Comments on two articles by archpriest Alexei Igorevich Balakai in the journal Christian reading in 2020 (Balakai A. I., archpriest. “Discussion at the 1917-18 Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church about the ecclesiastical court. Formulation of the problem”. Khristianskoye chteniye, 2020, No. 1, pp. 82-89;

One of the key discussions that unfolded on the sidelines of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917-1918 was devoted to the activities of the ecclesiastical court. During the discussion of a number of issues related to the organization of this important church institution, a heated discussion unfolded between professor of Kazan Theological Academy P. D. Lapin and the representative of the Perm Diocese, A. G. Kulyashev, on the possibility of separating ecclesiastical courts from the ruling bishops. It is to this difficult but interesting aspect of the reports and debates that Archpriest Alexei Balakai’s attention was drawn. It seems that the author of the articles in question correctly outlined the arguments of the parties, and the analysis given by the researcher revealed with extreme precision not only the essence of the disputes, but also the mentality and professional training of the participants in the discussions.