From “Christian Socialism” to “Golgotha Christianity”: Archimandrite/Bishop Mikhail (Semenov) as a Generator of Modern Religious Ideology

The article analyzes the role and place of Archimandrite/Old Believer Bishop Mikhail (Semenov), a well-known church and public intellectual, publicist of the late Russian Empire, in formulating the ideology of “Christian socialism” and “Golgotha Christianity”, as well as attempts to create communities/movements of “free” and “Golgotha” Christians in practice. Based on a detailed study of archival and published texts, the degree of (non)participation of Bishop Mikhail as a (non) charismatic leader in the creation of modern religious ideologies and movements is revealed. The focus is on his development of programmatic manifestos for the popular movement of “Golgotha” Christians, due to which he is considered its founder and leader. Such an angle actualizes the problem of the subjective beginning in the history of the church, the role of the individual in the development of the theory of practice of the church institution.