Letter from Bishop Hermogenes (Golubev) to the Senior Priests and Church Councils of the Tashkent and Central Asian Diocese

• Main Author: Olga Borisova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: St. Philaret’s Christian Orthodox Institute 2018-05-01
• Series: Вестник Свято-Филаретовского института
• Subjects: church history; russian orthodox church; tashkent diocese; bishop hermogenes (golubev); church; sobornost; parish; general parochial fund; additional contributions; история церкви; русская православная церковь; ташкентская епархия; епископ ермоген (голубев); церковь; соборность; приход; общеепархиальный фонд; дополнительные взносы
• Online Access: https://psmb-neos-resources.hb.bizmrg.com/target/sfi/0c8beda7b11b00ffb2b2972cd8d3357dfafbd2a6/%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%A1%D0%A4%D0%98_%D0%92%D1%8B%D0%BF26_151-157.pdf

The published letter from Bishop Hermogenes (Golubev) to the senior priests and church councils is introduced for the first time into scientific use. This document not only outlines the activities of Bishop Hermogenes in the Tashkent diocese, but also gives an idea of how sobornost can be embodied in today’s church. Bishop Hermogenes introduced additional contributions to a special fund from each parish in proportion to its revenues. Thus, low-income parishes were supported by large parishes and were kept from being closed. This measure met resistance from some clergymen and church councils of large parishes. In his letter Bishop Hermogenes emphasises that the inner connection between the members of the whole Church is defined by the spirit of sobornost, whereby any parish cannot be indifferent to the Church’ shared work.