THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORM. «POSITIVE» PREREQUISITES FOR CONCLUDING THE «RESPONSES OF DIOCESAN BISHOPS» IN THE END OF NINETEENTH — EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

The article examines the general position of the Orthodox Church before the «time of reforms» and demonstrates the development of understanding of the need for reform among both the clergy and the laity. An attempt has been made to identify specific causes and reasons that have moved the issue of Church reform from a «dead lock». Methods of historical comparison and contextual criticism are used for this purpose. The main attention is paid to several preconditions which can be called «positive». They also contributed to the development of the reform and the emergence of «Responses of the diocesan bishops».