The holy governing synod and the construction of Russian Palestine

In 1857, Alexander II authorized the opening of a Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. The new institution was faced with a wide range of tasks, including religious ones. In 1859, construction of infrastructure for pilgrims began in Jerusalem. All these events were led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs A. M. Gorchakov and Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The Holy Synod was removed from Eastern politics and was only notified of ongoing events. The Chief Prosecutor was involved in consultations on issues of Russian Palestine. The passivity of the Holy Synod on issues of Russian Palestine was determined by the position of Metropolitan of Moscow St. Philaret (Drozdov). He believed that the Greek clergy was up to the task of defending Orthodoxy in the Holy Land. Russia should have limited itself only to material assistance without the interference of the Russian Orthodox Church in the religious situation in the East. The Holy Synod did not participate in conflicts between the heads of the Spiritual Mission and the consuls. He was forced to accept the emperor’s decision to liquidate the Spiritual Mission in 1879. The Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod was a member of the Palestine Committee and the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and appointed officials of the Holy Synod to the Palestine Commission.