Abstract: The subject of this study is the views of the priest and publicist Joseph Ivanovich Fudel on the development of primary education at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries. The article's author refers to the discussion on church-parish schools and analyzes Fudel's position in it, his arguments and motives. The author also compares Fudel's publicism on the issue of national schooling with his social work and examines how it fits into the intellectual context of the era. Particular attention is paid to the genesis of Fudel's ideas and to clarifying what were the main influences that formed his position. The author resorts to the historical-genetic method and comparative analysis (to trace the evolution of J. I. Fudel's views and to compare them with the position of his contemporaries), adhering to the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity, and verifiability. There are no existing individual studies on the life of father Joseph in historiography. At the same time, the issues regarding education, which are still relevant today, were an important part of Fudel's intellectual biography. At the core of the discussion on public education, Fudel saw, first of all, not the problems of managing the system of education, but the opposition of various worldviews at the base of ministerial and church schools. The topic of education was considered by Fudel as an issue of the future cultural development of Russia. He substantiated the fundamental role of the church-parish school as the guardian of the Orthodox faith and of "the people's ideal." In many respects, this position was in line with the late Slavophile thought, having also experienced the influence of Pochvennichestvo and Narodnichestvo. His aspirations were directed not to the conservation, but to the revitalization of the public's life. Fudel's ideas of Christian enlightenment, popular intelligentsia, parish activity, and development of an original culture differed from the protective direction of K. P. Pobedonostsev's views.