The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

The published letter from Bishop Hermogenes (Golubev) to the senior priests and church councils is introduced for the first time into scientific use. This document not only outlines the activities of Bishop Hermogenes in the Tashkent diocese, but also gives an idea of how sobornost can be embodied in today’s church. Bishop Hermogenes introduced additional contributions to a special fund from each parish in proportion to its revenues. Thus, low-income parishes were supported by large parishes and were kept from being closed. This measure met resistance from some clergymen and church councils of large parishes. In his letter Bishop Hermogenes emphasises that the inner connection between the members of the whole Church is defined by the spirit of sobornost, whereby any parish cannot be indifferent to the Church’ shared work.