Consecration of the Trinity Church in the Village of Konobeyevo, Bronnitsky Uezd: Revisiting the Problem of Subordination of Local Clergy in the Early 20th Century

The article and the published document highlight a local episode from the history of church life of the Moscow region — consecration of the newly-built church (March 24, 1913). A brief outline of the history of the village of Konobeyevo of the Bronnitsy uezd of the Moscow gubernia (now, Voskresensk district of the Moscow region) is given and its specific features are revealed, which include its location in the vicinity of the busy railway line of the Kazan direction, as well as presence of two stone churches of the same dedication in the parish complex. The sources recording the consecration of the new Trinity Church are also analyzed: a paragraph in the diocesan Moskovskie tserkovnye vedomosti, as well as the newly revealed archival file stored in the Central State Archive of Moscow (fond of the office of the bishop of Dmitrov, Moscow vicar). The latter consists of four documents (in chronological sequence): (1) the priest's message to his dean about the proposed consecration of the church; (2) his notification of consecrating; (3) dean's report to bishop Tryphon on his lack of knowledge concerning permission to consecrate this church and, as a result, his absence at the event with bishop’s resolution ordering the parish priest to explain of his reasons for failing to notify his dean of the upcoming consecration. The most recent document in the analyzed collection is (4) the dean’s rereport to bishop Tryphon concerning the priest’s misnotification about the upcoming event. The chronological framework is March 20 to May 1, 1913. The documents contain no information on disciplinary actions against the parish priest who treated his dean with insufficient respect. This local church history episode is interesting in several ways: first, it indicates the official periodicals’ practice of silencing conflicts, and second, it suggests that in the early 20th century dean’s participation in consecration of a newly built church on his entrusted territory was a generally accepted norm. Finally, the revealed documents show that in the last years of the Russian Empire the clergy had no clear idea of the dean’s status; he could be considered primus inter pares among priests of particular locality or their head. This work includes a brief analytical article, as well as publication of the discovered archival file.