"The participation of the orthodox church in moral, and through this in the political rehabilitation of Russia does not contradict the rule of law": the draft for the regulation "On the establishment of the Ministry of the Orthodox Church" by P. A. Prokoshev

On July 7, 1918, the Congress of deputies of the clergy and laity of the Tomsk diocese authorized Alexander Petrovich Uspenski to solicit the Provisional Siberian government for formation of the Ministry of confessions. The State archive of the Russian Federation contains two memoranda by A. P. Uspenski on this issue addressed to the Council of Ministers. During the session on October 5, 1918, considering the question of the basic principles of «Central offices», the Provisional All-Russian government decreed: «to form the Ministry of confessions of the Provisional All-Russian government». In September - October of 1918, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church petitioned for the appointment of Professor of ecclesiastical law at the law faculty of the Tomsk University Paul Alexandrovich Prokoshev for the representation of the interests of the Siberian dioceses in the Council of Ministers of the Government. On October 16, 1918, the Administrative Council decided to «ask the Professor Prokoshev draft the regulation for the department of the Orthodox confession». On November 29, 1918 the Council of Ministers of the Russian government decided to «confirm the order to work out of the issue of the organization of the Ministry of Confessions, entrusted to Professor Prokoshev by Provisional Siberian government and to offer him to submit to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers a draft of the institutions of the Ministry of Confessions and invite professor Prokoshev to Omsk». Regulation «On the establishment of the Ministry of the Orthodox Church» was sent to the Council of Ministers of the Russian government of Admiral Kolchak on December 13, 1918. «The draft regulation on the establishment of the Ministry of the Orthodox confession» had a significant impact on the text «the Provisions of the Department on Affairs of Religions». In this document P. A. Prokoshev was proving the validity of the privileged position of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia and the need to create a special administration for the interaction between the Church and the state. P. A. Prokoshev also reviewed the structure and functions of the Ministry of the Orthodox Church.