Сontroversy about the restoration of the Patriarchate at the 1917–1918 All-Russian Local Council in the memoirs of its participants

Abstract

This article will cover one of the most important areas of activity of the Local Council of 1917–1918, namely, the discussion on the restoration of the Patriarchate in the Orthodox Russian Church. The problem of the study is that after the abolition of the conciliar system in the Church by Peter I in 1721, the latter was, as it were, beheaded for almost 200 years. Instead of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Church was headed by a college of bishops, which is a direct violation of the Apostolic Decrees and the Tradition of the Church. At the All-Russian Local Council that opened in August 1917, among other things, the lion's share of the discussions was occupied by the discussion of whether to revive the Patriarchate in the Russian Church. This controversy united two sides: supporters and opponents of the Patriarchate, exchanging arguments through reports or impromptu speeches. The methods used in compiling this study are the methods of historicism, chronological analysis and synthesis. As a conclusion, it can be noted that the extensive discussion ended a month and a half after its beginning, but could have continued seemingly indefinitely, if not for the revolutionary events, which paradoxically became a catalyst in this matter.