THE PLACE OF M.V. TOLSTOYS STORIES FROM THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN CHURCH IN THE COMPLEX OF RUSSIAN CHURCH HISTORIOGRAPHY
The article examines the historical work by M.V. Tolstoy Stories from the history of Russian Church and reveals its place in the historiographical complex of Russian Church history. Like his predecessor, M.N. Muraviev, Tolstoy wasnt a historian by profession and his understanding of the historical process was formed spontaneously. His work didnt set itself a task of scientific understanding of the past, but due to its deep sensuality it aroused a great public interest. In imitation of Karamzin, Tolstoy intentionally took his readers away to the spirituality of the historical event. As a result, this work had little to give the historical science of the mid-19th century that demanded different approaches. Nevertheless, the importance of Muravievs and Tolstoys works at this stage of the forming of the church-historiographical complex is obvious. These works have become the first attempt to give a look at the Russian Church History from the part of secular authors unrelated to church hierarchy.