An article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the theology of Archbishop Sophrony (Sokolsky) has been published in the journal «Proceedings of the Department of Theology of the St Petersburg Theological Academy»

25 March 2026. An article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the theology of Archbishop Sophrony (Sokolsky) has been published in the journal «Proceedings of the Department of Theology of the St Petersburg Theological Academy». The article also addresses the question of the relationship between Hierarchs Sophrony and Theophan the Recluse.

Title of the publication: «“Therefore, Christian Theology should primarily consist of two parts, of Religious Studies and Ecclesiastics”: the theological system of the rector of the Orel Seminary, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky), 1837».

The article is devoted to the study of the system of teaching theology developed by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky), subsequently the first hierarch of the Turkestan diocese, which had taken shape by the time of his rectorship at the Orel Theological Seminary (1835–1839). The aim of the study is to reconstruct the theological views of Archimandrite Sophrony, to determine the sources and context of the formation of his system, and to assess its place among the theological pursuits of the era associated with the names of Saint Philaret of Moscow and Saint Innocent of Kherson. The novelty of the work lies in the introduction into scholarly circulation of materials from the archival manuscript of his «Outline of Seminary Instruction in Theological Sciences», where the key idea is the division of Christian theology into «religious studies» and «ecclesiastics». The article substantiates that this principle of systematizing theological knowledge in Russia in the second quarter of the nineteenth century could only have been the result of following the theological system of Saint Innocent (Borisov). It also concludes that the assertion that Archimandrite Sophrony followed the theological systems of Archbishops Ireney (Falkovsky) and Sylvester (Kulyabka) is incorrect, and that the seminary graduate of 1837, Egor Govorov (later Saint Theophan the Recluse), attended lectures by the rector of the Orel Seminary, Archimandrite Sophrony, based on the theology of Saint Innocent (Borisov). The article also analyzes a review of the «Outline…» of the Orel rector and concludes that the reviewer, being unfamiliar with the theology of Saint Innocent, directs his criticism not so much at the system of Archimandrite Sophrony as at Bishop Innocent himself, whose disciple Archimandrite Sophrony was.

The journal «Proceedings of the Department of Theology of the St Petersburg Theological Academy» 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 Theology (Higher Attestation Commission List).

The text of the article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan is available on the journal’s website at: scientific-journals-spbda.ru/f/08-mogilev_tkb-129-2026.pdf (PDF).

The full issue of the journal is available at: scientific-journals-spbda.ru/archive-of-journals/archive-of-the-journal-proceedings-of-the-department-of-theology/2026/no1-29-2026

For citation: Alexander (Mogilev), Metropolitan. «“Therefore, Christian Theology should primarily consist of two parts, of Religious Studies and Ecclesiastics”: the theological system of the rector of the Orel Seminary, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky), 1837» // Proceedings of the Department of Theology of the St Petersburg Theological Academy. 2026. No. 1 (29). Pp. 120–143.