Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society history. Palestine Society. Pages of history. The main activities of the hippo in Palestine

IOPS is the oldest scientific and charitable non-governmental organization in Russia, unique in its significance in the history of national culture, Russian oriental studies, Russian-Middle Eastern relations.

The statutory objectives of the Society - promoting pilgrimage to the Holy Land, scientific Palestinian studies and humanitarian and educational cooperation with the peoples of the countries of the biblical region - are closely related to the traditional spiritual values ​​of our people and the priorities of Russian foreign policy. Likewise, a huge layer of world history and culture cannot be correctly comprehended and creatively mastered without connection with Palestine, its biblical and Christian heritage.

Conceived by the founders of the Russian cause in the East, Bishop Porfiry (Uspensky) and Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) and created in 1882 by the sovereign will of Alexander III, the Palestine Society in the pre-revolutionary period enjoyed august, and therefore direct, state attention and support. It was headed by Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich (from the founding of the Society until the day of his death - February 4, 1905), and then, until 1917, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. Foreign policy and property interests associated with the legacy of the IOPS in the Middle East allowed the Society to survive the revolutionary cataclysm and during the Soviet period. The spiritual renewal of Russia, the new relationship between Church and state, which dawned at the end of the 20th century, inspires hope for the revival of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society with its timeless heritage, high traditions and ideals.

Society and time

The history of the Society knows three large periods: pre-revolutionary (1882–1917), Soviet (1917–1992), post-Soviet (until now).

Upon closer examination, the activities of the IOPS in the pre-revolutionary period clearly fall into three stages.

The first opens with the creation of the Society on May 21, 1882 and ends with its reformation and merger with the Palestine Commission on March 24, 1889.

The second covers the period of time before the first Russian revolution of 1905–1907. and ends for the Society with a number of tragic losses: in 1903, the founder and main ideologist of the Society, V.N., died. Khitrovo, in 1905, Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich was killed by a terrorist bomb, in August 1906, the secretary of the IOPS A.P. died. Belyaev. With the departure of the “founding fathers”, the “ascending”, heroic stage in the life of the Palestinian Society ended.

The third period, located “between two revolutions,” is associated with the advent of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna to the leadership as chairman and professor A.A. Dmitrievsky as secretary. It ended with the First World War, when the work of Russian institutions in the Middle East ceased and communications with them were severed, or, formally, with the February Revolution and the resignation of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Within the Soviet period, certain chronological milestones can also be outlined.

The first eight years (1917–1925) were, without exaggeration, a “struggle for survival.” Having lost the old regime titles in the revolutionary upheaval and devastation, the Russian Palestine Society under the USSR Academy of Sciences (as it was now called) was officially registered by the NKVD only in October 1925.

After 1934, the RPO smoothly transitioned into a virtual mode of existence: not formally closed by anyone, it peacefully ceased functioning. This “dormant” existence continued until 1950, when, by “highest” order, the Society was revived due to the change in the situation in the Middle East - the emergence of the State of Israel.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the widespread political and economic crisis that followed seemed to once again call into question the very existence of the Society. Deprived of material and any other support, it was forced to look for a new status and new, independent sources of financing. But it was now that the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society was able to return its historical name and raise the question of fully restoring its property rights and presence in the East (resolution of the Supreme Council of May 25, 1992). The named date opens the newest period in the history of the IOPS.

Birth of the Society

The initiator of the creation of the Society was in the seventies of the 19th century. famous Russian Palestine scholar, prominent St. Petersburg official V.N. Khitrovo (1834–1903). His first trip to the Holy Land in the summer of 1871, seeing with his own eyes the difficult, helpless situation of Russian pilgrims and the bleak state of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, especially its Arab flock, made such a strong impression on Vasily Nikolaevich that his entire spiritual world changed, his entire future life was dedicated to the cause of Orthodoxy in the Middle East.

A particular shock for him was his acquaintance with ordinary Orthodox pilgrims. “It is only thanks to these hundreds and thousands of gray peasants and simple women,” he wrote, “moving from Jaffa to Jerusalem and back from year to year, as if through the Russian province, that we owe the influence that the Russian name has in Palestine; an influence so strong that you and the Russian language will walk along this road and only some Bedouin who has come from afar will not understand you. Take away this influence, and Orthodoxy will die out amid systematic Catholic and, in recent times, even more powerful Protestant propaganda.”

The Russian presence in the Holy Land already had its own history by that time. The Russian Spiritual Mission worked in Jerusalem since 1847, in St. Petersburg since 1864 there was a Palestine Commission under the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian Shipping and Trade Society regularly transported pilgrims from Odessa to Jaffa and back. But by the end of the 1870s, with the growth of Russian Orthodox pilgrimage, the Palestine Commission had exhausted its capabilities. Only a single powerful organization, with clear financial mechanisms, with levers of influence in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Synod and other higher Russian authorities. In short, the question arose about creating a private Society, independent of state structures, with a broad mass base - and at the same time with support at the highest level.

And here the decisive role was played by the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May 1881 of the brothers of Emperor Alexander III, Grand Dukes Sergius and Pavel Alexandrovich, with their cousin Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (later the famous poet K.R., President of the Academy of Sciences). Communication with leaders of Russian Palestine and, above all, with the head of the Russian Spiritual Mission, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), led to the fact that Sergius Alexandrovich was completely imbued with the interests of Russian affairs in the East. Upon the return of the Grand Duke from Jerusalem, V.N. Khitrovo convinces him to become the head of the projected Society.

On May 8, 1882, the charter of the Orthodox Palestine Society was highly approved, and on May 21, in the palace of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder (who also made a pilgrimage to Palestine in 1872), in the presence of members of the imperial family, Russian and Greek clergy, scientists and diplomats, its grand opening.

Status, composition, structure of the Company

The Orthodox Palestine Society (since 1889 the Imperial, hereinafter IOPS), which arose on a public, even private initiative, from the very beginning carried out its activities under the patronage of the Church, the state, the government, and the ruling dynasty. The Charter of the Society, as well as subsequent changes and additions to it, were submitted through the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod for the highest consideration and approved personally by the Head of State. The Emperor also approved the candidacies of the Chairman and his assistant (since 1889 - Chairman and Vice-Chairman).

The chairmen of the IOPS were Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich (1882-1905), and after his death, Grand Duchess Martyr Elizaveta Feodorovna (1905-1917). Since 1889, the Council of the Society has included, as permanent appointed members, a representative of the Holy Synod and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and since 1898, also an appointed representative of the Ministry of Public Education. Scientists were elected as members of the Council - from the Academy of Sciences, universities and theological academies.

Among the 43 founding members were well-known representatives of the Russian aristocracy (poet Prince A.A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, historian Count S.D. Sheremetev, admiral and diplomat Count E.V. Putyatin), the highest bureaucratic elite (state controller T.I. Filippov, Director of the Office of the Ministry of Finance D.F. Kobeko, Minister of State Property M.N. Ostrovsky) and scientists (academician-Byzantinist V.G. Vasilievsky, professor of church archeology of the Kyiv Theological Academy A.A. Olesnitsky, literary critic and bibliographer S. .I. Ponomarev).

Membership in the Society was open to everyone who sympathized with its goals and objectives and was interested in the Holy Land and Russian politics in the region. The charter provided for three categories of members: honorary, full and collaborating members. They differed in the degree of involvement in the scientific or practical study of Palestine and the size of annual or one-time (lifetime) contributions.

Having learned that Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich had been appointed head of the Palestine Society, dozens of the best representatives of the Russian nobility hurried to join the ranks of the new organization. In the first year, its honorary members included 13 members of the royal family, headed by Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. All prime ministers, foreign ministers, almost everyone, starting with K.P. Pobedonostsev, chief prosecutors of the Holy Synod, were members of the Palestine Society in different years.

The management structure of the Society included several links: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Assistant to the Chairman, Secretary, Commissioner of the IOPS (since 1898, Manager of the farmsteads) in Palestine. The composition of the Council (10-12 people) and the number of employees of the Society have always been minimal; dynamism and quality of work at all levels were ensured by strict implementation of the charter, correct and transparent reporting and awareness of the patriotic and religious responsibility of each employee, starting with the Chairman. Sergius Alexandrovich, unlike many other august persons, was not a “wedding general”; he actively participated in the life of the PPO and directed its work. When necessary, I met with ministers and corresponded with them. According to the regulations, ministers (including the head of the foreign policy department) wrote to the Grand Duke reports, and he directed them - from top to bottom - rescripts.

As a result of the rapid and effective implementation of a number of successful construction and scientific-archaeological projects in Palestine, which we will talk about later, the Society acquired sufficient authority so that 7 years after its founding, Sergius Alexandrovich could responsibly raise the question of recognizing the PPO as the only centralized force , directing all Russian work in the Middle East. By the highest decree of March 24, 1989, the Palestine Commission was disbanded, its functions, capital, property and land plots in the Holy Land were transferred to the Palestine Society, which from that day received the honorary name of the Imperial Society. In a sense, this was a real political revolution. Just look at the published diaries of V.N. Lamzdorf, the future Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then a comrade (deputy) minister, in order to make sure what dissatisfaction was caused in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the fact that Sergei Alexandrovich was actively interfering in the affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tried to determine his own line of behavior in the Middle East. And, as time has shown, this line was correct.

The key figure in the entire vertical of the IOPS was the Secretary. During the 35 years of the pre-revolutionary period, this post was occupied by four figures - different by birth, character, education, talent - and each, as they say in such cases, was man in his place. General M.P. Stepanov (1882–1889): military bone, adjutant and courtier, faithful companion and comrade-in-arms of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, a man of extreme experience and tact. V.N. Khitrovo (1889–1903): a scrupulous accountant and statistician - and at the same time a courageous political thinker and publicist, organizer of large-scale humanitarian and educational projects. A prominent Palestinian scholar, founder of scientific publications, editor and bibliographer - and at the same time a talented stylist, author of inspired popular books and brochures. A.P. Belyaev (1903–1906) was a brilliant diplomat, a master of international and inter-church intrigue, and at the same time a highly educated Arabist, a subtle polemicist, open to serious theological dialogue in any dialect of the Arabic language. And finally, A.A. Dmitrievsky (1906–1918) - a great church historian and source scholar, the founder of the traditions of Russian historical liturgics, the best expert on Greek manuscript literature - and at the same time a consistent champion of Russian great power policy in the East, the author of an entire library of works on the history and personalities of the Palestinian Society and the Russian affairs in Palestine.

Of course, none of them (even V.N. Khitrovo, who was amazing in the breadth of his interests) was completely universal; each turned out to be the strongest in his chosen field. But successively replacing each other in a key position for the activities of the IOPS, they not only reveal unsurpassed loyalty and continuity of the line worked out once and for all, but also embody a kind of almost artistic “ensemble” integrity, hardly achievable over a long period of time even for the most united purely human groups and teams. Only religious By the character and selfless service of the founders and leaders of the IOPS, we owe those indisputable accomplishments and achievements with which the 35-year pre-revolutionary period of the Society’s activity was so rich.

Main activities of the IOPS in Palestine

The charter defined three main areas of activity of the IOPS: church-pilgrimage, foreign policy and scientific. To work in different areas, the Society was divided into three corresponding departments. The goals set for each of them can be formulated as follows:

– to assist Russian Orthodox people, subjects of the Russian Empire, in organizing pilgrimages to the Holy Land. For this purpose, land plots were acquired in Palestine, churches and farmsteads with the necessary infrastructure (hotels, canteens, baths, hospitals) were built, preferential rates were provided for pilgrims by train and on ships, accommodation, meals, and driving of pilgrimage groups to holy places were organized. reading qualified lectures for them;

– to provide educational and humanitarian assistance to the peoples of the Middle East and Local Churches on behalf of the Russian state and the Russian people. For this purpose, the IOPS built churches for the Greek clergy at its own expense, opened and maintained schools for Arab children, and provided direct financial assistance to the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Antioch.

– conduct scientific, scientific publishing and educational work to study and popularize knowledge about the Holy Land and other countries of the biblical region, the history of Russian-Palestinian church and cultural ties. The Society conducted and financed scientific expeditions, archaeological excavations, and business trips of IOPS scientists to libraries and ancient repositories of the East. It was planned to create a Russian Scientific Institute in Jerusalem (the First World War interfered). Multifaceted scientific publishing activities were carried out: from the most authoritative scientific publications to popular brochures and leaflets; The “Orthodox Palestine Collection” and the journal “Messages of the IOPS” were regularly published.

By the way, lectures and readings about the Holy Land for the people were an important part of the national religious educational work. The scale of this educational activity has expanded enormously since regional, or, as they said then, diocesan departments of the IOPS began to emerge; the first of them was the most remote, Yakut department, created on March 21, 1893. The main source of funding for the IOPS were membership fees and voluntary donations, national church collections (up to 70% of the income came from the “Palestinian collection” on Palm Sunday), as well as direct government subsidies . Over time, the real estate of the IOPS in the Holy Land became an important material factor, which, although they were the property of a private society, were always considered as a national treasure of Russia.

Architectural monuments associated with the activities of the Society largely determine the historical appearance of Jerusalem to this day. The first in time was the ensemble of Russian Buildings, including the Trinity Cathedral, the building of the Russian Spiritual Mission, the consulate, the Elizabethan and Mariinsky courtyards and the Russian hospital - inherited by the IOPS from the Palestine Commission. But that was only the beginning. The marvelous Church of Mary Magdalene on the slope of Olivet (consecrated on October 1, 1888) has become a kind of architectural calling card of modern Jerusalem. The famous Sergievsky courtyard, named after the first Chairman of the Society, with a corner round tower on which the “Palestinian flag” - the banner of the IOPS - fluttered on holidays, also acquired symbolic significance. In the very heart of the Old City, near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is the Alexander Metochion, which houses the Gospel Threshold of the Gates of Judgment and the Church of Alexander Nevsky, consecrated on May 22, 1896 in memory of the founder of the Society, Alexander III the Peacemaker. On the Street of the Prophets, the Veniaminovsky courtyard, donated to the Society in 1891 by Abbot Veniamin, has been preserved. The latest in a series of Jerusalem projects is the Nikolaevsky Metochion, so named in memory of the last Russian autocrat (consecrated on December 6, 1905).

History has dealt mercilessly with the legacy of the Palestinian Society - the fruit of many years of expense and effort of our people. The Jerusalem World Court is located in the building of the Spiritual Mission, and the police are located in the Elizabethan Compound (the barbed wire along the perimeter of the walls eloquently indicates that a pre-trial detention center is still located here). The Mariinsky Compound was also turned into a prison by the British; arrested participants in the Zionist terrorist struggle against the British Mandate were kept there. Currently, the “Museum of Jewish Resistance” is located here. Nikolaevskoye Compound is now the building of the Ministry of Justice.

Monuments related to the activities of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society also exist outside of Jerusalem. In 1901-1904. The Nazareth Compound was built. led book Sergius Alexandrovich, in 1902 - courtyard named after. Speransky in Haifa. (Both sold in the 1964 Orange Deal)

Another important area of ​​activity of the IOPS was, as we said, a multifaceted set of activities covered by the concept of “support for Orthodoxy in the Holy Land.” This concept included direct financial assistance to the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, and the construction of churches in places where Orthodox Arabs live compactly, with their subsequent provision of everything necessary, and diplomatic assistance of the Patriarchate in confronting both the Turkish authorities and heterodox infiltration. But the most effective area of ​​investment was rightly considered to be educational work among the Arab Orthodox population.

The first IOPS schools in Palestine were opened in the year the Society was founded (1882). Since 1895, the educational initiative of the IOPS has spread within the boundaries of the Antioch Patriarchate. Lebanon and Syria became the main springboard for school construction: according to 1909 data, 1,576 people studied in 24 Russian educational institutions in Palestine, and 9,974 students in 77 schools in Syria and Lebanon. This ratio, with minor annual fluctuations, remained until 1914.

On July 5, 1912, Nicholas II approved the law approved by the State Duma on the budgetary financing of IOPS educational institutions in Syria and Lebanon (150 thousand rubles per year). A similar measure was planned for schools in Palestine. The First World War and then the revolution interrupted the Russian humanitarian breakthrough in the Middle East.

Exactly one hundred years ago, on May 21, 1907, the 25th anniversary of the IOPS was solemnly celebrated in St. Petersburg and Jerusalem. In the diary of Emperor Nicholas II, under this date we read: “At 3 o’clock the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Palestine Society took place in the Palace, first a prayer service was served in the Petrovskaya Hall, after which a meeting took place in the Merchant Hall.” The Emperor honored the Chairman of the Society, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, with a rescript, which summed up the results of a quarter century of the Society’s work: “Now, having possessions in Palestine worth almost two million rubles, the IOPS has 8 farmsteads, where up to 10 thousand pilgrims find shelter, a hospital , six hospitals for incoming patients and 101 educational institutions with 10,400 students; Over the course of 25 years, he published 347 publications on Palestinian studies.”

By this time, the Society consisted of more than 3 thousand members, departments of the IOPS operated in 52 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Company's real estate consisted of 28 land plots (26 in Palestine and one each in Lebanon and Syria), with a total area of ​​more than 23.5 hectares. Since, according to Turkish legislation (the lack of land ownership rights for legal entities - institutions and societies), the Palestinian Society could not have its own, legally registered real estate in the East, a third of the plots (10 out of 26) were assigned to the Russian government, the rest were passed off as private property. Including, 8 plots were registered in the name of the chairman of the IOPS, Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich, 4 were listed as the property of the director of the Nazareth Teachers' Seminary A.G. Kezma, 3 more were listed under the former inspector of the Galilean schools of the Society A.I. Yakubovich, 1 - for former inspector P.P. Nikolaevsky. Over time, it was planned to obtain from the Ottoman government the correct assignment of the Company's properties, but the First World War interfered.

The fate of the IOPS in the 20th century

After the February Revolution, the IOPS ceased to be called “Imperial”, and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna resigned as Chairman. On April 9, 1917, the former vice-chairman, Prince, was elected chairman. A.A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov. In the fall of 1918, the prince emigrated to Germany. There, not authorized by anyone in Russia, he headed the parallel “Council of the Orthodox Palestine Society” - a kind of “Council in Exile”, uniting some of the former members of the IOPS who found themselves in exile (the future fate of the foreign IOPS is a separate discussion). And the present Council, which remained in its homeland, on October 5 (18), 1918, elected the oldest of its members, Academician V.V., as chairman. Latyshev, who held this post until his death on May 2, 1921. On May 22, 1921, the famous Russian Byzantine scholar, academician F.I. was elected chairman of the Society. Uspensky.

Since 1918, the Society also abandoned the name “Orthodox”; from then on it was called the Russian Palestine Society at the Academy of Sciences and, since any ties with Palestine were interrupted for a long time, it was forced to limit itself exclusively to scientific activity. On September 25, 1918, a new edition of the Society’s charter and the documents necessary for its registration were sent to the Council of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies of the Rozhdestvensky District of Petrograd. On October 24, 1918, an order was received from the People's Commissar of Education A.V. Lunacharsky: “immediately take measures to secure the scientific property of the Palestine Society.” Then came an important postscript: “The revolutionary authorities are pleased to assist the Academy of Sciences in the execution of this assignment.”

As soon as the Soviet state was recognized by European countries, on May 18, 1923, the representative of the RSFSR in London L.B. Krasin sent a note to the British Foreign Secretary Marquis Curzon, which stated: “The Russian government declares that all lands, hotels, hospitals, schools and other buildings, as well as in general all other movable or immovable property of the Palestine Society in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Kaif, Beirut and other places in Palestine and Syria, or wherever it was located (this also meant the St. Nicholas Metochion of the IOPS in Bari, Italy. - N.L.), is the property of the Russian state." On October 29, 1925, the charter of the RPO was registered by the NKVD. Despite the most difficult conditions, during the 1920s, until the early 1930s. The society conducted active scientific work.

During the 20th century. The IOPS and its properties in the Holy Land have been used more than once for political purposes. Some representatives of the Russian emigration (ROCOR and foreign PPO) and their foreign patrons tried to present Russian Palestine as almost an outpost of anti-communism in the Middle East. In turn, the Soviet government (starting with Krasin’s note in 1923) did not abandon efforts to return foreign property. A low bow to all the Russian people who managed to preserve this island of Holy Rus' in the Holy Land during the bitter years of exile. But the main moral and legal postulate that determines the position of the IOPS and its legacy is that, in view of the above, no “Palestinian Society” can exist without Russia and outside Russia, and no claims of persons or organizations located abroad on the Company's property are impossible and illegal.

The creation of the State of Israel (May 14, 1948), which initially intensified the competition between the West and the East in the struggle for the Middle Eastern bridgehead, made the return of Russian property a relevant and convenient factor in Soviet-Israeli reciprocity. On May 20, 1948, I. Rabinovich was appointed “commissioner for Russian property in Israel”, who, according to him, from the very beginning “did everything possible to transfer property to the Soviet Union.” On September 25, 1950, a decree was issued by the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the resumption of the activities of the Palestine Society and the approval of the staff of its representative office in the State of Israel.

The first meeting of the renewed membership of the Society in Moscow took place on January 16, 1951. The chief scientific secretary of the Academy of Sciences, academician A.V., chaired. Topchiev. In his opening remarks, he said: “Due to a number of circumstances, the activities of the Russian Palestine Society were actually interrupted in the early 30s. Considering the recent increased interest of Soviet scientists, and especially orientalists, in the countries of the Middle East, as well as the increased capabilities of Soviet science, the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences recognized the need to intensify the activities of the Society as an organization helping Soviet scientists study these countries.” The famous oriental historian S.P. was elected chairman of the RPO. Tolstoy. The Council included academicians V.V. Struve, A.V. Topchiev, Doctor of Historical Sciences N.V. Pigulevskaya, scientific secretary R.P. Dadykin. In March 1951, the official representative of the RPO M.P. arrived in Jerusalem. Kalugin, located at the Jerusalem headquarters of the Society, in the Sergievsky courtyard.

In 1964, most of the real estate owned by the IOPS in Palestine was sold by the Khrushchev government to the Israeli authorities for $4.5 million (the so-called “orange deal”). After the Six-Day War (June 1967) and the severance of relations with Israel, Soviet representatives, including the representative of the RPO, left the country. This had a sad result for the Society: the abandoned representative office in the Sergievsky Compound has not yet been restored.

O.G. Peresypkin

IOPS meeting 2003

A new turn at the turn of the 1980s–1990s. associated with the restoration of diplomatic relations between the USSR and the state of Israel and a change in the foreign policy concept traditional for the Soviet period. In 1989, a new chairman came to the Society - the rector of the Diplomatic Academy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation O.G. Peresypkin and scientific secretary V.A. Savushkin. It was during this period that key events for the IOPS took place: the Society gained independence, returned its historical name, began to work according to a new charter, as close as possible to the original one, and restored its main functions - including promoting Orthodox pilgrimage. Members of the IOPS actively participated in scientific conferences in Russia and abroad. In the fall of 1990, for the first time in the entire post-revolutionary period, members of the Society were able to make a pilgrimage trip to the Holy Land to participate in the “Jerusalem Forum: Representatives of Three Religions for Peace in the Middle East.” In subsequent years, more than two dozen pilgrim groups organized by the IOPS visited the Holy Land.

On May 25, 1992, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution to restore the historical name of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and recommended that the government take the necessary measures for the practical restoration and return of its property and rights to the IOPS. On May 14, 1993, Chairman of the Council of Ministers - Government of the Russian Federation V.S. Chernomyrdin signed the following order: “To instruct the Russian Foreign Ministry to conduct negotiations with the Israeli side with the participation of the State Property Committee on the restoration of the Russian Federation’s ownership of the building of the Sergievsky Metochion (Jerusalem) and the corresponding land plot. Upon reaching an agreement, register the said building and land plot as state property of the Russian Federation, transferring, in accordance with the recommendation of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, an apartment in the building of the Sergievsky Metochion for perpetual use to the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.”

Presentation of the golden sign of the IOPS to His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
Right: Ya. N. Shchapov (2006)

The re-establishment in the 1990s was of great importance for strengthening the authority of the Society. connection with the Russian Orthodox Church. His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II took the Palestine Society under his direct patronage and headed the Committee of Honorary Members of the IOPS. Honorary members of the Society are Metropolitan Yuvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, Mayor of Moscow Yu.M. Luzhkov, Rector of the Moscow Medical Academy, Academician M.A. Paltsev and other prominent figures.

In November 2003, the outstanding Russian historian, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Ya.N. was elected Chairman of the Society. Shchapov. At a meeting of the IOPS Council on March 11, 2004, the heads of the sections were approved: for international activities - Head of the Department for Middle East Settlement (now Deputy Director of the Department of the Middle East and North Africa) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation O.B. Ozerov, for pilgrimage activities - General Director of the Pilgrimage Center S.Yu. Zhitenev, for scientific and publishing activities - Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences "The Role of Religions in History" Doctor of Historical Sciences A.V. Nazarenko. S.Yu. Zhitenev was appointed Scientific Secretary of the Society in January 2006.

Regional branches operate in St. Petersburg (Chairman - Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, General Director of the State Hermitage M.B. Piotrovsky, Scientific Secretary - Doctor of Historical Sciences E.N. Meshcherskaya), Nizhny Novgorod (Chairman - Dean of the Faculty of International Relations of Nizhny Novgorod State University , Doctor of Historical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences O.A. Kolobov, Scientific Secretary - Doctor of Historical Sciences A.A. Kornilov), Orle (Chairman - Head of the Information and Analytical Department of the Administration of the Oryol Region, Doctor of Historical Sciences S.V. Fefelov, Scientific Secretary – Doctor of Historical Sciences V.A. Livtsov), Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Chairman Daoud Matar).
Modern activities of the IOPS

Scientific direction

One of the most important statutory activities of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society from the very beginning has been and remains scientific work in the field of historical, archaeological, philological research of the Holy Land and other countries of the biblical region. It is enough to name an epoch-making discovery in the field of biblical archeology - the excavations of the Threshold of the Gate of Judgment, through which Christ walked to Golgotha ​​(1883), carried out by Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) on behalf and at the expense of the IOPS.

At the IOPS site in Jericho D.D. Smyshlyaev in 1887 excavated the remains of an ancient Byzantine temple. During the work, objects were found that formed the basis of the Museum of Palestinian Antiquities created at the Alexander Metochion. Of great importance were the studies of Georgian antiquities by Professor A.A., who was sent by the Society to Jerusalem and Sinai. Tsagareli. Active member of the IOPS, famous traveler, doctor-anthropologist A.V. Eliseev walked the ancient route to the Holy Land through the Caucasus and Asia Minor. A special place in the scientific heritage of the Society is occupied by the expedition of 1891 under the leadership of Academician N.P. Kondakov, the result of which was his major work “Syria and Palestine”. More than 1,000 photographs from rare ancient monuments brought by the expedition were included in the photo library of the IOPS. At the very beginning of the 20th century. on the initiative of Professor P.K. Kokovtsev and Secretary of the IOPS V.N. Khitrovo, at the Council of the Society, “Interviews on scientific issues relating to Palestine, Syria and neighboring countries” were organized, which historians later characterized as “one of the few attempts to form a society of Orientalists in Russia with special scientific tasks.”

Already at the height of the First World War, in 1915, the question was raised about the creation, after the end of the war, of the Russian Archaeological Institute in Jerusalem (modeled on the Russian Archaeological Institute in Constantinople that existed in 1894-1914).

In the post-October period, almost all the major orientalists and Byzantinists were members of the Society, and this intellectual force could not be ignored. Members of the Russian Palestine Society at the USSR Academy of Sciences included in the 1920s. academicians F.I. Uspensky (Chairman of the Society in 1921-1928) and N.Ya. Marr (Chairman of the Society in 1928-1934), V.V. Bartold, A.A. Vasiliev, S.A. Zhebelev, P.K. Kokovtsev, I.Yu. Krachkovsky, I.I. Meshchaninov, S.F. Oldenburg, A.I. Sobolevsky, V.V. Struve; Professor D.V. Ainalov, I.D. Andreev, V.N. Beneshevich, A.I. Brilliantov, V.M. Veryuzhsky, A.A. Dmitrievsky, I.A. Karabinov, N.P. Likhachev, M.D. Priselkov, I.I. Sokolov, B.V. Titlinov, I.G. Troitsky, V.V. and M.V. Farmakovskiy, I.G. Frank-Kamenetsky, V.K. Shileiko. Many outstanding scientists in the field of natural science also became members of the Society: academicians V.I. Vernadsky, A.E. Fersman, N.I. Vavilov. The scientific life of the Society was practically uninterrupted, with the possible exception of the most difficult months of “war communism.” Since January 1919, there are documents about more or less regular meetings of the RPO with the presentation of serious reports and topics for discussion. During these years the Society was an active scientific institution, a union of scientists with a broad and varied program.

In 1954, the first issue of the renewed “Palestine Collection” was published. The responsible editor of this and subsequent volumes was N.V. Pigulevskaya. Although not a periodical, The Palestine Collection was published with amazing regularity: from 1954 to 2007. 42 issues were published. Orientalists of the new generation grouped around him: A.V. Bank, I.N. Vinnikov, E.E. Granstrem, A.A. Guber, B.M. Danzig, I.M. Dyakonov, A.G. Lundin, E.N. Meshcherskaya, A.V. Paykova, B.B. Piotrovsky, K.B. Starkov. A.E. belonged to the Moscow section of the RPO “Literary Connections of East and West”. Bertels, V.G. Bryusova, G.K. Wagner, L.P. Zhukovskaya, O.A. Knyazevskaya, O.I. Podobedova, R.A. Simonov, B.L. Fonkich, Ya.N. Shchapov.

Among the most significant scientific events of the IOPS in the 90s of the XX century. should be called the large international scientific symposium “Russia and Palestine: cultural and religious ties and contacts in the past, present and future” (1990), in which scientists from Arab countries, Israel, England, the USA, Germany and Canada took part, conferences dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) in 1994 and the 150th anniversary of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem - in Moscow, Balamand (Lebanon), Nazareth (Israel) - in 1997. Already in the new millennium, conferences dedicated to 100th anniversary of the death of the founder of the IOPS V.N. Khitrovo (2003), the 200th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, Bishop Porfiry Uspensky (2004), the 100th anniversary of the tragic death of the first chairman of the IOPS, Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich (2005).

Of particular importance, from the point of view of cooperation with Byzantine scholars, were the conferences “Orthodox Byzantium and the Latin West” held by the Society at the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate. (To the 950th anniversary of the division of the Churches and the 800th anniversary of the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders)" (2004), "Russian, Byzantine, Ecumenical", dedicated to the 850th anniversary of the transfer of the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Vladimir (2005) and "Veneration of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon and Russian-Athos connections (on the 1700th anniversary of his blessed death)" (2005).

The active scientific life of the Society continued in 2006-2007. “Historian of the Orthodox East and Russian Palestine” was the title of the church-scientific conference held on March 23, 2006 and dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the secretary of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society Alexei Afanasyevich Dmitrievsky (1856–1929). His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II sent a greeting to the conference participants, which said:

« I have remembered the days of old, I have learned from all Your works, - these words of the Psalmist are fully applicable to the scientific ministry of Dmitrievsky - a professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy, a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, a humble worker of the Church - whose spiritual heritage, however, has global significance. One of the first to turn to the study of monuments of Orthodox worship, which he had been looking for for years in the monastery book depositories and sacristies of Athos, Patmos, Jerusalem and Sinai, the scientist managed to create the fundamental “Description of liturgical manuscripts stored in the libraries of the Orthodox East” and many other works, without which it is unthinkable today no scientific research in the field of Byzantine studies.

No less important and instructive is the epic associated with his service in the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, where he was invited by the Chairman of the Society, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, now canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.”

Speech by Metropolitan Kirill at the conference in memory of A. A. Dmitrievsky (2006)

Theologians, scientists, teachers of church and secular universities, and archivists who spoke at the conference noted the versatility of A.A.’s activities. Dmitrievsky as secretary of the IOPS. The same was evidenced by the exposition of Alexei Afanasyevich’s works published in different years, prepared for the opening of the conference by employees of the State Public Historical Library and the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Empire. Conference participants had the opportunity to see the scientist’s books and monographs, manuscripts and documents written in his hand, which have become a bibliographic rarity.

On May 15, 2006, the scientific and public conference “Knight of the Holy Sepulchre,” dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian church and public figure, poet, writer, pilgrim Andrei Nikolaevich Muravyov (1806–1874).

The Patriarchal Greeting to the conference participants emphasized: “A well-known poet and writer, a church publicist, who for the first time managed to awaken in wide reading circles interest in the shrines of the East, in Orthodox worship and church history, Andrei Nikolaevich was also a prominent church figure - and first of all, in area of ​​church-canonical relations of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Orthodox Sister Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch. His tireless labors contributed to the rapprochement of the Russian Church with the Greek Church and a deeper understanding of the spiritual life of the Orthodox East. We owe to Muravyov the fruitful idea of ​​​​creating the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, established by the Holy Synod in 1847.”

On December 22, 2006, in the development of the traditional Byzantine problematics of the IOPS, a church-scientific conference “Empire, Church, Culture: 17 centuries with Constantine” opened at the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Church, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the scientific community highly appreciated the initiative of the IOPS to honor the 1700th anniversary of the accession to the throne of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great with scientific hearings.

The conference was headed by the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation A.V. also spoke about the relevance of Constantine’s legacy in his welcoming speech. Saltanov. “The question of the relationship between the roles of the state and the church in public life, placed at the center of the upcoming discussion, their mutual influence and interpenetration, has been raised by life itself. For one thousand seven hundred years from the time of Emperor Constantine to the present day, it has not lost its relevance, although in different historical eras it was solved differently. A distinctive feature of our time is the equal and mutually respectful cooperation of the Russian Orthodox Church and the state. Their interests, it seems, are fundamentally the same - to strengthen our Fatherland spiritually and materially, to create the prerequisites for its sustainable and healthy development.”

On March 29-30, 2007, an international church-scientific conference “So that what God showed me should not be forgotten” was held, dedicated to the 900th anniversary of Abbot Daniel’s visit to the Holy Land. The scientific forum was attended by famous scientists - historians, philologists, theologians from Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland; professors of universities and Theological Academies.

The address of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II to the participants of the Conference, which was read out by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, said: “Nine hundred years ago, the Chernigov abbot Daniel made his pilgrimage, leaving a description of his “walk” as a souvenir for posterity, which became one of the most remarkable monuments our national literature. The artistic and theological depth of this work is amazing even in our time. Today, after a break of many years, the ancient Russian tradition of pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land is being restored. Believers of every diocese, every parish, following Abbot Daniel and many generations of Orthodox pilgrims, have the opportunity to see with their own eyes the shrines of Palestine, where Christians were promised The Kingdom of God Coming in Power(Mark 9:1)."

The chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Ya.N. Shchapov also addressed the audience. The Palestine Society, he said, from the day of its foundation set itself the task of not only developing the ancient tradition of prayerful visits to the Holy Land by Russian people, but also the scientific task of studying Russian, Byzantine and Western European “walkings”, regularly published in the “Orthodox Palestine Collection”. Prepared and commented by scientists, members of the Palestine Society, publications of the walks of Russian pilgrims (from the “Walk of Abbot Daniel” of the early 12th century to the “Proskinitarium” of Arseny Sukhanov of the 17th century) make up an entire library.

Conference dedicated to the 900th anniversary of Abbot Daniel's visit to the Holy Land. (2007)

The report of His Eminence Kirill, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, was devoted to the significance of Daniel’s walk in the Russian church tradition. In general, over the two days of the conference, 25 reports were heard, which examined the historical significance of the walk of Abbot Daniel for Russian culture, discussed issues of the centuries-old tradition of Russian Orthodox pilgrimage, the book and artistic culture of Ancient Rus', and the historical connections of Russia and the Holy Land. The conference showed the growing interest of the scientific community in the little-studied issues of Russian pilgrimage, which is one of the vital aspects of popular piety and is directly related to the tasks of the Russian Orthodox presence in the Middle East and in the world.

On the same day, the opening of the exhibition took place at the Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art named after Andrei Rublev “And I saw everything with my own eyes...” The exhibition, which included, along with ancient icons, manuscripts and maps, authentic relics of the Holy Land brought to Rus' by pilgrims in different centuries, clearly demonstrated how our ancestors perceived holy places, “what attracted them and attracts us,” in the figurative expression of Ya.N. . Shchapov, “to this narrow strip of Mediterranean land, where every Christian feels as if he has returned after a long separation to the home of his childhood.”

Thus, the Palestine Society worthily continues the scientific and spiritual traditions laid down by its great founders.

International activity

The development and planning of the international activities of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is directly related to the general concept of the Russian presence in the Middle East and in the world. For 125 years now, the Society has been working in close cooperation with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, defending state interests in the Holy Land and other countries of the biblical region.

At the present stage, the goal of the Palestinian Society is the full-scale restoration of its legal and actual presence in the traditional space of activity - in Russia and abroad. Solving both pilgrimage and scientific problems is impossible without recreating the largely lost system of historical ties and humanitarian cooperation with the peoples of the Middle East, without resolving issues of foreign ownership of the IOPS, taking into account state, church, scientific and public priorities.

Immediately after the re-registration of the Society by the Ministry of Justice as an international non-governmental self-governing organization (2003), the Council raised the issue of admitting the IOPS to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Thanks to the efforts of Council member O.B. Ozerov and other employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in June 2005, the Society received the status of an observer member of ECOSOC, which certainly expanded the possibilities of its scientific, humanitarian and peacekeeping activities in the Middle East. A year later, a representative of the IOPS participated for the first time in the work of the ECOSOC General Assembly in Geneva.

Since 2004, efforts related to the return of foreign property of the IOPS to Russia have intensified. From November 28 to December 9, 2004, a delegation of the Society headed by Chairman Ya.N. took a trip. Shchapov for a number of countries in the biblical region (Greece, Israel, Palestine, Egypt). During the trip, members of the delegation visited the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, and in Athens they were received by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Greek Republic, member of the IOPS A.V. Vdovin, in Tel Aviv - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Israel G.P. Tarasov. In Jerusalem, members of the delegation, for the first time in 15 years, visited and inspected the Sergievsky courtyard of the IOPS in order to further work to return it to Russian ownership.

From March 21 to March 25, 2005, Deputy Chairman N.N. Lisova and council member S.Yu. Zhitenev visited the Holy Land. The Office of the General Guardian of the Ministry of Justice of Israel received an Act on the condition of the Society’s apartment in the Sergievsky Compound, as well as a list of documents confirming the rights of the IOPS to the specified premises (the full set of necessary documents was transferred to the Ministry of Justice of Israel a little later, on the eve of the visit to the country of the President of the Russian Federation V. .V. Putin). Thus, the negotiation process for the return of the Sergievsky metochion to Russian ownership was put on a legal basis for the first time.

Negotiations that began in December 2004 at the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs on the procedure for Russian Orthodox pilgrims to visit the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord on Holy Saturday to participate in the Holy Fire service, as well as on expediting the issuance of group pilgrimage visas, were also continued. For the first time, an agreement was reached so that the Russian Orthodox Church would have its own quota for the passage of pilgrims to the Holy Fire.

In 2005, Russian language courses opened in Bethlehem. In the same year, about thirty people from the Palestinian territories were accepted, on the recommendation of the IOPS, to study at Russian universities.

On June 6, 2005, a scheduled meeting of the leadership of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society with Minister S.V. took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Lavrov. The results of the visit of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. were discussed. Putin to Israel and the PNA. The minister informed the meeting participants that during his visit, President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin announced the need to return the Sergievsky metochion to Russian ownership. S.V. Lavrov was solemnly presented with the gold badge of the IOPS.

Participants of the International Scientific and Public Conference “Jerusalem in the Russian Spiritual Tradition”

In November 2005, in Jerusalem, on the basis of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus, the international scientific and public conference “Jerusalem in the Russian Spiritual Tradition” was organized - the most large-scale foreign scientific event of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society for the entire period of its existence.

Metropolitan Timofey of Vostrsky made a welcoming speech at the conference from the Jerusalem Patriarchate, from the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem - Hegumen Tikhon (Zaitsev), from the Hebrew University (Jerusalem) - Professor Rubin Rechav, who emphasized the desire and readiness of the university to further develop cooperation with Russian scientists . On behalf of the Russian delegation, presentations were made by O.A. Glushkova, S.V. Gnutova, S.Yu. Zhitenev, N.N. Lisova, O.V. Loseva, A.V. Nazarenko, M.V. Rozhdestvenskaya, I.S. Chichurov and others. The Hebrew University was represented by reports from I. Ben-Arye, Ruth Kark, V. Levin, Sh. Nekhushtai, E. Rumanovskaya. Speeches by Arab scientists O. Mahamid, Fuad Farah and others were also heard. At the end of the conference, its participants were received by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem and All Palestine.

Founding meeting of the Bethlehem branch of the IOPS (2005)

In Bethlehem, with the participation of Mayor Victor Batarseh, on November 5, 2005, the founding meeting of the Bethlehem branch of the IOPS took place, the chairman of which was Daoud Matar, who had been collaborating with the Society for a long time.

In connection with the special attention that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and personally Lavrov S.V. have been paying lately. working with non-governmental organizations of the Russian Federation, trying to more actively include them in the foreign policy process and in international relations, the leaders of the IOPS have repeatedly participated in meetings and briefings held by the Ministry for NGOs.

Thus, the Palestinian Society is once again becoming a sought-after instrument and conductor of Russian influence and presence in the Middle East, organically complementing the official intergovernmental and interstate relations of the Russian Federation. I would like to think that Russian diplomats will be able to effectively use the historical and moral potential accumulated by the IOPS in the countries of the biblical region. A necessary condition for this is a correct understanding of the specifics of the Russian Orthodox presence in the world and in the region as a traditional, proven and respected form of Russian presence by partners.

The activities of the IOPS as an Orthodox, non-governmental, self-governing organization can be organically included in the general context of state and public events, with an emphasis on continuing traditional directions and forms of humanitarian and educational work with the local population. To strengthen the favorable image of Russia in the Middle East, an effective means is also to create, with the help of the Palestine Society, active centers of the Russian scientific presence - the restoration of the Russian Archaeological Institute in Constantinople and the organization of the Russian Scientific Institute in Jerusalem, the promotion and financing of Russian archaeological excavations in the region, the development of creative ties with scientific institutions of Israel and Arab countries.

Pilgrimage activities of the IOPS

A new impetus was given to the Palestine Society through close cooperation with the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate.

“The Lord will bless you from Zion, and you will see the good of Jerusalem” (Ps. 127:5), is inscribed on the reverse side of the sign of the HIPPO. As His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II said in one of his recent addresses, “today we can say that the Lord from Zion has blessed the children of the Russian Church to restore the ancient tradition of Russian Orthodox pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. An opportunity has arisen for the believers of every diocese, every parish, following Abbot Daniel and many generations of Orthodox pilgrims, to see with their own eyes the shrines of Palestine and testify to the kingdom of God coming in power(Mk.9, 1)."

Since 2004, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', church-wide conferences “Orthodox pilgrimage: traditions and modernity” have been held annually at the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate with the active participation of the Palestine Society. The first of them took place on October 27, 2004, its works were published in a separate publication. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church for the first time adopted a special Determination, in which it highly appreciated the Conference and invited the bishops to work to implement the decisions taken at it. The result was a significant intensification of pilgrimage work in the dioceses.

As Metropolitan Kirill emphasized in his report at the Second Church Conference (2005), “the flourishing of Russian pilgrimage in the 19th century was largely the merit of the Imperial Palestine Orthodox Society, which, as we know, did a lot to ensure that pilgrimage in our country was widespread.”

The pilgrimage section of the IOPS carries out a great deal of church-historical and theological work to understand the phenomenon of Christian pilgrimage, which has been practically unexplored by either ecclesiastical or secular scholars. Thus, on February 12, 2007, a scientific and methodological conference “The Soteriological Meaning of Pilgrimage” was held in the conference hall of the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate. The main report “The Theological Meaning of Pilgrimage” was delivered by the Scientific Secretary of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, General Director of the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate S.Yu. Zhitenev. Reports were also heard from I.K. Kuchmaeva, M.N. Gromov and others. Under the leadership of S.Yu. Zhitenev, work began on preparing for the publication of the “Pilgrimage Dictionary”. Such a publication would be especially relevant in connection with the ongoing discussion in the media about the distinction between the concepts of “pilgrimage” and “tourism”. The Pilgrimage Center also organizes advanced training courses for employees of pilgrimage services, in which members of the IOPS take an active part - giving lectures and conducting seminars. The Palestinian Society and its authors are also widely represented on the pages of the Orthodox Pilgrim magazine.

A large place in the popularization of the history and heritage of the Society is occupied by church veneration of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, who served as Chairman of the IOPS in 1905-1917. For several years now, the Pilgrimage Section of the Society, together with the State Academy of Slavic Culture, has been holding St. Elizabeth’s readings in Moscow, usually timed to coincide with the annual exhibition “Orthodox Rus'”. The proceedings of the VI anniversary readings dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the birth of the Grand Duchess were published as a separate book (“Reflection of the Invisible Light.” M., 2005). “Elizabeth Readings” are also published in Nizhny Novgorod, under the editorship of the Chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the IOPS O.A. Kolobov.

Since 2003, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society has been a permanent participant in Russia’s largest church-public exhibition and forum “Orthodox Rus'”. The exhibition brings together everyone whose activities are related to publishing, educational, missionary and social service. The participation of the IOPS has been repeatedly awarded with diplomas and medals from the Exhibition Organizing Committee.

Conclusion

The main result of the 125-year work of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in the Middle East is the creation and preservation of Russian Palestine. The result is unique: a whole infrastructure of churches, monasteries, farmsteads and land plots has been built, acquired, developed and partly still belong to Russia and the Russian Church. A unique operating model of the Russian presence in the world has been created.

Perhaps even more important is the spiritual contribution that is not taken into account by any numbers, which is associated with the journey of tens and hundreds of thousands of Russian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Christian pilgrimage has been and remains one of the most influential culture-building factors. Historians to this day marvel at this experience of “dialogue of cultures” and “public diplomacy”, unprecedented in history in terms of mass and intensity.

Another, no less important result is the cultural and educational activities of the IOPS among the Arab population. Many representatives of the formed at the beginning of the 20th century. Arab intelligentsia - and not only Palestinian, but also Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian, the best writers and journalists, who later became the glory of Arabic literature, came from Russian schools and teachers' seminaries of the Palestinian Society.

In this regard, I would like to quote the wonderful words spoken in 1896 by one of the authoritative hierarchs of the Russian Church, an active member of the IOPS, Archbishop Nikanor (Kamensky):

“The work accomplished by the Russian people through the Palestine Society is unprecedented in the thousand-year history of Russia. Not giving it due attention means being criminally indifferent to the most sacred thing on earth, to your national aspirations, to your calling in the world. Russian people go to the long-suffering Holy Land not with weapons in their hands, but with an ardent and sincere desire to serve the Holy Land with their labors. In the Holy Land, one might say, the first gigantic step of the Russian people in the world-historical educational field is being taken, completely worthy of the great Orthodox Russia.”

Preservation and continuity of traditions and main directions of activity of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society over the past 125 years - despite the change of governments and regimes - under the Tsar, under Soviet power, under democratic and post-democratic Russia, on the one hand, and equally under the Turks, under the British , under the state of Israel, on the other hand, involuntarily makes you wonder what the power of such continuity is. The Holy Land still invisibly but powerfully “orients” (from the Latin Oriens ‘East’) – and stabilizes – Russia’s position in the “mad world” of economic, political, nationalist interests, global restructuring and local wars.

The annual general meeting of full members of the historical Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society took place in Munich. But before telling what it was dedicated to, a little about the society itself.

The goal is good, not personal gain

In 1859, by decree of Emperor Alexander II, “for the establishment of charitable and hospitable institutions in the Holy Land,” the Palestine Committee was established. Five years later, it was renamed the Palestine Commission, which, after some time, was closed, and all the lands and buildings belonging to it were transferred to the Orthodox Palestine Society, established on the basis of the Decree of Emperor Alexander III of May 8, 1882.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was elected Chairman of the Society. Among the founders and members of the Board were seven representatives of the House of Romanov, the Governor General of Moscow, Prince V.A. Dolgorukov, Director of the Asian Department Count N.P. Ignatiev, orientalists, professors of theological academies, writers, historians.

On May 24, 1889, Tsar Nicholas II approved the assignment of the name “Imperial” to the Orthodox Palestinian Society.

By 1916, the Society consisted of 2,956 people. Its honorary members were the chairmen of the Council of Ministers S. Yu. Witte, P. A. Stolypin, V. N. Kokovtsev, chief prosecutors of the Holy Synod K. P. Pobedonostsev, P. P. Izvolsky, V.K. Sabler, other politicians, as well as famous businessmen, writers, lawyers, scientists. Every year, the Society spent more than half a million gold rubles on charitable purposes alone. Subsidies for pilgrims (up to 12 thousand people per year), of whom 72 percent were peasants, for trips to holy places - Palestine and Mount Athos in Greece amounted to 35 percent of the cost of travel by rail to Odessa and further by steamship.

For pilgrims, special pilgrim caravans were formed, which were assigned Society guides and guards. These caravans took them to the shrines of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, the Judean Desert, Galilee, and the holy Jordan River. In the evenings, Palestinian readings were held for pilgrims, telling about the history of the Old Testament and the shrines they visited.

To receive pilgrims, the Society in Jerusalem is building special courtyards - Elizavetinskoye, Mariinsky, Sergievsky, Nikolaevsky, Alexandrovsky, Veniaminovsky, as well as the Russian Hospital. In addition, as part of a program to improve the life of pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem, a water sewer is being laid, which, by the way, is the first in Jerusalem.

The next important aspect of the Society’s activities is educational. By 1914, he had opened 102 rural and urban four-year schools in the Middle East, as well as female and male teachers' seminaries for the local population. Several generations of the Arab intelligentsia of the Middle East passed through Russian schools, which were financed by the Russian government in 1912 (150 thousand gold rubles were allocated annually).

At the same time, members of the Society were actively engaged in scientific and publishing activities, conducted archaeological excavations, organized and financed scientific expeditions.

An important detail. All real estate acquired by the Society in the Holy Land for religious and public needs, including temples, farmsteads and hospitals, could not, in accordance with the laws of the Ottoman Empire, be registered in the name of institutions, so it was registered as the property of private individuals. In particular, in the name of Prince Sergei Alexandrovich, who was the chairman of the board of the Company. And this subsequently helped save Orthodox real estate, which almost fell under the jurisdiction of the English and Turkish owners. Unfortunately, not for long, and not all of it, but more on that later.

“The Turks came and robbed, the British...”

The First World War, revolution, and civil war in Russia dealt a terrible blow to Orthodoxy in general and Orthodox missions in the Holy Land in particular.

Cleaning the walls of the courtyard

In December 1914, Turkish authorities requisitioned the property of the IOPS, closed the churches and ordered the Society's members and clergy to leave Jerusalem. Turkish soldiers were housed in farmsteads, shelters and monasteries. Storerooms and warehouses were looted, church utensils were partly stolen, partly desecrated. Monks, sisters of mercy and employees of the Orthodox mission were insulted, humiliated, and some were killed. Communication with Russia was interrupted. After the end of the war and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, Palestine came under the control of the British Empire. The Turks are being removed from the buildings belonging to the IOPS, but the majority are now housing the British.

Installation of unique stained glass windows

At the same time, on the ruins of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in Moscow, the Russian Palestine Society (RPO) arose at the Academy of Sciences, which took an openly godless position, while the other part of its members, by the will of fate, found themselves abroad, including in Palestine, retained their former name and loyalty old goals and ideals. It is important to note that the Soviet government, having categorically renounced the unacceptable definitions “imperial” and “Orthodox”, did not want to give up the property that belonged to the IOPS, repeatedly trying to give it the official status of “state”.

Installing new shutters on windows

On April 28, 1948, it seemed that these Kremlin claims to “imperial-Orthodox” property were finally put to rest. It was on this day that the Decree of the British High Commissioner, who governed Palestine under the mandate of the League of Nations from 1922 to May 15, 1948, was promulgated on the administration of the property of the Palestine Society and the establishment of the Bureau of Administrators. Thus, after decades of red tape and ordeals, the right of the Society, at that moment headed by Prince Kirill Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, to all possessions in the Holy Land was officially recognized and confirmed. However, the first Arab-Israeli war of 1947-49 between the Jewish population of Palestine, and subsequently the newly created state of Israel and the armies of neighboring Arab states and irregular Arab military formations redrawn not only the geographical map, but also the property one.

On May 14, 1948, the USSR was one of the first to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, and six days later a “commissioner for Russian property” in Israel, I.L., was appointed. Rabinovich.

On September 10 of the same year, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR V.A. Zorin in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Committee on Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR G.G. Karpov (by the way, who had the rank of major general of the NKGB) wrote: “Taking into account the current situation in Jerusalem, envoy Comrade Ershov made the following proposal: Appoint and soon send the head of the Russian spiritual mission from the Moscow Patriarchate, as well as a representative of the Russian Palestinian society, by issuing them with the appropriate legal powers and powers of attorney...” And soon the socialist government of Israel, among its first decrees, decided to “recognize all the buildings and lands of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and the Russian Spiritual Mission in the Holy Land” located on its territory as the property of the USSR.

This is what the house church of St. Alexander Nevsky looks like now

This “transfer of property” to representatives personally appointed by Comrade. Stalin, according to the recollections of clergy, sisters and laity who were in Jerusalem at that moment, “was sometimes of an unnecessarily cruel nature.” But not all the property of the IOPS and RDM was then transferred to the USSR, in particular the buildings located in the Old City and East Jerusalem, which went to Jordan after the Arab-Israeli war. Among them is the Alexander Metochion, located 80 meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and including the Threshold of the Gate of Judgment, the house church of St. Alexander Nevsky, a small museum and other attractions. Looking at it today, it is difficult to imagine that ten years ago some of the buildings in the courtyard more closely resembled ruins. But thanks to donations, primarily from Orthodox Christians living outside Russia, and the perseverance and hard work of the members of the IOPS, it has been revived, welcomes pilgrims, church services are held here, and archaeological excavations are conducted.

Stained glass windows of the Alexander Metochion after restoration

Well, as for the “property returned by Israel to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1948,” the actual owners of which, and this should be especially noted, were private individuals, public and church organizations, in 1964 it was sold ... to Israel for 4.5 million . US dollars under the so-called “Orange deal”. Officially, this act, inspired by N. S. Khrushchev (First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Council of Ministers) was called Agreement No. 593 “On the sale by the government of the Soviet Union of property belonging to the USSR to the government of the State of Israel.” During this atheistic action, the buildings of the Russian Consulate General, the Russian Hospital, the Mariinsky, Elizavetinsky, Nikolaevsky, Venyaminovsky metochions in Jerusalem, as well as a number of buildings and land plots in Haifa, Nazareth, Afula, Ein Karem and Kafr Kanna (a total of 22 objects with a total area about 167 thousand square meters) were actually exchanged for oranges and textiles.

Entrance to the Alexander Compound

“Both you and they, let me remind you, are Orthodox”

After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian government began to challenge the legality of this deal, claiming that the Soviet Union was not the legal owner of the farmsteads. On May 22, 1992, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation renamed the Russian Palestine Society, which existed under the USSR Academy of Sciences, into the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, despite the fact that the Society with that name had existed for a long time. This “remake” was headed by the former head of the FSB of the Russian Federation Nikolai Stepashin. This is what, according to the official Kremlin, is the “legal owner of all Russian real estate in the Holy Land,” which was illegally sold to Israel by “the God-fighter Nikita.” However, Nikita Sergeevich, as we know, not only exchanged Jerusalem real estate for citrus fruits, but also transferred Crimea to Ukraine, so what? Should we hold another “referendum”, now in Jerusalem? Or maybe try to establish relations with people who have preserved and continue to preserve the pearl of Orthodoxy in the Holy Land, especially since both you and they, let me remind you, are Orthodox?

However, this is the topic of another article and more than one, especially since the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, which has recently had the prefix “historical”, is not to be confused with Stepashin’s, despite wars and global cataclysms, as it was, so it is. And it didn’t sell anything to anyone, including the Alexander Compound.

I, taking this opportunity, will name those who headed the Society during, perhaps, the most difficult period of its existence (starting from 1917), when Orthodox Russia and the Sovereign Emperor passed away, when it, like all Russian monasteries, the churches lost help and support, both sovereign and financial, when it seemed there was no longer any strength to resist the onslaught of atheists and provocateurs. I will name not only their names, but also their places of residence, which, in light of the events unfolding around the Alexander Metochion, is important. So, this is Prince Alexei Shirinsky-Shikhmatov (Sèvres/Paris), Anatoly Neratov (Villejuif/France), Sergei Botkin (Saint-Briac/France), Sergei Voeikov (Paris), Prince Kirill Shirinsky-Shikhmatov (Chelles, France), Nikolai Pashenny (Paris), Mikhail Khripunov (Jerusalem), Bishop Anthony (Grabe) (New York), Olga Wahbe (Bethlehem). Since May 2004, the historical IOPS has been headed by Nikolai Vorontsov (Munich).

Well, before announcing the new composition of the board of the historical Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, elected at the last general meeting of its members, I will note that there is enough slander and fables about its activities in the yellow press. Don't believe it. Not a single word. It’s better to cross the threshold of the Alexander Metochion in Jerusalem once, and you will see everything with your own eyes and feel it with your heart.

So, the new composition of the board of the historical IOPS: Nikolai Vorontsov, (Munich), Sergei Wilhelm (Bonn), Elena Khalatyan (Kiev), Ekaterina Sharai (Kiev), Vladimir Alekseev (Moscow), Evgeniy Uglyay (Nikolaev), Sergei Grinchuk (Munich) . Reserve members of the board (in case one of the main members of the board is unable to fulfill their duties) Ksenia Rahr-Zabelich (Munich), Vladimir Artyukh (Kyiv) and Galina Roketskaya (Moscow).

On December 3, 2017 at 18.00 in the Hall of Columns there will be a gala evening dedicated to the 135th anniversary of the oldest international public organization in Russia - the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS).

The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, created by the Decree of Emperor Alexander III and the public initiative of outstanding Russian people of that time, dates its history back to 1882.

May 8, 1882 The Society's Charter was approved, and on May 21 of the same year its grand opening took place in St. Petersburg, timed to coincide with the celebration of the day of remembrance of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen, who erected the first Christian churches in the Holy Land and found the Life-giving Cross of the Lord.

The names of these saints are associated with the ancient churches of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as the very principle of patronage of the Holy Land by Orthodox emperors.

Historical motto of the Society: “I will not remain silent for Zion’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest.” Initially the Society was called “Orthodox Palestinian”. The main goals of the Society are to maintain spiritual ties between Russia and the Holy Land, preserve cultural and historical heritage, develop friendly ties between Russia and the countries and peoples of the Middle East, humanitarian and educational missions in the Middle East region, promote Orthodox pilgrimage, maintain Orthodoxy - these noble goals are closely related to traditional spiritual and moral priorities of our people and foreign policy priorities of the Russian state.

The first Chairman of the Society was the Grand Duke Sergiy Alexandrovich Romanov, outstanding Russian statesman and public figure, lieutenant general, governor general of Moscow.

After the tragic death of the Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess became the Chairman of the Society Elizaveta Fedorovna- nee Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse Ludwig IV, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, elder sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna - wife of Emperor Nicholas II.

Under her chairmanship, the Society solemnly celebrated its 25th anniversary in St. Petersburg.

Emperor Nicholas II honored Elizaveta Fedorovna with a rescript, stating that under the leadership of Elizaveta Fedorovna the Society retained the trust it had acquired among the population and its importance in the Holy Land. The Emperor summed up the results of a quarter of a century of activity of the IOPS: “Now, having possessions in Palestine worth almost two million rubles, the IOPS has 8 farmsteads, where up to 10 thousand pilgrims find shelter, a hospital, six hospitals for incoming patients and 101 educational institutions with 10 400 students. Over 25 years, the Society has published 347 publications on Palestinian studies.”

Elizaveta Feodorovna resigned her powers after the February Revolution and the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II. On April 6, 1917, the Council of the Orthodox Palestine Society, which had already lost the name “Imperial,” accepted the resignation of the Grand Duchess. The Society received the honorary name “Imperial” by the Imperial Decree on March 24, 1889. This decree also approved the transfer of the functions of the Palestine Commission to the Palestinian Society.

And earlier, on October 18, 1884, the general meeting of the PPO raised the issue of granting the Society the right to open departments in various cities of the empire. They were called upon to intensify the collection of donations in favor of Russian Palestine.

First department became the most distant Yakut department, opened March 21, 1893. It had 18 members.

On December 19 of the same year it was opened Odessa department IOPS. Further, from January 1894 to April 1895, 16 more departments of the Society were opened. They were also called upon to launch propaganda and popular science work among the population to familiarize themselves with the history of the Holy Land and the significance of the Russian presence in the East.

By the beginning of the 20th century Society belonged in Palestine 8 farmsteads. In Jerusalem alone: ​​within the Old City - Aleksandrovskoe, near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; as part of the so-called Russian Buildings - Elizavetinskoe, Mariinsky and Nikolaevsky; next to it is New, which after the death of Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich received the name Sergievsky Metochion, and nearby is another one - Veniaminovskoye, donated to the IOPS in 1891 by Abbot Veniamin.

At the beginning of the 20th century, farmsteads were built in Nazareth and Haifa. In total, the IOPS passed through the farmsteads more than 10 thousand pilgrims per year. In addition, land plots and real estate properties were in Bethlehem, Ain Karem, Nazareth, Cana of Galilee, Afula, Haifa, Jericho, Ramallah - a total of 28 plots.

The IOPS contained for pilgrims and local residents Russian hospital in Jerusalem and a number of outpatient clinics: in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bet Jala, Damascus. The Society also had its own churches - two in Russia (Nikolo-Alexandrovsky Church in St. Petersburg, Sergius Skete in Kaluga province) and two in Palestine: the seven-domed Church of Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky at the Alexander Metochion, a small chapel in the Sergievsky Metochion. The canonical churches at that time were subordinate, like all foreign ones, to the St. Petersburg Metropolitan, and the material part - construction, repairs, maintenance - remained with the Palestine Society.

Nikolaevsky metochion of the IOPS in Jerusalem

On the eve of First World War the Society consisted about 3 thousand members, IOPS departments operated in 52 dioceses Russian Orthodox Church. By 1917, the Russian Empire owned 70 properties in the Holy Land.

In 1917, the word “Imperial” disappeared from the name, and in 1918 the word “Orthodox” was also removed. The Russian Palestine Society began to operate under the USSR Academy of Sciences, whose activities were reduced to scientific research by the Academy of Sciences of that period.

110 years later Since the founding of the Society on May 22, 1992, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation adopted a Resolution to restore the historical name Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and recommended that the government take the necessary measures for the practical restoration and return of its property and rights to the IOPS.

It is noteworthy that the current Chairman of the IOPS was also involved in the activities to restore historical justice Sergey Stepashin, at that time a deputy of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation.

Today, under the leadership of S.V. Stepashin, with the assistance of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian Orthodox Church, state and public structures, Russia is returning to the Middle East in the format of its historical presence in the region, building cultural centers, schools, museum and park complexes, and returning Russian property.

As you know, in 1964, the USSR government declared itself the sole owner of most of this property and sold it to Israel for 3.5 million Israeli liras ($4.5 million). In accordance with the Agreement, called the “Orange Deal,” the house of the Russian Consulate General, the Russian Hospital, the Mariinsky, Elizavetinsky, Nikolaevsky and Veniaminovsky metochions in Jerusalem, several plots of land in Haifa, Afula and other holy places were sold, among other objects.

The list of objects of the “orange deal” did not include the buildings of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission and the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Jerusalem. December 28th a symbol of the Russian presence in the Holy Land - the Sergievskoye Metochion was returned to Russian ownership and today the historical flag of the IOPS flies over it.

Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society as a non-governmental organization

• defends Russia's position in the Middle East,
• affirms the Orthodox presence in the biblical region,
• strengthens the diverse spiritual, cultural and humanitarian ties of Russia with the peoples and countries of the Middle East,
• conducts serious scientific and pilgrimage activities,
• carries out humanitarian missions,
• defends the fundamental rights of Christians who are going through difficult times and are subject to persecution and violence in a number of countries in the region.

Society traditionally has a high level of trust in the Middle East region and is currently successfully developing public diplomacy. Since 2005 year IOPS has consultative status with the UN ECOSOC, which allows you to conduct international and human rights activities in this influential international institution.

Today the Society consists of more than 1000 people, professing age-old Christian values. Branches and representative offices of the IOPS, regional and foreign, are active in Russia and abroad.

In 2012 The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society was awarded Gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation.

The history of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society continues.

The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is the oldest scientific and humanitarian organization in Russia, whose objectives are to promote Orthodox pilgrimage to the Holy Land, scientific Palestinian studies and humanitarian cooperation with the peoples of the Middle East.

The Russian Orthodox Palestine Society was founded in 1882 by decree of Emperor Alexander III. The initiator of the creation of the society, its inspirer and honorary member was the famous Russian expert on Palestine, a prominent St. Petersburg official Vasily Nikolaevich Khitrovo. On May 8, 1882, the charter of the society was approved, and on May 21 in St. Petersburg, in the presence of members of the imperial family, Russian and Greek clergy, scientists and diplomats, the grand opening of the society took place.

In 1889, the society received the honorary title "Imperial" and was accepted under the direct patronage of the reigning house. Until 1905, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IPOS) was headed by Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich; after his death, the chairmanship passed to his widow Elizabeth Feodorovna. Members of the society at different times were representatives of the royal family and aristocracy, high state dignitaries, public and scientific figures, including S.Yu. Witte, P.A. Stolypin, K.P. Pobedonostsev, A.A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, S. D. Sheremetev, E. V. Putyatin and many others.

The society was created to provide assistance to Orthodox pilgrims, support the interests of the Orthodox Church in the Middle East, educational and humanitarian assistance to the population of Palestine, and scientific research into the heritage of Christianity in the Holy Land.

To assist the Orthodox in organizing pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the IOPS acquired plots of land in Palestine, built farmsteads with the necessary infrastructure, organized travel and accommodation for pilgrims, visited holy places and gave lectures for them. Already in 1907, the society had 8 farmsteads, providing shelter for 10 thousand pilgrims, including the Sergievskoye and Nikolaevskoye metochions in Jerusalem.

In order to provide educational and humanitarian assistance to the peoples of the Middle East and local churches, churches were built for the Greek clergy, schools for children were opened, and financial assistance was provided to the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Antioch. With the assistance of the society, the churches of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Sergei of Radonezh, St. St. George the Victorious and others. In Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, male and female teachers' seminaries were opened in Nazareth and Beit Jala and 101 educational institutions for children. Over 5.5 thousand boys and 6 thousand girls, mainly from Orthodox families, studied there free of charge.

As part of its scientific activities, the society conducted scientific expeditions, archaeological excavations, and scientific research. It played a huge role in the development of Russian oriental studies. The “Orthodox Palestine Collection”, “Messages of the IOPS” and “Reports of the IOPS” published works on the history and culture of the peoples of the Middle East, and the texts of literary monuments. These publications quickly gained international fame and recognition in scientific circles.

The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society was engaged in the dissemination and popularization of knowledge about Palestine and its neighboring countries among the Russian public. Lectures, readings and exhibitions about the Holy Land were an important part of the national religious and educational work.

The active work of the IOPS was stopped after the outbreak of the First World War and the 1917 revolution. The Palestinian society in 1917 ceased to be called “Imperial”, and since 1918 it ceased to be called “Orthodox”. It was transferred under the management of the USSR Academy of Sciences and became the Russian Palestine Society under the Academy of Sciences. His activities were reduced to scientific research within the framework of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Only 75 years later, on May 22, 1992, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR returned the society to its historical name and recommended that the government take measures to restore the traditional activities of the IOPS and return the organization’s property and rights. In 1993, the society was re-registered by the Ministry of Justice as the successor to the pre-revolutionary Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and the Soviet-era Russian Palestine Society.

IOPS today has 22 regional Russian branches, foreign branches in Israel, Palestine, Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia, Jordan, Estonia, Cyprus, Ukraine, Malta. The Center of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is located in Bethlehem, and the Russian Center for Science and Culture is located on its base. The society is registered by the UN as a member of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for coordinating cooperation in the economic and social fields.

The goal of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is the full-scale restoration of its legal and actual presence in Russia and abroad to solve pilgrimage, scientific and humanitarian problems. Only in the last five years, the society has managed to resolve such complex issues as the return of Russian property on the territory of another state - the Sergievsky metochion in Jerusalem and land plots in Jericho, to reach agreements on the opening of a Russian school and the Cultural and Business Center of the IOPS in Bethlehem, and on the creation of a new branch society in Ramallah. As part of its activities, the IOPS continues the tradition of organizing pilgrimages to the Holy Land, takes part in international conferences, and conducts research on the history and culture of Europe, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea region and the Middle East in connection with the history of Russia. In 2008, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society decided to establish the Russian Historical Institute with representatives in the traditional scientific centers of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East (Istanbul, Venice, Jerusalem).

The main link in the structure of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is the Council of the Society, headed by the Chairman of the IOPS.

Since June 2007, the chairman of the IOPS has been Sergei Stepashin; since 2009, the Committee of Honorary Members of the IOPS has been headed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.

On January 17, at the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' in the Danilov Monastery, a meeting between Alexy II and the leadership of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IPOS) took place. His Holiness the Patriarch wished the meeting participants blessed success in their labors, noting that more and more pilgrims from Russia and other countries are visiting the Holy Land.

“We assumed that in the new 21st century the flow of pilgrims to Palestine would increase. For them, with the support of the Palestinian Society, a hotel was built in Bethlehem... The armed confrontation in these lands had a destructive effect, but with God’s help we overcame a number of difficulties,” the Patriarch stated , - and the hotel is currently hosting pilgrims arriving in Bethlehem."

The Pravoslaviya.Ru correspondent asked the Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, famous historian of Ancient Rus' and the Russian Orthodox Church Y.N. Shchapov to answer a number of questions.

Yaroslav Nikolaevich, please tell us about the history of the creation of the Society and the revival of its activities in our days.

We can say that among the many public organizations in modern Russia, there is one that differs in the nature of its activities, its composition, and, most importantly, its history. This Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society is one of the oldest in Russia, created back in 1882. Despite the name, it is a secular rather than ecclesiastical organization, although the Russian Orthodox Church, represented by its members - hierarchs, priests and laity - participates in its work.

The society was created more than 120 years ago, when hundreds and thousands of people annually came from Russia by different routes to the Holy Land - the cradle of the Christian faith - to worship the places where the Son of God lived and taught. The gospel teaching came to life in their hearts, connecting with the wondrous images of this land. To make this difficult and expensive journey easier for them, to make it possible for them to have a tolerable overnight stay in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and other places, to ensure their return to their homeland - this was one of the first goals that the organizers of the Society set for themselves.

Along with this, there was the task of helping the Orthodox in Palestine, which then belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Not only Orthodox Greeks lived there, who had their own patriarch and their own schools, but also Orthodox Arabs who needed the spiritual and material support of such a great Orthodox power as Russia. The Catholic Church was active in the Holy Land, establishing churches and monasteries. And Russia also sought, through the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, to provide support to the local Orthodox population and pilgrims, facilitating in every possible way the opening of children's schools and the construction of hospitals...

The initiator of the creation of the Orthodox Palestine Society and its first chairman was Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. After his assassination in 1905, the Society's activities continued under the patronage of the Grand Duchess, Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, whose relics rest in Jerusalem.

The society was supported by emperors and members of their families, and it was no coincidence that it received the honorary name Imperial. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the IOPS had about 5 thousand members, and up to 10 thousand people annually used the Society’s help in Palestine. Thanks to his activity and the efforts of Russian diplomatic representatives in Palestine, it was possible to acquire several dozen buildings and land plots and establish monasteries that served the goals of the Society.

The Russian hospital in Jerusalem was built with Russian money; In Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, there were more than 100 schools for Orthodox Arabs, where Russian was also taught.

After the revolution of 1917, thanks to the authority of the members of the Society - well-known scientists in the country - it was possible to maintain its existence, but only in one type of activity - scientific. The society began to be called the “Russian Palestine Society”, its periodical publication “Orthodox Palestinian Collection” began to be called simply “Palestine Collection”. It published articles on the history of the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Arab world.

Only in 1992, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR returned the Society to its historical name and recommended that the Government take measures to restore its traditional activities and return its property and rights. A year later, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation re-registered the Society as the successor to both the pre-revolutionary Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and the Soviet-era Russian Palestine Society.

Now the IOPS is reviving its traditional activities, and we hope that in due time, with God’s help, we will be able to recreate - at least partially - the extensive activities that the Society conducted before the revolution.

At the meeting with the Patriarch, pressing issues of today's work of the Society were raised. Could you elaborate on this in more detail?

Let me start with the fact that the Society has a Committee of Honorary Members, who are elected at our general meeting. Its composition traditionally includes prominent figures of Russia, and its Chairman is His Holiness Patriarch Alexy. Recently, it was decided to update the composition of the Committee of Honorary Members so that they provide real assistance to the Society.

A new list was tentatively drawn up, and His Holiness the Patriarch approved it. It includes the Patriarch himself, Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsa and Kolomna, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna as a representative of the Russian Imperial House, Chairmen of the State Duma and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the mayor of Moscow, the mayor and governor of St. Petersburg, prominent scientists, public figures, entrepreneurs providing assistance to the Society.

The next issue discussed at the meeting with the Patriarch was about the Society’s property in the Holy Land. The fact is that under the Soviet leader Khrushchev, Russian property was sold to the state of Israel. The Society's property was abandoned without users. We went there several times and found out the possibilities of her return.

There are buildings in Jerusalem that belonged to the Society. They stand out because on their facade there is a sign of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society - an image of an egg, a cross, the letter XB, a quote from a psalm. First of all, there were several such farmsteads, in particular, the Sergievskoye metochion, named after the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, as well as Aleksandrovskoye, Elisavetinskoye...

Now on the upper floors, for example, of the Sergievsky Compound there is an ecological society of Israel, and on the lower floor there is complete devastation - the plaster is crumbling, the ceiling is leaking... We found this building in this form when we arrived there for the first time. By the way, the building itself was not sold to Israel; it was simply abandoned in 1956 by representatives of the Society due to the outbreak of war between Israel and Egypt.

The main task now is to return the Sergievskoye Compound to the ownership of the Society. After our trips, we reported the current situation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs S.V. Lavrov and Russian President V.V. Putin. Then the question of returning the farmstead was raised. Now this problem is being actively developed, and one of the results of the meeting with the Patriarch was a blessing to continue the process of returning the Sergius metochion.

In addition, the publishing and scientific activities of the Society were discussed at our meeting.

- First of all, we are talking about the fate of the diary of one of the most active leaders of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem - Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin). This is the largest scientific publishing project, which will certainly find a grateful reader. Archimandrite Antonin is the creator of “Russian Palestine”; historians later said that Russia owes it to him alone that “it stood firmly at the Holy Sepulcher.”

Father Antonin arrived in the Holy City in 1865, but became head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission only four years later. The main thing that he was able to do for the Russian Church was to strengthen the position of the Mission in Palestine, to create normal conditions for the stay of Russian people in the Holy Land. To do this, he began to buy plots of land throughout Palestine, on which, through his efforts, monasteries, temples, and shelters for pilgrims were built.

Archimandrite Antonin made his first acquisition in Hebron in 1862: it was a plot of land with a Mamre oak growing on it - a offspring of that oak grove of Mamre, under one of the trees of which Patriarch Abraham received the Lord, who appeared to him in the form of three wanderers. (Genesis 18:1-15). In 1871, Archimandrite Antonin bought an extensive plantation of olive trees in the village of Ein Karem near Jerusalem (Evangelical Mountain - “mountain country, city of Judah”, where John the Baptist was born; Luke 1, 39-80). Soon the Gornensky convent, well known today among Russian pilgrims, began to operate there. Over time, other women’s monasteries were established in Jerusalem and its environs: Spaso-Voznesensky on the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane with the Church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane.

The acquisition of land in Palestine was associated with considerable difficulties. Legal entities were not recognized in the Ottoman Empire - land could only be purchased in the name of an individual, but not a foreigner. Invaluable assistance to Father Antonin in acquiring land was provided by the Orthodox Palestinian Yakov Halebi, as well as the Russian Ambassador to Constantinople, Count Ignatiev.

Father Antonin also actively carried out archaeological research: in 1883, excavations were carried out near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as a result of which the remains of the wall of ancient Jerusalem with the Threshold of the Gate of Judgment, through which they led to the execution of the Savior, and the propylaea of ​​the Basilica of Constantine were discovered. A temple was later erected on this site in honor of the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky.

The diary of Archimandrite Antonin is a unique church-historical source covering a 30-year period. It is these 30 volumes relating to his activities in the Holy Land that are intended to be published. These truly precious manuscripts, stored in St. Petersburg, have already been transferred into digital format and are being prepared for publication.

Of course, this is a huge job, for the implementation of which the Society needs the help of the Russian Orthodox Church, the involvement of government officials and scientists, and the support of sponsors. For this purpose, a Publishing and Trustee Committee is being formed, which His Holiness Patriarch Alexy and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to join. It is planned to complete the publication of the diary by 2017 - the 200th anniversary of the birth of Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin).

- What is His Holiness the Patriarch’s assessment of the multifaceted activities of the Society?

The Patriarch highly appreciated the work of the Society for the period 2003-2005. We managed to organize Russian language courses for Palestinians in Bethlehem. Their goal is to strengthen friendly relations between our peoples and help the Palestinians master the Russian language. We can say that these courses are just the “first sign”; we know that they are in demand in other Palestinian cities.

We are developing the traditions of IOPS in scientific activities. Scientific conferences are organized annually with the assistance of the Society. Conferences dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the 100th anniversary of the death of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, and a conference dedicated to the Great Martyr and healer Panteleimon have already been held. We also held a conference dedicated to the division of the Western and Eastern Churches in 1054 - “Orthodox Byzantium and the Latin West.” The materials of the conference “Pilgrimage in the History of Russia” turned out to be very interesting.

But most importantly, we managed to organize one of the conferences in the Holy Land - with the help of the Russian Spiritual Mission and the Russian Embassy at the Israeli Scopus University. It was attended by specialists from Russia, as well as Israelis and Palestinians. The theme for it was the role of Jerusalem in Russian culture. By the way, we proposed to include those who helped us in organizing this meeting - both from the Israeli side (the rector of Scopus University) and from the Palestinian side (for example, Mahmoud Abbas - the head of the Palestinian Authority) into the list of associated honorary members of the Society.

A significant step in the Society’s path was its registration last year with the UN International Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations on Social and Economic Issues (ECOSOC). We are very grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for their assistance in this matter. I also had the opportunity to visit the embassies of Middle Eastern states: Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria. We asked them to support the organization of our Society’s activities in these countries.

Every year we publish the “Orthodox Palestinian Collection.” The Indrik publishing house has published art albums dedicated to the construction of the Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives and Russian archaeological excavations in Jerusalem. Now we have also republished a book by one of the founders of the pre-revolutionary Society - V.N. Khitrovo about pilgrimage to Palestine.

Currently, the Society is represented in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and even Moldova. But this is clearly not enough. Therefore, we asked the Patriarch for blessings to open branches of the Society in those dioceses where they existed before the revolution and assisted pilgrims from Russian provinces on trips to the Holy Land.

It must be said that at the beginning of the 20th century there were 52 such branches. The society then actively organized pilgrimage tours - cheap ships went from Odessa to Haifa, and already on the territory of the Holy Land our pilgrims were accommodated in houses specially built for them. Now the Society is not involved in this (this is the function, for example, of the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Radonezh Society), but strives to create the most favorable conditions for the stay of pilgrims in the Holy Land.

The Patriarch expressed satisfaction and gratitude to the Society for the work that has been carried out in recent years, and wished blessed success in future activities.

Vasily Pisarevsky talked with Yaroslav Nikolaevich Shchapov.