Filippov Mikhail Avraamovich (1828-1886) – lawyer, publicist and writer. Born in Nikolaev. He was educated at the Richelieu Lyceum, from where he transferred to the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. After completing the course with a candidate of laws degree, Filippov devoted himself to legal and journal activities, publishing articles on legal issues in periodicals, most of which were included in his most significant work, the two-volume “Judicial Reform in Russia” (1872-1875). In addition, Filippov wrote the novels “The Mourners” (which was withdrawn from circulation), “Dawn” and “Patriarch Nikon”, as well as the historical story “Under the Sky of Ukraine”. This publication publishes the historical novel “Patriarch Nikon”, in an acutely dynamic form introducing the reader to one of the most tragic pages in the history of the Russian state - the schism of the church carried out by Patriarch Nikon, the formation of Orthodoxy in Rus', the innumerable disasters of the Russian people, the destruction of priceless treasures of icon painting, the essence of the Old Believers and the strength of the spirit of the Russian people. The first volume presents the first book of the novel, which tells how a simple boy Nikita Minin from a peasant Mordovian family grows up to become the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.