The article deals with the participation of representatives of the national historical and legal studies in the discussion of the "parish issue" in the 1860-1910s. The reform of the Orthodox parish in the Russian Empire was one of the most acutely debated topics, which affected the Church, society and the state. The author concludes that scholars were prominent in these discussions. In the works of P.V. Znamensky, M.M. Bogoslovsky, V.M. Veryuzhsky, S.V. Yushkov the picture was re-established of the status and development of the old Russian parish described as well as its place in the zemstvo self-government, the relationship with the diocesan and the Royal power, the situation of the clergy. P.V. Znamensky's book was in tune with the Slavophiles ideas and had a significant impact on the press. In the early twentieth century, the scholarly community (especially the lawyers and canonists) itself was not united in the question of the parish issue. This gave an opportunity to representatives of different social forces to appeal to the position of a scholar (or a group of scholars), whose views were in tune with their public interests.
