Relations of B.P. Mansurov with the chiefs of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem (1859–1885)

The study is devoted to the activities of an official on special instructions B.P. Mansurova in Palestine and his relationship with the chiefs of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission – Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky), Bishop of Melitopol Kirill (Naumov), Archimandrite Antoninin (Kapustin). The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the need to restore the overall picture of the Russian presence formation in the Holy Land. The novelty of the study consists in introducing into the scientific circulation sources from the personal fund of the Mansurovs’ documents from the State Archives of the Tambov Region (F. 978). It is shown that a significant part of B.P. Mansurov correspondence with Porfiry (Uspensky) was devoted to the problem of finding and organizing a marina for the reception of Russian pilgrims on Mount Athos. The Russian Society of Shipping and Trade was to act as a carrier of pilgrims. We reveal that B.P. Mansurov relations with Kyrill (Naumov) and Antonon (Kapustin) were accompanied by constant conflicts. The reason was the discrepancy between the interests of the Church and the state in the Holy Land. The church was oriented toward caring for the Mission, spiritual enlightenment, the life of pilgrims, and the state pursued the goal of protecting the interests of the Russian Empire in the Middle East. We establish that in the relations of B.P. Mansurova with the leaders of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission clearly manifested the problems of church and state relations of the Synodal period. In its activities, the Mission had to be guided by the instructions and consent of state institutions of the Russian Empire, sometimes to the detriment of inter-church relations, the cause of Christian enlightenment of the people.

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