Using the views of bishop Andrey ( Ukhtomsky) as an example, the article discusses an understudied problem of the attitude of Russian Orthodox priests to the theory and practice of Russian nationalism of the late 19th — early 20th centuries. The authors analyze the bishop’s views on national empowerment, political nationalism and the issue of the non-Russians (inorodtsy). It is demonstrated how bishop Andrey’s Slavophil views shaped his Russian nationalism.