The role of the Russian church in the history of the formation of the J. J. Overbeck's project of the revival of western orthodoxy. Reaction to the project in Russia

This article is devoted to one of the mysterious and obscure phenomena in the history of the Russian Church: the project of creating Orthodox communities in Europe practicing the Western liturgical rite. The plan for the preservation of the Western rite during the conversion to Orthodoxy was proposed by the doctor of theology and philosophy Julian Joseph Overbeck in 1869. The main idea of Overbeck and his supporters was the use of the Western liturgical rite with the full acceptance of Orthodox dogmatism. Overbeck’s proposals have caused considerable resonance in theological circles of the time. In order to implement their plan, the theologian and follo w ers of his ideas decided to turn to the Russian Church as the most influential and op e n, from their point of view, among the other Local Orthodox Churches. This article d iscusses the reaction to the Overbeck’s project in Russia, describes the main stages of discussing his project in the Holy Synod, the role of the Holy Synod and public figures o f the Russian Empire - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, brother of Emperor Alexander II and General A. A. Kireev in the history of the formation and development of the project of J. J. Overbeck. In addition, this article tells about Overbeck’s ideas abou t the Russian Church and Russia, its place in European politics at the time