The article deals with revelation of ‘The new Middle Ages' notion which attracted the general attention upon publication of N.A.Berdyaev's book ‘The new Middle Ages' (Berlin, 1924). Florenski used the term somewhat earlier in texts that have been published recently. Florenski argued that there were rhythms in history and this rhythm was the rhythm of replacement of the Medieval culture with the Renaissance culture. After the Renaissance epoch and after the culture of the Modern times which developed the Renaissance culture the epoch of the ‘new Middle Ages' follows. Florenski guessed the characteristics of the ‘new Middle Ages' in the reality which surrounded him. All Florenski’s sympathies were in favor of the Middle Ages outlook. He thought that his own outlook was correspondent to the Russian Middle Ages style of the 14th and 14th centuries. Florenski supposed that the Renaissance culture crisis began in the late 19th century and the twilight epoch of transition to the ‘new Middle Ages', transition from the darkness to the light started. Florenski saw the specific omen of the ‘new Middle Ages' in growth of apocalyptical moods: his coevals already spoke of destruction of nature and crisis of culture, of depletion of the Earth’s bowels, of revolt of elements, of contamination of the air and the waters, of terrible earthquakes. Florenski sought a deeper return to the Middle Ages. It is interesting to think the contemporary life in Florenski’s terms: the Middle Ages, Renaissance, the Modern time, the new Middle Ages.

The author describes the suit of 1928 against the «former people» who were chased by the Soviet government and tried to hide at the walls of Troitse-Sergiev monastery. The suit started with the article «The list of personnel of the Church Committee of Sergiev-town» that appeared in the magazine «Atheist at a machine» («Bezbozhnik u stanka»; № 3, 1928). The main idea of the article was that the «former people» took the leading posts in the offices that were responsible for the cultural life in town. It was the starting-point of their chasing in papers and magazines of Moscow and Sergiev. At night of the 11/12th of May they shoot in Kostomarovs’s window (Kostomarov was the chief of an agitation and propaganda local committee of the Communist Party). This shot was put down to chernosotentsy. At night of the 21/22th of May 150 «former people» were arrested. 80 of them were sentenced, many people were expelled for 3 years. After the suit the churches of Sergiev were closed, the monk communities were abolished. This suit forestalled the year of the «great breaking» (1929).

The article is devoted to the 100-year anniversary of the first Religious-philosophical assembly held on November 29 (December 12), 1901, in Saint-Petersbourg. The author traces the Assemblies' pre-history and notes that these gathering marked a shift in the intelligentsia’s moods from positivism, materialism and atheism to idealism and religion. The «new religious conscience» phenomenon is described and movements in poetry, musical art, politics that evolved in parallel to the «new religious conscience» are mentioned. The Religious-philosophical assemblies were meetings of God-seeking Russian intelligentsia and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. Assemblies were presided by Serghi (Stargorodski, then a bishop and would-be Patriarch). The Church was represented by so bright personalities as archimandrite Antonin (Granovski), Bishop Innokenti (Usov), protopresbyter I.L.Yanyshev, hieromonk Mikhail (Semenov), righteous M.A.Novoselov, V.A.Ternavtsev, professor A.I.Brilliantov, A.A.Kireev, V.M.Skvortsov et al. On behalf of the intelligentsia «The Merezhkovskis' circle» (D.S.Merezhkovski, Z.N.Ghippius, D.V.Filosofov, N.M.Minski, A.V.Kartashev, V.V.Rosanov) proved to be influential at the Assemblies. Discussions arouse around such themes as «Excimmunication of Leo Tolstoi», «The Church and the authority», «Freedom of conscience», «The Christian marriage», «Christianity and violence», «Is the dogmatic movement possible?», «N.Gogol and Father Matthew». The Assemblies made a tremendous contribution to improvement of apologetics samples of which were given by many «Church people» who took floor at these meetings. Bishop Serghi’s appeal for unity of the Church and the intelligentsia remains to be important even a hundred years later.