THE PENITENTIARY FUNCTION OF MONASTERIES IN THE YENISEI PROVINCE IN THE SECOND HALF OF XIX – EARLY XX CENTURIES

Abstract

The research features the prison practice in the monasteries of the Yenisei diocese in the second half of XIX – early XX centuries. The research objective was to study the composition of the prison population in the Orthodox monasteries of the Yenisei diocese and the legal rules governing the status of the epitimizes in the mansions of the region. The work uses the comparative historical method and critical analysis of historical sources, which made it possible to specify the number of those under penance (epitimia) in the monasteries of the diocese, the conditions of their detention, and to highlight the main features of the prison work of the monasteries. The analysis revealed that the penal role of the monasteries had decreased by the beginning of XX century. Eventually, the monasteries of the Yenisei diocese were relieved of this function, which corresponded with the national trends.

Keywords

• monasteries
• penance
• criminal punishment
• yenisei province
• clergy
• penitentiary system