The Relationship between the Commandants of the St. Petersburg Fortress and the Peter and Paul Cathedral (Second Half of the 19th Century)

Based on the documentary materials of the commandant administration of the St. Petersburg Fortress, the article examines the relationship between the commandants of the fortress and the rectors of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. An analysis of the documents allowed us to conclude that the commandants of the fortress in the period under review were officials who coordinated the activities of various structures (both church and secular) dealing with issues related to the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The relations of the commandants with the abbots were minimal (at least officially) – the appeals of the commandants to the abbots were recorded only before services that were held in the presence of the emperors, as well as in extraordinary cases (including before the execution of state criminals in the fortress). At the same time, it should be noted that it was the abbots who saw off the commandants on their last journey – the commandants of the fortress who died in this post were buried in the commandant’s cemetery (next to the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral) and funeral services in the cathedral in the presence of the abbots.