DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUAL EDUCATION IN RUSSIA IN THE XIX-TH CENTURY

This article examines the development of theological education in Russia in the XIX-th century. It demonstrates that the policy pursued by the Holy Synod's Chief Prosecutor, Pobedonostsev, in the ecclesiastical sphere proved completely ineffective in addressing the pressing challenges of the era. Along with the rise of atheistic views among the educated classes, a trend toward spirituality emerged. The Church needed to actively participate in addressing issues important to society. However, the voice of Church representatives remained unheard, and theological educational institutions failed to become centers of religious renewal. By the early XX-th century, general dissatisfaction with the existing order had reached its peak, and even strict censorship was unable to suppress it. Within the Church, among theologians, scholars, priests, and educated believers, the conviction grew that the Church's dependence on the state was the primary cause of the current problems. Questions about the inevitability of church reforms were discussed in church and secular publications, at the Religious and Philosophical Assemblies (1901-1903), and even within the Holy Synod itself.