Russian Emigrants - the Students of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of University of Belgrade (1920-1940)
Abstract
In the interwar period the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade was one the most prominent centers for acquiring higher theological knowledge for Russian immigrants. More then 200 Russian immigrants studied at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology. Occasionally they were in the majority within the whole student population. Based on the material of the Archive of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade (minutes of the Faculty Council meetings, students’ files) this paper will present several aspects of the experience of Russian immigrants at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology. It will analyze variation in their number, the quality of the students’ life and the diffi culties they encountered. Special attention will be given to the first generation of Russian graduated students. Based on the students’ files of Nikolaj Nikolajevič Afanasjev, Nikolaj Mihajlovič Zernov, Leonid Georgijevič Ivanov, Konstantin Eduardovič Kern and Mihail Borisovič Maksimovič, the paper will provide information on the conditions of their studying in Belgrade. The forth-mention information affirm that Russian students achieved excellent risults despite economic hardship. It is not hard to notice their eff ort to maintain spiritual bond with the lost homeland forming student circles and studying History of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the appendix of the paper you will fi nd information about 69 graduated Russian students, as well as the marks of three Rissian students from the first generation of the graduated Russian students at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade (Afanasjev, Kern and Maksimovič).
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