Basic Principles of the Confessional Policy of the Government of the Russian Empire in Relation to Heterodox Confessions

The article examines the confessional policy of the Russian Empire in relation to the Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed Churches, which was quite varied. Compared to the Roman Catholic Church, the attitude towards the Lutheran and Reformed Churches was more favorable. Confessional policy depended on historical events, the presence or absence of interchurch contradictions, the loyalty of representatives of a particular confession to the policy of the Russian authorities, as well as the relationship between the countries of the Roman Catholic and Protestant world with the Russian Empire. The basic principles of confessional policy towards the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches were formulated by Catherine II and Nicholas I. For the Protestant Churches, unified legislation and a unified system of confessional governance were developed. As a result, the Lutheran regions of the Russian Empire became the center of political stability.