Episcopal Transfers in the Context of Bureaucratization and Secularization of Church Administration in the First Decades of the Synodal Period

The transfer of bishops from see to see became a noticeable phenomenon in the Russian Church by the 1730s. Brought to life by the policy pursued by the state in relation to the entire Russian clergy, the transfer of bishops was a consequence of the intensification of bureaucratization of the administrative life of the Church, under which principles and methods characteristic of secular authorities were transferred to church administration. At the same time, episcopal transfers have not yet begun to be carried out specifically with the aim of weakening the influence of the episcopate, as was the case in the nineteenth century, but so far were only a tool for solving current problems arising in the sphere of relations between the state and the Church.