The modern perception of actuality of preparation and publications by M. N. Petrov the essay "The gospel in the history"

The paper presents one of the possible perception of modern scientific, social and practical value of preparation of the essay «The Gospel in the history» of the talented pre-revolutionary Rus-sian historian, who had Mordovian roots, M. N. Petrov (1827 – 1887). Special attention is paid to the justification of the assumption that the publication of this work was a kind of «response» of the scientist to «call» the intensity of Noah secularization of spiritual and moral life of Russian society in the second half of the XIX century.