Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and the Russian Church Policy in the Eastern Siberia

Abstract

The article is devoted to the Church policy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Eastern Siberia and the Far East with the participation of the Metropolitan of the Moscow Philaret (Drozdov, 1782–1867). Until recently historians did not focus their attention on “Asian” perspective of his activities, though there is an extensive historiography devoted to Moscow prelate. The most important aspects of the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church in Eastern Siberia during the 1810s – 1860s are considered on the basis of materials from Russian archives (RSHA, St. Petersburg) and the little-known documentary sources. Particular attention is paid to the fate of the British Ecclesiastical Mission (1818–1840) and the development of Orthodox missionary work in the Trans-Baikal region, the missionary work of St. Innocent (Veniaminov) in the Far East, the Russian Church policy in the Amur and Primorye regions after the Crimean War (1853–1856), the reorganization of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing (1860–1864). The role of the Metropolitan Philaret in the Russian Church diplomacy in the Far East is studied in the context of Russian-Chinese relations in the mid-Nineteenth Century.