“For donations in favor of churches...”: examples of charity of the Orthodox congregation of the Caucasian diocese in favor of the Church in the 1940s (based on materials from the State Archives of the Stavropol Krai)

Abstract

Introduction. The article reveals the features of charitable activities of the Orthodox congregation in favor of their churches. This part of religious North Caucasian everyday life allows us to understand the peculiarities of the worldview of religious people, for whom contribution to the common good was an important moral need.Materials and Methods. Based on an analysis of the activities of the Stavropol Spiritual Consistory, events related to the private charity of the congregation of the Caucasian diocese are identified. The main body of documents is concentrated in the State Archive of the Stavropol Krai, fund 135 Stavropol Spiritual Consistory. The descriptive method used allows us to get an idea of the motivations of the donors and show what the values donated to the Church were used for.Analysis. The Caucasian diocese, established in 1843, experienced difficulties in organizing the process of caring for its flock. To a large extent, concern for the improvement of the temple, where parishioners came to church services, became the concern of the laity themselves. Attention is paid to the analysis of the circumstances under which the donation was made. An important point can be considered the control on the part of the church leadership over the targeted expenditure of funds received. Results. It is concluded that gifts were most often brought to decorate the temple, which was a sacred space for believers. Donations were a way of repentance and atonement for sins, a way to increase one’s authority in the eyes of society, because they became “symbolic capital” characterizing the godly virtues of a particular person. The church carefully monitored the observance of voluntariness in the act of the donor, and to confirm such a step, witnesses were often brought in from among the parishioners associated with the temple to which the donation was made.

Keywords

• church
• temple
• donation
• charity
• diocese
• icons
• parishioners