The purpose of the article is to determine the place of the new professional journal on the history of the Church offered to the reader in the flow of special literature, taking into account the current state of humanitarian knowledge in the context of globalization and the systemic crisis of institutional Christianity.

The article deals with the origins of the Russian Christian Archaeology namely with pilgrim notes of Vassiliy Barskiy. The author is reviewing Barskiy’s text as one of the first scientific descriptions of the sacred places, wonder-­working icons and holy places. His descriptions of sacred objects are structured, they include illustrations, information from written and verbal sources as well as critics of these sources. He makes conclusions about relevance of information and relics themselves. Based on this, the author believes Vassiliy Barskiy schould be recognized not only one of the sources of Russian scientific tradition, but the first Christian archaeologist.

The article presents an analysis of one of the parts of the book of Revelations of blessed Angela of Foligno, which contains the Instructiones (message) to members of the community of the third order of St. Francis. The doctrine proposes to consider the relationship with God as an object/subject of love, to which feelings and emotions are directed. The “presence of the divine Beloved” is “cognition” and can respond by generating sensations of its material presence. The author of the doctrine has practical recommendations (stages of knowledge): how to achieve junction with the divine, what steps should be taken to change the way of life. It is concluded that there was a developed teaching among the members of the community, and its medical aspect is considered.

The paper considers a carved priestly cross of the XIX century from the representative collection of Ethiopian art of the Russian Icon Museum. This is one of the typical Ethiopian crosses with a characteristic rhomboid shape, with the image on the front side of the liturgical procession and the icon of the Mother of God, and ornamented on the back with a braided pattern with cross-shaped ornaments woven into it. The image of the dancing participants of the liturgical procession with drums and sistra represents a unique fusion of different traditions, the influence of the Old Testament tradition was manifested in the symbolic image of tabot.

This article precedes the publication of the Russian translation of the life of Blessed Humiliana de Cerchi (1219-­1246), known as the woman-mystic of Florence. Humiliana is the first tertiary, whose life was described in the form of “Vita”. The text created by her contemporary — the Franciscan monk Vito da Cortona, contains the most interesting information on representations of some part of society of the first half of the XIII century about obedience, meekness and good deeds. The life was written immediately after the death of Humiliana, and the author’s goal was not only to present her as a new Saint, but also to create a new model of “holiness”.

Introduction to the history of the Church. Part 1: Overview of sources on the general history of the Church. Textbook. Edited by V. V. Simonov. Moscow: Moscow University Press, 2012. 752 p. ISBN: 978-5-211-05972-6, 978-5-211-06193-4

Introduction to the history of the Church. Part 2: Review of historiography on the general history of the Church. Textbook. Edited by V. V. Simonov. SPb., 2015. 728 p. ISBN: 978-5-9906782-1-7

Introduction to the history of the Church. Part 3. Review of sources on the history of the Church in Russia. Edited by V. V. Simonov. SPb.: BAN, 2018-2019. (Writings of the Historical faculty of Moscow State University; 96, 103) (Ser. II: Historical studies; 50, 56).

Book I: Sources of pre-Petrine time. SPb.: BAN, 2019. 696 p. Book II: Sources of the XVIII-beginning of the XXI century.: BAN, 2018. 488 p.

General history of the Church. Textbook for universities in the specialty 030600.62 "History". In 2 vols., 4 books.  Comp., Ed. V. V. Simonov.  Moscow: Nauka, 2017 (Writings of the historical faculty of Moscow State University: 78-81; Ser. II. Historical research, 35-38).

Vol. 1: From the birth of the Church to the Reformation: I-XV centuries. Book 1: Theological and organizational formation of the Church: I-III centuries. 368 p. Book 2: Doctrinal challenges of the Church: IV-XV centuries. 829 p.

Vol. 2: From the Reformation to the age of secular globalization: XVI-beginning of the XXI century. Book 1: Organizational challenges of the Church: XVI – early XX century. 538 p. Book 2: The challenge of religious syncretism: The problem of ecumenism: XX – the beginning of the XXI century. 511 p.