History of the Syrian Christians on the pages of the book “The Urmia Tragedy. The Life of the Holy Martyr Pimen (Belolikov, 1879–1918), Bishop of Semirechensk and Vernen”
The peer-reviewed monographic study by Archimandrite Damaskin (Orlovsky), dedicated to the little-studied problem of the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church and the policy of the Russian government towards the Christian part of the Syrian people, has been carried out on the basis of a vast array of archival primary sources, many of which have been thus introduced into scientific use. It is noted that the peer-reviewed work is one of the first, where the author, acting simultaneously as historian and as agiator, recreates the historical canvas of the saint’s life on the basis of a comprehensive study of archival sources, including documented testimonies of persons who were canonized, but whose names and works were crossed out from the official historiography. The review shows that the historical and agiographic context of the author's study has allowed him to quickly and comprehensively recreate historical facts and events, fates of individuals and to reveal their morality. The reviewer appreciates the historical significance of the book's materials, believing that they deserve the closest attention of historians, foreign policy specialists, political scientists, clergy, scholars in historical psychology. The book will be of interest to teachers and students studying the history of religions and of the Russian Orthodox Church.