Church in the Russian Empire. On Absolute and Dualistic Moarchy

Abstract

Within the framework of the absolute monarchy, the church in Russia played a dual role. On the one hand, it had a dominant character in relation to other confessions as an exclusive sacred institution legitimizing power. On the other hand, it was perceived by the state as the instrument of politics. Hence the strict external control and utilitarian approach of the state to the church sphere. The state viewed the church from the standpoint of public benefit and sought to increase its effectiveness in fulfilling state tasks. The decree of Nicholas II of April 17, 1905 “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” appeared to be a liberal reform and, at the same time, a unilateral decision of the still-existing absolutist state. A paradoxical situation arose – the dominant church was under stronger state control than its competitors – and at the same time, it largely lost state support in countering those competitors. The April decree and the transition to dualistic monarchy that followed six months later as the result of the Manifesto of October 17 (which also introduced freedom of conscience) created a new reality for the church. It officially remained “dominant and first-rate”, but in practice it became only first-rate. Under those conditions, the church as an institution remained on the side of the state. It relied on the protection of its own identity and embedding in the political reaction conducted under the leadership of P.A. Stolypin, considering them as interrelated phenomena. There was tightening of internal control – the defrocking of opposition priests, revision of spiritual educational institutions with the dismissal of “unreliable” teachers. At the same time, the state refused to institutionalize church autonomy – the restoration of conciliar administration (with the convocation of a Local Council) and the patriarchate, the reduction of state control over the church, the reform of the parish – the agenda that most hierarchs advocated in 1906. The monarchy proceeded from the fact that it could manage the church by the methods inherent in absolutism. As the result, the loyalty of the institute decreased, which played a key role in February 1917 – by this time the monarchy was in unprecedented social isolation, and the church was no exception there.