The Russo-Japanese war of 1904–1905 and orthodoxy in Eastern Asia: Sergius Suzuki in Mukden

Abstract

This article focuses on the fate of the little-researched Japanese Orthodox priest, Father Sergius (Suzuki), who preached in the Chinese city of Mukden in the early 20th century. Using the biography of Sergius (Suzuki) as a microhistorical example, the article describes the complex inter-state relations in
Northeast Asia in the early 20th century and focuses on the spread of Orthodoxy in East Asia, which is especially relevant in today’s dialogue of cultures. The history of Orthodoxy’s development in Mukden and the changing dynamics of Orthodoxy’s spread in “South Manchuria” are also highlighted, explaining that the “accidental” presence of Japanese Orthodox priests in China in the early 20th century was no accident. Using the method of micro-historical research, the example of the biography of Sergius (Suzuki) traces the changes in the fate of “little people” occurring at a time of great historical events, it says about the plight of the Orthodox Church in China and generally in the Far East of the late 19th — early 20th centuries.