The history of the renovationist schism in sources of personal origin belonging to the pen of “archbishop” Alexy Petrovich Kopytov

The article analyzes two documents from the collection no. 485 of the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region. The genre and stylistic features of these sources, the time and historical context of their origin are considered. The position of the Irkutsk Renovationist Diocese and the East Siberian metropolis during this period is analyzed. It is concluded that these documents belonged to the pen of “Archbishop” Alexy Petrovich Kopytov. The main content of the documents under consideration is analyzed. The first of the documents, entitled “Report on the State of the East Siberian Metropolitanate for the First Period of Its Existence”, is a draft of the official report with numerous author’s remarks and contains a description of the position of the East Siberian Metropolitanate in the second half of 1931 with characteristics of a number of ruling “bishops”. The document also contains the author’s recollections of the history of Renovationism in Siberia. The second document under study is an unsent letter from “Archbishop” Alexy Kopytov, addressed to “Metropolitan” Nikolai Matveyevich Minin, which can be dated to mid-1932, and contains mainly criticism of the Renovationist Holy Synod. The article concludes that “Archbishop” Alexy Petrovich Kopytov, being an ideological renovator, sharply criticized the “hierarchs” discrediting the Renovationist schism, as well as the Synod’s policy of rejecting a number of church reforms.