Letters of Archpriest A. V. Smirnov from the Collection of Manuscript Department of the National Library of Russia

Abstract

The article presents the publication of part of the epistolary legacy of Archpriest Alexander Vasilyevich Smirnov (1857 — no earlier than 1920), Professor of Theo­logy at Kazan and Petrograd Universities, member of the IV State Duma. Deposited in the collection of the Manuscript Department of the National Library of Russia, these letters had been sent to the priest’s colleagues, prominent representatives of the theological and secular higher schools: Professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy N. N. Glubokovsky (most of the extant letters are addressed to him), Professor of the Kiev Theological Academy A. A. Dmitrievsky and Professor of Petrograd University S. F. Platonov. The publication also contains a collective letter from the Kazan clergy to Metropolitan Anthony (Vadkovsky) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, supporting the archpastor’s actions in connection with the excommunication of writer L. N. Tolstoy. The main topic of the letters is the scientific and educational activities of Archpriest A. V. Smirnov, which took place within the walls of the Kazan Theological Academy and Kazan University. The published documents reflect the author’s views on the tea­ching of Holy Scripture in theological seminaries, his relationship with the university’s professorial corporation and students, his literary activities, as well as the church and social sentiments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.