Views of archbishop Nicholay (Ziorov) on the national question

The article analyzes the views of the outstanding hierarch, a member of the State Council of the Russian Empire, archbishop Nikolay (Ziorov) on the national question. The research is based on the preaching heritage of the archbishop, materials of publications of pre-revolutionary periodicals, sources of personal origin. It is noted that archbishop Nikolay (Ziorov) consistently supported the preservation of interethnic harmony. For the hierarch this was of particular importance, since he headed a diocese with a variegated ethnic composition - Alaska, Tauride, and Warsaw. At the same time, this position did not abolish his conviction that the Russian people should belong to the dominant position in the state. The views of the bishop on the national question were directly dependent on his views on the role and place of the Church in society. They were distinguished by their moderation and were far from the Black-Hundred radicalism. In his sermons, archbishop Nikolay (Ziorov) did not allow chauvinistic passages, but he tried to act in the name of accord between nations. He managed to maintain the ethno-confessional world and to take care of the rights of the Orthodox population - regardless of their ethnic origin. In particular, he was a consistent advocate for the right to receive primary education in national languages.