History of the Christian Church in the 19th century. Volume 1. Heterodox Christian West

The publication of a work on the modern history of the Christian Church hardly needs any lengthy justification. This story has the deepest interest, since it closely relates to the most significant aspects of existing life, has a direct impact on them, which is why familiarity with it is necessary even in practical terms. But there are moments in which the interest in reviewing contemporary events rises even more, and such a moment is being experienced by modern humanity. We stand at the turn of two centuries, and therefore everyone involuntarily feels the need to look back and survey everything that the 19th century, which has sunk into eternity, produced good and bad, what contribution it made to the treasury of thought and life, and what legacy it leaves to its successor to the 20th century. To satisfy this completely understandable and natural need, several luxurious publications have already been launched abroad, with the goal of providing a comprehensive overview of the past century (although, unfortunately, with the exception of the field of theological knowledge and church-religious life). To satisfy the same need, but precisely in the interest of theological thought and church-religious life, we decided to publish “The History of the Christian Church in the 19th Century” in order to present in it a detailed overview of what marked the past century and what it leaves as a legacy to its successor in church-religious terms. The past century in this regard presents a very interesting and varied spectacle. In accordance with the general movements of thought and life, and in the field of religion, the Christian world experienced over the course of its enormous fluctuations, now falling into the abyss of denial of religion, now again rising to the heights of religious animation, with faith and unbelief, truth and error, the church and the world alternately gaining the upper hand, and their struggle presents a deeply striking picture, providing rich material for reflection for any thinking reader. A detailed review of this life of the past century is done in our proposed “History of the Christian Church of the 20th Century,” which, in a publicly accessible and lively presentation, introduces readers to the main moments of church-religious life and theological thought of the century. The most important figures and events of our century are also represented in person - through illustrations that further enhance the interest of the subject. The history of the Christian Church naturally falls into two parts - the history of the Orthodox East and the history of the heterodox West. This volume includes the history of the heterodox West - in all its main faiths. In compiling this history, we used the best foreign and Russian manuals, and the editors consider it their duty to express special gratitude to two of their employees, and in whom one - A. I. Pokrovsky (assistant inspector of the Moscow Theological Academy) gives a detailed outline of the history of modern Protestantism, and the other - V. V. Sokolov (one of the members of the Orthodox-Russian clergy in London) - is the author of a lively written sketch of the history of the Anglican church, which is given an independent place in our book both due to its important inter-church position in general, and especially to those internal movements in which its sympathies for the Orthodox East are clearly revealed. The second volume will be published in the same volume, which will include the modern history of the Orthodox East, namely the history of the patriarchates and the modern Greek Church, the history of the Romanian and Slavic churches, the history of the Russian Church, and, finally, the entire publication will be concluded with a general characteristic of the 19th century in spiritual terms. The second volume will also be abundantly illustrated with portraits of the most important figures of the Orthodox Church - like patriarchs, leading members of the priesthood. synods of autocephalous churches, prominent lay figures, representatives of science and literature, as well as images of the most important church-historical events of the 19th century. To participate in the compilation of this history, we have invited quite competent persons who enjoy well-deserved fame in our and foreign literature. Editorial board of a spiritual magazine