“Let us build that holy church”: from the history of the construction and activities of the holy trinity church in Urga

In this article, the author explores the historical events connected with the construction and activity of the Orthodox church in the capital of Mongolia - Urga in the second half of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th centuries. Te analysis focuses on documents from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire and materials in the church periodical press, which reflect the history of the church’s construction and the associated multifaceted activities of officials, priests, and representatives of the Beijing Ecclesiastical Mission and the Holy Synod. Te author focuses atention on the key points related to organizational preparation for the construction of the church, the erection and organization of the church, and the definition of its place and role in the social and religious life of the Russian population in Mongolia. Te author is able to establish that the activities of the priests of the Holy Trinity Church included mainly pastoral care for employees of Russian diplomatic structures and merchants who arrived in Mongolia for trade, but the Christianization of the traditionally Buddhist Mongolian population was not very effective