Article by Metropolitan Alexander on Metropolitan Philaret’s Judgments Concerning the Works of Archbishop Sofonia (Sokolsky) Published in the Academic Journal Sretenskoye Slovo

June 16, 2026. Moscow. An article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, посвященная роли личности и суждений Saint Philaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, in the biography of the future Turkestan hierarch, has been published in the academic journal of the Sretensky Orthodox Theological Academy, Sretenskoye Slovo.

The article examines the question of which events served as the basis for Saint Philaret’s judgments concerning Archbishop Sofonia. The circumstances prompting such evaluations include: the case concerning the unveiling of a monument to Lomonosov in Arkhangelsk (1832), a review of a Greek-language translation of a study on the Armenian Church (1852), and an assessment of Archimandrite Sofonia’s report on the reception of Nestorian Assyrians into Orthodoxy (1862).

Special attention is given to Metropolitan Philaret’s influence on the life of Archimandrite Sofonia through professors of the Tver Seminary and the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, who had been direct disciples of Saint Philaret. The article also addresses the issue of an anonymous review by a representative of the “Philaret circle” concerning Archimandrite Sofonia’s Outline of Seminary Instruction in Theological Disciplines, written during his tenure as rector of the Orel Seminary (1837). The author concludes that the relationship between the two hierarchs was shaped by Archbishop Sofonia’s contextual connection to the “Philaret milieu,” while remaining independent of Saint Philaret’s immediate theological views.

The full title of the publication is: “The Judgments of Saint Philaret of Moscow and the ‘Philaret Milieu’ in the Biography of Archbishop Sofonia (Sokolsky): Between Skepticism, Criticism, and Misunderstanding.”

The journal Sretenskoye Slovo is included in the list of peer-reviewed academic publications in which the principal results of scholarly research, including doctoral dissertations in historical sciences and church history, are required to be published (Higher Attestation Commission list).

The article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan is available via the provided link.

For citation:

Alexander (Mogilev), Metropolitan. The Judgments of Saint Philaret of Moscow and the “Philaret Milieu” in the Biography of Archbishop Sofonia (Sokolsky): Between Skepticism, Criticism, and Misunderstanding // Sretenskoye Slovo. Moscow: Publishing House of the Sretensky Theological Academy, 2026. No. 1 (17). Pp. 85–107. DOI: 10.54700/xn4z2c98