Kazan Eparchy Consistory in the Context of Church - State Relation Evolution During Post-Reform Period

The article examines the evolution of church-state relations during the period after the Great Reforms of Emperor Alexander II (the post-Reform period), which was expressed in the strengthening of Church activity dependence on secular bureaucracy in Russian Empire during the second half of the 19th century. In particular, these changes are traced in the activity of the Kazan Diocesan Consistory: a new system of relations is being formed between the diocesan bishop as the head of the diocese and the Secretary of the consistory appointed by the Holy Synod, controlled by the Synodal Chief Procurator, and between the presence of the consistory consisting of the diocesan clergy representatives and secular officials, the employees of the consistory office and departments. The conclusions obtained by the authors allow us to speak about the consistent implementation of state-bureaucratic principle strengthening policy in the activities of the Orthodox Church not only on the general imperial (synodal) but also on the regional (diocesan) level. The materials and the conclusions of the article can be claimed during the study of the history of Russia in the second half of the XIXth century, the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and church-state relations, the history of state institutions, the regional history of the Russian province, in particular, the history of Tatarstan.