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3ACTIVITIES OF RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS IN EDUCATION IN XIX - EARLY XX CENTURIES
The urgency of the problem under study is caused by the ambiguity of the development of Russia in the XIX - early XX century. This period is characterized by major changes in the economic, political, religious and cultural life. The number and authority of different religious organisations increased. Special attention was devoted to establishment of new parishes and dioceses where different forms of charity and religious education played a significant role. The authors analysed activities of religious organisations in education in XIX - early XX centuries. By way of illustration, the authors considered the activities of the Oryol Peter and Paul Orthodox Fellowship established in the Oryol Diocese in 1887, which dealt with educational issues. The main function of the Fellowship was to establish reading rooms, libraries in Sunday schools and parochial schools as well as religious and moral education. The authors conclude that activities of religious organisations in XIX - early XX centuries played a major role in raising educational level both in certain parts of the country and in the Russian Empire in general. Article materials may be useful for those interested in the history of the specified period, as well as in the course of studying historical disciplines.
Keywords
religious organisations, missionary societies, public charity organisations, education
AUTHORS
Evgeniya S. Matveeva
PhD in History, Assistant Professor, Deputy Chairperson of Chair of History and International Relations at Central Russian Institute of Management,
Branch Of RANEPA, Oryol 5A, Victory Blvd, Oryol, 302028, Russia evgmatveeva@bk. ru
Maria G. Fomina
PhD in Politics, Assistant Professor, Chair of Constitutional and Municipal Law at Central Russian Institute of Management, Branch Of RANEPA, Oryol, 5A, Victory Blvd, Oryol, 302028, Russia mgfomina@rambler.ru
1. Introduction
Pedagogical understanding of the current educational situation in Russia, the use of historical experience in modern conditions has led to the search for new effective strategies based on vocational motivational learning.
In tune with general trends in Russia, Central Russia underwent modernisational changes due to the oncoming need for improvement of the society's social and political level, both in the country in general and in its individual parts. The modernisation consisted in cardinal transformation of customary social patterns, i.e., transition from traditional principals to modernity. This process covered several centuries and included multiple events aimed at modification of the society type, from agrarian to industrial [2; p.5].
2. Materials and Methods
Based on the classical methodology used to address the issues of the formation of educational issues in the historical retrospective, the authors solved the following problems: 1) determining the tendencies of modernization of the XIX - early XX centuries justifying the need to improve the social and political level of society, both in the whole country and in its individual parts; identification of the level of education in the XIX -early XX centuries; clarification of the activities of religious organizations in the field of education.
3. Results
Noting the main results of the study should note the following. It was the merchantry, clergy and nobility of XIX - early XX centuries that played the main role in the modification processes in the Russian state forming the class of educated bureaucrats, entrepreneurs and intellectuals. Other social groups like working people, rural and urban public were poorly educated and low-income people. The need to introduce new educational standards and non-educational means to the general population was significant as otherwise comprehensive transformation of the country where the majority was illiterate and poorly educated would be impossible [1; p.57]. This tendency gradually resulted in greater number of literate people, interest of common people in new knowledge and reading increased [8; No 30, p. 626]. Governmental reports «On General Needs Of Public Education» often touched upon issues on establishment of teachers' library clubs and public reading libraries [4; F.580, S. 68-74]. It was the orthodox clergy that partially was to solve the problem as religion always performed the unifying function for different strata of the people.
The main target of religious organisations was conversion of atheists or representatives of other religions in the religion propagated by the respective religious organisations. There were two main aspects of this work: domestic, i.e. respective activities in the territory of the country, and external, i.e. in other countries. Salvation Army may be mentioned as an example of an international charity religious organisation of external type, its followers trying to convey truthfulness of their beliefs, their key idea being spiritual transformation and reformation of a person as the only way to salvation. In Russia, activities of religious organisations started from XIV century under Stephen of Perm, who was the Russian successor of the Christian apostolic educational tradition and promoted Christianity in the East (the Perm Diocese). In XVI century, such activities intensified in the Volga Region, in XVIII century, in the Caucasus and Siberia [3; p.9]. Thus, the fundamental goal of such activities was conversion to Christianity of the peoples that were no Russian by origin. They struggled with the split in the society and the state, illiteracy, sects, heresies, etc. Orthodox missions also performed their activities beyond Russia, and overall governance of religious organisations in the Russian Empire was executed by the Synod that held meetings and conferences at the local and national levels, approved charters of those organisations, their action programmes, censored the literature they published, etc.
Church societies used different non-teaching methods of education which were adjusted to local needs and conditions[4; F.580, S. 68]. In the second half of XIX century, many dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church opened libraries of Orthodox fellowships and societies, parish and dean's libraries. For example, the Oryol Peter and Paul Orthodox Fellowship was established in the Oryol Diocese in 1887. The Charter of the Fellowship set forth most significant issues including issues of Orthodox charity. The purpose of the Fellowship was to establish reading rooms, libraries in Sunday schools and parochial
schools as well as religious and moral education. Periodical publications and different books were available in those libraries that censorship approved for distribution on public reading rooms and libraries.
The society organised public readings, totally controlled by School Councils [9]. Public School Inspectors directly controlled the readings [9]. There were special requirements for lecturers and books that were offered for reading: proposed lecturers were subject to approval by the Council, the books used were to be published and permitted by the censorship. Only in rare cases the School Council could authorise a manuscript for reading.
The religious fellowship dealt with improvement of parish life, struggle with dissenters, free distribution of moral books and booklets, establishment of spiritual literature stores where everything was controlled by the Diocese Council and School Council which included the chairman, the treasurer, the record clerk and members of the Council and performed important managerial functions. The Chairman of the Fellowship also was the Eparch of the Oryol Diocese.
Fellowships performed their work using the funds received from members' contributions, private donations, interest on securities and the work of the Fellowship: sale of property, lease of real estate belonging to the fellowship.
The fellowship also paid special attention to education of adult people. In churches, group readings were held and spiritual and moral literature was sold. The Fellowship was an official representative of a major Orthodox publishing house. Spiritual literature was held in libraries, parish stores and designated warehouses of the society. The Orthodox Fellowship Council paid invoices of the printing works of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra for issue of Oryol publications.
The Fellowship made a special contribution in the development of education in the Oryol region of that historic period due to establishment of a church library which could be used by any person willing including workers, peasants, craftsmen, merchants, heads and students of secular schools, officials, military persons and any interested persons.
The library established by the Fellowship was a spiritual centre of the Oryol Governorate. In the library, meetings of the Peter and Paul Fellowship, Seraphim Fellowship, Oryol Church Historical and Archaeological Society were held, as well as meetings of the Diocese School Council. The literature in the library was of both secular and ecclesiastical nature. It included: lives of the Saints, Biblical, anti-sect literature, publications of Russian history, philosophy, psychology. In 1914, the library also received the Encyclopaedic Dictionary [8; No 40, p. 11]. As for the composition of people interested in the literature, it was quite diverse: priests and church officers, merchants, craftsmen, and, to a lesser degree, workers and peasants.
4. Discussions
Already contemporaries were caused by a series of discussions that reveal the role of education for the masses. Raised statistics on the percentage of educated in different classes. Raised questions about the need and consequences of learning low layers. Of course, it should be noted that for the poorest strata of the population who seldom came to the libraries, secular education was unavailable, so most of them could neither write nor read, they were illiterate. However, thanks to fellowships, reading rooms were established in many governorates in parish schools, their main function being provision of access of the poorest strata of population to saving literature [5]. Also, due to activities of the Orthodox Fellowship, wall public libraries emerged which placed pamphlets with historical and religious and moral content on the walls of public buildings [8; No 30, p. 1022].
Literature was provided by teachers who kept order in the reading rooms. Events were attended by a priest who would control the process of reading of ecclesiastic, historical, geographic literature and fiction. Also, the so called «dissolving views» could be demonstrated.
Books were purchased at the expense of the Fellowship. Literature selection was performed in accordance with the Synod catalogue, books were distributed to reading libraries of the governorate via regional divisions of the School Council of the diocese.
The Oryol Peter and Paul Orthodox Fellowship was an intermediary between the church authorities and common people in respect of distribution of spiritual and moral enlightenment and education. The organisation's activities helped cultural and educational development of the population of the Russian Empire as a whole.
5. Conclusion
Summing up the aforesaid, it should be noted that participation and social impact of religious organisations were significant. Activities of those organisations in XIX - early XX centuries played a fundamental role in improvement of spirituality and education in all estates of the Russian state and of its individual provinces, including the Oryol Governorate. Every person irrespective of status, financial position, age, had an opportunity to read different books that covered not only spiritual and moral aspects but also scientific aspects. The government was directly interested in propagation of Orthodox Church principles, especially among old believers and atheists. The Church promulgated not only spiritual but also secular education. Orthodox libraries were established that were available for any person willing to read the literature. Church sermons were held that were close to everyday issues of the people. The relevant historical period in the Russian State was marked by issuance of a lot of books, Orthodox journals, educational literature. The number of religious organisations, church fellowships increased, whose main objectives included educational activities in the society.
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