Archimandrite Leonid (Kavelin) and the issues of the Church reform: the experience of public debate

The article discusses the problem of studying the relationships between Church and state in the Synodical period of her history. The focus of the research is a discussion of Church transformations in the period of the Great Reforms of Alexander II. On the example of a scientific discussion between the supporters of liberal reforms and a prominent representative of Russian monasticism, Archimandrite Leonid (Kavelin), fundamental differences in approaches to the reform of higher Church administration are examined. As sources the author uses Fr. Leonid’s obscure publications devoted to the discussion of whether it was permissible to elect the representatives of white clergy to episcopal sees. To reflect on the views of the Optina monk on the problems of the Church and monastic life, the author uses private correspondence with a prominent statesman and scholar A. S. Norov. The analysis of Fr. Leonid’s views, revealed after the period pf the reforms, makes it possible for us to conclude that he was an adherent to the traditions of ancient monasticism and the canonical order of the Church.