The renovationist schism and the council of renovationists of 1923 through the eyes of the orthodox episcopate close to patriarch Tikhon

The publication introduces into scientific circulation a previously unknown epistle of the Orthodox bishops close to Patriarch Tikhon in the summer of 1923, which was revealed in the archive fund of Archbishop Seraphim (Samoilovich) of Uglich. Presumably, the authors of the epistle could be Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky), Bishop Guriy (Stepanov), or others. The document is a detailed criticism of the Renovationist schism and especially of the schismatic Council of 1923. It shows the autocracy of the renovationist “Higher Church Administration” (VTsU), the non-canonicity of the schismatic hierarchy (both unmarried and, even more so, married), the lack of grace of this entire schismatic community and, accordingly, the inadmissibility for the Orthodox of any communication with it. The author substantiates the non-Orthodox character of the Council of Renovationists of 1923 by the method of its convocation, by its composition and by the nature of its resolutions. In particular, the authors of the Epistle dwelt on the question of the illegality of the deprivation of the dignity and monasticism of Patriarch Tikhon by the Renovationists. The epistle ends with an appeal to the rest of the Russian Orthodox bishops to join the voice of the creators of the document, and to the leaders of the schism to repent and reunite with the Church.