve the situation of people in non-Orthodox regions in western provinces. The emperor agreed to submit Vorontsov's proposals to the council of ministers for discussion. Vorontsov believed that forcing the children of non-Orthodox believers to convert to Orthodoxy was unreasonable and that their parents' choices should be respected. Religious freedom was a reasonable way to revitalize the life of the Orthodox Church and also contributed to social stability. He demanded more autonomy for the black-clad clergy, allowing them to manage church affairs independently without secular interference. In summary, his ideas on religious policy were more radical than those of secular officials in inland regions, objectively creating a relatively external environment for church reform.
### Social Position of the White-Cloaked Clergy
The 1861 serfdom reform directly affected the social status of the lower ranks of the Orthodox Church—the white-clad clergy. During the "Great Reform," the primary concerns of all sectors of society were the abolition of the church's closed nature and the improvement of the material conditions of the white-clad clergy. Since the government was implementing a serfdom reform, and the church was a large landowner, the reform naturally involved the issue of serfs in the monastic economy. Even during the planning stages of the reform, as early as May 1859, the secret committee discussed and approved the "Regulations for the Liberation of Farmers on Monastic Land, Monasteries, and Servants of Senior Black-Cloaked Clergy." The regulations stipulated that these farmers would still need to work at their original service locations for 3 years from the date of the regulations' promulgation, regardless of how long they had served before. After 3 years, they would become free people. Regarding their status and future prospects, the regulations stated: "After liberation, they will become state peasants and have the right to choose other life paths voluntarily. Among their children, those who reach the age of 20 will be free to choose their careers."