The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

The article examines the church initiatives of national significance by the Josephite community of Arkhangelsk during the years 1933–1935. Archbishop Seraphim (Samoylovich), who was in exile in Arkhangelsk at that time, proposed for discussion a document in which Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), was accused of heresy and apostasy from Christ. The document included a call to prohibit Metropolitan Sergius from serving as a clergyman and put forward a candidate for the temporary administration of the church. Another topic for discussion was the problem of the shortage of holy chrism used for the sacrament of anointing. The events described became the last attempt by the leaders of the “right” church opposition to develop a unified perspective on the fate of the Russian church in the context of repression, just before the “Great Terror” of 1937–1938. The article reconstructs the historical events that formed the basis of the legend about the so-called Arkhangelsk meeting of Bishops; it clarifies the role of Archbishop Seraphim (Samoylovich), Priest Nikolai Piskanovsky, Bishop Damaskin (Tsedrik), and other figures of the church opposition in the 1930s; and draws parallels between the practices of church life and the ecclesiological views of these prominent church leaders. The role of Bishop Viktor (Ostrovidov) and his theological ideas in the church-wide discussion of 1933–1934 are described. Previously unknown and little-known archival sources are introduced into scientific circulation, including investigative testimonies and personal memories of the daughter of Priest Nikolai Piskanovsky, Ksenia Nikolaevna Piskanovskaya.