Anathema in Velsk in 1909: perception of the decree “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” of April 17, 1905

The article is aimed to show the attitude to the imperial decree “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” of April 17, 1905 in the conservative church circles of the Russian society at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Another task is to demonstrate some heuristic possibilities of clerical documents for studying the mentality of the clergy. Unpublished materials from the Vologda Oblast State Archive are used as the main source. The conclusion is made that the decree was perceived extremely negatively by archbishop Nikon of Vologda (Rozhdestvensky), up to the point that he ignored its provisions, when making a decision on anathema. The article was written on the basis of the report delivered at the VIIth Barsov Readings (St. Petersburg Theological Academy, 12.08.2023).