Dialogue within: Orthodox church building in the Kola North in the XV–XVI centuries(based on historical and ethnographic sources)

For the first time, based on ethnographic essays, historical sources, and literature, approaches reflecting important milestones in the history of Orthodox church building in the Kola North in the XV–XVI centuries are analyzed in three settlements: Varzuga, Kandalaksha, and Kola. The process of spreading Orthodoxy in the Kola North and church building began in the XV century and was carried out with the help of preachers, among whom the most famous were Tryphon of Pechenga, Theognost, and Theodoret of Kola. The personality of the latter is the subject of the greatest debate in the available historical and ethnographic literature. The lack of documents confirming the exact dates of the foundation of churches and monasteries in Kandalaksha and Kola in the XVI century initiated a discussion concerning the activities of Theodoret of Kola and his role in the Christianization of the Kola North. It was updated after the publication of a book about Theodoret by the church historian Metropolitan Mitrofan (Badanin). The controversy, which was reflected in scientific, critical and journalistic texts, involved not only professional historians, but also the public associated with the religious-church environment and local history. Discussions in the field of religious-church history of the region allow us to see a rather motley picture of the perception of religious life and ambiguous assessments of the activities of preachers.