Abstract
<jats:p>The purpose of this article is to reproduce the course of events during the preparatory stage in the construction of a new seminary building in the city of Smolensk, which covered the period from 1868, when the idea of its construction first arose following an audit by the Educational Committee of the Holy Synod, to March 1888, when an agreement was signed with the contractor for the construction of the new building. Based on archival materials from the 1860-1880s, the article describes for the first time the process of designing, preparing sketches and cost estimates for the new seminary building. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time, based on archival materials, the author reveals the algorithm of the economic management of the Holy Synod, the bishops of Smolensk and Dorogobuzhsky, the seminary board, the construction department of the provincial board in preparation for the construction of a new seminary building. As a result, it was found that the preparatory stage indicated that the idea of building a new building was not accepted immediately after the 1868 revision. On the contrary, the idea remained to modernize a number of old seminary buildings and complete several more so that they could comply with the standards of the charters and staff of theological seminaries and schools, most highly approved on May 14, 1867.</jats:p>