On the portal of Lomonosov Moscow State University, in the scholarly publication «Russian Journal of Church History», a preprint of an article by the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, has been posted. The article is devoted to the study of the works of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky), subsequently the first hierarch of Turkestan, during his service as rector of the church of the Russian Diplomatic Mission in Constantinople in 1848–1853.
Title of the publication: «Ecclesiastical-Diplomatic and Research Works of the Rector of St Nicholas Church of the Russian Diplomatic Mission in Constantinople, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky), in 1848–1853».
The article examines the ecclesiastical-diplomatic and scholarly research activity of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky) during the period of his service as rector of St Nicholas Church at the Russian Diplomatic Mission in Constantinople (1848–1853). The purpose of the study is to eliminate a historiographical gap, expressed in the absence of a detailed reconstruction of the Constantinople period of Archimandrite Sophrony’s ministry, and to identify the main directions of his activity in the context of the church-political processes in the Ottoman Empire of the mid-nineteenth century. The source base of the research includes unpublished archival materials from the collections of the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (documents of the Chancellery of the Minister and the Embassy in Constantinople), the Russian State Historical Archive (files of the Synod), and the Manuscripts Department of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as the published legacy of Archimandrite Sophrony himself (diaries, letters, theological works) and the memoirs of his contemporaries.
The main conclusions of the study are that, despite the importance of Archimandrite Sophrony’s service and his reports for the Synod and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the principal value of his works lies in his independent research notes, which provide a detailed characterization of the life of Eastern Christians. The reconstruction of Archimandrite Sophrony’s activity in Constantinople demonstrates his conscious aspiration to the role of an active mediator between the Local Churches. Thus, his key contribution was an unofficial but significant effort to strengthen ties between Russian and Greek Orthodoxy.
The «Russian Journal of Church History» is published by the Department of Church History of the Faculty of History of Lomonosov Moscow State University and is included in the List of peer-reviewed scholarly publications in which the main results of scientific research must be published, as well as the results of dissertations for the degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences (Higher Attestation Commission List).
The preprint of the article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan is available at: https://churchhistory.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/236 (PDF)
For citation: Mogilev A. G. (Metropolitan Alexander). Ecclesiastical-Diplomatic and Research Works of the Rector of St Nicholas Church of the Russian Diplomatic Mission in Constantinople, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky), in 1848–1853. Russian Journal of Church History. 2026;7(2):0-00. doi:10.15829/2686-973X-2026-236. EDN: AOOQCR
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