Metropolitan Alexander’s Article on Archbishop Sophrony’s First Transcaucasian Mission (1861–1862) Published in the Theological Journal of the Tambov Theological Seminary

An article by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan has been published in the Theological Journal of the Tambov Theological Seminary. The study is devoted to the first Transcaucasian mission (1861–1862) of the future first Archbishop of Turkestan, St. Sophrony (Sokolsky)—a pivotal yet previously insufficiently studied episode in the history of relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Nestorians of Armenia, Persia, and Turkey, serving as a historical prelude to the Urmia Orthodox Mission (1898–1918).

The study is based on previously unpublished materials from the Russian State Historical Archive, official missionary reports, published works of Archimandrite Sophrony, and the review of Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov). Through a comparative analysis of these sources, the author reconstructs the circumstances surrounding Fr. Sophrony’s appointment, the background of the conversion of the Chaldean priest Michael, and St. Sophrony’s field methodology for studying the doctrine, liturgical life, and hierarchical structure of the Assyrian Church of the East.

The article also offers a critical analysis of the theological debate between Archimandrite Sophrony, who proposed receiving the Assyrians into Orthodoxy without Chrismation, and Metropolitan Philaret, who rejected this proposal on canonical and political grounds. It argues that Metropolitan Philaret’s objection relied on an inaccurate translation of the 95th Canon of the Quinisext (Trullan) Council found in the Kormchaya (1650–1653), an error later demonstrated by V.V. Bolotov, thereby confirming the correctness of St. Sophrony’s position.

Title of the publication:

The First Mission of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky) in Transcaucasia (1861–1862): The Beginning of the Study of the Possibility of Receiving the Urmia Assyrian Nestorians into Orthodoxy

The Theological Journal of the Tambov Theological Seminary is included in the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK) list of peer-reviewed academic journals in which the principal results of doctoral research in History and Church History must be published.

Metropolitan Alexander’s article is available here: https://ojs.tamds.ru/1/article/view/577/679

The complete issue of the journal is available here: https://ojs.tamds.ru/1/issue/view/37

Citation: Alexander (Mogilev A.G.), Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan. The First Mission of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sokolsky) in Transcaucasia (1861–1862): The Beginning of the Study of the Possibility of Receiving the Urmia Assyrian Nestorians into Orthodoxy. DOI: 10.51216/2687-072X_2026_2_68–90. EDN: MPFFSG. Theological Journal of the Tambov Theological Seminary. 2026. No. 2 (35). Pp. 68–90.