The article deals with the parish schools development in Russia in the last third of the XIX century. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the church school development during the period of office of I. D. Delyanov as the Minister of Education (1880-1890) and the transition of the parish and peasant literacy schools under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod, thus giving the primary education an ecclesiastical character. The measures taken by the government and by the Synod in order to raise the parish educational level, the place of the parish schools in the educational process (spiritual, moral and intellectual education) and the contribution towards reducing the illiteracy of the population are considered in this work. The works of the researchers of late XIX-early XXI centuries are used as materials. The materials of the periodical press are the most essential, for example, the "Pribavleniya k tserkovnym vedomostyam". Personal materials, such as letters and recollections were also used in the work. In conclusion, the authors sum up that in the last third of the XIX century the parish school underwent a complex transformation and became an important part of the pre-revolutionary national educational system. Due to this it was involved in the educational activities, especially for children.