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Documents from the collections of the Russian State Historical Archives and the National Historical Archives of Belarus are considered for publication, shedding light on the discussion of history that unfolded in the highest circles of representatives of the Russian Empire in 1909–1910 about the remains of Jesuit Andrew Bobola, revered by Catholics as a holy, kept in the Dominican church of Polotsk. Actualization of the Bobola problem, whose history went back to its origins at the beginning of the 19th century, was dangerous with the preparation of the transfer of the relics of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk. The cult of Andrew Bobola has long been used by Polotsk Dominicans to lure the Orthodox inhabitants of Polotsk into Catholicism, so the church and secular authorities of the Russian Empire feared that by appealing to the figure of Bobola, Catholics might try to spoil the ceremony of transferring the relics of St. Euphrosyne and use a great Orthodox celebration to promote their faith. In this regard, the question was raised about the fate of the remains of Andrew Bobola. Some officials believed that it would make sense to take the Catholic relic outside of Polotsk (for example, to Pinsk). However, the milder version prevailed. It was decided not to touch the remains of Bobola, so as not to give Catholics an extra reason for propaganda and exaltation of him as a saint. The following documents are published: presentation of the Vitebsk Governor B.B. Gershau-Flotov addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs P.A. Stolypin on the desirability of transferring the Catholic relic from Polotsk; a fragment of the most obedient report on the state of the Vitebsk province for 1908, in which the same idea is defended; the initial response of the Minister of the Interior to B.B. Gershau-Flotov; minutes of a meeting of a special meeting convened on the initiative of Nicholas II and designed to decide the fate of Bobola's remains.

The article is devoted to the understanding by Russian right-wing publicists of the significance of the ceremony of transferring the relics of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk from Kyiv to Polotsk. Materials published on the pages of such periodicals as «Moskovskiye Vedomosti», «Russkoye Znamya», «Russkiy Styag», «Okrainy Rossii», «Russkaya Zemlya», «Russkaya Pravda», etc. were used. Conservative publicists paid great attention to the celebration and, as a rule, tried to see in it one of the signs of the coming «revival» of Russia in the form in which they wanted to see it. It was assumed that the transfer of the relics of the venerable princess would contribute to the “awakening” of the Russian people, strengthening the positions of the Orthodox faith, devotion to which, in their opinion, is inherent in the soul of a Russian person by nature. The ceremony was also seen as a pledge of solving problems that were relevant for the beginning of the 20th century problems. The mood of right-wing publicists was characterized by extreme optimism. The challenges of modernity, which included the growth of Polish influence, the spread of Catholicism and the general decline in the level of religiosity of part of Russian society, as expected, would certainly be answered properly by uniting the united Orthodox Russian people. Transfer of the relics of St. Euphrosyne in Polotsk was considered one of the symbols of the future triumph.

This publication is dedicated to a newly discovered copy of the synaxarian life of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk kept in the Lviv Historical Museum (the 17th c. manuscript No. 108). A synaxarian (brief) version of the life of St. Euphrosyne was previously known in four 15th–17th centuries handwritten synaxaria for the spring half of a year. The information of the fifth copy of St. Euphrosyne's of Polotsk life has been provided and its text is published.