A brief history of the magazine "Orthodox Interlocutor" over 30 years of its existence

This May, 1885, marks 30 years since the publication of the first book of the Orthodox Interlocutor. It may not be superfluous, perhaps, on this occasion, to recall the past of our magazine. This past is quite interesting and, as it seems to us, has some significance, both in general for the history of spiritual enlightenment in Russia, and in particular for the history of Russian spiritual journalism, and not only its internal side, but even its external, formal one. The beginning of spiritual journalism dates back to the first quarter of this century. The first spiritual magazine in terms of origin was “Christian Reading”, founded at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on the initiative of Archimandrite Gregory (Postnikov), who was at that time the rector of this academy, and later the Archbishop of Kazan, and finally, the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg. The second magazine was “Sunday Reading,” published at the Kyiv Theological Academy since 1837, the third was “Creations of St. Fathers" with additions, published since 1843. at the Moscow Theological Academy. “Orthodox Interlocutor” is the fourth of the academic and generally spiritual journals. It began to be published in 1855 with the active assistance of the same person who founded the first spiritual magazine in Russia, i.e. His Eminence Gregory (Postnikov), Archbishop of Kazan. The reason for the publication of the journal “Orthodox Interlocutor” was, however, a special order caused by the government’s concerns about weakening the schism. This order is made in relation to Mr. Chief Prosecutor St. Synod to His Eminence Archbishop Gregory of Kazan on October 13, 1853 (No. 9). Here, by the way, it is explained: “It was pleasing to His Imperial Majesty, according to the proposal of St. Synod, to honor with the Highest approval the following measure of strengthening the spiritual and moral action on schismatics in the spiritual and educational part: to instruct the Kazan Theological Academy, as not yet occupied with any temporary task, to publish a spiritual journal with a primary direction against schism in its various forms..., and at the same time, order the editors of existing spiritual journals to more often publish in them, among other things, articles that can serve to admonish schismatics, especially extracts from the writings of the holy fathers. The best of these articles should be reprinted in the synodal printing house and sent to churches, especially where there are schismatics. To implement this Highest approved measure, St. The Synod determined to make an appropriate order to the academic authorities to publish a journal of spiritual content at the Kazan Academy, with its primary direction against schism in its various forms. As a result of this, Chief Prosecutor St. The Synod asked His Eminence to inform His Excellency for the proposal of St. Synod detailed considerations on the content of the definition of St. Synod together with the program for the journal assigned to publication at the Academy and the rules for its editorship; and also add at least an approximate estimate of the costs necessary for this publication, indicating the sources from which the required amount could be borrowed.” As a result of this attitude, a program for the journal was drawn up, probably by the Eminence Gregory, and considerations about measures for its successful implementation. Program sent to St. The synod was as follows: “The journal at the Kazan Theological Academy is supposed to publish dogmatic, hermeneutic, historical, moral and critical content under the name Orthodox Interlocutor, for the first time four books, from 12 to 15 sheets, in 8 parts of the sheet. Each book will be published at the beginning of each quarter of the year, namely in January, April, July and October. The journal should begin with the half of the next year (1854) or with the beginning of 1855. depending on the production of the material. The first section will contain directly dogmatic articles based on St. Scripture, according to St. church fathers with constant refutation of errors that will appear according to one or another teaching in different sects in Russia. The second section will contain interpretations of various texts of St. scriptures, based on the interpretation of them by St. cathedrals and St. the fathers of the church - texts that primarily contain some kind of moral teaching, but are falsely understood by one or another schismatics, as well as such falsely understood texts on which schismatics base their errors. The third section will contain a) articles that present and clarify ancient historical events that serve as the basis for something contained by the Orthodox Church, or are falsely used by some schismatics to prove the supposed truth of their false opinions. This is, for example, the biography of St. Maximus the Confessor, who allegedly accepted the Patriarch of Constantinople Pyrrhus, a former Monothelite heretic, into Orthodoxy - b) brief but correct information about various heresies of old and new times, existing or being renewed in our fatherland in our time, with a thorough refutation of those heresies, - c) an explanation of the conciliar rules used by schismatics in defense of their various errors. Note In all these three departments, decent articles from the works of St. will be placed. church fathers, depending on need, in Old Slavonic or current Russian translations; also articles from the Old Slavonic church works of writers of the Orthodox Church who lived before the 17th century, and especially before 1665. The fourth section will contain a proper analysis of various schismatic works that were secretly revealed at times. The fifth section will contain articles that should serve as rules of life for Christians, presented in a clear, definite and understandable manner for every commoner. In the sixth department, advertisements will be placed about new works relating to various sects located in our fatherland, with appropriate feedback about them. The seventh section will contain various articles that do not fit into the designated sections.” Along with the program, considerations were drawn up on measures for its better implementation, and the need to have at the Kazan Academy a possibly complete collection of ancient Slavic printed and handwritten books, which could be used in the preparation of anti-schismatic and other articles, was especially insistently pointed out. In response, the attitude of the Chief Prosecutor of St. Synod to the Most Reverend Gregory of May 27, 1854, in which it is explained that St. The Synod, regarding the assignment of the Kazan Academy to publish a spiritual journal with a predominant direction against schism in its various forms, decided on May 18: - to authorize the publication at this academy of a journal under the name “Orthodox Interlocutor”, according to the program presented by His Eminence, with the passage of articles according to the established procedure by spiritual censorship and with the provision of His Eminence to have close supervision over the editorship of this magazine, so important in its purpose and requiring an experienced leader; for the costs of publishing this journal during the first year, allow, as a result of a petition, to borrow 1000 rubles from the academy’s funds. ser. Out of respect for the need, expressed by his Eminence, to have at the Kazan Academy, if possible, a complete collection of ancient Slavic printed and handwritten books, which could be used for the thorough preparation of articles for the said journal, let His Eminence select all those books and manuscripts that his Eminence recognizes as useful for transfer to the Kazan Academy from the library of the Nile Hermitage, and Eminence Tverskoy (to whom he was sent about this decree) to order the transfer of those books and manuscripts to the one who will be entrusted by His Eminence, with a report on the subsequent St. Synod and annexed a register of books and manuscripts that will be selected for transfer to the said academy. As for a similar transfer to this academy of some printed and handwritten books from the Solovetsky Monastery, then instruct His Eminence to draw up a preliminary register of them and present them to St. Synod. For this reason, all subsequent orders regarding the sealing and sending of printed and handwritten books from the Nile Hermitage should be given to his Eminence so that the expenses that would be needed for this would be reported to St. Synod. Regarding the sending of books and manuscripts from the Solovetsky monastery, have a discussion after receiving the required register.” Having heard these relations between the Chief Prosecutor, the Board of the Academy, at its meeting on August 17, 1854, considered it necessary: ​​1) To establish an editorial committee at the Academy, and then 2) since with the publication of the spiritual journal, the activities of the censorship committee at the Kazan Academy become permanent and more extensive, then submit to the conference of the Kazan Theological Academy about increasing the number of members of the censorship committee. 3) Invite members of the conference, mentors of the Kazan Theological Academy, mentors of theological seminaries of the Kazan Theological Educational District, as well as the most educated of the diocesan clergy to collaborate in the journal, determining the reward for their work from 25 to 30 rubles. ser. from the printed page for original articles, and from 15 to 20 for translations, if they are considered worthy of inclusion in the journal by the editors. 4) Since this magazine, due to its very special purpose, cannot be of interest to the majority of the reading public, then ask His Eminence for archpastoral assistance in distributing the magazine. Meanwhile, notify the public through a special printed announcement, which must first be submitted for the approval of His Eminence. 5) To strengthen funds and aids for the publication of the magazine, submit to his Eminence to petition for the Kazan Academy of books of all publications before 1700; books published abroad and necessary for translation, or compilation of scientific articles, for which a catalog of these books must be attached to the submission. And in addition, subscribe to periodicals of Western missionary societies, such as. Annales de la propagation de la foi, etc. 6) Before receiving ownership of the said books, ask the board of the Moscow Theological Academy to deign to send to the editorial committee at the Kazan Academy for a time, those volumes of the Acta sanctorum in which the life of St. Tarasius the Patriarch of Constantinople, Sava the Sanctified and Maximus the Confessor, i.e. the months of January, February, and December, because their translation must begin immediately upon the opening of the editorial committee. 7) The Editorial Committee is allowed to borrow for the first time to cover the costs of publishing the journal with economic sums of the Academy up to 1000 rubles. ser. with their payment in due time, and the amounts that belong to the committee are stored in the treasury of the board. (See case No. 4 of 1854 and 1855 on the establishment of an editorial committee at the Kazan Theological Academy and on its composition). As for the structure of the editorial committee itself, the first point of this journal was that its board was to be composed of five editors - one chief, who should always be the rector of the academy, and four private ones, who for the first time, in the opinion of the board, could be inspector Archimandrite Seraphim, bachelor hieromonk Veniamin and professor of philosophy N. Sokolov. It was decided to appoint the latter jointly as treasurer of the committee. The remaining editors were supposed to be appointed at the beginning of publication. In addition, the position of editorial secretary was established. Bachelor I. Ilminsky was appointed to this last position. The treasurer and secretary were assigned a certain salary: the first 200 rubles. per year, and the second 150 rubles; The editors were not given a specific salary by the board. It was left to the editorial committee itself to draw up considerations for assigning their salaries, as well as rules about their duties and actions. This committee was also given the opportunity to have its own special proofreader, special clerk and minister. This committee was supposed to manage all affairs and communications regarding the publication of the magazine. For which, according to the resolution of the board, he had to have his own seal and books to record the inflow and outflow of money, incoming and outgoing (journal November 9). At the very first meeting of the committee established by the board, held on November 9, it was decided to elect Academy professors Archimandrite Theodore and D. Gusev as editor-members, and thus a full committee was formed - five members, not counting the secretary, whose position in 1857, due to the reduction of office work and economy, was decided to be combined with the position of treasurer, who was also the editor. The editorial committee, consisting of five members, existed until almost the introduction of the new charter in 1869. But of course, the composition of this committee is not so interesting as its actions in publishing the journal, especially in choosing articles to publish in it. In their actions in selecting articles for the new journal, the editorial committee was guided by the approved St. The Synod, the program of the magazine and, especially at first, the direct leadership of the Kazan Archbishop. The magazine's program is outlined in detail in the announcement of its publication, printed in 10,000 copies. by order of the academy's board in November 1854. This announcement is almost completely similar to the above program. Soon after the publication of the publication of a magazine at the Kazan Academy, the Most Reverend Gregory, on December 16, 1854, submitted a special proposal to the editorial committee, which defined in detail both the general direction of the magazine and even the composition of its first books. “Orthodox Interlocutor,” this proposal said, should begin with an article that would show Orthodoxy face to face, so to speak. Such an article could be the epistles of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, which I have been trying to translate since 1851, but they are not there, and which, if presented, will probably require a considerable amount of revision, and therefore will not make it to the first book. Do the following: 1) Let the “Orthodox Interlocutor” begin with the translation of the Gospel, i.e., the interpretation of St. Gospels of Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria. This book has been a reference book for us for more than three hundred years, both in church and in homes, and therefore has earned the authority of a book that contains the true teaching of Christ and, therefore, true Orthodoxy. All the so-called Old Believers revere this book. We may have learned more than bl. Theophylact of Bulgaria, but have not yet learned more from the church. This entire book should be printed in Slavic letters and with the original principles preserved - printed in the same way as it is printed in the Slavic translation in our time. So that the first article of this Blagovestnik could be included in the first book of the “Orthodox Interlocutor”, about which I made a special proposal to the academic board. The real absence of this article will not prevent the publication of other articles by Sobesednik from starting. 2) Then let the second article of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” be an article from the book of St. Epiphany "Panarius", a book against heresies. Let this book begin with its own title page in civil letters, and constantly in all further books follow the article from the Blagovestnik, under its own page count. 3) Let the third article of the Interlocutor be the messages of the late Tobolsk Metropolitan Ignatius, and let them be printed from the list of my library, checking it with other lists only where for some reason it seems incomprehensible. My list is contemporary with his composition, and was received from Tobolsk. Let these messages also be printed under their own title page, under their own page count and Slavic letters. If there is a need to supplement the required number of sheets of the book, then even let all three messages be printed, or until half past two. 4) Let the fourth article be a discussion under the name: “St. Apostle Paul in his Epistles,” however, not all, but before the article: the doctrine of the Old Testament in relation to justification. 5) I will leave the content of article five to myself and send it to the editor as quickly as possible after my recovery. Article from “The Enlightener” by Rev. Joseph of Volokolamsk cannot be placed in the first book of the “Interlocutor”, because the Rev. Joseph in his “Illuminator” conveys truths very close to the task entrusted to us, but only close. They can enter the “Orthodox Interlocutor” from books 3 and 4, or further. A translation of “The Enlightener” is by no means necessary. Publishing “The Enlightener” in the ancient form of writing is also not necessary. Paleographical interest should not attract the attention of the Orthodox Interlocutor. In the edition of "The Enlightener" only the most famous words should be printed under the title, and in our time they are printed under the title. An article containing an interpretation of the Savior’s teaching from the Sermon on the Mount is very suitable for placement in the “Orthodox Interlocutor”, but can be placed in it only when the interpretation of the teaching indicated in this article is translated and printed from the “Blagovestnik”, because the “Orthodox Interlocutor” needs, first of all, to show the spirit of the Orthodox interpretation, and then you can do it yourself develop something in the spirit of Orthodoxy. P.S. It’s good that the translation of “The Good News” and “Panaria” should be sent to every book with four printed sheets, or at least three.” The first book of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” was published in May 1855. Its content was almost the same as that proposed by His Eminence Gregory. It consisted of the following articles: 1) Epistles of Ignatius the God-Bearer. Brief information about St. Ignatius and his epistles (Priest M. M. Zefirov). St. Ignatius Epistle to the Ephesians (translated by A. I. Benevolensky and A. P. Vladimirsky). 2) Bl. Theophylact, architect. Bulgarian on St. Gospel of Matthew: features from the life of St. Theophylact of the Archbishop of Bulgaria (Bachelor Hieromonk Veniamin) and interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew (translated by Hieromonk Grigory Poletaev). 3) Three epistles of Ignatius, Metropolitan of Tobolsk (epistles one and two with a foreword by I. Ya. Porfiryev). 4) Saint's Day life, or the answer to the question of how I can live holy (Reverend Gregory). The following articles were not included: St. ap. Paul in his epistles and a translation from Panarius, but one of the epistles of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, which Bishop Gregory did not hope for. The following books were mainly a continuation of the articles contained in the first, but others were added, in which the anti-schismatic direction of the magazine became more and more clear. So, in the second book, in addition to the continuation of the old articles, there was “Something about the word of truth in the 8th member of the symbol of faith” - Rev. Gregory and “On the books on which apostates from Orthodoxy base their incorrect thoughts.” The printing of the Illuminator began with the third book. Joseph Volotsky. The following year the character of the magazine remained the same. In addition to other articles, it continued to publish “The Blagovestnik” and “The Enlightener.” Rev. Gregory continued to collaborate in it and at the same time took very active and expedient care of its material support. His recommendation was the magazine's best support. Many diocesan authorities actively took care of the dissemination of the “Orthodox Interlocutor”, thanks precisely to the recommendations of the Reverend. Gregory. In addition, he came up with the idea of ​​establishing a fund for the editorial staff to ensure the existence of the magazine for the future. In December 1853, they were ordered: the money that went to him as a fee for articles was in the amount of 63 rubles. 75 kopecks, leave it in the editorial office and, according to the editorial office, “put them into the basis of the stock capital” (resolution of December 19). This amount was subsequently supplemented by others that were included in the honorarium of the Reverend. Gregory, as well as the remainder of annual expenses. By the beginning of 1857, these balances amounted to more than 3,000 rubles. If the thought of the Reverend. Gregory about the fixed capital was not forgotten later, and if royalties for articles were constantly given in strictly defined amounts, and the balances were included in the fixed capital, then in 10 years the “Orthodox Interlocutor” would have owned capital that would have fully provided a decent salary for employees under the most unfavorable circumstances. But soon the rules for dividing the fees were changed in such a way that leftovers became impossible, and everything accumulated was spent. Subsequently, the Right Reverend Anthony resurrected the thought of the Most Reverend. Gregory and again established a fund capital from the amounts that followed him as a fee, but this capital in the current state of affairs is growing very slowly. With translation by the Rev. Gregory in St. Petersburg, the editorial office lost its active leader (November 1836). In the first half of 1837, the editorial office was still managed by the rector, Arch. Agafangel's journal was kept in the old way. But with the appointment and assumption of the post of rector, Archimandrite John, a noticeable change is felt. The rector, Archimandrite John, was primarily concerned with increasing funds for the implementation of some of the most important points of the journal’s program. In September (27) 1837, he joined the editorial committee with the following proposal: “According to the program of the “Orthodox Interlocutor”, the editorial committee should place in this publication, among other things: a) brief but correct information about various heresies of the old and new times that exist or are being renewed in our fatherland in our time (point 3), b) a proper analysis of secretly appearing at different times between erroneous works (item 4). Meanwhile, the editors do not have and do not receive information from anywhere either about the movement of schismatic sects in our time, or about the writings that secretly appear among the erring. Therefore, I propose to the editorial committee to introduce him to His Eminence Athanasius, Archbishop of Kazan, whether it would be good for him to intercede with St. Synod order to deliver the above information to the editorial office of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” (case No. 4. 1858 about the publication of “Prov. Sob.” in 1858 and about changes in it) A presentation on this matter was made to the Eminence and caused a special decree of St. Synod of December 27, 1857, in which it is depicted: “recognizing it useful to make the explained presentation of the editorial committee of the journal “Orthodox Interlocutor” known to the diocesan eminence bishops at the end, so that they, the eminences, would order the message to the eminent Archbishop Athanasius of Kazan, for transmission to the said committee, of modern information about the movement and modification schismatic sects in our time and about the writings that appear among those who are in error...., notify synodal members and other diocesan bishops about this for due consideration and implementation on their part” (also a matter). This order of St. has especially important consequences. Apparently, there was no Synod for the “Orthodox Interlocutor”. True, information about the movements of schismatic sects was occasionally delivered to the editorial office, but for the most part it was either information that had no significance or was already known. The editorial files contain several manuscripts with information of this kind, rejected by the editors, as well as documents on the return of many other similar manuscripts. Another proposal by Archimandrite had a greater influence on the change, if not in the direction, then in the nature of the journal. John, which followed soon after the first, namely November 11, 1857. “Taking into account,” it says, “the reviews, both oral and written (in private letters), one can notice: 1) many readers are burdened by reading the “Blagovestnik” by Bl. Theophylact in Slavic script, which they can hardly decipher; 2) many are bored by the long-term continuation of “The Good News”, which for them is not particularly entertaining and edifying in content; meanwhile, according to the publication plan, “The Blagovestnik” should continue for two years; 3) others, not understanding the purpose for which the “Blagovestnik” is published, consider its publication unnecessary, pointing to its previous translations available in the Orthodox Church by our pashas; 4) others, mistakenly considering “The Good News” to be the main goal and main subject of the entire “Interlocutor”, and not being disposed to read the first, do not read the last because of it; 5) schismatics, reading the “Blagovestnik” in old translations, do not favor its new translation into pure Russian; 6) others would like to have “The Good News” in a special book in order to engage in separate reading of it; but it is inconvenient for the editors to fulfill this desire before finishing the translation of the entire “Blagovestnik”; finally, 7) the abbots of some monasteries express a desire for a separate publication of the entire “Blagovestnik” to be speeded up, since reading it has been introduced in their churches and refectories. To these various reviews from readers, which, however, essentially express one thought, it must be added that printing the “Blagovestnik” in Slavic script in the “Interlocutor” represents a lot of unnecessary work both for the editor and for the printing house, and that this work should increase even more with the monthly publication of the “Interlocutor”, already authorized by St. Synod. Taking all this into account, I would believe, on the one hand, to satisfy the varied tastes and requirements of readers, on the other hand, to facilitate the work of the editors and printing house, in the following way: a) without placing the “Blagovestnik” in the “Interlocutor”, publish the remaining parts of it separately, in a separate book, for which b) speed up, and precisely in the future 1858, complete the translation of these remaining parts; c) send out the “Blagovestnik” in this form to readers who have received translations of its first parts. Thus, the goal of publishing the “Blagovestnik” will be fully achieved, and even sooner than in the “Interlocutor,” and meanwhile the publication of the “Interlocutor” itself will be easier. The place in the “Interlocutor” of the “Blagovestnik” can be filled with the Interviews of St. Grigory Dvoeslov. The editorial committee recognized the opinion of Archimandrite. John is thorough. His Eminence Athanasius also fully agreed with this opinion and approved it on November 25, 1857. (see journal, November 11, 1857). At the same time, permission from St. Synod (October 21, 1857) to publish the “Orthodox Interlocutor” monthly from 1858 “so that there are no deviations from the original program.” On this occasion, the editorial committee decided: “to publish “Orthodox Interlocutor” 12 books a year, at least 10 pages in each, releasing them on the first day of each month. The price for the annual publication of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” for 1853 for 12 books is set at 5 rubles in Kazan, with shipping to all places of the empire 6 rubles. 50 kopecks ser. (journal 12). In January 1858, Archimandrite. John entered the committee with a new note on the subject of improving the content of the magazine. In this note dated January 11, he wrote: “In the “Orthodox Interlocutor” for 1858 it is proposed to include a translation of the Interviews of St. Grigory Dvoeslov; but the Interviews are so limited that they can barely fill the “Interlocutor” for one current year, and perhaps they will still be insufficient for one year. From other works of St. Gregory - 1) interpretations of St. The Scriptures do not have special authority for the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has its own great interpreters, and do not correspond to the purpose of the “Interlocutor”; 2) pastoral rules (regulae pastoralis) - a very good essay - translated in the Sunday Reading at the Kyiv Academy; 3) letters concerning modern saints. Gregory of persons and places are neither interesting nor useful for our readers; 4) liturgical works set out and put in order the rites of Roman worship - a subject completely alien to us. For these reasons, in addition to the Interviews, from the writings of St. Gregory has nothing to contribute to the “Interlocutor”. – In my opinion, it would be good to translate and place in the “Interlocutor”: 1) the books of the Apostolic Constitutions (constitutiones apostolicae). There has long been a need to translate these books, because, representing the only monument of the church, ritual and hierarchical structure of the first centuries, they constitute a very important guide for our theological sciences and at the same time a very interesting and instructive reading for every Orthodox reader; and for the “Interlocutor” these books are especially useful in that they can, better than any other book, expose schismatics and refute objections to church rites and hierarchies. Although the books of the Apostolic Decrees were condemned by the VI Ecumenical Council, it was not their general content that was condemned, but the corruption introduced into them by heretics; This damage has either been smoothed out over time, or can be corrected as a result of the conciliar decision itself, so that at the present time it is completely unnoticeable; there are only some inaccuracies in other dogmatic expressions, but such inaccuracies can also be found in other ancient books not rejected by the church; Yes, and you can protect them with appropriate notes: in any case, such expressions at the present time will not tempt anyone or draw anyone into heresy. – 2) It is also very necessary and useful to translate and publish the Acts of the Ecumenical Councils (acta conciliorum). Only their rules (canones) are translated, but not their deeds. Both theologically and historically, the Acts of the Councils represent a precious monument to the development of church teaching, dogmatic definitions, and the preservation of St. legends, the fight against heretics, the wisdom of the church fathers, etc. In themselves, these Acts provide very entertaining and edifying reading for anyone, and they perfectly correspond to the own goal of the “Orthodox Interlocutor”. However, due to the importance of this matter, it must be submitted to the discretion of the higher authorities” (journal, January 16, 1858). Both the committee and Rev. agreed with this opinion. Athanasius, who in this sense interceded with St. Synod. The Holy Synod, after considering the proposal of the Right Reverend Athanasius, determined “to allow the editorial committee: 1) To translate the Acts of the Holy Seven Ecumenical Councils and 9 local councils in historical, time order and place them in the journal “Orthodox Interlocutor.” 2) To begin translating the Conversations of St. Gregory the Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome into the Gospels and also place them in the mentioned journal. 3) As for the Apostolic Decrees, since they were suspected by the 6th Ecumenical Council, let the committee translate them privately and publish them in a special book, without placing them in a journal.” This resolution was determined to be accepted for proper execution, and the order for the translation was given to the rector (journal May 21, 1858), who distributed the translation of the 1st, II and III councils among the mentors: inspector (Filaret) (I coll.), professors: N. P. Sokolov (II coll.), G. S. Sablukov (III coll. according to the ed. Lyabbe), I. P. Gvozdev, M. M. Zefirov, N. I. Ilminsky, Gusev, bachelors: Porfiryev, Dobrotvorsky, Shchapov, Rudolfov and Rublevsky, and made the following remark: “1) the Acts of the Councils must be translated with all accuracy, without deviating from the original without special need; 2) with the strictest attention and prudence, translate those passages where the dogmas of faith are set forth; 3) complete the translation and submit it no later than October 1 of this year (1858); 4) in case of any doubts, contact the rector” (case of the publication of Pr. Sobesed. 1868 magazine, Aug. 28). Thus, the rector archim. John took up the magazine very energetically and reformed it quite radically, and not for the worse. Especially the whole translation of Acts. Soborov, undertaken by the Academy on his initiative, greatly raised the price of the journal in a scientific sense, since this translation was supposed to make a very important contribution to Russian spiritual literature. At the same time, the rector took the most energetic measures to ensure that the original department was filled with articles of the best possible merit, both from the point of view of scientific and expediency. Zealously taking up this work himself, he also attracted the best scientific forces of the academy to it, grouping around him the still young bachelors Lilov, Shchapov, Dobrotvorsky, Porfiryev. In 1858, he himself published 16 articles, which took up more than 30 printed pages (1). These articles were mostly of a canonical nature and partly sermons. The latter are especially remarkable because they touch on the most pressing issues of our time. Articles by Porfiryev 2, Lilov 3, Shchapin 4, Dobrotvorsky 5, Pavlov 6, Pokrovsky 7 dealt with various issues of Russian church history in general, and Russian sectarianism in particular. All of them were compiled on the basis of new materials, mostly handwritten, and had a high scientific value, which has not been lost to this day. In addition, under the journal Porfiryev 8 and Shchapov 9 many monuments of our ancient spiritual literature were published from manuscripts of the Solovetsky Library. Judging by the titles of the articles, at present it may seem that the magazine was exclusively, so to speak, historical and archaeological in nature: there was apparently nothing on issues of modern church life in the currently accepted sense; but in fact, not quite so, because almost everything included in the magazine was new for that time and, one might say, unusual. All this related to modernity indirectly, but, nevertheless, closely; all this mostly concerned Russian church history, which explains the phenomena of modern church life better than all kinds of reasoning and reflection. However, the editor apparently had a very definite and firm intention to place the magazine in a more direct relationship with the demands of modern life. In his speech “On Spiritual Enlightenment in Russia,” delivered on November 8, 1858. and published in the last book of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” for this year, he very persistently declares that there should not be too thick a wall between the church and society, that a clear knowledge of one’s faith should not remain, and should not be considered belonging only to a privileged caste, that this caste should not be considered belonging more to the church than to society, but as much to society as to the church, that the spiritual light from spiritual sanctuaries should shine on the people, that religious educational institutions should have public the meaning is that spiritual enlightenment should not remain closed for society in itself and in us, but should flow into its spirit and life as a bright living stream. But how could this be achieved? The speaker does not explain this, but it seems probable to us that he meant to influence society and bring into its midst the light of spiritual enlightenment, among other things, through the printed word, for which to foresee the possibility of greater freedom and courage in relation to social demands. In general, it seems beyond doubt that Archimandrite. John had a very strong intention to bring success and popularity to the magazine through the discussion of those burning issues with which the life of that time was so rich. This was not entirely consistent with the original program and with the special character of the magazine, but the needs and mood of society were persistently driven towards this, which, in the hope of great future reforms, was ready to greedily listen to every word concerning this subject, and revealed a noticeable inclination towards interests of a higher order. A sound word, sanctified by the authority of the church, was very appropriate at that time. But Archimandrite John’s attempt was stopped at the very beginning, when the direction he proposed had barely begun to emerge. If the rector had begun his reform a little later, then probably everything would have worked out well; the journal would have time to gain a foothold in this direction, would have time to get used to new tasks, establish a reputation as a modern journal, and not a scientific collection, and acquire significant influence on society. The editor’s desire to touch upon modern issues, and those that were not quite right to touch on at that time, was clearly revealed in the very first books of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” for 1859. The first book contained Shchapov’s speech at the act of November 8, 1858 “The voice of the ancient Russian church on improving the life of unfree people” and two articles by the editor himself: “A few words about faith and public education in Russia" and "Society and the Clergy", then, in the second book - his own articles: "The Birth of Christ and the Rebirth of Humanity", "Greetings to the Church and Fatherland for the New Year", and in the third book - "A Word on the Liberation of the Peasants" - very harsh. Although at that time it was no secret to anyone that the liberation of the peasants was being prepared, although as early as November 20, 1857. a manifesto was published about the sovereign’s intentions on this subject and, although at that time there were already noble committees discussing ways to carry out the will of the sovereign, at the same time there was an opposing and so strong party that even high-ranking people had to reckon with it and held in their hands all the threads of the proposed reform. It is not surprising, therefore, that the courage of the editor of the Orthodox Interlocutor attracted the attention of the highest authorities, and the result was the decree of St. Synod of March 5, 1859, which reprimanded the editor and censors, and the censorship of original articles was transferred to the Moscow censorship committee. One can imagine what a strong impression this decree made among the editors and staff of the magazine. The inconveniences of nonresident censorship are well known to everyone even today; Subjecting a magazine to such censorship is often tantamount to its destruction. However, it was necessary to save what was possible and try to eliminate, if not the new censorship, then at least its inconveniences. Since the articles for the June and July books had already been prepared and reviewed by Kazan censors, the question arose whether they needed to be censored again. On March 26, a presentation about this was sent to the Synod, and at the same time a petition from the Bishop for the restoration of the previous order when censorship considered original articles intended for the “Orthodox Interlocutor”. Regarding the already censored articles, it was answered (April 27) that St. The Synod does not find any valid reasons why, in relation to the consideration of these articles, an exception should be allowed from the general rule to which the “Orthodox Interlocutor” is subject to the decree of St. Synod dated March 5 of this year, No. 1817 (journal May 27). Regarding the petition of the Right Reverend Athanasius to return to local censorship the right to consider the original articles of the “Orthodox Interlocutor”, St. The Synod decided: “to leave this petition without respect until the time when the Right Reverend testifies before St. Synod that the editors took advantage of the comments made to them. And so that with the new procedure for reviewing the aforementioned articles, the publication of the journal’s books cannot be slowed down for a long time, the Moscow Committee of Spiritual Censorship should be ordered (and ordered) by decree that articles sent from the editorial office of “Interlocutor”, due to attention to the urgency of publication, should be considered by the committee primarily before other manuscripts, without any delay, and returned to the editors with the first outgoing mail; the doubtful ones were presented to the saint for consideration. Synod" (decree of April 14, 1859 No. 2832, see journal June 15, 1859). Having received this decree, the Right Reverend forwarded it to the editorial committee for information and consideration with the remark: “in order to be able to testify before St. Synod, that the editors took advantage of the comments made to them, the editorial committee each time has to provide me with reports both on articles submitted to the Moscow spiritual censorship, and on those returned from it with approval for publication or not returned.” The procedure established in accordance with these decrees and resolutions for the consideration of articles in the “Orthodox Interlocutor” was obviously very difficult and, of course, should have cooled the jealousy of both the editor and the staff, if not for the rich fee for the articles (100 rubles per sheet). Nevertheless, the inconvenience was very clearly felt. To get rid of him, in June of the following 1860, after 1.3 years, a new petition was made to St. Synod on the restoration of the previous order of censorship of the Orthodox Interlocutor. The motive was that all the articles sent from the editorial office to the Moscow spiritual censorship committee, over the course of 1.3 years, were returned with approval for publication, that for more than a year no comments unfavorable for the “Interlocutor” were made from the top authorities, and that, finally, the message of the “Interlocutor” articles to the Moscow spiritual censorship is associated with great difficulties for the editors (journal. November 23, 1860). What answer came to this from St. The Synod is not visible from the editorial affairs, but it is probably favorable; at least, from the same cases it is clear that after that the articles were no longer sent to the Moscow censorship. Did this sad episode have any impact on the direction and fate of the magazine? It is difficult to say anything completely definite about this. But it seems to us that if the “Orthodox Interlocutor” had time to assimilate the direction that the archimandrite apparently wanted to give it. John, then he would have withstood, without much damage to himself, the enormous competition that opened up in 1860. It is known that this year several spiritual magazines appeared at once with the most tempting programs, precisely those based on a thought similar to that which the rector of the academy John had in mind: in St. Petersburg - “The Wanderer”, in Moscow - “Orthodox Review” and Soulful Reading, in Kyiv - Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Guide for rural pastors. All these magazines tried most diligently to attract the attention of the public by promising to provide answers to all the needs of social-church life and pastoral practice and to provide in their articles varied, edifying, accessible and entertaining reading. These advertisements were not deception. All the magazines we listed fulfilled their promises very conscientiously. These magazines were compiled almost exactly on the model of secular ones: there were departments for educational literature, bibliography, and departments for various modern reviews, and mixtures with various news and notes. The whole thing was indeed very new and interesting and could arouse interest in spiritual reading even among persons who, until that time, had no particular desire for it. It is not surprising that magazines organized in this way, compared with the old ones, became more widespread and little by little began to push them into the background. This happened, at least, with “Interlocutor”. From 1860 the number of subscribers began to decline unusually quickly, almost without any gradualness. From the very beginning of its existence 1855–1858. the magazine constantly had about 2,000 subscribers. In 1859 the number of subscribers increased even more. But in 1860 this number suddenly decreased by almost ½; no more than 1000 signatures left; expenses, meanwhile, remained the same, since 3,000 copies were still printed. The result was that neither the staff nor the editor received any fees that year. In the following years, the number of subscribers decreased even more (to 600), but printing costs were also reduced so that it was still possible to pay royalties, although relatively insignificant; but even for this it was necessary to resort to various economic tricks, such as printing more free and translated articles; nothing was paid for the editors from 1861 to 1865. Without bearing in mind what was said above about the failed reform in the direction of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” and the resulting impossibility of competing with the numerous journals of a new direction that had appeared again, it would be difficult to explain such a rapid and sudden decline of a until that time popular and very widespread journal, since the scientific merit of its content after 1859 did not at all become lower, and perhaps even increased. Looking through the “Orthodox Interlocutor” for 1860, 1861, 1862 and even subsequent years, we find in it many articles that are of high value both scientifically and practically, no less than those of articles published in previous years. In 1860, Arch. John published more than 25 sheets of his articles, mainly on the history of Russian church law, teachers: Porfiryev, Jer. Khrisanov, Shchapov, Dobrotvorsky, Pavlov and Mysovsky each published several articles that were both interesting and scientifically valuable. In 1861 the rector Archimandrite John again placed more than 22 sheets (From notes on the book of Exodus). The professors worked no less zealously. In general, the “Orthodox Interlocutor” over these years, 10, which, so to speak, decided its fate, presents an extraordinary abundance of such articles that have high scientific value even in our time and are unlikely to ever lose it. Regardless of scientific merit, they are quite interesting. For people more or less interested in science, especially Russian church history, the “Orthodox Interlocutor” will never lose its significance over these years: in the circles of scientists, then, as now, it enjoyed the most enviable reputation. But for the majority of the public he may not have been particularly interesting. The public did not find in him what was more suitable for them and what they wanted - modernity, since almost every article here dealt with ancient times. When in 1861 the fall of the journal was already clearly revealed, the editorial committee in the middle of the year (Sept. 6) considered it necessary to turn to His Eminence Athanasius with a request for assistance in distributing the “Orthodox Interlocutor” among the clergy of the Kazan diocese. But it turned out that the bishop also viewed the direction of the magazine very unfavorably. In the resolution at this presentation, he wrote among other things: “I have the duty to make it clear to the editors that, in my opinion, the “Orthodox Interlocutor” would do better if, in addition to the brain-breaking articles of philosophical content and the incomprehensible language, it added truly Orthodox articles from the Greek language about the lives and sufferings of the martyrs, which would directly teach both the holy Orthodox faith and the holy life according to with the Orthodox faith. You won’t be nice to anyone by force” (magazine, July 13, 1861). It was, in fact, difficult to expect that, given the abundance of other journals, a journal so specialized and historical and archaeological would have wide circulation among the clergy, who were strong in their piety, but not in their learning. From the resolution of Rev. Athanasius, it is clear that the higher clergy did not sympathize with this trend. Thus, the diocesan authorities deviated not only from incentive measures, which were far from being shunned at that time, but also from simple recommendations. The consistory considered it necessary to follow the tone of the bishop's resolution and also refused to take any measures to disseminate the “Orthodox Interlocutor”. On October 19, 1861, No. 305, she wrote to the editor: “Since about the publication in 1861 at the Kazan Theological Academy of the magazine “Orthodox Interlocutor” and about its publication by the clergy of the Kazan diocese, in which 1861 on the part of the diocesan authorities, orders have already been made twice through the authorities, and all incentive measures have been used that are only appropriate in the matter of disseminating spiritual Christian education; to use other measures in the present case, for example, compulsory ones, seems on the one hand inconvenient: for many individuals and churches in the Kazan diocese are not able to subscribe to spiritual journals annually, and on the other hand, and is hardly useful for the reputation of a spiritual journal, the consistory, based on the orders already made on this subject and on the appropriate measures taken for the distribution of the mentioned magazine, considers itself not entitled to make a new order to encourage Kazan clergy to the extract of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” for 1861.” The Right Reverend wrote on the journal: “Confirmation must be made, but it must be postponed until we receive an announcement about the publication of the Orthodox Interlocutor in the future 1862. Other related matters” (journal XI, October 31). How great was the decline of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” in 1861 can already be seen from the fact that, as we have seen, neither the editors, nor the censors, nor the employees received any fees that year. The subscription amount was considered only 8600 rubles, i.e. 6000 rubles. less than the previous year (14610); out of 3090 copies, only 950 were sold by subscription (see magazine XIV November 30). Therefore, in view of savings, it was decided to reduce the number of copies printed and instead of 3000, print only 1800 (see the same magazine). In this way, as well as in some others, real savings were achieved so that in the next year 1862, despite a new decrease in subscribers to 760, it was, however, possible to issue fees to employees, albeit in a very moderate amount; it was given to employees for both years 1861 and 1862, 10 rubles each. per sheet of original. Nothing was paid for editing or censorship. It was decided to have a special discussion about the remuneration of the editors themselves for editing articles when sufficient methods for this were discovered (journal December 31, 1861). Meanwhile, the nature of the magazine did not change. In it, along with articles on the schism and Russian church history, the publication of monuments of ancient Russian writing, mainly based on the manuscripts of the Solovetsky Library, continuously continued, some of which are of a very significant size and are of great importance. In 1862, the publication of the works of Maxim the Greek was completed, and then Dobrotvorsky Stoglav was published based on several manuscripts. The following year, 1863, at the suggestion of the Rector, it was proposed to publish a new, very important and voluminous monument - the work of the monk Zinovy: “Truth testimony or exposure of a new heresy.” Since there was no correct copy of this work in the Solovetsky Library, a correct copy was copied from the Moscow Academy (journal October 18, 1862). In addition, the publication of the Russian translation of the Acts of the Councils continued in the appendices; In 1862, the publication of the Third Ecumenical Council was completed and the translation of the Acts of the Fourth Ecumenical Council was prepared for the following year. cathedral (journal IV. Oct. 18, 1862). But the financial situation continued to deteriorate. The number of subscribers in 1863 and 1864 dropped to 650. Having failed with the diocesan authorities regarding measures to distribute the magazine, the editors tried to turn to booksellers and entered into a relationship with Kozhanchin, who offered to open an editorial office at his store in St. Petersburg and agreed to distribute the magazine for the usual percentage. But this measure, put into effect in 1863, did not bring the expected benefit. The editors had no choice but to abandon the idea of ​​acquiring new subscribers and try to make ends meet with the given minimum number of them. In view of this, in 1863 it was decided to further reduce the number of printed copies to 1200 (journal IV, November 30, 1862) and then transfer printing from the provincial printing house to the cheaper university one (journal V, November 30). In 1863, employees received 15 rubles each, the editor was given 100 rubles. and 150 rub. censors. Since May 1861, “Orthodox Interlocutor” came under the control of the new editor, the rector of the academy, Archimandrite Innocent. One of his first orders was the free expulsion of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” to all diocesan bishops. The rector motivated this order by the fact that “he finds it fair to honor every diocesan eminence by sending him the magazine “Orthodox Interlocutor” as a gift (journal XIV June 30), but in addition, he, of course, also meant that the eminences, receiving the magazine, will be clearly convinced of its usefulness and will be more willing to contribute to its dissemination. Further: the new rector is concerned about opening a new source of income for the editorial office. In 1862 and 1863, the editors repeatedly received requests from various people to send supplements to the “Interlocutor,” for example, the works of Maximus the Greek and the Acts of the Councils separately from the “Interlocutor,” but the editors refused each time, not having the right to sell them separately. The rector, through the Right Reverend Athanasius, in July 1864 turned to St. The Synod requested that some articles be published as separate brochures in the journal. In October of the same year, a decree of St. followed on this matter. Synod, which said: “in accordance with the petition of the Eminence, to allow the editorial committee of the journal “Orthodox Interlocutor” to publish in separate books from the magazine those articles that the committee considers convenient to assign for sale with the circulation of income from this sale in favor of the employees of “Orthodox Interlocutor” (journal 11 October 23, 1864). This sale subsequently turned out to be a significant help for the editorial finances. For the first time, “Interlocutor” and its appendices were bound in 20 copies (magazine XII, December 30, 1864). At the same time, the rector had the intention of giving greater interest to the journal by publishing a translation of the Acts of St. martyrs and saints. For this purpose, he entered through the Right Reverend with intercession into St. Synod (July 1), to which petition Oct. 7. followed by the decree of St. Synod with the following content: “Taking into account that the publication in Russian translation of the biographies of Christian martyrs and saints, made with strict legibility and in accordance with the Menaions, can serve as edifying reading for the Orthodox people and a tool in the study of church history - St. The Synod determined: in accordance with the petition of your Eminence, to allow the editorial committee of the journal “Orthodox Interlocutor” published at the Kazan Theological Academy, in view of experience, to begin in 1865 the translation of the above-mentioned biographies of Christian martyrs and saints recognized by the Orthodox Church so that the execution of this such important work would be carried out under the close supervision of your Eminence” (journal I from 23 Oct 1864). All these concerns about improving the material resources of the editorial office led to very insignificant results. The number of subscribers not only did not increase, but also decreased, although not in such a large proportion as before. This reduction, in turn, had a very harmful effect on the content of the magazine. Academic mentors began to very often send their articles to other journals, but they were reluctant to work for their own journal, since they could not only not hope for a decent fee, but risked being left without any fee at all. In order to find at least some kind of remuneration for employees, the rector began to increase the number of royalty-free articles - various reprints and articles by so-called unknown authors, that is, excerpts from various student course essays. It is clear that such articles could very rarely have a significant price and remained ballast, which to some extent provided some remuneration for academic staff, but was of little use for arousing interest in the journal. Despite all efforts, this fee in 1864–66 could not be raised to more than 15 rubles. for the original sheet and 9 rubles. for the translation. Bearing in mind the pitiful situation of the magazine, Bishop Afanasy in September 1866, apparently, without a formal petition from the editors, ordered that all churches of the Kazan diocese subscribe to the Orthodox Interlocutor. The clergy, however, was in no hurry to fulfill this instruction, since by February 1867 they received a demand for only 5 copies. At this time, at the end of 1866, His Eminence Anthony arrived at the Kazan flock, to whose energy spiritual periodical literature, as we know, owes a lot. By the way, he took the initiative to publish a Kyiv academic journal. Immediately upon arriving in Kazan, he paid attention to the position of the Kazan academic journal and planned to make it more widespread, at least in the Kazan diocese. At his suggestion, in January 1867, the rector, Archimandrite Innocent, joined the editorial committee with a note with the following content: “In the Kazan diocese, it would be useful to publish, following the example of other dioceses, diocesan bulletins, but a separate publication of them in it, due to the small number of churches in it, cannot take place. On the other hand, since 1855, at the Kazan Theological Academy, the “Orthodox Interlocutor” has been published, approved for by St. The Synod's program for the most part includes everything that is included in the appendices to the diocesan bulletins (the unofficial part), only in the most extensive form against them. Therefore, in order to have a printed organ of the Kazan diocese, our archpastor instructed me to propose (which I am doing) to the editorial committee for the publication of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” to enter into consideration and subsequently submit it to his Eminence, whether he, for his part, will not find it possible to open a special department under the “Orthodox Interlocutor” with a special count of pages under the title “News of the Kazan Diocese” on the following conditions: a) the price that is currently received from subscribers to the “Orthodox Interlocutor”, according to the announcement of its publication in 1867, should not be raised at all, b) the mentioned “Izvestia” should be sent throughout the diocese twice a month: once with the monthly books of the “Orthodox Interlocutor”, and another time separately from it, and c) in the “Izvestia” of those, place in parts everything that is placed mainly in the diocesan in fact, the statements (the official part) namely: 1) The highest manifestos and orders on the spiritual department; 2) decrees and orders of St. Synod, both general and related to the Kazan diocese itself and not subject to secrecy, 3) information about the highest awards and expressions of gratitude and blessings of St. Synod and diocesan authorities, especially for the Kazan diocese; 4) orders of the diocesan authorities concerning the entire diocese of Kazan or a significant part of it and demands from subordinate places for various information; 5) changes in senior government officials of the ecclesiastical department and the appointment and dismissal of officials at the local academy, consistory, seminary board, theological schools and clergy places of the diocesan department; 6) extracts from annual reports for various places of diocesan administration, such as: the academy, consistory, seminary, care for the poor ecclesiastical rank, school for maidens ecclesiastical rank, almshouses, etc. 7) resolutions and orders of the Kazan provincial school council and information about schools at churches and religious educational institutions, as well as orders of the theological school authorities, which the clergy of the Kazan diocese should know; 8) information about the opening of church brotherhoods and parish trustees in the Kazan diocese and their actions, orders and messages; 9) correspondence, which may include: a description, in parts, of everything relating to the Kazan diocese (historical events and church antiquities, churches, holy icons, utensils, religious processions, sacred tracts, etc.), clarification of various issues regarding the clergy, religious educational institutions and foreigners of the local diocese (Tatars, Cheremis, Chuvash) and missionary work regarding the latter, notices of charitable deeds and donations in the Kazan diocese, invitations to participate in pious enterprises and to help the suffering, pastoral instructions relating to the entire flock on any occasions and events in the diocese, etc.” This proposal, apparently imposing a new burden on the editors and causing them to incur new and quite significant expenses, in fact tended to support the magazine and distribute it through the obligatory subscription to it of the clergy of the Kazan diocese, who had hitherto treated the “Orthodox Interlocutor” very indifferently. The editorial committee, after discussing the above note from the rector and considering the information on the number of subscribers, for its part, considered the publication of an addition under the name “News of the Kazan Diocese” possible under the “Orthodox Interlocutor”; but, knowing the difficult state of affairs of the editorial board, he agreed to publish them only on certain conditions, which were set out in the submission to the Kazan archbishop. This submission says: “The editorial committee, fully sympathetic to the idea of ​​having a local spiritual body and therefore sincerely wishing to contribute to its implementation in practice, can undertake the publication of “News on the Kazan Diocese” under the “Orthodox Interlocutor” on the following conditions: 1) if the “Orthodox Interlocutor” will be subscribed by all churches of the Kazan diocese and 2) if the local spiritual consistory will deliver to the editorial committee everything required by the above stated program of Izvestia and dependent on it. In this case, the editorial committee can take up this matter under the conditions on which, as explained in the note by Fr. rector, proposed by the Eminence, namely: a) the price of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” with the “Izvestia” sent out with it should not be raised for the clergy of the Kazan diocese, b) send out the “Izvestia” 2 times a month and c) place in the “Izvestia” in parts everything that is placed primarily in the official part of the diocesan bulletins published in other dioceses; to begin the very publication of Izvestia from the current month of January, in the form of an experiment, with the fact that if the two above-mentioned conditions necessary for the success of the matter proposed by the editorial committee are not fulfilled, the first no later than March 1, and the second throughout this same year, then it will immediately stop publishing Izvestia, so as not to be the reason for the termination of the publication of the Orthodox Interlocutor itself. Having presented this to the Eminence, the editorial committee at the same time asks him: “to use his archpastoral intercession, will St. The Synod will take the trouble to communicate with the postal department so that it does not raise the current price for sending the “Orthodox Interlocutor” with the attachment “Izvestia”, which due to its insignificant volume does not require a special kind of packaging.” The Eminence put forward the following resolution at the presentation: “Jan. 23. 1867 I agree with the editor’s proposal, and therefore do the following: 1) prepare a relationship with Mr. Synodal Chief Prosecutor about petitioning St. The Synod gave permission to supplement the program of the “Interlocutor” with the publication of “News on the Kazan Diocese” in the form and with the content as set out here; 2) to be included in the consistory, so that, bearing in mind that Izvestia will replace for her in many respects her written correspondence within the diocese, firstly, she will promptly deliver to the editorial office everything that will be subject to publication in those Izvestia, which the members of the consistory have to oversee - Fr. Rector of the Academy and Fr. Archimandrite Jonah and secretary of the consistory; secondly, she immediately ordered in a circular for the diocese that all churches must subscribe to the church account or to the account of the clergy from this year “Interlocutor” without fail, since both consistory decrees and my circulars for the diocese will be published in Izvestia, which the clergy will be obliged to take not only into account, but also for execution, without expecting special written instructions and being subject to the necessary responsibility and penalties in case of non-performance; To this we should also add that the dean should be instructed to take all measures to deliver the “Interlocutor” to the churches as quickly as possible without the slightest delay. 4) as for when to start publishing Izvestia under Sobesednik, I consider it possible to do this with the February book. Wishing in every possible way to raise the “Interlocutor” in the general opinion and give it more life and interest, I, for my part, ask the editors to make every effort to do this, and I ask the academy’s mentors not to be shy about the publication of this magazine, as many have recently begun to do, sending their articles to other magazines, but to support in every possible way their magazine and, at the same time, the honor of the academy that publishes it” (see file 1867, no. 20 on the publication of a special addition to the “Interlocutor”, the so-called “Izvestia”). Regarding the petition of the Most Reverend Anthony, on March 28, 1867, a decree of St. Synod No. 1591, which determined: “to allow the program of the “Interlocutor” to be supplemented with the publication of “News on the Kazan Diocese” on the grounds explained by your Eminence, that is, so that the “News” on the Kazan Diocese should contain primarily what is included in the official part of those currently published according to those approved by St. Synod programs in some dioceses of diocesan bulletins” (also the case, l. 11–12). The decree was received on April 10. An announcement about the publication of Izvestia was immediately drawn up, in which the following subscription conditions were proposed for the clergy of the Kazan diocese: 1) “local persons from among this clergy, through the dean or directly on their own, subscribe to the Orthodox Interlocutor in the number of copies required for them and with each copy of this magazine they also receive copies of Izvestia; Izvestia cannot be subscribed to separately from the magazine; 2) the price of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” with the “Izvestia” sent out with it for the clergy of the Kazan diocese does not rise, but remains the same, i.e. 7 rubles. With. per year per copy with delivery to Kazan and forwarding to other postal places in the Kazan province.” Then the editors, in the same announcement, considered it necessary to insistently indicate the conditions under which they undertook this publication, i.e. so that all churches must subscribe to the “Orthodox Interlocutor” and that the consistory delivers all the necessary material, otherwise providing for “the need to immediately stop the publication, so as not to be the very reason for the termination of the publication of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” itself: since the publication of these “Izvestia” only increases the expenses of the editors, without remunerating them, as they should, by increasing the price for them themselves.” For persons and places of other dioceses, the price of “Izvestia” together with “Orthodox Interlocutor” was announced at 10 rubles. When embarking on this publication, the editors obviously took upon themselves a very large burden and very significant expenses, but, however, subject to the obligatory subscription, they did not hope to be at a loss, but in this they were almost mistaken. At the initial calculation, no special, very significant payment for forwarding was foreseen, as well as cases of evasion by the clergy from extracting “Prov. Interlocutor" together with "Izvestia" and writing out only "Izvestia". At first, the editorial office seemed to be very pleased with its affairs; the number of subscribers increased in 1867 from 600 to more than 909, but expenses also increased quite significantly; the remainder to pay fees for articles, editing and censorship, however, turned out to be about 3,000; Of these, an increased fee of 56 rubles was issued this year. for the original sheet, not counting, of course, a fairly significant number of free articles. In the following years, a gradual decrease in subscribers and, at the same time, the editorial funds begins again. Editing the new supplement should have taken a lot of time from the rector: probably partly for this, and also because of poor health, in August 1867 he refused to fulfill the responsibility of editor for publishing translated articles. Instead, this responsibility was expressed by prof. Sokolov regarding the actions of the councils, and prof. Nekrasov regarding Tales of Martyrs and interpretations of Blessed. Theophylact (journal XI September 30, 1867). All these translations continued to be published in appendices to the Orthodox Interlocutor. As for the department of monuments of Russian literature, it was supported as much as possible, although not with the same zeal. In 1867, the publication of “Spiritual Month” ended. Declaring this, the rector complained that none of the mentors submitted to him for printing either small monuments that do not form separate books, or large ones (journal X May 31, 1867). From mid-August 1868, the new rector of the academy, Archimandrite Nikanor (now the Bishop of Kherson), took up the post of editor. Since at this time the magazine was still in relatively good condition financially, nothing particularly caused the new editor to take any extraordinary measures. As a result, at first things went as usual with the difference that in the “Interlocutor” preaching works and scientific articles began to appear in considerable quantities by the editor himself, an author very well known in the field of our spiritual literature. But then changes followed, stemming partly from the editor’s desire to give the journal a more lively and modern character, and partly from some special conditions for the existence of the journal that appeared after the introduction of the new academic charter of 1869. The editor’s desire to improve the magazine was quite clearly manifested in the selection of articles with a more lively content, and the practical goal of exposing the schism was especially clear, and also in the fact that in 1870 he opened a new department in the magazine under the title “Chronicle”, where the most important events of religious, both Orthodox and heterodox, life in Russia and abroad were reviewed. This department did not exist, however, for long. The terms of the new academic charter also served as a source for some changes, especially in the organization of the entire publication process. Under the old charter, academic journals were published not so much by academic corporations as by the authorities of the academy, and, moreover, by the highest, and even the rector of the academy could only edit articles, but did not have the right to authorize them for publication. Permission to publish depended on a special censorship committee, whose members very often did not belong to the academic corporation at all and were independent of the academy in their actions. The new charter (1869) granted the academy the right to have its own initiative and a very significant share of freedom and independence in publishing its works (§§ 177 and 180), as well as the right to have its own censorship. The review of essays published by the academy, according to the new charter, was provided to special commissions composed of professors and associate professors, as determined by the council or at the proposals of the assistant rectors of the subject departments (§§ 120.122); final approval for printing and publication was given to the council (§86 A. 10). Upon the entry into force of the new charter, it was necessary to coordinate the publication of the academic journal with the new requirements. For this purpose, at the suggestion of the rector Archimandrite Nikanor, who put this charter into effect in our academy, a commission was formed of professors N. Sokolov, I. Porfiryev and N. Ivanovsky (in December 1870), which drew up new rules for the publication of the “Orthodox Interlocutor”. According to these rules, publishing matters were to be subject: 1) partly to general discussion by the academy’s teachers, 2) partly to the direct supervision and discretion of the editors, of whom there should be three: one main and two private. The editor-in-chief should be the rector of the academy, whose direct supervision is the department of original articles. He shares his work on the editorial staff of this department with one of the private editors. A private editor for original articles is selected from among teachers for three years. Another private editor for translations from ancient languages ​​is elected for an indefinite period (§ 12–15). Articles approved for publication by a private editor are returned to the editor-in-chief, who assigns them to the nearest book of the journal and generally manages the entire progress of the matter regarding the composition of each book (§18). These rules, after consideration by the Council, were approved by His Eminence Anthony, Archbishop of Kazan, and from March 1871 they were put into effect pending discretion (Prot. 1871, pp. 85–88). The rector Archimandrite Nikanor remained the editor-in-chief; the following were elected as private editors: for the original department, prof. I. Gvozdev, and for the transfer prof. N. Sokolov. The editors were also entrusted with the advice and censorship of articles designated for publication in the journal (Prot. 1871, p. 223). Soon after taking office as editor-in-chief of the current Fr. The rector of the academy, Archpriest A.I. Vladimirsky, namely in November 1872, these rules were again revised and corrected, but no significant amendments were made. The main amendment was that in addition to two private editors, a third editor was assigned to assist the rector of the academy, and that the determination of the composition of the books was left to the mutual agreement of all editors (Prot. 1872, pp. 309–313). These rules, obviously, established only external orders; they could not have a direct influence on the internal dignity, character and direction of the magazine. In this last respect, apparently, some other requirements of the new charter should have had more influence, but they also had almost none. The charter required that the minutes of council meetings be printed for the general public, either in full or in extracts. In the same way, it was legalized that dissertations for academic degrees, not only for the doctorate, but also for the master’s degree, should be presented in printed form, since their defense had to take place publicly. The state allocated 3,000 rubles for printing protocols and dissertations. If the Academy did not publish any journal, then a special institution would have to be organized to handle the printing of protocols and dissertations, but now there was no need for this: it was most convenient to use for this the services of the editorial office of the Orthodox Interlocutor, which had already acquired considerable experience in the matter of printing. Therefore, it is very natural that this matter was entrusted entirely to the editorial board, and the amount itself allocated for this subject was transferred to its disposal so that at the end of the year a report on the expenditure of the amounts would be presented to the board and any remaining balances that might arise would be returned 11 . As a result of this, the editors immediately, in 1870, opened a department for council minutes and a dissertation department in the appendices to the journal. Over the course of three years, 1870 - 1872, in the last department, she managed to publish four large dissertations, awarded a master's degree, although according to her old order, but under the action of the new charter. Soon dissertations began to appear in a significant number, caused by the action of the new charter, and constituted very abundant and valuable material for the journal. Not many of these dissertations were published separately: for the most part they were published in the text of the journal 12 and sometimes in appendices. Sometimes other works were also published in appendices, the size of which was inconvenient for inclusion in the text. All this, however, had, as already said, almost no influence on the general basic direction and character of the magazine and did not cause any changes in this regard. Is it really possible to point out one thing here as a change, namely, that from approximately this time, i.e., from 1870, the “Orthodox Interlocutor” began to publish articles relating to Muhammadanism quite often, which was not required by the original program. But this change did not depend on the influence of the new charter, but on the desire of the editors to serve to the best of their ability the great missionary work, which around this time began to arouse especially keen interest in Orthodox Russian society and became more widely developed, especially in Kazan. In all other respects, the editorial board both under the rector Archimandrite Nikanor, and after, under the present Fr. rector Archpriest A.I. Vladimirsky, steadily continued to fulfill those tasks prescribed by the approved St. Synod program. Articles directed directly or indirectly against the schism continued to occupy a prominent place in it. The publication of various church historical documents and other scientific enterprises of this kind continued to constitute one of the main aspects of the editorial activity. In 1869, the editors completed the publication of volume II of Tales of the Martyrs and resumed printing the translation of “The Good News.” At the same time, she constantly continued to publish the “Acts of the Ecumenical Councils”, the translation of which, after the retirement of Prof. N. Sokolov, edited by prof. A. Nekrasov. Following the “Acts of the Ecumenical Councils,” she later published “Acts of the Nine Local Councils,” edited by Prof. A. Nekrasova. Monuments of ancient Russian writing were also not forgotten: in 1870 - 71, the “Proskintarium” of Arseny Sukhanov, prof. Ivanovsky, in 1878 “Reproach against the Solovetsky petition” by Yuri Krizhanich, prof. Dobrotvorsky and some others. As for material well-being, in this respect the magazine was a source of constant and most unpleasant worries for the editors. From 1870, the number of subscribers, which had increased in 1867, again began to gradually and quite quickly fall, so that in 1873 serious concerns arose for the very existence of the magazine, which was brought to the attention of the council. The Council entered into detailed discussions about the benefits of publishing an academic journal and the need for its continuation, as well as about measures for such continuation; but it was difficult to help the cause. It was decided, however, to intercede through His Eminence Anthony before St. Synod: “wouldn’t it recognize that it is possible for the money of 3,000 rubles allocated for the printing of council protocols and master’s theses to be placed at the disposal of the editorial board of the “Orthodox Interlocutor” with the obligation that the latter publish all the protocols and master’s theses determined for publication by the council, as well as term papers written against Muhammadanism, for the publication of which some of the same were allocated money. The money remaining to cover these costs could serve as a subsidy for the maintenance of the academic journal and as a reward for the editors for the donations that they constantly made and are making to the academic library (Prot. 1873, pp. 288–291). The balances that the council pointed out in its petition were usually very small and it was hardly possible to support the journal with them, however, such support was obviously not considered superfluous. The Holy Synod, however, did not find it possible to satisfy this petition, pointing out that the money allocated for the publication of protocols is allocated from theological educational capital, which is barely enough to cover the expenses determined by the new staff of theological educational institutions. In return, St. The Synod was pleased to provide the “Orthodox Interlocutor” with a different kind of help, more significant, by recommending it for subscription to church libraries. This recommendation is in the decree of St. Synod of September 8, 1874 for No. 2792 is expressed as follows: “Taking into account that the Kazan Theological Academy was approved by the Highest on the 14th day of July 1853. by the definition of the Synod, it was entrusted to publish the spiritual magazine “Orthodox Interlocutor” with its primary direction against schism in its various forms, that during its 20-year existence the editors of this publication steadily strived for this task, placing in the publication many historical monuments related to the field of general church and Russian church history, and that a timely spiritual publication with such content turns out to be especially useful for the clergy in relation to their pastoral activities in To admonish schismatics, the Holy Synod determines: to instruct diocesan eminences by printed decrees to invite monasteries, cathedrals and generally more sufficient churches in the dioceses under their jurisdiction to subscribe for church libraries the spiritual magazine “Orthodox Interlocutor” published at the Kazan Theological Academy, as a publication useful for the pastoral service of the clergy (prot. 1874, p. 288). As a result of this recommendation, St. Synod, the number of subscribers to the “Orthodox Interlocutor” immediately increased by several hundred (vm. 680 – 1020), which greatly encouraged the editors. During 1875, she tried in every possible way to retain her subscribers, publishing in great abundance not only edifying and learned articles, but also publicly accessible and interesting ones, she even started a new department of bibliographic news 13 . However, the editorial efforts were not crowned with success. The next year, the number of subscribers decreased to 800, and then began to decrease even more, gradually approaching the figure that usually aroused fear in the editorial office, but which constitutes a kind of norm that defines the circle of regular readers of the Orthodox Interlocutor. As a result, in 1878 a commission was again formed to discuss measures to maintain the journal, or better, to prevent its closure. Having examined in detail the management of the editorial office, and taking into account various other circumstances, the commission came to the conclusion that the magazine can continue to exist only if the editorial office is run free of charge, and if the magazine contains mostly free articles. The rules were drawn up accordingly. It goes without saying that with such a formulation of the matter, some very important inconveniences should have arisen. These inconveniences have been eliminated, however, recently, thanks to the active participation in the fate of the academic journal on the part of His Eminence Palladius, Archbishop of Kazan. Thus, despite its 30-year existence, the Orthodox Interlocutor has a very limited distribution. This, to a greater or lesser extent, is the fate of all spiritual magazines in general. In this respect, the most widespread of the latter cannot be equal to the least circulated of society magazines. Perhaps this is natural, since the content of spiritual magazines is always serious and special. But, nevertheless, this is not very comforting, since the low prevalence of spiritual and moral reading is a thing that is far from indifferent. The name of the author, according to the custom of that time, is not signed under them, and therefore we will list them here: 1) “The structure of the church. Hierarchies. 2) “Government of the universal Church of Christ”, 3) “Foundations of local government of Orthodox churches.” 4) “On the ways of converting people of other faiths to the Orthodox faith” 5) “The last days of Passion Week.” 6) The judgment of God and the judgment of man. 7 and 8) Protection of the rights of faith in the fatherland. 9) Foundations of the church court. 10) Arrangement of worship services in the Russian church. 11,12,13) ​​Review of ancient forms of local church government. 14) Something about the modern relations of the Roman Church to the Orthodox. 15) Conversation at the beginning of the teaching. 16) A word about spiritual enlightenment in Russia. “On reading books (about reading books) in ancient times in Russia (two articles). “Prince Konstantin Ostorozhsky” (two articles), “The beginning of the union in southwestern Russia (six articles) “On the methods of spiritual enlightenment of ancient Russia outside of schools”, “Luka Konashevich Bishop of Kazan” (three articles), “Promotion of Russian monasteries in the enlightenment of ancient Russia”, “Arseny the Greek under Patriarch Nikon”. “Conversion of the Irgiz Old Believer monasteries to unity of faith”, “Information about the sect, so called in the Russian schism, the people of God”, “The Society of the People of God, its composition and liturgical meetings”, “Avvakum, his mission and the sect - Avvakumism”, “Materials for the history of the schism: the message of boyar Andrei Pleshcheev to Habakkuk” “The origin of the schismatic teaching about the Antichrist” (two articles) “Historical information about the Molokan sect” (two statistics) “The Legend of Rev. Nestor about the life and murder of the faithful. Princes Boris and Gleb", "Two words about day-night prayer", "Rev. Feodosia’s teachings on moderation in table drinking and the improvement of home life.” The life of Leonty of Rostov and a word in his memory, the lives of: Isaiah of Rostov, Anthony of Rome and Abraham of Smolensk, a Word on fasting, new teachings of Serapion, Bishop of Vladimir (XIII century). Here is a list of very important articles for 1859 - 62. 1859. Arch. John, in addition to those mentioned above: “A review of church decrees on baptism and confirmation, on communion and repentance, on the priesthood and marriage (11 articles), “Ancient rules of church court”, “On the time of celebrating Easter” (two articles), Porfiryeva: “Reverence for Wednesday and Friday in the ancient Russian people”; Lilov: “Library of the Solovetsky Monastery” (two articles), “A look at the Christian character of Old Slavonic writings”; Dobrotvorsky: “Deacon Theodore, his writings and teachings” (two articles); Aristova: “The view of ancient Russian chroniclers on world events” (two articles); Voskresensky: “Information about ancient translations of the works of St. fathers into the Slavic-Russian language" (two articles) 1860. Arch. John: “On the basic principles of Russian church law” (two articles), “The action of the Greek nomocanon in ancient Russia in church-judicial matters” (two articles), “The Hundred-Glavny Council” (six articles), “Church prohibition and permission”; Jerome. Khrisanova: “The activities of the pastors of the church of the 4th century. in relation to social life" (two articles), "A look at the opinions of the newest rationalists on the essence of religion" (two articles); N Ya. Porfiryeva: “On the sources of information on various sciences in ancient times of Russia”, “Allegorical images of the seasons”, “Sylvester’s House”; Shchapova: “Russian Church in the Northern Pomerania of the 15th–17th centuries.” (two articles), “Ancient deserts and desert dwellers in the north-east of Russia”; THEM. Dobrotvorsky: “Russian view. schismatics against the Roman Church", "The teaching of the sect of the people of God about the mysterious death and the mysterious resurrection"; A.S. Pavlova: “Ancient Russian Easter for the eighth thousand years from the creation of the world.” 1861 Archim. John: “From notes on the book of Exodus” (11 articles), Shchapova: “Care of the Russian Church for the internal improvement of Russian civil society in the XIII, XIV and XV centuries.” (two articles), “A mixture of Christianity with paganism and heresies in ancient Russian folk tales about the world”; Dobrotvorsky: “On the self-immolation of schismatics”, “On Arseny Matseevich as an exposer of the schism.” 1862 Mysovsky: “Ancient Russian church law in connection with Byzantine law” (five articles). “Cyprian All-Russian Metropolitan and Grand Duke Dmitry Ioannovich of Don”; Ogneva: “Copying books in ancient times of Russia”, “Correction of liturgical books under Patriarch Filaret.” Shchapov: “The state of the Russian clergy in the 18th century”, Dobrotvorsky: “Ancient Russian sermon against drunkenness”, “Additional explanations to the publication of Stoglav”. This order continued until January 1873. See Prot. 1873 pp. 32 – 36. The first of the doctoral dissertations published in the journal was the dissertation of P. V. Znamensky: “Parish clergy in Rus'” Prav. Sob. 1871 to '72 Here is a list of the most important articles included in Pr. Sob." 1875: Readings from Russian history. churches during the reign of Catherine P. P. Znamensky (eight articles); The meaning of symbols in Lutheranism N. Belyaeva; Roman Catholic teaching on the so-called satisfaction, His own (three articles); Pioneer of the science of Christian morality A. Grenkova, The original origin of the science of Christian morality, His; Church and school, His; The Russian schism, from the point of view of a foreigner, is His. About the teachings of Photius, Metropolitan of Kyiv, A. Vadkovsky; Regarding the recognition of schismatic marriages, N. Ivanovsky, New edition on the study of schism, His; Conversations with Old Believers in three villages, Him (two articles); The basis and nature of the scopal heresy, Dobrotvorsky and Ivanovsky. Second trip to Russia. the village of Mainos of the Athonite monk Michael; A trip to the Danube and Romania, His; German intelligentsia, letters from abroad by P. Miloslavsky (four articles); The concept of a woman and her way of life among the Mohammedans and Christians, Bp. Quiz; Mohammedan fast of Ramadan, N. Ostroumova, Character and influence of Islam. Per. L. V-va; Bible and Koran, and others.