"Golgotha Christianity" and Archimandrite Mikhail (Pavel Vasilyevich Semenov, 1874–1915): An Invented Phenomenon of "Christian Modernism" in Early Twentieth-Century Russia

This article examines the phenomenon of "Golgotha Christianity", focusing on its formulation, "invention", and limited historical existence in the early twentieth century. The movement is analysed through the work of Archimandrite and later Bishop Mikhail (Pavel Semenov, 1874–1915), a notable figure in the religious- modernist landscape of the late Russian Empire. Advocating freedom of creativity and a certain extraritual and extrajurisdictional stance, Semenov, while serving as an Old Believer bishop, together with like-minded contemporaries such as Jonah Brikhnichev and Valentin Sventsitsky, sought to attract those dissatisfied with the Synodal Church by promoting a "new teaching" that claimed to return to the principles of early Christianity. Several meetings took place, remembered by contemporaries and later commentators as the "Golgotha Christians" movement. The authors argue that "Golgotha Christianity" existed primarily as a theoretical construct and never developed into a stable organisation or a sustained practice. In contrast to other neo-Christian movements of the period, such as the "Free" or "Social" Christians, the origins of which contemporaries often ascribed to Semenov, "Golgotha Christianity" generated more discursive resonance than practical results. This case sheds light on the specific features and limits of "Christian modernism" in late imperial Russia.

1. Bochenkov 2016 — Bochenkov, V. (2016). Along the Russian hills of Golgotha, North, (7-8).

2. Brichnichev 1912 — Brichnichev, Jonah (1912). What is Calvary Christianity? M.

3. Brichnichev 1916 — Brichnichev, Jonah (1916). The new Forerunner, Old Believer Thought, (11-12).

4. Volchkov 2019 — Volchkov, A., sacred. (2019). The early Christian community in the ancient polis. M.

5. Vorontsova 2013 — Vorontsova, I. V. (2013). "Free Christianity" by Bishop Mikhail (Semenov) and the "social" programs of 1905–1915. Humanities in Siberia, (2).

6. Vorontsova 2019 — Vorontsova, I. V. (2019). "The enchanted circle of Russian consciousness...". Problems of socio-­religious search in Orthodox Russia in the second half of the 19th — early 20th century. Moscow, SPb.

7. Karabinovich 1914 — Karabinovich, G., sacred. (1914). Collection of articles on the case of Bishop Michael of Canada.

8. Mikhail 1907 — Mikhail, Archim. (1907). The confession, Our Monday, (5), December 17, 1.

9. Mikhail, From the cross — fire — Bishop Mikhail [Semenov] (1910). From the cross — fire: By September 14, Novaya Zemlya, (1).

10. Mikhail, From the region I – Bishop Mikhail [Semenov] (1910). From the area of new religious movements, Novaya Zemlya, (5).

11. Mikhail, From the region II — Bishop Mikhail [Semenov] (1910). From the field of new Religious movements, Novaya Zemlya, (6).

12. Mikhail, An Open Letter... — Bishop Mikhail [Semenov] (1910). Open Letter to the Student Christian Union, Novaya Zemlya, (13).

13. Pankratov 1911 — Pankratov, A. S. (1911). Those who Seek God: Essays on Modern Religious Pursuits and Moods, vol. 1. M.

14. Protocols of the Russian Federal District-­III 2009 — Religious and Philosophical Society in St. Petersburg (Petrograd): History in materials and documents: 1907–1917 (2009). Vol. 3: 1914–1917. M.

15. Sventsitsky Will ... — Sventsitsky, V. P. (1911). Will there ever be a "paradise" on earth? Novaya Zemlya, (21).

16. Sventsitsky, When will it come... — A distant friend [Sventsitsky, V. P.] (1910). When the real day comes, Novaya Zemlya, (1).

17. Sventsitsky, Our immediate tasks — Sventsitsky, V. P. (1911). Our immediate tasks, Novaya Zemlya, (2).

18. Sventsitsky, Golgotha — A distant friend [Sventsitsky, V. P.] (1910). Golgotha, Novaya Zemlya, (7).

19. Old Friend, 1912 — Old Friend [Mikhail (Semenov), ep.] (1912). †Archbishop Nicholas, The Modern Word, (1467), dated February 5.

20. White 2016 — White, J. (2016). Orthodoxy and the concept of confessionalization: Discursive notes, Quaestio Rossica, 4, (4).

21. Florovsky 2005 — Florovsky, G., prot. (2005). Christianity and Civilization. St. Petersburg.

22. Khondzinsky 2015 — Khodzinsky, P. V. (2015). "Field" of confessionalization: experience of applying theory to the Russian spiritual tradition, Bulletin of the Moscow State Pedagogical University. Series II: History. The History of the Russian Orthodox Church, (2 (63)).

23. Shahinyan 1980 — Shahinyan, M. S. (1980). Man and Time. The history of human formation. M.

24. The Voice of Samara 1910 — In the world of the Old Believers (1910). The Voice of Samara, (45), dated February 25.

25. Kaluzhtsov 1908 — From the chronicle (1908). Kaluga Church and Public Bulletin, (19).

26. Novoe Vremya 1911 — Sect of "Golgotha Christians" (1911). Novoe Vremya, (12625), dated May 7.

27. SimbEV 1912 — The sect of Golgotha Christians, as a new type of propaganda of socialism in Russia (1912). Simbirsk Diocesan Gazette, (16), Unofficial department.