“A Path to the Clerical Rank”: the Personal File of Hieromartyr Vasily Iosifovich Bova

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the “path to the clerical rank” at the final stage of the Synodal period in the history of the Russian Church based on the example of the personal case of the path to the priestly rank (and future martyr) Vasily Iosifovich Bova (1876–1937). The author shows the procedure for replacing psalm and diaconal places in the Tobolsk and Omsk dioceses of the West Siberian region of the Russian Empire. The work also reveals previously unknown aspects of the biography of Hieromartyr Vasily Bova, concerning his parish activities. A documentary analysis of the characteristics of the life of a clergyman proves that a significant part of the clergy were people from the peasant environment. Particular attention is paid to the nature of business correspondence between various departments of spiritual consistories. The article is based on documents from the collection of the State Historical Archive of the Omsk Region that have not been previously introduced into scientific circulation.