The revolutionary changes that took place at the turn of the century in the Russian Empire became a key factor for the transformation of the centuries-old model of relations between the state and the Russian Orthodox Church. Faced with the need to modernize the legal system of the state, the imperial legislator followed the way of strengthening the principles of religious tolerance, which was ambiguously perceived by the ruling church circles, who insisted on the obligatory eradication of sectarian movements. The Russian Empire found itself in a situation of a large-scale political crisis, which it was not able to survive. The Russian Orthodox Church was forced to adapt to the new political and legal conditions of its existence, characterized by the equalization of the legal status of all religious groups, as well as the provision of legal guarantees of freedom of religion.